A Jam-Packed June

Four years after COVID upended all of our lives, things are finally back to normal!  This summer, the sports calendar finally resets after the chaos of postponements and rescheduling and cramming four years' worth of events into three.  And, as everything gets back on schedule, we can celebrate the outstanding summer we have ahead of us.  Starting with a jam-packed month of June!

Because of how late the 2020 Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs were, the 2020-21 schedules were obviously impacted, as well.  Even with shortened seasons, the Finals extended deep into July.  Devin Booker literally went from Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Phoenix to Tokyo for the Olympics, arriving only about 24 hours before Team USA's first game.  In 2024, the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals will only overlap with each other...which is nothing new and happens every year.

The Stanley Cup and NBA Finals are still "late" in relation to years past, but they'll both conclude sometime in June.  They'll both get started later this week--the NBA in Boston, the NHL in Florida.  And that's just the beginning of the fun that's ahead this month!

Two other events that overlap are the Euro and Copa America.  They moved Copa America's four-year cycle so that it's now in the Olympic years, which is the same cycle the Euro has always been on, so they'll likely run simultaneously moving forward.  And, because of the time difference between Europe and the Americas, the result will be a full day of soccer almost every day for nearly a month.

FOX isn't just loving this, they're playing into it.  This is the first time FOX has the U.S. TV rights to both, and they've set up their schedule so that it goes right from the Euro in the morning/afternoon to Copa America in the evening/at night.  The Euro has 24 teams and Copa America has only 16, so the Euro starts a week earlier, but once Copa America gets underway, they run simultaneously until both finals on the same day.

Adding to the fun of this year's Copa America is the fact that it's being held in the United States.  It's a bit of a tune-up for the 2026 World Cup, and it'll be the biggest international tournament on American soil since the 2016 Copa America.  Messi plays for Miami in MLS now, so seeing him has become less of a novelty.  It could be the last time to see him play in an Argentina jersey, however.

In an Olympic year, though, the month of June is when things really to heat up.  And it'll be a preview of what we'll see in Paris.  In fact, it might be more competitive than what we'll see in Paris in some events.  Because at the end of the month, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials take center stage, as the hardest team in the world to make is chosen.

As usual, it'll start with the Swimming Trials, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  Yes, they're putting an Olympic-sized pool in the middle of a football stadium!  It should make for a wild atmosphere with the likes of Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel looking to clinch their spots in Paris.  And only the top two finishers per event will go.  It's harsh, but it's also part of the beauty of the U.S. system.

Just like at the Olympics themselves, once swimming ends, track & field begins.  Well, just like in the Olympics, they'll overlap for one weekend.  The Track & Field Trials are once again set for Hayward Field in Eugene (I'd imagine that in 2028, both the Swimming and Track & Field Trials will be held in LA both as a test event and because it makes sense to have Olympic Trials in the same venue as the Olympics when the Games are in the U.S.), and they promise to be as unexpected as usual, while also giving the stars their chance to shine.  And, with so many Americans at the top of their event in recent years, all fighting for just three spots, the competition should be at another level!

That's nothing compared to what we'll see at the Gymnastics Trials, though.  Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast in history.  She'll look to make her third Olympic team and write a new chapter after what happened in Tokyo--where Suni Lee ended up taking the gold.  Lee will also be at Trials, which won't just feature two Olympic all-around champions for the first time.  They'll feature the last two Olympic all-around champions.  That's two spots on the Olympic team.  Who will join them?

Throw in diving, and NBC will feature four marquee Olympic sports for 16 consecutive nights in primetime from June 15-30.  It really is a bit of a preview for what's ahead next month (and in early August).  The Americans have to make the team first, though.  That's the hard part.  And that'll be the focus towards the back end of June.

And, while this one is an annual event, the College World Series is also set for the end of the month.  I'm including the College World Series here because of the significance of what will happen in college sports only days after it concludes.  When the College World Series ends, the 2023-24 NCAA season will officially be over.  When the 2024-25 season begins, the college sports landscape will look entirely different.

This is just a sampling of what's ahead this month!  As I said, June and early July are loaded!  What makes it all even better, too, is that we don't have any COVID restrictions to deal with.  For the first time since 2016, the Olympic Trials will be held in front of a packed house that won't have to wear masks.  And those who are lucky enough to make the team can bring their friends and family to Paris with them.  There won't be any empty houses like they all were in Tokyo.  What's not exciting about that?  

It's taken a long time for us to finally get back on schedule and have a normal-ish summer where events are taking place when they're supposed to.  But now we do again!  Our patience has been rewarded with a jam-packed June that will see champions crowned, an Olympic team made, and so much more.  We haven't had it in eight years.  Let's enjoy it.  We deserve it.  Because it's something we'll never take for granted again.