I’ve always found it ironic that the NHL champions are crowned every year after the unofficial start of summer, but that doesn’t mean it should be relegated to the drain as the ice begins to melt.

By the end of the weekend, we’ll know whether the Stanley Cup finals are a best-of-3 series or the white-gloved handlers are putting on an extra shine in anticipation of handing it off to a bunch of ice skaters who like to take round-trips on the ice with sports’ most recognizable trophy lofted high above their heads.

Game 4 from Pittsburgh returns to NBC (KSDK-Ch. 5) again with a puck dropping at 7 p.m. Monday’s Game 5 starts at 7 p.m. as well on NBC.

As for the other pro playoffs — arena style — the NBA Eastern Conference finals resume with the Celtics and Pistons tipping off at 7:30 p.m. tonight on ESPN. If Boston wins tonight, they’re in — The Finals. I’m not a fan of the NBA’ers anymore, but I’ll tune in to a Lakers-Celtics battle for hardwood supremacy (even if Boston would have bought their NBA Finals invite this season) should it materialize.

Cards welcome the Bucs back into town from Pittsburgh for a four-game extended weekend series at Busch Stadium. Friday (7:15 p.m.), Saturday (6:15 p.m.) and Monday (7:15 p.m.) games are on FSN Midwest. Sunday’s tilt sees a 1:15 p.m. first pitch on KSDK (Ch. 5).

Grand Slam, tape-delayed tennis from Paris can be found on the TV airwaves this weekend as well as the various motor sports events on the asphalt. Find the rest of this weekend’s sports TV musts from the Weekend Sports On The Air listings from Friday’s Post-Dispatch.

Until next week….