The sports world is still reeling from the cancellation of the Big 10 and Pac 12 college football seasons, along with a host of other smaller conferences.
We've already lost a March Madness, 100 plus MLB games, the natural conclusion to the NBA and NHL season, preseason NFL games and more.
We've all been forced to get used to new normals in 2020 but hopefully the new normal isn't outright cancelling entire seasons of sports.
With that in mind, loss can often times remind us of what's really valuable and in that light instead of bemoaning the loss of some forms of college football, why not celebrate what we have left.
This week's Top 5 Thursday ranks the five most important sporting events that you couldn't live without.
Think about it in this way, which five sporting events would leave the biggest void if they were to be cancelled. Some may have already happened, others may be teetering on the brink.
Here are my Top 5 Sporting Events I Couldn't Live Without
5.Fantasy Football
- It doesn't quite mean as much to me as it did ten years ago but thats a healthy thing for everyone involved. I may not care about message board trash talk or arguing over the most insane rule changes but that doesn't mean I don't still love fantasy football. In fact, the two or so hours it takes for a fantasy football draft is still one of the best two hour blocks of the entire year.
4.NBA Finals
- For the sake of this conversation, I split every professional league into three categories; regular season, playoffs and championship. While the NBA playoffs can be great, there are too many superfluous matchups early on and the build up doesn't always get paid off. But the Finals is a different beast. Best vs. best, all time great(s) versus all time great(s) with all the legacy ramifications you could want. I love the NBA Finals.
3.NFL Draft
- When I see a new mock draft from a trusted source linked on social media, its the same feeling you get when you get a phone all from a job you desperately want or from a girl you left a message fo when you were younger and dating. I can't wait to read it, overreact to it and then quickly forget about it. Then the actual draft itself is its own ridiculously entertaining event with all the reaction and surprises you can handle. There is no doubt, I love the NFL Draft.
2.NFL Playoffs
- The NFL Playoffs is three weeks of pure competitive perfection. Its where quarterbacks prove their mettle or lose their team forever. It's where the chess match of coaches reaches a Garry Kasparov level of complexity. Its where eight hours of sitting in one spot on the couch flies by in the blink of an eye. I love it.
1.Arizona Cardinals Regular Season games
- Nothing satisfies my sports cravings on all levels like a Cardinals regular season game. The week-long build up on air, the in game social interaction and the post game reaction are all what this job is made for. Even when they are AWFUL, there are still a hundred different ways to slice a Cardinals game. Finding angles other media members are ignoring, offering hot takes and making fun of it is all on the table when the Cardinals play. I can't wait. Hopefully.