Hey, maybe you don’t like sports. Or maybe you’re sick of wokeism in our leagues or the NBA’s China ties, which I’ve written about before. But there’s no denying there was some great action this weekend, as a ridiculous (and record) seven playoff series went into the deciding Game 7 this weekend—two in the NBA and five in the NHL.

What a beautiful day for two Game 7s pic.twitter.com/EpU0TDIhHJ

— Alexis Morgan (@alexismorgan) May 15, 2022

The city of Dallas even had two teams playing win-or-go-home Game 7s for the same city on the same day, something that’s never happened before.

The tally breaks the previous record of five, all in the NBA, which was set in 2014.

Here’s your recap so you can sound smart at parties or look interested when talking to your sports-loving spouse:

In the NHL, on Sunday, the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3, while the Dallas Stars fell to the Calgary Flames 3-2. On Saturday the Carolina Hurricanes ousted the Boston Bruins 3-2, the Tampa Bay Lightning sent home the Toronto Maples Leafs 2-1, and the Edmonton Oilers killed the Los Angeles Kings’ dream 2-0.

Phew. “I got blisters on my fingers,” as Ringo Starr famously said after recording the pounding song ”Helter Skelter.”

In the NBA, both Game 7s were surprises—Phoenix was soundly dumped by the Dallas Mavericks, while the world-champion Milwaukee Bucks’ hopes of a repeat were dashed by the Boston Celtics.

I reported earlier this month about the emergence of Celtic star Jason Tatum, who proved me right by throwing down 23 points to go along with eight assists for the contest. (The other emerging star I touted, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, unfortunately went down with a knee injury and is out of the playoffs.) Everything went right for Boston, as virtually every 3-pointer they hoisted up seemed to go in.  Meanwhile, nothing went well for the Bucks, as superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo missed layup after layup.

The Phoenix Suns, meanwhile, had the best regular-season record in the NBA this year, and were actually favored to win the title. Once again, however, star point guard Chris Paul was sent home early in a shock blowout and was roundly criticized on Twitter. While he’s a great player, playoff success has continually eluded him.

Chris Paul has 1 point at half. Devin Booker has 2. Together, they were 0-11. Just pathetic. Legacy-damaging.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 16, 2022

I don’t know my NHL as well as I know the NBA, so I won’t comment as much. Suffice it to say the action was exciting:

ABSOLUTELY
NO
QUIT. pic.twitter.com/frjt8882bC

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) May 16, 2022

My favorite to win the NBA title continues to be the Golden State Warriors, starring a player who actually changed the entire sport with his obscene three-point shooting ability—none other than Steph Curry.

So there you have it. Yes, the world continues to be ravaged by inflation, war in Ukraine, COVID, blah blah de blah.  And while sports haven’t escaped the controversies, with athletes sitting for the national anthem and slogans shaming us from some athletes’ jerseys, it’s still an escape. Multiple competitors gave us their all in this epic, record Game 7 weekend, and it was a joy to watch.