20/04/2026
The NBA and NHL playoffs began over the weekend. In a way, so did the Premier League playoffs.
They don’t have actual playoffs, of course. But with Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Arsenal, the race for the championship is closer than it has been in weeks. Instead of a dull slog to the finish as we had last season when Liverpool clinched the title by the end of April, it’s looking like we’ll have a true race to the finish over the final five games.
Arsenal are still on top, but City are just three points back with a game in hand. The two teams’ goal difference is only one apart, and goals scored (the second tiebreaker) is only two apart.
Form and history favors City. The remaining fixtures favor Arsenal, but only slightly.
The computers say Arsenal still has an edge. Most of the pundits say the opposite.
However it goes, it should be fun to watch, and of course we’ll have all the games at Danny’s on Soi Buakhao. This week, City are away to Burnley on Wednesday night (2 a.m.), in a fixture moved forward because City will be in the FA Cup semifinals (against Southampton) this Saturday at Wembley. Coincidentally, that match will be played at roughly the same time as Arsenal meet Newcastle a few miles away at the Emirates at 11:30 p.m.
There are other things to follow between now and May 24, the final day of the Premier League season. Fourteen teams still have a shot at the eight European spots for next season. Three teams are still fighting to avoid the final relegation spot along with Burnley and Wolves.
But it’s the race at the top that will attract the most interest, as it should.
Five weeks from now, we’ll have a winner. And five weeks from now, the NBA and NHL will be into their conference championship series, the third of the four rounds that will get them from 16 playoff teams down to one champion.
They’re the two longest playoffs in sports. Another season, really, after the regular season is over. The soonest the NBA could end is June 11, which is Game 4 of what they call The Finals. The NHL hasn’t announced the dates for what it calls the Stanley Cup Final, but they say it will end no later than June 21.
By that time, the World Cup will have already begun.
Because of the time difference, we won’t show that many of the NBA or NHL games live at Danny’s. But we will have some live games on the weekends.
This Saturday, Game 3 of the Detroit Pistons-Orlando Magic first-round series tips off at midnight, followed by Game 3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Phoenix Suns series. Sunday, it’s the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors at midnight, followed by the San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers.
In the NHL, we’ll have Game 4 of the Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators Saturday at 2 a.m., with Game 4 of the Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins Sunday at 1 a.m.
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A couple of holidays with sports implications this week. Today is Patriots Day in Massachusetts, and that means both the Boston Marathon (8 p.m. our time) and the Boston Red Sox’s traditional morning game (10:10 p.m. here, vs. the Detroit Tigers).
Saturday is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, which means moving pregame ceremonies before each of this weekend’s games in both the AFL and NRL. The traditional ANZAC Day game at the MCG, between Melbourne rivals Collingwood and Essendon, will start at 12:15. Just a bit later, at 1 p.m., the NRL’s traditional ANZAC Day game between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters will kick off.
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Snooker’s world championship began today at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with 32 players competing over the next two weeks for a £500,00 first prize. Play starts most days at 4 p.m. our time for the daytime session, with the night session starting at 1 a.m.
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Cup semifinals this week in England, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal. Man City-Southampton on Saturday, Chelsea-Leeds on Sunday in the FA Cup. Leverkusen-Bayern Munich Wednesday and Stuttgart-Freiburg Thursday in the DFB Pokal. Inter Milan-Como Tuesday and Atalanta-Lazio Wednesday in the Coppa Italia. Lens-Toulouse Tuesday and Strasbourg-Nice Wednesday in the Coupe de France. Porto-Sporting Wednesday and Torreense-Fafe Thursday in the Taca de Portugal.
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Only two weeks left in the EFL Championship season, with two rounds of games this week and a final round on May 4. Coventry have already clinched promotion, but it’s tight for the second automatic promotion spot and for the four spots in the playoffs.
Yes, playoffs. We get back to that, because they do have them in England.
Just not (technically) in the Premier League.
