By: Mike Patt
Good evening sports fans, and welcome back to the IE Sports Radio Blog. The second quarter of the calendar year (April, May, June) is one of the busiest times in the world of sports. In the collegiate ranks, you have the end of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, the frozen four in hockey, and the men’s and women’s college world series. In the professional ranks, you have the Stanley Cup playoffs, the NBA playoffs/Championship, and the beginning of the MLB season. Fans of major sports towns and universities struggle to keep up with everything that is going on. And yet, what makes this time of year fascinating to me is that it is also draft season.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every one of those other events. It is just that, as a fan who is very much obsessed with roster building, seeing players develop and how pieces fit together, amateur drafts are my focus. And it is fascinating how they all line up to around the same time frame. For the NBA and NHL, the drafts coincide with the end of their professional playoffs and the end of the collegiate season, all of which happen in May/June. The NFL has decided to position theirs at the approximate mid-way point between the super bowl and pre-season. I will let the fans decide their purpose on that front, and reserve my own opinions (money). The MLB is okay with holding their draft during the season because it occurs after the college world series.
And all of these events and scheduling preferences manage to place the four major drafts, as well as the WNBA draft, between the middle of April and middle of July. Yes, I know this does not exactly line up with the months described in the beginning of this article, but it is close enough. We started with the WNBA draft on April 10th, and then moved to the exciting three day spectacle that is the NFL draft at the end of April. From there we got a brief reprieve before the NBA and NHL had their drafts on back to back weeks at the end of June (that had my head spinning a bit). Now, we get the MLB draft this upcoming weekend to finish it all off.
The amateur circuit has been exciting across most of the leagues. The WNBA draft did not have a ton of punch, as many expect the 2024 class to be more star-studded. The NFL had quite the QB debate at the top, and all of the trades you could ask for. Both the NBA and NHL had potentially generational talent taken first overall. 7’5 big man Victor Wembanyama could take league by storm, and Connor Bedard is in the conversation for best NHL prospect in the last decade. As for the MLB, three collegiate stars are in discussion for the top spot. All three would instantly be the top prospect for most teams. And I have loved every minute of these conversations.
Once the MLB draft is complete, we hit a lull in terms of sporting activity. Hockey and Basketball take a break barring major developments, college sports go quiet with kids not in school, and the NFL is not quite into heavy pre-season/training camp mode. If your a baseball fan, it is a great time to focus on your favorite team. If not, enjoy the quiet before football season ramps up. Tune in to Let’s Wine About DMV Sports, hosted by Mike Patt, on Fridays at 9PM EST/6PM PST. Be sure to check out all of the great shows we have on our network, as well as the live calls on our partner station USRN. Shout out to the loyal supporters who continue to help IESR grow. Thank you for reading, and we will see you next time on IE Sports Radio; your direct feed for ALL that is sports.
