Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Before we go any further, we ask that you remember our service-people on Memorial Day. This holiday of barbecues and beach fun came at a terrible cost. Please join me for a moment of silence…

Thank you.

After you plant your flag outside, plant your heiner in the recliner. We’ve got some fun things coming on the gigantic screen.

You don’t want to miss Game 6 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Celtics can’t win on the road, and that’s where they are, with a 3-2 lead in the series. Something tells your Friendly Neighborhood Blog (FNB) that Game 7 awaits us. Should there be one, it’s Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN from Boston.

If you think the highways are clogged on Memorial Day weekend, try the tracks. The Indianapolis 500 is Sunday at noon on ABC. Ed Carpenter, who calls the Brickyard his home track, won the pole. Later that evening (6 p.m., Fox) brings us the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Why drive when you can watch others trading paint?

We don’t like to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we will be absent from this space on Monday, and that is when the NHL’s Stanley Cup finals between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals begin. You can see this festive tilt at 8 p.m. on NBC. The Knights are an expansion team; so were the Caps, 44 years ago. Neither has won a Stanley Cup.

Old rivals parted by a defection from the ACC to the Big Ten meet in the men’s NCAA lacrosse tournament. Top-seeded Maryland, once a proud ACC member, plays Duke on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2 in the men’s semifinals. The winner goes to the championship game Monday at 1 p.m. on the deuce. The women’s semifinals are Friday and the championship game is Sunday (no time yet) on ESPNU.

Enjoy the weekend. Remember why we have the holiday. May your food be warm and your beer cold.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman