At the end of this month, the sporting world goes quiet for most of the summer, until we get closer to football returning in August. If you're like me, you love your MLB team, but it gets old when the bullpen blows leads every night, and it's just not the same as the excitement of hockey and football. If you need some sporting events to pull you through the troubles of pitchers with 4.37 ERAs, I got you.
1. The Preakness & Belmont Stakes
After the dramatic finish to the Kentucky Derby, the next legs in the Triple Crown are ever interesting. With Derby winner Country House withdrawing from the Preakness due to an illness, the field is wide open for another long-shot to take the next leg. The Preakness was this Saturday, and the Belmont Stakes will be held June 8th.
*UPDATED: War of Will won the Preakness Stakes, a sweet redemption after being interfered with by Maximum Security at the Kentucky Derby*
2. MLB All-Star Game
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. The MLB All-Star Game is a weekend of activities celebrating the best in baseball, and the location changes every year. The best year of the game was 2015 when it was in Cincinnati (but I'm not biased at all), but this year the game will be in Cleveland at Progressive Field. The actual game itself between the American and National League All-Stars will be Tuesday, July 9th.
3. Women's World Cup
I can not honestly tell you the last time that I watched soccer. I know very little about the sport, but the World Cup is definitely an exciting time in soccer and one of the only times that I will actually watch an entire game, instead of only watching the highlights on Sportscenter. The Women's World Cup is in France this year and runs from June 7th - July 7th.
4. The US Open
The tennis US Open, definitely not golf. The US Open is arguably the country's most prestigious tennis tournament and features the best in the world. The tournament is in Queens, New York, directly next to the New York Mets ballpark. The tournament this year runs from August 26th - September 8th.
5. The Indy 500
Even though regular racing can get boring at times, the Indy 500 is one of the most exciting days of the year. IndyCar racing is mostly popular overseas, but the Indy 500 has helped the sport gain US popularity quickly. Even if you don't have an interest in regular racing, watching the Indy 500 will have you fascinated after the first lap, I would highly recommend watching it. The race is May 26th.
