As you know, Sip & Savor loves its sports - as does our industry. Nothing goes better with a good ball game than an ice cold beverage, preferably one of our sodas or non-alcoholic beverages - better to keep your focus and your energy up.

Now it is playoff time in two major sports: the NBA and NHL. Already, these sports are featuring some terrific series.

One common thread is the return of Chicago, both in basketball and hockey. Not since the days of Michael Jordan and Chris Chelios have the Bulls and Blackhawks looked so good and brought such excitement to the Windy City. The Cubs and Sox have had to wait their turn this spring to recapture the attention of the Chicago sports fan.

And there's much debate in the sports world on whether a first-round series can qualify as an all-time classic series in the NBA. But if any series fits that mold, and is worthy of that stature, it was the thrilling seven-game series eventually won Saturday night by the Boston Celtics over the Chicago Bulls. Four of the seven games went to overtime. Five of the seven games were decided by one basket. Every game came down to thrilling finishes (don't let the score of Game 7 fool you, as some desperation fouls at the end extended the score for Boston.)

Here in Washington, we're a sea of Red - no, not Nationals red. Capitals Red!

The Caps have thrilled our town all year with our human highlight machine, Alex Ovechkin, and an exciting group of young guys and veterans like Sergei Fedorov - who showed he still has it by helping the Caps rally from down 3-1 to beat the New York Rangers.

Now the Caps are facing their arch-nemesis, the evil Penguins of Pittsburgh. It's Alex Ovechkin vs. pretty-boy Sidney Crosby. A matchup reminiscent of Bird vs. Magic; Jordan vs. Magic-Bird-Isaiah-Malone; Young vs. Aikman; Pedro vs. Roger (or Pedro vs. Zimmer); Jeter vs. Nomar.

The nation's capital is in a frenzy - and this time it's not over the new president or his dog.

Anyway, we know it's baseball season and the call of spring draws us outdoors. But don't forget to watch the playoffs in the NBA and NHL. They're promising to be some of the most thrilling in long time for both these sports. The teams and the superstars are giving these sports a much needed shot in the arm, renewing fan enthusiasm from coast to coast. (Full disclosure: our companies are proud sponsors of these sports and their teams.)

So settle in for watching some exciting nights of action of the courts or the ice over the next few weeks. It's going to be a thrilling ride.