On Friday morning, Gio declared that April has a legitimate case to be the best sports month on the calendar, with October being its main competitor.
It was quite the take given the absence of any football games, but April does have plenty of highlights, from the start of baseball season to the Final Four.
Is Gio onto something? Could April be the top sports month on the calendar? Let’s take a look at the highlights of each month to determine where it ranks on the calendar.
12. AUGUST
Highlights: Soccer leagues begin, NFL preseason begins, U.S. Open kicks off in NYC
Some say July ranks dead last, but August is truly barren in terms of sports to watch. Baseball is in the dog days and playoff races are heating up, but at this point, there is nothing going on in terms of basketball and hockey, and football begins its meaningless and dull preseason games. Yawn.
11. JULY
Highlights: MLB All-Star Game and trade deadline, NBA free agency
July beats out August mainly because of events that happen away from game action, like the MLB trade deadline and NBA free agency frenzy, which always includes a dizzying array of trades and signings that fans aren’t expecting. Meanwhile, the MLB Home Run Derby is still one of the best All-Star Game festivities of any sport, though that isn’t exactly a high bar to clear.
10. FEBRUARY
Highlights: Super Bowl, NBA trade deadline, spring training begins
I know, hot take alert. But the Super Bowl, while considered one of the biggest sporting events of the year, is over in a matter of hours, and outside of that, the month doesn’t have much to offer. College football is over, there is only one NFL game, the offseason transactions in baseball are over, and the NBA and NHL seasons have All-Star breaks. This just isn’t a great month for sports outside of one Sunday.
9. NOVEMBER
Highlights: World Series, Thanksgiving football
The Fall Classic highlights this month, but it is over within the first few days of the month, and then it’s the other three major sports settling into their regular seasons. Solid, but other months have more juice.
8. MAY
Highlights: NBA/NHL playoffs
Had to let go of some personal bias on this one, because the NHL playoffs should be considered one of the best sporting events of the year, although I know I am in the minority. Still, May is a very solid sports month, with two major sports in playoff mode and another (baseball) in full swing. The only issue? No football.
7. JANUARY
Highlights: NFL Playoffs, College Football Playoff wraps up
Football reigns supreme to begin the calendar year, but what about the weekdays, when everyone is returning from the holidays yet aren’t ready to invest much in their hockey and basketball teams while the NFL and college football seasons are reaching their peak?
6. DECEMBER
Highlights: Fantasy football playoffs, Christmas Day NFL/NBA games, MLB Winter Meetings, College Football Playoff begins
Fantasy football plays a big role in making this month one of the better ones on the calendar, not to mention the now-expanded College Football Playoff having games on host campuses, adding more juice to this month. Plus, three of the four major sports are in action, while baseball has its time in the spotlight with the occasional big-time trades and signings at the Winter Meetings.
5. JUNE
Highlights: NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, NBA Draft, U.S. Open
Basketball and hockey crowns a champion while baseball is on every night, bringing about the arrival of summer. That’s plenty to secure a spot in the top five.
4. MARCH
Highlights: NFL free agency, March Madness, MLB Opening Day
You can argue between March and April, but while Opening Day remains a personal favorite, you have to wait nearly the entire months for it to arrive. Still, March Madness and its opening weekend remains on the Mount Rushmore of best sporting events of the year, so March is elite.
3. SEPTEMBER
Highlights: NFL/college football season begins, MLB playoff races
The perfect blend of football starting and baseball heating up with the end of the regular season approaching. Pennant races don’t have the same luster as they once did thanks to the expanded postseason, but it’s hard to compete with those September Sundays (and Saturdays) when football is back in our lives.
2. APRIL
Highlights: MLB in full swing, NBA/NFL playoffs begin, NFL Draft, Final Four, The Masters
April is still more synonymous with the start of baseball season than March, even if MLB has pushed Opening Day up over the years. Regardless, April begins with baseball and March Madness, sees the NBA and NHL playoffs commence weeks later, and has the NFL Draft at the end of the month. Oh, and the most prestigious golf tournament of the year is in the mix as well.
1. OCTOBER
Highlights: MLB playoffs, NBA/NHL season begins, college basketball season begins
The MLB playoffs remain a personal favorite of mine, not to mention we now have all four major sports in action in what is also one of the best weather months of the year here in the northeast. So you have baseball at its peak, basketball and hockey just starting back up to the point where you actually have a real interest in regular season games, and football is in full swing. It doesn’t get better than October, where it feels like there is a somewhat big game on every night of the week.