Kevin Connelly: Bet on Saturday for entertainment

There are plenty of compelling arguments for the best sports day of each year.

Super Bowl Sunday.

MLB Opening Day.

First day of the NCAA basketball tournament.

New Year’s Day (or New Year’s Eve this year) college football bowl games.

Sunday at the Masters.

You can have them all.

Today is the best sports day of the year.

I hope you have multiple televisions at your disposal, a private jet, or don’t mind spending 12 hours in a sports bar, because the sports world hasn’t seen a day this jam-packed with marquee events in a long time.

And if you enjoy the occasional wager to spice things up, like myself, well today is a roller-coaster type day for you.

Luckily, I’m not familiar with any sports books giving lines on late-round NFL Draft picks, so you won’t have to open your wallet before lunch.

The least-intriguing of all the day’s events is brought to you by the most popular sport in America. Day three of the NFL Draft begins at noon. It’s the fourth through seventh rounds, so unless you’re a draft junkie or a college football fanatic it’s probably a lot of names you’ve never heard of. But that’s why the talking heads are there to convince you your favorite team just drafted the next Tom Brady.

The next event could’ve been near and dear to my heart, but the Penguins decide to continually rip it out each and every spring. Game two of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals begins at 12:30 p.m.

I despise both of these teams, so I’ll be rooting for a triple-overtime marathon game to really get the intensity going early in the day.

If you think you need a break to relax before things get crazy, feel free to flip over to either the Pirates and Cardinals (2:15 p.m.) or Indians and Blue Jays (4:10 p.m.), depending on where your allegiances lie. But be sure to wake up from your power nap or return from you food and drink run in time to hear the call to post at Churchill Downs.

On almost any other day, the Kentucky Derby is at the top of my viewing list. Ever since I’ll Have Another helped me pay off bar tabs my senior year of college, The Run for the Roses has had my full attention.

Sure it only lasts two minutes. And sure there’s more money being thrown around on horses than a sports writer can fathom.

But hey, if you can’t get behind a story like California Chrome a year ago, I can’t help you.

As for this year’s Derby, which should go off at 6:24 p.m., American Pharoah and Dortmund are the heavy favorites. However a few other horses to look out for are Materiality, Firing Line, Upstart and Frosted.

For those looking for a winning ticket to play at the window, go with a superfecta of Dortmund-Materiality-American Pharoah-Firing Line. You can thank me later.

Once the dust settles after the race, you’ll have about an hour to grab some dinner — steak for those who listened to me, fast food for those who lost it all — before the nightcap gets under way.

The only compelling first-round series in the NBA playoffs has been the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. Basketball can be a bit dull if there’s nothing on the line. But it doesn’t get much better than a Game 7.

That should tide you over until the main card of what we’ve all been waiting five years for: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao.

Say what you will about the future of boxing. Say what you will about Mayweather. Say what you will about the cost of the fight ($100 on pay-per-view).

When 11:30 p.m. rolls around, my adrenaline is going to be pumping — and it won’t be from too many Vodka Red Bulls.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t alive for Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for “The Fight of the Century” in 1971. Nor was I around for the Rumble in the Jungle or the Thrilla in Manila.

All that said, I enjoy a good title fight. I want to see if Mayweather’s legacy gets tarnished with a loss. I want to see if these two guys, in the back ends of their career, actually box and don’t just dance around — hugging each other — for a judge’s decision.

And I want to see The Money Team running around Vegas after the fight with wads of cash bigger than my head after winning the richest prize fight of all time.

Just remember everyone: Today is a marathon, not a sprint.

Happy viewing!

Kevin Connelly is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at kconnelly@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Connelly_Vindy.