What a busy weekend it’s going to be this weekend. Not only do we have the NBA Finals taking place, but we also have the Stanley Cup Finals and the U.S. Open in Golf. We can’t forget that we have two big weekend series in Major League Baseball. Let’s take a look at the top events for the upcoming sports weekend.
Top Sports Events for This Weekend – June 18 – June 19
The NBA Finals
At the time of this writing, the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics will have yet to play Game 6 in Boston. With a victory over the Warriors on Thursday night, the Celtics will force a Game 7 on Sunday night in San Francisco. With a win on Thursday, the Warriors will claim another championship in the highly-successful Steph Curry/Steve Kerr era. We anticipate this one going to seven games, but you never know.
The U.S. Open
Golf’s third major of the season takes place this weekend, as the Country Club of Brookline in Brookline, Massachusetts, hosts the U.S. Open. Besides having the mystique of a major, this tournament will have some extra drama, as golfers from the newly-formed, Saudi Arabian-back LIV Tour will be back on the tour for this one.
After Thursday’s action, Rory McIlroy was tied atop the leaderboard. Some of the top names that are also near the top include Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Will Zalatoris, Daniel Berger, and Hideki Matsuyama. This one should be a lot of fun to watch.
Major League Baseball Action
The top two teams in the American League East, and quite possibly the two best teams in the American League, will square off in a weekend series, as the New York Yankees will head north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Even though the Yankees hold a nine-game lead over the Blue Jays, many still think that Toronto can get themselves back into the divisional race. Some of Toronto’s young sluggers have gotten off to a slow start, and if they get things turned around, Toronto can be a very dangerous team.
Another important series taking place this weekend is between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have suddenly turned things around and are back in the playoff hunt in the American League. They are one of four teams in the A.L. East that have a shot at the playoffs.
The St. Louis Cardinals look like a World Series contender. Paul Goldschmidt is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now, and the rest of the lineup is following his lead. If the Cardinals can find another starting pitcher or two, they could be very dangerous.
The Stanley Cup Finals
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost in overtime in Game 1, and are looking to get out of Colorado tied at one game apiece as they’ll square off against the Avalanche in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Finals series on Saturday night. Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up four goals in Game 1. Vasilevskiy has been one of the main reasons that Tampa Bay is in the hunt for its third-straight Stanley Cup. We’ll see if the Lightning can even the series, or if they’ll head back to Tampa down 2-0.