The NFL draft and first month of MLB baseball are behind us, and soon the opening round of the NBA playoffs will be as well. Yet sports fans are looking forward anxiously to what lies ahead. April was a great month for sports, with those already mentioned and the NHL playoffs, along with great stories such as A-Rod's record-breaking start, which could turn his nickname to "Hot Rod" rather quickly if it continues.

With that in mind, let's look ahead to the future, and in particular, this coming weekend to see what great storylines may emerge to join those of April 2007.

Floyd Mayweather vs.

Oscar De La Hoya

Saturday, May 5

This fight — titled "Mayweather vs. De La Hoya: The World Awaits" — is already being billed as the last great boxing match of our time. This much anticipated match-up will be for the junior middleweight championship and will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. Mayweather is not only putting his title on the line against the challenger De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs), but also his undefeated 37-0 record. Many believe Mayweather to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, while De La Hoya is widely considered in the top five.

While "Pretty Boy Floyd" has dominated the sport of boxing and his weight division since he arrived, De La Hoya has become just as popular a figure in the sport. "The Golden Boy" has fought the best fighters in the world and has the reputation of not backing down from anyone. In his last fight Sept. 18, 2006, De La Hoya fought Bernard Hopkins in a title unification bout with the WBF and IBC middleweight championships on the line. It was a close fight. After succumbing to a knockout in the ninth round, De La Hoya was praised by his opponent Hopkins and boxing analysts alike.

Many point to the lack of any real star power to carry the sport as its ratings continue to wilt. Well, Mayweather and De La are two such stars able to keep people interested. This is a highly anticipated and much-hyped fight, so hopefully it won't disappoint.

My take: Look for Mayweather to continue his domination of the middleweight division by earning a unanimous decision win over De La Hoya.

The Kentucky Derby

Saturday, May 5

The search for the next Triple Crown winner is as fervent in sports as the search for Osama Bin Laden is by the government. It is so sought after that last year's Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, became an instant sensation when he won by such a large margin. The fact that the horse was undefeated and looked to have no weakness didn't hurt, either. The point of the matter is that sports journalists everywhere hype up the Triple Crown races, beginning with the Kentucky Derby, to such proportions that the Derby winner becomes a national hero overnight. That quickly dissipated for Barbaro when the horse shattered a bone in his hind leg as he left the gates at the Preakness Stakes later that year. Sadly for Barbaro and his fans, the injury proved fatal.

Another draw of the Kentucky Derby is that it also brings out the elite of the South. It is an event for the higher-up socialites and is renowned for its wonderful display of hat couture and $200 mint juleps.

The field has yet to be officially set — that happens later today on ESPN with the gate positions chosen at that time. However, one rule to go by is to stay away from the favorite and choose a horse that closes well — not that I condone betting.

Round two of the NBA playoffs

As mentioned above, the first round of the playoffs is all but over, and although it was completely dull save for a few series, namely the Dallas vs. Golden State tilt, it appears that the best (thankfully) is still to come. With match-ups like Chicago vs. Detroit, as well as Phoenix vs. San Antonio and Golden State vs. Houston possibly to look forward to, the second round looks to be quite promising.

Reach Anthony Dion at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.