This is one of the times of the sports year that is always frustrating for me.  As the title of this blog says, I call it "the calm before the storm".

The excitement of the newness of the baseball season is beginning to wane and wear off.  The NBA playoffs have not started yet, but teams are jockeying for playoff positions or to get home court advantage.  The NHL playoffs have started, but it is still the first round and the really good matchups have not quite gotten underway yet.  The Kentucky Derby is still a few weeks away and the Indianapolis 500 is a month away.  Finally, the NFL draft is coming up next week.  It is kind of sports "no mans land".

Still, you have plenty to look forward to with all of those things listed above.  The NFL draft is always so exciting for football fans everywhere.  A chance to almost start anew, and build your team for next year, addressing your teams weaknesses or building on their strengths.  I will do a Bills draft preview in my next blog early next week, but suffice it to say, I can hardly wait.

The NHL playoffs are certainly doing their best to keep everyone attention this year during this rough time.  Pittsburgh and Philadelphia has been especially wild.  When you talk about the term "playoff hockey", you don't have that series in mind.  They Pens and the Flyers have been scoring more than Charlie Sheen at the Adult Video Awards conference.  Not only that, but the fists have been flying and bodies being thrown around more than the last Wrestle-Mania.  You can't hate this series!  My life has been changed watching these two teams going at it.

Many of the other series have been exciting as well.  I picked the Penguins and the Blues to meet up in the Cup finals.  The Blues are still looking awful tough.  If you win in the postseason with goaltending and defense, the Blues have as good a chance as anyone.  If any team can come back from a 3-0 series deficit, it might be Pittsburgh.  I'm not holding my breath, but it wouldn't shock me.  Nashville looks awful good against the always tough Red Wings and who would have guessed Los Angeles would be handling Vancouver like they have.

In baseball, Fenway Pahk celebrated its 100th birthday with a big celebration.  The Yankees spoiled the party with a win over the Sox, who have been beset by slow starts and injuries so far this year.  I used the occasion to buy tickets to see my first ever Red Sox game in Fenway.  I'm going to be in Beantown for a conference for my eye disease in June, so I decided to take in a Sox-Braves game on Friday the 22nd of June.  Inter-league baseball under the Green Monster.  Not exactly a purists dream, but I'm still stoked to see a game at the hallowed field.  I will be listening extra closely for the phrase "go the distance...." while I'm sitting in the stands near the Pesky pole.

The NBA playoffs are a couple weeks away from getting underway, and as a Bulls fan, I can't wait.  Last years playoffs were incredibly exciting to me, but I feel like the Bulls have some unfinished business against LeBron and company.  Last years MVP Derrick Rose has missed twenty plus games, but somehow Chicago still finds themselves atop the conference standings.  If they can secure the #1 seed and home court against Miami, they have to have added confidence in their depth for their inevitable meeting with the Heat in the conference finals.

Out west, I can't see how the Oklahoma City Thunder can't make it to the finals.  Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook form the most electifying pair in the NBA this side of LeBron and Dwyane Wade.  Their only competition--the Spurs, Mavericks and Lakers--are all looking awfully old awfully quick and I doubt they can keep up with the Thundering kids in a seven game series.

The sports world is about to get seriously ramped up, so take the next week, get plenty of sleep, relax, catch your breath and get ready for one of the best couple of months of the sports year!