Do your Memorial Day weekend plans include watching hockey? The Minnesota Wild will play the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series tonight.
Or, are you thinking you'll do something else on the unofficial start to summer and avoid what you feel is certain disappointment for a Minnesota sports fan in a big game?
Well, it's not a big sample size, but Minnesota-based teams actually have a pretty good record in Game 7s.
Current Minnesota teams (Twins, Wild, Timberwolves) are a combined 6-1 in Game 7s. Franchises that have left the state (Lakers, North Stars) were 5-5.
That's 11 up, 6 down.
Two of the current teams have a perfect mark in Game 7s.
The Wild are 3-0 and the Timberwolves 1-0. The Twins have the lone setback and are 2-1.
Of the teams that have left the state, the Minneapolis Lakers were 2-1 and the Minnesota North Stars 3-4.
Here's a quick rundown of those 17 Game 7s in state history.
TWINS (2-1)
1965 World Series: Dodgers 2, Twins 0
Pitching on two days rest, Sandy Koufax threw a three-hit shutout against the Twins.
Third baseman Jim Gilliam made a diving stop of a hard grounder down the line by Zoilo Versalles after the Twins had put runners on first and second with one out and had two hits. Lou Johnson and future Twins catcher John Roseboro each had an RBI.
1987 World Series: Twins 4, Cardinals 2
Frank Viola pitched eight innings for the win, with Jeff Reardon recording the save in the ninth.
The Twins tied the score 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Kirby Puckett's double brought in Greg Gagne. In the next inning, Gagne's two-out infield single with the bases loaded drove in the eventual winning run.
1991 World Series: Twins 1, Braves 0 (10 innings)
I was fortunate enough to have been at the Metrodome for Game 7 of the 1991 World Series while working in Mitchell, S.D.
In one of the greatest pitching performances in World Series history, St. Paul native Jack Morris threw 10 shutout innings, allowing seven hits, walking two and striking out eight.
Lonnie Smith's baserunning gaffe is remembered well by Twins fans. The Atlanta outfielder led off the eighth inning with a single. On a hit-and-run, Terry Pendleton doubled to left-center. However, Gagne and second baseman Chuck Knoblauch faked starting a double play by pretending to force Smith at second. That slowed Smith down just enough to prevent him from scoring.
The Twins won it in the bottom of the 10th as Gene Larkin's fly-ball single brought in Dan Gladden with the lone run of the game.
WILD (3-0)
2003 Western Conference quarterfinal: Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)
Andrew Brunette netted the winner against Colorado goalie Patrick Roy. Pascal Dupuis and Marian Gaborik scored the other Minnesota goals.
The Wild had trailed 3-1 in the series. Manny Fernandez was the winning goaltender in the final three games for the Wild and made 43 saves in the finale.
2003 Western Conference semifinal: Wild 4, Canucks 2
The Wild came back from a 3-1 deficit for the second consecutive series and won Game 7 after trailing 2-0.
Darby Hendrickson's goal at 14:48 of the third broke a 2-2 tie. Dupuis added an insurance marker on power play at 17:27.
The Wild became the first team in NHL history to win two Game 7s on the road in the same playoff season.
2014 Western Conference first round: Wild 5, Avalanche 4 (OT)
The Wild trailed 2-0 in this series and trailed Game 7 four times.
Jared Spurgeon tied it at 17:33 of the third and then Nino Niedreiter won it 5:02 into overtime.
Darcy Kuemper allowed 4 goals on 21 shots and was lifted in the third period. Ilya Bryzgalov, who only played 12 games for the Wild after appearing in 33 games with Edmonton, got the win by stopping the only shot he saw in 13:15.
TIMBERWOLVES (1-0)
2004 Western Conference semifinals: Timberwolves 83, Kings 80
Kevin Garnett had 32 points and 21 rebounds. Sam Cassell had 23 points and seven assists and Latrell Sprewell added 14 points as the Wolves advanced to the conference finals for the lone time in franchise history.
Doug Christie was Sacramento's leading scorer with 21 points.
NORTH STARS (3-4)
1968 Western Conference quarterfinals: North Stars 9, Kings 4
Cesare Maniago was in goal in all seven games in the series for the North Stars, posting a save percentage of .907 (205 saves on 226 shots).
Wayne Connelly was the leading goal scorer with four. Dave Balon and Bill Goldsworthy tied for the lead in points with seven as they each had three goals and four assists.
1972 Western Conference quarterfinals: Blues 2, North Stars 1 (OT)
The North Stars had a 3-2 series lead, but St. Louis would win the final two games including Game 7 at Met Center.
1980 quarterfinals North Stars 3, Canadiens 2
The road team won 5 of the 7 games in the series including the first 4. The North Stars were 3-1 at the Montreal Forum in the series.
Al McAdam scored the winning goal with only 1:26 remaining in regulation.
Gilles Meloche made 22 saves for Minnesota and Denis Herron had 27 stops for the Canadiens.
On a side note, I was living in Albert Lea at the time and we had a couple car loads of guys drive 35 miles to Owatonna to watch the game on TV because it wasn't available at home.
1984 Norris Division finals: North Stars 4, Blues 3
Steve Payne scored the winner at 6:00 of overtime.
Willi Plett had tied the game at 14:21 of the third after the Blues had taken the lead only 15 seconds earlier.
1990 Norris Division semifinals Blackhawks 5, North Stars 2
Jeremy Roenick and Wayne Presley each scored two goals in Game 7 at Chicago Stadium, all in the second period.
Don Barber and Ulf Dahlen scored for the North Stars.
1992 Norris Division semifinals: Red Wings 5, North Stars 2
In the North Stars' final playoff game, Brian Bellows and Mike Craig scored for Minnesota. Jon Casey made 26 saves for the North Stars.
LAKERS (2-1)
1952 NBA Finals: Lakers 82, Knicks 65
George Mikan had 22 points and 19 rebounds for the Lakers.
Pep Saul and Bob Harrison each scored 14.
1954 NBA Finals: Lakers 87, Nationals 80
Clyde Lovellette had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench to help the Lakers past Syracuse.
George Mikan scored only four points but had 15 rebounds and announced his retirement after helping Minneapolis win its final NBA title.
1960 West Division finals: Hawks 97, Lakers 86
In the Lakers' final game for Minneapolis, they lost Game 7 in St. Louis. Research indicates they moved to Los Angeles.
Elgin Baylor had 33 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers.
Bob Pettit was one of five Hawks in double figures, scoring 28 points.