As I like to say, the summertime is an absolute slog for us college football fans.

We have small checkpoints—little victories, if you will—that keep us chugging along. Signing Day was back in February, and then there’s spring practice and our teams’ spring games. For Georgia fans in the area, we got an extra helping of our coach earlier this month at Bainbridge Country Club.

But apart from the occasional commitment from a recruit, June and July are bone dry.

So I turn my head to other sports to carry me through these dog days.

NBA Basketball has my attention right now. The Bucks and the Raptors just finished one of the greatest conference championship series in recent memory, simply because of the fact that it wasn’t a complete demolition derby from one side or the other. Hey, maybe I’m in the minority, but I just want to watch two teams go back and forth to get the most amount of basketball possible. Is that too much to ask for?

One of my friends is a massive Kawhi Leonard fan, going back to his career in San Antonio. According to him, Leonard has and always will be a better basketball player than LeBron James. Maybe he was saying that to get a reaction out of some of us, but after seeing how Leonard took control of Game 6 against Milwaukee on Saturday, I’m wondering if there is some truth there.

I don’t think the Raptors will stand a chance against Golden State, who by the way, are paradoxically the most boring and most exciting team in the NBA—boring because they blow through teams like a bullet through tissue paper, exciting because they score a whole lot of points while doing it. I know Toronto is excited its team has reached an NBA Finals for the first time ever, but going up against Golden State for a series is brutal. We really will see if Leonard is the ultimate superstar my friend has talked about him being. If anything, at least the Raptors have home court advantage to start the series.

In the world of the Braves, I always find myself scratching my head. The bullpen is a big time uh-oh, but the team can produce on offense pretty well. Sometimes they win games I never could imagine them winning, and other times I’m crushed with the manners in which they lose. Either way, I’m baffled, so at least the Braves are consistent in that regard.

In the NHL, Boston is playing St. Louis in the Stanley Cup Finals. I appreciate hockey, and I’ll probably watch a couple more of these games, but I think Boston will win and have yet another championship parade in the streets of the city.

September will be here before we know it, and I can forget about all my other worries and enjoy college football. Until then, I’ll keep my head down and do what I can to scratch that itch.