RYAN STROTHER

Sports Editor

    Although it is difficult to imagine, there’s a wide world of sporting events out there that our fair college on the hill does not compete in during the summer months. In case you missed here’s what happened in sports this summer.

Lebron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors. After winning 3 straight elimination games, James brought an NBA title to his home state – the first since the teams founding in 1970.

On a similar note, Golden State completely blew it against the Cavs, losing 3 straight elimination games despite Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP status. As a consolation prize, the Warriors picked up Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in six. Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff MVP, and was the first Penguin to hoist the Stanley Cup. Despite these successes and his best efforts, the star center still can’t grow a proper playoff beard.

The 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee proved to be, once again, be the best thing broadcast by ESPN all year. Eleven-year-old Nihar Janga from Texas and thirteen-year-old Jairam Harthwar from New York battled for 25 nail-biting rounds in the final. They both refused to misspell words as difficult as “Feldenkrais” and “gesellshaft,” and were declared co-champions, taking home $40,000 in prize money.

The Minnesota Vikings opened the 1.2 billion dollar U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this summer. As a housewarming gift to fans and taxpayers alike, starting QB Teddy Bridgewater dislocated his knee and tore his ACL while throwing a pass at practice two weeks before the season opener.

The NHL added a new franchise for the first time in 16 years. The 31st team will be located in Las Vegas, Nevada and will play in the 2017-2018 season in the Pacific Division. Suggested names for the hockey club include: The Bones, The Flamingos, The Dealers, and The Sin – all of which are wonderful examples of why hockey doesn’t belong in the desert.

Last but not least, who could forget the Summer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janerio. Ryan Lochte stole the show and became an international media darling after peeing somewhere he shouldn’t have. He probably celebrated hard enough to forget that for once, he wasn’t in a pool.

There you have it. Now let’s get out there and cheer for our beloved Big Red this year.