Offseason? What Offseason?

I guess it's the time of year where sports fans like myself take some time off and go into hibernation. The NHL Finals are over (for all 6 hockey fans out there, including myself makes 5), as are the NBA Finals. The NFL doesn't get underway for another month, and that's just training camp. (The over-coverage that NFL training camp receives makes me want to launch my remote through the TV and means absolutely nothing unless you really, really need up to the second updates on the status of Tom Brady's knee every time he steps into a divot on the turf at the Patriots practice facility. And if that won't get enough coverage, then Brett Favre's imminent return to the Vikings will surely make your head explode [Oh you hadn't heard? Well then congratulations on awakening from your coma]). Rant aside, NFL season doesn't start until late August or early September. And MLB is about 70-75 games into the marathon 162 game season, rendering these exciting interleague matchups (Royals/Diamondbacks? Mariners/Padres? Wow, what exciting matchups!...) and week after week of monotonous baseball.


So that accounts for all 4 major sports. What's left? More than you may think, so wake up sports fans! There's no need nor time for hibernation!

• This Father's Day weekend, like every Father's Day weekend, is the PGA's U.S. Open, possibly the most exciting golf tournament of the year. Who could forget Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate going toe-to-toe last year with Tiger sinking putts on 18 on Sunday to force an 18 hole playoff, and again on Monday to force another one-hole playoff, and Rocco falling just short on the 91st hole. Not to mention Woods was playing on one leg making that much more incredible. So look out for another great tournament this year. Look for Phil Mickelson to have the tournament of his life with his wife, Amy, about to begin treatment for breast cancer. And of course, watch out for Tiger. Stay tuned, it should be a doozy at Bethpage Black.


• If golf's not your thing, the greatest tennis tournament of the year, Wimbledon, begins on Monday. Granted, this year's French Open fell short of expectations this year with Robin Soderling knocking out #1 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round and letting Roger Federer romp to his 14th Grand Slam victory. Nadal's status for Wimbledon remains clouded with his knee injury flaring up worse than ever. Hopefully Nadal plays and makes a run for the title. Considering last year's epic 5-set victory for Nadal on the grass court, I would imagine everybody's looking forward to another 1-2, Nadal-Federer rematch. Oh, and to top it off, Roger's looking for his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam victory, and how appropriate it would be for Roger to overtake Pete Sampras at the place where Sampras dominated throughout his career, winning 7 Wimbledon titles of his own (in 8 years nonetheless, 1993-1995, 1997-2000). Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for this one.


• For the international folk, the Confederations Cup tournament is currently underway (yes, that's soccer). No, it isn't the World Cup--less than a year until World Cup 2010 in S. Africa--but it's probably the next biggest global tournament. Sure, the United States is getting steamrolled (3-1 to Italy and 3-0 to Brazil), but hey, it's at least entertaining to see 3 goals a game with such a porous defense. But seriously, this is the last major tune-up for the World Cup for a lot of these teams, there is a high level of competition, and who doesn't love deciphering crazy European fans' chants and watching them riot after wins and losses.


• And then there's my personal favorite: The Tour de France (although shouldn't it be "Le Tour de France" or "The Tour of France"? Mixing French and English just sounds bad). But seriously, I love the TdF. Besides the fact that Lance Armstrong is my personal hero and role model and I have an intense passion for cycling and road racing, cycling's a really cool sport and the TdF is the pinnacle for bike racing and it's fans. It's remarkable that those guys can bike for 4 or 5 hours at speeds up to 30mph on flat ground and 65-70mph downhill. Even more incredible is watching them bike uphill. I could go on-and-on about it, but I would just come off as a huge nerd. In any case, Lance Armstrong, the greatest cyclist in history and winner of 7 consecutive Tour de Frances (awkward plural...) came out of retirement this year not just to race but to raise money and awareness for his cancer-fighting organization, Livestrong. He's racing with Team Astana this year along with American powerhouse Levi Leipheimer (my 2nd favorite rider) and Spanish star Alberto Contador, winner of the 2007 Tour, among several other great riders (Yaroslav Popovych, Jose Luis Rubiera, Andreas Kloden). Top to bottom this is the best team in the Tour, and it will be riveting to see if Leipheimer, Contador, or Armstrong rises as the team leader and who will be forced to ride in support of the superstar-laden team. And to top it off, Armstrong is recovering from a surgically repaired collarbone fracture which occurred in the 2009 Vuelta Castilla y Leon, which delayed his comeback training, but did not keep him out of the Giro d'Italia. Bottom line: this should be excellent.

So there you have it. Yes, the 4 major sports are essentially out of commission for the next few months (unless you really want to watch underdeveloped and underprepared basketball players get drafted to the NBA for insanely high salaries). But that doesn't mean all sports are gone. If sports are all about sportsmanship, tradition, and competition, then these four events should be absolutely spectacular. So step outside your comfort zone, tune into one (or more) of these great sporting events, and enjoy! It should be a great summer sports season!