Happy Monday everyone! It was quite a weekend in sports between the Kentucky Derby, NBA/NHL playoffs, a whale of a series between the Cubs and Yankees, plus a bombshell announcement in the world of boxing. To put it simply, this was a great Cinco de Mayo weekend.

MLB: It’s Time to Take the Yankees Seriously

Well folks, I jokingly asked on the podcast last week if the Bronx Bombers were back. It turns out we might have gotten that answer over the weekend. A three-game sweep of the defending world champion Cubs will do that for you. This mix of young and old for New York has been working wonders this year, with this weekend possibly being the best example.

Hell, winning that wild 18-inning marathon after your All-Star closer blew the lead in the ninth was a pretty solid cap off the weekend. This is after the Yanks bludgeoned Cubs starter Brett Anderson on Saturday night. I can only imagine how this series might have went if Brett Gardner didn’t save New York on Friday afternoon with a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning.

For the Yankees, this weekend served as a shot heard around the league. Any American League team with sights on the pennant this year will have to go through the Bronx to do so. We have a long way to go, but this is one New York team that has the look of a contender.

This doesn’t mean nearly as much to the Cubs though. Chicago still hasn’t even come close to gelling as a team, and when they do it will be quite scary. Be on the lookout for Joe Maddon to get creative with motivating his team. If you are a magician, zoologist, street performer, etc. in the Chicago area, keep your phone on this week.

Boxing: Canelo Dominates, Showdown With GGG Set

What a difference a week makes in boxing. Last week we were all talking about one of the best heavyweight fights in over a decade. This week we aren’t event talking about the fight that took place in the ring, but the announcement of a superfight afterwards.

Saturday night featured a long-awaited bout between Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to determine who is the best Mexican boxer. Alvarez moved up two weight classes to take the fight, and you would have never realized it by watching the bout. Canelo flat out dominated fight from opening bell to closing bell and swept the judges scorecards for an impressive unanimous decision victory (120-108, 120-108, 120-108).

Alvarez wasted no time letting the world know what was next for him. In pro wrestling fashion Alvarez announced his next fight would be against the undefeated, unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin on September 16. Cue a highlight package, some entrance music, and Golovkin made his way to the ring to stare down the challenger to his title.

As good as Joshua-Klitschko was last week, this is the type of fight that Mayweather-Pacquiao should have been.

Always Dreaming Wins the Kentucky Derby

If you were only interested in the winner, the Kentucky Derby really didn’t offer many surprises. Always Dreaming was the favorite to win the race at post time and did so by taking a late lead while staving off a wild charge by the pack down the stretch. A muddy track made for this race to feel more wide open than many of the previous few Derbys. So now America waits to see if Always Dreaming will be the next horse to do the near impossible feat of winning the Triple Crown.

On a gambling note, if you had the superfecta in this race, give yourself a pat on the back with your near $79,000 stack of cash. Bravo.

NBA (East): Washington Evens Boston, Cleveland Sweeps Toronto

Geez, we’re on the fourth story from the weekend and we’re just getting to the playoffs. This is why the first weekend of May is so great for sports. Just to get this out of the way, Cleveland completed its sweep of Toronto and will now await the winner of Boston-Washington. The Cavaliers could be waiting awhile though.

Boston held serve at home in the first two games, but how would this series look after the weekend in Washington? As fate would have it, we could be in for the long haul with this one. The Wizards emphatically won Game 3 and Game 4 at home, evening the series at two games apiece setting up a virtual best-of-three to determine who faces Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.

Hopefully the games will be a little closer though as the intensity has ramped up considerably between these Atlantic Division rivals. Game 3 saw the season-long animosity with these teams finally boil over as Kelly Oubre Jr. clocked Kelly Olynyk with a forearm shiver. Oubre Jr. was ejected and received a one-game suspension for his actions. It didn’t make much of a difference in Game 4 though, as John Wall completely took over in the second half, leading the Wizards to a huge victory.

While the NBA’s second round hasn’t exactly been that great, this series could finally provide us with some worthwhile games down the stretch.

 NBA (West): Battle of Texas Heats Up, Golden State Looking to Sweep

Over in the Western Conference, we are seeing almost the same type of story playing out. Golden State is making short work of Utah, and will look to close out the series tonight on the road. While Cleveland benefits immensely from sweeps, Golden State would be wise to end its series while they can. San Antonio-Houston looks like it could be going the distance, and the Warriors could make its road to the NBA Finals just a bit easier with almost a week’s worth of rest.

The Battle of Texas is living up to its moniker as the Spurs and Rockets split both games in Houston over the weekend. Each won its game by a wide margin, and sets up an intriguing conclusion over the course of this week. A season-ending injury to Nene could change the outlook of this series though.

Houston’s big man has been great this season, but losing that inside presence could have huge ramifications during the next two-to-three games. Nene is really the only player who can defend the inside against LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol, which could make for some tough sledding for Houston’s already questionable defense.

Offensively, the Rockets have thrived on the three-pointer as they have done for much of the season. However, this injury could put much more pressure on James Harden and Patrick Beverley to be effective on their drives to the basket. I also wonder how this will affect the Rockets when San Antonio matches up Kawhi Leonard on Harden.

NHL: Anaheim-Edmonton Game 7 Will Be Must-See TV

It’s taken awhile, but we will finally get a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’ll have to wait to find out if Washington and New York can each force a seventh game. If not, Anaheim-Edmonton should still serve as a hell of a conclusion to the second round, so set up that reminder on your cable box now.

Game 5 between these two gave us one of the most improbable comebacks of the entire postseason (yes, even better than Cleveland’s 26-point comeback in the NBA). Edmonton led 3-0 on the road for much of the game, but then things got crazy when Anaheim went into desperation mode.

The Ducks literally pulled out all the stops in the final three minutes of regulation to try to extend the game. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson became a bystander on the bench as the Ducks went with an empty net and six attackers for the final 180 seconds. Constant pressure and some puck luck resulted in three goals in about 160 seconds to force overtime.

If this game couldn’t get any crazier, they needed a second overtime to finally get a game-winning goal. Corey Perry played the hero for Anaheim to cap off a wild comeback and gave the Ducks a crucial Game 5 victory.

With their backs against the wall in Game 6, Edmonton showed no signs of an emotional letdown after blowing Game 5. The Oilers sent the home crowd into a frenzy with an offensive blitzkrieg in the opening period scoring five times and essentially ending the game before it ever started. Edmonton never looked back, notched an emphatic 7-1 victory in Game 6 to set up a climactic Game 7 on Wednesday night.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new edition of “Curtain Call” to update my power rankings in the MLB. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.