Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies host the Washington Nationals, in the series finale of what is becoming a budding NL East rivalry.

Contentiousness began a few weeks ago, when Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels hit Nationals rookie Bryce Harper intentionally.

“I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it,” admitted Hamels to reporters after the game.

Hamels later added, “Welcome to the big leagues.”

Tuesday night, with the series tied 2-2, the Miami Heat host the Indiana Pacers, in a pivotal Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal match up.

The winner of Game 5, when an NBA playoff series is knotted at 2-2, goes on to win 83 percent of the time.

Monday night, the New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with the favored Rangers leading the series 2-1.

This is the sixth time that the New York area’s “Hudson River Rivalry” has been played in the NHL’s postseason.

The Rangers have won four of the previous five meetings.

The last time New York and New Jersey played in the Eastern Conference Finals was in 1994, when hockey legend Mark Messier made the famous “guarantee,” with his Rangers team trailing in the series 3-2.

Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics in the pivotal Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals battle, with the favored Celtics leading the series 2-1.

Winning Game 4 is vitally important for Philadelphia, because only eight teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA best-of –seven series.

The last team to accomplish this feat was the Phoenix Suns, when they rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2006.

Beating the 76ers in the playoffs is nothing new for Boston.

Prior to this series, these two franchises have met 18 times in the postseason, with the Celtics winning 11 of those matchups.

Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinals series. The Thunder are looking to go up 2-0, after their resounding 119-90 victory in Game 1.

For the Lakers, this is almost certainly a must-win game, as the legendary franchise is only 2-17 all-time, when losing the first two games of a playoff series.

The last time the Lakers came back from an 0-2 playoff deficit was in 2004, when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

The Indiana Pacers currently hold a 3-1 first round series lead over the short-handed Orlando Magic. The Magic are playing without star center Dwight Howard, who is out for the remainder of the season, as well as the Olympics, with a herniated disc.

If the Pacers win Tuesday night, they will advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2005. This would be a big step for a franchise that has not won a playoff series since Hall of Famer Reggie Miller retired after the 2005 season.

The heavily favored Miami Heat currently hold a 3-0 series lead over the New York Knicks, in their first round NBA playoff matchup, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

The biggest story of the series took place after Game 2, when a distraught Amar'e Stoudemire decided to punch through fire extinguisher glass, resulting in a large laceration on the palm of his left hand.

The New York big man is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s potentially series ending contest, after already having to sit out Game 3.

Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers host the Chicago Bulls, with their first round NBA playoff series tied 1-1. This series took a major turn when Bulls superstar Derrick Rose tore an ACL at the end of Game 1. With the 76ers an eighth seed and the Bulls a number one seed, the injury to Rose made an unlikely upset by the 76ers a very real possibility.

Saturday, the top seeded team in the country, Kentucky, plays #4 seed Louisville, in the first National Semifinal game. The biggest matchup amongst these two teams involves the rivalry between coaches John Calipari and Rick Pitino.

Both men have taken three different schools to the Final Four and this will be the second time that these coaches have met in a Final Four game. In 1996, Pitino, who was ironically coaching Kentucky at the time, beat Calipari, who was on the UMass sidelines.

Kentucky would go on to beat Syracuse, giving Pitino his one and only NCAA championship.

Saturday, #2 seeds Kansas and Ohio State play each other in the late game of the National Semifinals at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Both schools are in very familiar territory, as this will be Kansas' fourteenth Final Four appearance. Ohio State, who is much more known as a football school, is remarkably making their eleventh trip to the Final Four.

Coaches Bill Self and Thad Matta will each be making their second appearances in the event.

Ohio State is looking to win their second NCAA Championship and first since 1960, while Kansas is hoping for their fourth championship.