This past weekend was dominated by talk of the NBA playoffs. The struggles of the Miami Heat was the story of the weekend, until they won in Indiana yesterday to even the series at two games apiece.
While this constant over-analysis of the Heat-Pacers series was taking place on Saturday, two other major sporting events were taking place.
Champions League Final
The first was the UEFA Champions League Final which pitted Chelsea against Bayern Munich. The match was in Munich, which gave Bayern a huge advantage in terms of support against Chelsea.
Neither team could get on the board until the 83rd minute when Thomas Muller gave Bayern Munich the 1-0 lead. At this point, it seemed like it was just a matter of minutes before the celebration could begin.
Didier Drogba and Chelsea had other plans, as his header in the 88th minute tied the match at 1-1 and shocked the crowd in Munich.
The match headed to extra time, and Bayern was presented with a golden opportunity in the 95th minute when Drogba committed a foul in the box. Robben took the penalty kick for Bayern, but was denied by Petr Cech to keep the score at 1-1.
The match then went to penalty kicks, where the drama continued. Bayern had the advantage but quickly lost it after missing their final two penalty kicks. This set up Drogba to win it for Chelsea, and he did just that.
Preakness Stakes
As soon as this classic match ended, the Preakness Stakes were nearly underway. Kentucky Derby winner “I’ll Have Another” was looking to win the second leg of the Triple Crown, and was successful in doing so.
I’ll Have Another was able to track down Bodemeister, just as he did at the Kentucky Derby, to win and head into the Belmont Stakes with a chance to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
These two events may have gone unnoticed to the average mainstream sports fan in the U.S., but they should be recognized for delivering excitement despite their general lack of hype.
About Steve Kubitza
