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File under : Sports Talk

June's a pretty sweet sports month. NBA/NHL finals (and subsequent drafts); baseball isn't boring yet; US Open golf. Throw in the World cup this year and I'll be spending some quality couch/bar time instead of enjoying the weather for myself. (though my back is finally starting to turn a corner. Man, I'm old in far too many ways. I'm getting excited about maybe being able to get through a round of Disc Golf.) So here's my personal viewer's guide for the next couple weeks.

Stanley Cup Finals : I made a pledge to actually watch some of this series. Then I missed game 1 last night, and will be lucky to catch game 2 tomorrow. Fortunately, none of the games are on network tv, so there's no real chance of catching a little here and there. Ugh. I was picking the 'Canes in 7 - before Roloson got hurt last night - but now, with all due respect to UNH alumn Ty Conklin, 'Canes in 5. So maybe I'll watch hockey next year.

NBA Finals : I keep going back and forth on this one. I'll take Dallas in 7 with the HCA. But the more important question is who to root for? I hate Riley. I think Cuban's probably good for the league, but don't want him to win this easily. I like Dirk and D-Wade. And 'Toine, I still got you back, for some reason. I guess I'll just pretend it's a Little League game and hope that both teams have fun and no one gets hurt.

NBA Draft - with the C's sitting at #7, really anything could happen. So I'm trying not to worry about it. I'd try to move down or acquire a veteran PG, but I'll ride it out.

World Cup - You'd be hard pressed to pick against Brazil v Germany in the finals. So I won't. I do actually think the US could make it out of their pool (they'll need a draw on Monday, for sure) but it won't matter, since they'll get the Brazilians in the pre-quarters anyways. Oh well. More importantly, this symbolizes the return of watching Spanish television at ridiculous hours (like 6 AM PST). Sweet.

This weekend will be a nice tune-up for my annual British Open Guinness weekend in July. If the French Open ends up with Nadal & Federer (and I assume it will) I may even actually watch some tennis. That never happens, as I usually find tennis more boring to watch on tv than candlepin bowling. But Sunday at 6 could find me toggling between clay court tennis and the showdown between Holland and Serbia. Sweet. Better stock up on the Bailey's and Bushmills - I'm going to need some Irish Coffee this weekend.

Baseball may not be boring yet, but it only took me ~50 games this year to become a self-loathing Red Sox fan. Second highest payroll in the game and they're starting David Pauley against the Yanks tonight? God. I also get depressed about being a big-market team fan every year during the MLB draft, when teams like the Royals pass up the best prospects available simply because they can't afford to sign them. Way to go, Bud Selig. All this revenue sharing, and still, the rich get richer. I used to have to Expos to follow when I needed a break, but they're gone. Miserable.