The last three weeks of madness came to a thrilling end with Villanova’s last second win in the National Championship. Monday night’s game was the last of 67 college basketball games over a three-week span. Now that the games are all over, it’s back to real life for everybody who called in sick, skipped class, and ignored all responsibilities to watch as much basketball as possible.
If you aren’t ready to return to responsibility and if you need more sports to watch to survive the rest of the semester, here is a list of sports related events that should tide you over until summer. I hope you can find time to check in on these sporting events as you try to fill the void left by the end of the NCAA tournament.
The Masters: April 7-10 on ESPN and CBS
Nothing is more relaxing than watching golf while everybody else stresses out about midterms and projects. With Tiger Woods not playing due to back troubles, this year’s Masters is another chance to watch some of the new stars of the game. Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are all predicted to compete and nine golfers have at least 20/1 odds to win the tournament. Spieth will look to become the first back-to-back Masters winner since Tiger Woods in 2001-2002. Familiar Masters faces such as Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson will all be looking to pick up another major win in Augusta. Sit back, grab an Arnold Palmer, and enjoy four rounds of “a tradition unlike any other.”
The NFL Draft: April 28-30 on ESPN
The NFL Draft is a time of hope and promise for all NFL franchises as they pick the players who will determine the future of their team. It’s also the time of year when Mel Kiper Jr. comes out of hiding to stay awake for 72 straight hours and tell everybody why some right guard from Western Carolina has the best feet he has ever seen. The first round of the draft is the only part worth watching, but be sure to check in on your team’s decisions to know how much hate mail to send the GM. The Packers have the 27th pick in the first round and nine picks overall in the draft. Be sure to check back for a draft preview later this month.
English Premier League
Leicester City is in first place by seven points with six games left to play. To put that in perspective, Leicester finished in 14th place last year. Leicester entered the season with a 5000-1 chance of winning the premier league; the Brewers have a 200-1 chance of winning the World Series. Check in to the Premier League to possibly witness one of the most unlikely sports champions in history. Also check to realize that the people in FIFA video games are actually real people who play real sports.
NBA Playoffs starting April 16
If you are suffering from basketball withdrawal, have no fear. There is still NBA to watch and enjoy. The Warriors are chasing history in the regular season and are looking to repeat as champions. The Spurs will look to put an end to that. The Cavaliers will look to figure out their team chemistry and represent the Eastern Conference again. The intensity level of the NBA ratchets up come playoff time and everybody will try to unseat the Warriors and raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy. If the NBA playoffs are half as exciting as March Madness, then you will definitely want to tune in and enjoy more weeks of basketball.
Brewers Schedule
Welcome back to the beloved Brewers and the rest of baseball. It has been a long winter, but America’s pastime is finally back. The Brewers are only projected to win 70 games and may trade some of their best players by the time the season is over, but do not let this gloomy outlook deter you. Baseball has other storylines to follow. From the young talent poised to break out, to the Royals trying to repeat, to Bryce Harper making baseball fun again, there is plenty to watch for this baseball season.
Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers.