The Thunder were tied at two games a piece with the Lakers going into Tuesday. Who saw that coming? Tim Tebow was drafted in the first round by the Broncos. Who saw that coming? The Yankees currently look like the best team in baseball. Well, I suppose we all saw that one coming. The point here, however, is that while sports fans can sometimes see what lies up ahead on the horizon, we can only see so far. So let's enjoy what the world of sports has to offer today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow (no, not the Dennis Quaid classic), and we'll worry about the three-and-a-half months of sunshine when it's time. Here is a taste of what to expect during what should prove to be one of the most memorable summers in sports history.

10. The UEFA Champions League Final

It wasn't the Final everyone wanted, nor the one anyone predicted, but the summer will kick off on May 22 when Bayern Munich battles Inter Milan live from Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of the team that saw Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder as surplus to requirements and let them go to Bavaria and Milan, respectively. Revenge never felt so sweet.

9. MLB Trade Deadline

July 31, 2010 is the date, and the names being moved are still TBD. It's obviously way too early to even start predicting who might be moved, but I'm going to do it anyway. The Padres may be leading the NL West now, but by late July that reality likely will be no more than a midsummer night's dream. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez and reliever Heath Bell are two commodities that San Diego had shopped around this offseason to no avail, but whose monikers are almost certain to resurface at the deadline. Miguel Cabrera, Adam Dunn, Grady Sizemore and Zack Greinke are four more that could be dealt as a result of playing for mediocre ball clubs. The event has lost steam the last couple of years with fewer and fewer blockbusters going down, but never doubt the power of the MLB trade deadline; it works for the Yankees almost every time. We all remember Aaron Boone, don't we?

8. NBA Draft

Again, not the most exciting event of the year in the NBA, but definitely up there, especially when you consider the fact that this year's draft will follow one of the most memorable NCAA tournaments in which former unknown players grabbed the spotlight and captivated a nation and its scouts (maybe I'm just talking about Butler, but who's going to fault me for that?). Kentucky's John Wall is projected to go number one overall, followed by Ohio St.'s Evan Turner and Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors. Just which teams will select these burgeoning superstars remains to be seen as the NBA Draft Lottery will tell us in due time. And if the Nets don't get first dibs, well, then the basketball gods are just cruel.

7. Hard Knocks

Okay. Obviously if the annual hit HBO program that brings an NFL team, their training camp, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans right to your television screen was showcasing a team other than the Jets, my excitement level would be equated to that of seeing a Brunswick cop at Crack House on a Saturday night. But this summer, Hard Knocks will feature the Jets, and with the unfamiliar faces of LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes and Jason Taylor joining forces with Mark Sanchez, Nick Mangold and Braylon Edwards under the guidance of the unpredictable Rex Ryan, this summer's installment should be a fun one to watch. It might also be the first time Hard Knocks features the eventual Super Bowl champs. I'm just sayin'...

6. Stanley Cup Finals

For those of you who still watch the NHL, predicting the postseason's outcome has been relatively easy the last few years with the Penguins and Red Wings meeting in the Finals the last two seasons, and it could very well happen a third time, as both teams have advanced to the conference quarterfinals. Just look out for those Philadelphia Flyers, and, much to my chagrin, those pesky Boston Bruins.

5. The NBA Finals

The Orlando Magic were one Courtney Lee layup and one giant meltdown away from sending the Lakers to a Game 7 last year, in a series whose brevity belied its excitement. But will the Lakers even make it back to defend their crown? Will Orlando have enough firepower to trump LeBron and his coasting Cavs? And will we finally see Kobe and King James square off when it really counts? Stay tuned. All I know is, June can't come soon enough.

4. AL East

Going into Tuesday, the Rays were atop baseball's most competitive division at 14-5—the best record in the majors. Just behind them though sat the Yankees at 12-6—baseball's third-best record (Minnesota, 13-6). In third were the Blue Jays at 10-9, and in fourth the Red Sox at 8-11 (We'll just ignore the Orioles for now). Clearly, Boston, with their impenetrable rotation, is a much better team than their record indicates, and they will turn it around eventually, but they better do it quickly with Tampa Bay and New York both playing near-flawless baseball thus far. And the race for first and the wild card will be only half of what to watch for. If this baseball realignment talk is for real, 2010 could prove to be a pivotal year in moving toward the possible dispersing of teams into different divisions to promote better competition. Roughly translated: wave goodbye to the Yanks, Sox and Rays sharing the same division; it might be the end of baseball as we know it.

3. The Summer Transfer Window

It will begin in England on June 1 and will remain open until August 31, but you can bet few moves will be made before the conclusion of this summer's World Cup, a.k.a. the perfect opportunity for youthful unknowns to step into the spotlight and showcase their talent. Bayern Munich's Franck Ribéry, Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, and Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka are just a handful of big names that could be switching kits this summer, with hundreds more to follow. Just don't be surprised if most of them find their way to Real Madrid.

2. NBA Free Agency

LeBron. Wade. Bosh. Nowiztki. Stoudemire. The list goes on...and on...and on...It is very possible that this summer will change the entire landscape of the NBA. Teams that were once confined to the basement might suddenly take over the league after signing a player or two from what is unquestionably the most overwhelmingly talented pool of unrestricted free agents in the modern era to date. As a rabid Knicks fan, the imminent shopping spree that will supposedly be carried out by President of basketball operations Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D'Antoni may just make the club's recent decade of ineptitude worth enduring. That, and hopefully Isiah Thomas will stop haunting my dreams.

1. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa

32 teams. One champion. And not only will team USA play England in the group stages, they actually have a pretty good chance of doing some damage this summer: the first time Africa has ever hosted the world's greatest tournament. Need I say more?