The Final Blog (maybe)

These past couple of weeks, I have actually missed writing these blogs and sharing them in class. In a way, that practice has been quite cathartic. Just in general, I find it interesting how writing a blog, that almost no one reads, can bring so much self satisfaction. Anyways, let’s get into what I want to talk about today. 

The Met Gala was last night, and perhaps I will write about it later, but I found it to be quite lackluster. The theme was impeccable, but with Rihanna, Blake Lively, Beyonce, and Anne Hathaway notably missing from the carpet, the fashion event of the year seemed to fall short. 

That’s not to say there weren’t incredible looks facing this year's green carpet, many of which took inspiration from flora and fauna, but there just wasn’t the same elevated status as in years past. 

Lastly on the Met, it is alleged that Anna Wintour insisted that she have some say in what Jeff Bezos’ finance Lauren Sanchez wore, as the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue finds her looks tend to be inappropriate. A good call by Ms. Wintour if you ask me. 

What I really want to write about is how cool sports are. 

We are now in the thick of playoff hockey and playoff basketball. 

In the first round, we saw incredible crossover of cities with teams representing them in both the NBA and NHL playoffs. 

Out of the sixteen teams in the NBA playoffs, 15 cities and 13 states were represented. 

For the NHL playoffs, 15 cities, 10 US states (including Washington D.C.) and four Canadian territories were represented. 

In the first round, there was crossover amongst six (40%) cities between the two leagues: 

* = play in same arena 

^ =  play in different arena 

Boston*: Celtics + Bruins

Dallas*: Mavericks + Stars 

Denver*: Nuggets + Avalanche

Los Angeles*: Clippers & Lakers + Kings 

Miami^: Heat + Panthers [Florida: Heat & Magic + Panthers & Lightning]

New York*: Knicks + Rangers [& Islanders^]

Now as we are in the second round, the crossover is even more dominant as only eight teams remain in each playoff, and four cities (50%) have total overlap for their teams and arenas, making for exciting TV and unbeatable city pride every night of the second round. 

Cities with teams in round two of both playoffs: 

Boston: Celtics + Bruins

Dallas: Mavericks + Stars 

Denver: Nuggets + Avalanche

New York: Knicks + Rangers

With all this excitement in round two, the semifinals could prove to bring even more. We could see an Eastern Conference Championship matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks on the NBA front and between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers for the NHL. 

The Bruins, Rangers, and Knicks lead their current series 1-0. 

Starting tonight with puck drop at 18:30, the Aves and Stars are facing off in the Western Conference semifinals. Both cities will have the opportunity to continue this postseason streak of NBA and NHL games if their NBA teams are able to secure second round series wins. 

The Nuggets are currently battling it out against the Minnesota Timberwolves and are down 2-0, making it an uphill battle for the city of Denver. The Mavericks series against the Oklahoma City Thunder begins tonight, with tip at 18:30 on TNT. 

OKC is favored to win the series though, growing the anticipation for the continuation of these city series on the West. 

Ultimately there is potential that the NBA and NHL finals could be taking place in the same two arenas. 

And that’s pretty cool if you ask me.