The World Cup is less than a month away and I am getting more and more excited by the day. I’ve said it in the past, but I seriously, there is no sporting event in the world I would rather go to than the World Cup. Not the World Series, not the NHL finals and not even the Super Bowl.
Soccer (in my opinion) is the most pure form of sport in the world. It’s like a giant game of chess and most Americans don’t have the patience or just don’t understand it. I’ve always found this slightly confusing due to the fact that baseball, “the great American past time”, is extremely slow and the games are fairly long and full of delays. But, Americans have grown up with it and have nothing but love for the game that Abner Doubleday invented. To most Americans, soccer is just a bunch of guys on a field running around and doing nothing until one team scores and the game always ends 1-0.
I would love it if the U.S. masses appreciated soccer as much as I do. But I almost feel like I’m in a special club. For now, I’m ok with that. I’ll watch the World Cup matches with friends who appreciate soccer as much as I do. I just received a facebook invite to a cookout and viewing of the USA/England match on June 12th at my brother’s house. To say I’m stoked is an understatement.
NBA: Is the stage set for Lebron James to leave Cleveland and come to New York? Last night, the Celtics embarrassed the Cavaliers 120-88 in front of the home fans in Cleveland. It was the worst home playoff loss in Cavaliers history. The Celtics lead the series 3-2, but the lack of any other feared players besides James might mean that this series is over and so is Lebron’s time in Cleveland.
NHL: The Western finals are set with Chicago taking on San Jose in a battle of two Western teams that I actually like. I’m a sabres fan and I’ve been rooting for both of these teams since Buffalo got booted in the first round. The Eastern race is not as easy to call. Pittsburgh and Montreal battle tonight in game 7 to see who makes it to the East finals. Boston leads Philadelphia 3-2.
NCAA Lacrosse: The NCAA lacrosse tournament begins this weekend. Virginia, mired in a sad off the field incident, has the first seed and not surprisingly, Syracuse has the #2 seed. Johns Hopkins at 7-7 made the tournament for the 39th consecutive season. Pretty much all of the games will be on TV. A few will be on ESPN2, but most of them will be on ESPNU. Check your local listings for times.
MLB: Ken Griffey Jr. fell asleep in the club house and missed a potential pinch hitting opportunity the other day. I know he’s old, but seriously, falling asleep in the club house during the game? ESPN today is claiming that it isn’t true, but I don’t buy it. Plus, I’d rather have it be true. I love the wacky baseball legends. That’s up there with Buck Martinez getting ejected and then putting on a fake mustache and returning to the dugout only to be kicked out again.
NLL: The national lacrosse league playoffs are in full swing. First round: Orland beat Boston 12-11, Toronto beat Buffalo 13-11, Washington beat Minnesota 14-10 and Edmonton beat Calgary 11-7. Second round: Toronto beat Orlando 15-10 and Washington beat Edmonton 12-11 in OT. The championship game will air on VERSUS at 2 pm EST on Sunday.
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30 year old freelance writer and The Father Life‘s resident beer columnist and sports editor. He also writes about fine beverages for drinkingmadeeasy.com and Chilled Magazine. On top of that, he writes about college and professional lacrosse for insidelacrosse.com. He’s also written for Genesee Valley Parenting Magazine, the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper and ESPN.com. “Osburn on Tap” appears monthly in THE FATHER LIFE. For questions, comments, or if you have a story idea for Chris, throw him an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com. Also, follow him on twitter http://www.twitter.com/chrisosburn