It’s almost June and summer will soon be upon us officially, even here in the Upper Peninsula.

When we think of summer sports, the first ones that come to mind are obviously basketball and ice hockey. Sorry, that’s tongue-in-cheek, of course.

Yes, the Stanley Cup Finals are finally about to begin on Monday, Memorial Day, with the NBA Finals starting three days later.

As absurd as that is, the former of the two is still worth watching, while the latter has become mind-numbingly boring.

One of the Stanley Cup playoff’s best attributes, and often overlooked one, is its unpredictability. There are always favorites to hoist the Cup every year, but it’s never a guarantee.

Sometimes a team rides a hot goaltender to a title or things click at the right time and upsets happen. Few thought that the Los Angeles Kings would hold a victory parade in 2012, but it happened.

Now there’s a good chance that Nashville, of all teams, could be celebrating in its own unique way in a couple of weeks. Just that fact alone makes the finals worth watching.

Unlike more well-known franchises, the Predators are new to the game as they’ve only been around since 1998, but the Music City has embraced them wholeheartedly with Bridgestone Arena becoming the place to be in a city famous for attractions.

Inside you have Tennessee Titans football players drinking tallboys, country music singers jamming with the public and fans tossing catfish onto the ice. Kind of reminds you of something, doesn’t it Red Wings fans?

Not only that, but Nashville has one of the most popular players in the league in P.K. Subban, whose enthusiasm for the game and dancing skills fit in great with the city as NBC analyst Mike Milbury shakes his fist from the studio and wishes those “darn kids” would get off his rink.

Subban’s goal celebration is also fun to watch as he fires an invisible arrow into the upper deck. In a way, it kind of makes you wish he was aiming for you.

On the hardwood, meanwhile, most people I know have forgotten that the NBA playoffs are even going on. Even the most rabid basketball fans I know have mentally checked out now and are more entranced with what happened on the last episode of “Fargo.”

Remember when the guy who Ewan McGregor plays killed the brother who McGregor plays with a picture frame? Try to wrap your head around that one.

I can’t remember an NBA season where the entire postseason was just a formality to two powerhouses duking it out for the title. Even back in the Chicago Bulls’ glory days, there was always the question of what team was coming out of the West and if it could keep up with Michael Jordan & Co.

Now we have Cleveland and Golden State battling each other for the third year in a row, and this time I’m sitting it out.

Two years ago, the storylines were “Can LeBron James give Cleveland its long-desired title?” and “Can the high-flying Warriors end their title drought?”

Last year, the storyline was “Can the Cavaliers redeem themselves?” and “Can Golden State finish the job after notching the most regular season wins in league history?”

I’m not sure what this year’s is other than “Here we go again.”

Now the finals could still be fun and it probably will be due to the star power involved with James, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving and the two Kevins — Durant and Love. The 2016 battle was amazing and this year could be just as entertaining, but it won’t be as meaningful or worth remembering.

It also shows just how much basketball has fallen off. I used to love the NBA and was more of a casual fan of the NHL. Now I’ve flip-flopped with the two leagues.

I’m not sure what exactly caused this turnaround, but I think only having two or three legitimate basketball title contenders each year really soured the experience for me.

Some like to say that this Cleveland-Golden State “feud” is like the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry in the 1980s based on the quality of talent on the court.

But it’s not. Those long-ago teams hated each other, while the Cavs and Warriors are somewhat irked with the other. That’s not exactly going to make me want to stay in and watch when I could be hanging out on a Lake Superior beach.

Even though the NBA has that flaw going into this year’s playoffs, it’s still on top of the NHL. However, it may not be as secure anymore.

With non-traditional markets like Nashville, Tampa Bay and California latching onto hockey, combined with successful traditional ones like Detroit, Chicago, Boston and Minnesota, the NHL is gaining ground.

Now that Las Vegas has a hockey team and Seattle is getting closer to landing one, things could really change.

I’m hoping that it does, not because I prefer one over the other, but because I think it creates a fun rivalry. Hockey fans like to think they’re better than everyone else, while basketball fans tend to forget hockey exists.

Pitting them against each other would be entertaining to watch and the leagues could actually end up recruiting more fans due to that rivalry.

Until that happens, I’ll keep an eye on what LeBron’s legacy will be after these finals, but I’m going to focus on whether or not Subban will lead a city-wide line dance with the Cup in two weeks.

That would be something worth remembering this summer.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.