There may be some debate about this, as some people point to the last weekend in March (NCAA basketball final four, opening of the baseball season). However, if your sporting interests include the unconventional, this weekend is without question the topper.
On Memorial Day weekend, professional basketball's interminable playoff process nears a critical juncture with conference finals ongoing. Summer can be sensed just around the corner as the boys of summer play meaningful games under warm skies. Even better, the NCAA contests its final four and championship game in lacrosse. For the last several years, I have happily spent the Saturday and Monday mornings of the holiday watching the finest collegiate lacrosse players play for the love of the game. A compelling combination of hockey, soccer and football, contested at a very high level by young men who appear to embody what is good and traditional about scholar-athletes, college lacrosse is a fantastic sport to watch. The players, unlike most college althetes seen on television, are not preening for agents. Many players metioned on the telecasts are high-achievers, with impressive SAT scores and Wall Street jobs awaiting them (fulfilling the Ivy League stereotype). In fact, one David Evans, a midfielder for Duke, the championship runner-up, starts his new job at Lehman Brothers Tuesday morning at 7. The games this year were great, particularly the semifinal involving eventual champion Johns Hopkins. Virginia broke a tie with 14 seconds remaining, then Johns Hopkins forced the match into overtime with a goal 13 seconds later. Johns Hopkins ended up winning dramatically on a fast break following a long Virginia possession. Great stuff.
Of course, Memorial Day weekend also means the Indy 500. This year was the first I've watched in many years, now that some of the Champ Car guys are coming back after the senseless split caused by Tony George and his IRL. The race this year was fast, well-driven, and particularly dramatic thanks to the presence and strong performance of Danica Patrick, a legitimate contender who just happens to be a woman. She didn't win, but she led a bunch of laps, only losing the lead five laps from the end when she had to run lean in order to conserve fuel. More good stuff.
We're not done! Memorial Day weekend also mean the Grand Prix of Europe in Formula One. This year it was contested at the "new" Nurburgring. As Speed TV's Bob Varsha aptly introduced the venue, the Nurburg castle stands guard over one of the most revered race circuits in all of motor racing ... and Formula One will be racing right next door. (Please see here for my entry on the "old" Nurburgring.) The race was as good as F1 gets these days (which, frankly, isn't that exciting if you're not completely fanatic about the sport due to infrequent passing) thanks to a spectacular suspension failure on race leader Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren on the final lap presaged by a fierce vibration owing to a flat-spotted tire over several preceding laps. The announcers noted the problem and anticipated the breakdown, which allowed Fernando Alonso to bring home his Renault for his fourth win of the year.
If you live on the West Coast, you must be truly dedicated (or simply daft) to follow Formula One, as the practice sessions, qualifying and race are broadcase live at 4:30 a.m. I have reconnected with Formula One, my passion as a teen, since the Monaco race last year, shortly after our cable system added Speed TV to the lineup. Good times, but lots of lost sleep. I can usually use the digital video recorder, but this Sunday, since I was going to record the Indy 500, and only had about four free hours in the afternoon between church and a pool party, I had to watch the F1 race live so that I could watch Indy before the party.
I had to, I tell you.
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