Thomas Gase Guide: Oh, the places we'll go!

The calendar has turned to June, which means I constantly head to bed, with my brain remembering, just before sleep hits, that iconic "Pomp and Circumstance."

Yep, it's graduation season, and I feel I'll hear this song a billion times over and over and over again. You know the song actually has lyrics. "Thissssss song is looooonnng. Sooooo freaking loooooonnng."

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the graduates, many of whom I've covered playing sports for four years. Seeing them move on to the next phase in their lives reminds me that I myself am getting much older.

However, at a recent graduation, I couldn't believe how every single senior seemed to have a lei covered with multiple $20 bills attached. Man, I graduated at the wrong time. All I got when I graduated high school 30 years ago was my mother reading, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. I remember sitting on the couch, hugging her and just bawling like it was the end of "Field of Dreams." Not sure if I was crying over all the places I would actually go, but one of the main ones would be Vallejo.

I'll let you, the reader, make that choice.

It was a great moment with my mom that I will always treasure. However, after seeing these leis filled with cash, I kind of feel like I'm Bill Murray in "Caddyshack" with the Dolly Llama - "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know."

Nope, I got Seuss and a hug. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

I also cringe sometimes at the graduation speeches. Two years ago, a valedictorian at a school I won't mention used a great quote in her speech, saying, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

I remember smiling, then frowning when she continued by saying the line was from Taylor Swift (It was originally uttered by the late great coach John Wooden). I wouldn't have rolled my eyes at the speaker if she hadn't then said she was going to UCLA for college. I guess school is always in session.

I shouldn't make fun, I know. I recently looked at my own yearbook and saw my high school quote: "Stop looking at me, swan!" from the Adam Sandler film, "Billy Madison." Hey, that's how we talked during lunchtime. I didn't quote the bible or Hemingway.

Once, just once, I'd love to have a valedictorian quote from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in their speech. Just act all unprepared (I mean, school is over) and utter, "Things are more moderner than before. Bigger ... and yet ... smaller! It's computers ... San Diemas High School football rules!!!"

Okay, that likely won't happen, but dare to dream, Thomas, dare to dream.

The end is also starting this week in sports, especially with the kind of finals we like to study for. The Carolina Hurricanes will match up against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in hockey for Lord Stanley, while the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks will play once again like it's 1999 (cue the Prince song).

So before you hit the beaches and vacation resorts, here's where to go to watch the biggest games in sports this week. Let's have the Thomas Gase Guide show you all the places you'll go.

Tuesday

Local sports have come to an end, except for Vanden High School's softball team, which hosts Hollister in the Division II NorCals on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Vanden lost the section championship, but hopes to have even more success in the state playoffs as the No. 4 seed.

After watching that game, head home and turn on the start of the Stanley Cup Finals. Carolina waited nearly two weeks to play the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinals and promptly showed its rust by losing the first game. The rust wore off quickly with the Hurricanes winning the next four games to eliminate Montreal. In the last 33 years, there have been five champions from the state of Florida, three more from California, and another from Texas. The amount from Canada?

Zero. Ouch.

Carolina will be taking on Las Vegas, another city without much ice or snow. Vegas will be trying to win its second title since 2023, while Carolina will try to hoist the Cup for the first time since 2006.

Also, I graduated from high school in 1996. The Carolina Hurricanes didn't exist yet (they were the Hartford Whalers at the time). Neither did the Las Vegas Golden Knights. But each of them has played in multiple Stanley Cup finals since then.

If baseball is your game, the Giants will play the second of three in Milwaukee, while the Athletics begin a series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

Wednesday

The NBA finals start at 5:30 p.m. on ABC. In fact, one nice thing about this series is that every game will be on the same channel and we won't have to go from ABC to NBC to ESPN to Prime to ... well, you get the point.

San Antonio hosts the first game against New York, so we likely won't have to see the camera go to Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, and Ben Stiller throughout each contest. Funny how people hate seeing Taylor Swift in a luxury box at Chiefs' games but won't utter a peep about the front row of Knicks' games being on camera even more.

For the record, I do like Ben Stiller movies, especially "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "Something About Mary." Same with Spike Lee with "Black KkKlansman" and "Do the Right Thing."

The WNBA has action on Wednesday night as well, with Golden State hosting Portland at the Chase Center with a 7 p.m. tipoff.

The A's once again play today at Wrigley, while the Giants continue their series against the Brewers.

Thursday

If the Vanden softball team wins on Tuesday, then the Vikings would play top-seeded Alameda on Thursday at 4 p.m.

The NHL Finals continue on Thursday with Game 2 at Carolina. Don't count out Las Vegas in this game or the first game just because it is on the road. The Golden Knights have won six of their eight games on the road these playoffs.

The Giants play a matinee against Milwaukee with first pitch at 11:10 a.m., while other games of note include the A's ending their series against the Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers ending their four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Toronto Blue Jays ending their series against the Atlanta Braves in a 1992 World Series rematch.

In the WNBA, Golden State travels to Minnesota with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.

Friday

The Spurs and Knicks continue their Finals showdown with Game 2 in San Antonio. This feels like the year of the Spurs, and I think New York has to steal one of these first two games to make it a series.

Meanwhile, the other Bay Area team comes to Wrigley on Friday, with the Giants starting a three-game series with the Cubs. The A's begin a three-game series at Houston. Other series to watch over the weekend include the Boston Red Sox at the New York Yankees, the Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta, and Cincinnati at the St. Louis Cardinals.

The weekend

If you get up at 6 a.m. on Saturday, you can either watch the sunrise or you can tune into TNT to watch the women's final of the French Open. Aryna Sabalenka is a favorite, but anything can happen.

The men's final is on Sunday, also at 6 a.m. on TNT. With Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic losing early in the tournament, the favorite on the men's side seems to be Alexander Zverev, or perhaps Brazilian phenom João Fonseca, who stunned Djokovic in the third round.

If you're looking to watch some NBA action this weekend, don't. For whatever reason, the powers that be didn't want Game 3 - in New York - to be played in prime time on the weekend, instead saving the contest for Monday night. Somebody needs to be fired for this. Why not have that game on Sunday night? I get that flying from San Antonio to New York isn't the shortest flight in the world, but it's also not the longest.

Also, I keep hearing that NBA players are the best athletes in the world. Might want to double-check on that.

Thankfully, there is one NHL game being played on the weekend, Saturday at 5 p.m. in Las Vegas. I love the pre-game activities - a cross between hockey and Medieval Times Dinner.

In fact, if you're in Las Vegas on Saturday, check out the Valkyries visiting Las Vegas at noon that day. You'll still have time to hit the sports book, where you may or may not see some NBA employees. I kid ... or not. Probably not. After all, like Taylor Swift sang, "It's a Cruel Summer."

Okay, it was Bananarama, but who's counting?

Read

"Blood in the Garden" by Chris Herring (to read while the Knicks play in the Finals)

"Let's Play Two - The Life and Times of Ernie Banks" by Doug Wilson (to read while the A's and Giants play at Wrigley)

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 7:31 PM.