Home sweet dome

The new retractable roof on center court at Wimbledon seems to be working fairly well so far. Luckily, it hasn't been needed very much during the last week and a half. But it makes sense to have it, because as anyone who watches the tournament or has been to London knows, it tends to rain a bit there.

That's why I'm officially calling for some retractable domes on Aquidneck Island. Without roofs, we may never see another outdoor sporting event. After an absolutely dreadful June, the start of July is looking even worse. Who would have thought that was possible?

So here's what we do, find a couple of hundred million dollars (did someone say Powerball?) and put a roof over Cardines Field (because the Newport Gulls and a lot of Sunset Leaguers need to go back to school soon). And, of course, the R&R Construction American Legion team will benefit, too.

Then we take a page from Wimbledon's book and put a roof over Bill Talbert Center Court at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships are next week, and will require at least five dry days to complete in a timely fashion. I'm not sure we've had five total dry days since the beginning of June.

We have to come to grips with the possibility that we may never see the sun again. Tuesday's beautiful weather very well could have been the sun's swan song.

Hence, we need some domes, and we need 'em now.