Nothing is better than a beautiful summer’s day. The warm weather and sun make a perfect combination for happiness. Add in the smell of food on the grill and a cold beverage to go with it and you have yourself the perfect summer’s day.

Almost.

Summer is also supposed to mean baseball season, but over the past few years, the University of Northern Iowa hasn’t been able to experience that feeling. The program was cut due to budgets, leaving Panther athletics awkwardly silent during the summer months.

Even if you attend a Waterloo Bucks game, you will not hear a peep about UNI like you would in the past. Now we hear about the University of Iowa or the University of Minnesota, big-time schools lucky enough to still have a baseball program.

While UNI sports enter the summer lull, bigger sports around the country hit their peak.

The National Basketball Association cherishes the month of June because it means it’s time for the NBA Finals, the moneymaker for the sport.

Even those who are not NBA fans tune in to the final best-of-seven-game series to see what will happen next. Game one of the series this year – between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat – raked in millions of viewers, topping the TV charts for Thursday night.

The NBA isn’t the only sport going through the final stretch.

The National Hockey League has been in playoff mode for the past month and now looks to close out the season during their NHL Finals, starting this week.

As an avid hockey fan, I can truthfully say there is nothing better than playoff hockey. Games are usually decided by a single goal, which means they’re coming down to the final seconds.

While hockey doesn’t rake in as many viewers as the NBA Finals do, the NHL Finals are always spiked in ratings compared to earlier times in the season, making it one of the more popular sports during the month of June.

Finally, although UNI doesn’t field a team, baseball is in full swing nationwide. The Waterloo Bucks are already a handful of games into the season (and currently in first place), while Major League Baseball finds itself in the third month of the season. By July, fans of all leagues will be experiencing all-star games and home run derbies, one of the best weekends in all of sports.

So just because the Panthers may be in a quiet time of the year, don’t make the summer a quiet time for yourself. The sports world is alive and well; you may just have to search a little harder to find it.

So fire up that grill, pop open the cooler, and let the rest of the nation heat up your sports cravings.