We spent much of 2006, and a little bit of 2007, chronicling the 10 best sports days of the year as they came across our calendar.
From the start of spring training to the Super Bowl 350-something days later, when a top 10 day arrived, we wrote about its importance to the sports landscape.
They are days that occur every year regardless of teams involved, best-of playoff series and other such things beyond fans' control. They are the events that can be printed on a yearly calendar three years in advance. They are the events you schedule other life responsibilities around.
Looking at the bigger calendar picture, April may just be the best sports month of the year.
Consider these sporting events, all of which occur within the 30 days allotted to the month of April:
• Baseball's Opening Day
• NCAA national championship basketball games
• The Masters
• NFL Draft
• Down-to-the-wire playoff races in the NHL
• Down-to-the-wire playoff races in the NBA
That's a six-pack anyone can enjoy.
Add in a full month of baseball games, the return of "Baseball Tonight" on ESPN and the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs. From start to finish, April packs a nice wallop.
Throw in the important races leading up to the Kentucky Derby and sports fans have themselves a Mike Tyson's Punch Out superpunch of fun.
Other months worth considering, in rank order:
• January (end of NFL season, NFL playoffs, NCAA bowl games and national championship)
• September (start of NFL season, MLB playoff races, start of NCAA football)
• March (Selection Sunday, the start of March Madness, NCAA conference tournaments)
• October (MLB playoffs, more NFL games, more NCAA football, start of NHL and NBA)
P.S. February received consideration for the Super Bowl and the start of Spring Training but then lost points because of the Pro Bowl.