Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" begins, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..."

We could use that line to describe the next two weeks or so in the world of sport. This is the annual period when there is so much crammed onto our plate that we wonder if we have the strength to devour it all. It's the best of times if your team wins and the worst of times if your heroes lose. But it is certainly a fulsome time.

In the next fortnight, we will have the Final Four, the start of the NBA playoffs, the opening of the baseball season, The Masters golf tournament (complete with the return of you know who), the annual Oxford/Cambridge boat race (which started in 1829), the big Mixed Martial Arts show at State Fair Park, the NHL playoffs and -- if the weather permits -- there will be a Milwaukee County golf course or two opening for play.

What this brings to mind, of course, is gluttony, and the need to ration our attention. We can't possibly watch all of this stuff. So we have to make decisions.

Since some people think (don't number me among them) that the government is trying to control everything in our lives. Let's pretend that Obama the Sports Czar has issued a decree that each of us can only watch one sporting event for the rest of our lives. What would it be? Talk about tough decisions.

First, you've got to decide if it's a one-day event you want (like the Kentucky Derby or the Super Bowl) or if you want an event that is spread over several days (like the World Series or the NBA playoffs). Remember, though, whatever you pick is going to be your only event.

There are only a few legitimate candidates for this decision. The World Series is one. The NCAA basketball tournament is another. The NBA playoffs also qualify, along with one of the major golf tournaments. The single-day events include the Super Bowl, the Indy 500 and the Kentucky Derby.

I'm taking all all-star games off the list. Baseball has a game that actually means a little bit, but the other sports have cheap events that don't mean anything. The old game when a team of college all-stars played the NFL champ was kind of interesting, but today all-star games don't even come close to making the list.

First let's look at the NCAA basketball tournament, which is is hard to ignore because it has so many of the things that make sports great. It has big-time teams against small-time teams. It has upsets. It has wide geographic appeal. It's got pep bands and cheerleaders and more cheerleaders and dance teams and cheerleaders. The pace is frenzied and the passions run deep. From the start, with 65 teams, to the end, with one champion, the tournament is spectacular. The problem is that if you don't have a team in the tourney, it can be hard to get into it.

Two events that come close to the top of the list are the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby. They both have a ton of history and dozens of back stories. Upsets are moderately frequent and the personalities are well defined and colorful. But they are still horses and cars, and it's hard to root for something that isn't human.

The Masters is one of my all-time favorite sporting events. I watch it religiously on television every year and I've attended three four events in person. It has a lot of drama and a million good stories. But there is something about the rigid regulation of the men who run the tournament that has always rankled me a bit. Crowds play an important part in my enjoyment, and the crowds are reduced to whispering afterthoughts at the Masters. I also love Wimbledon and the US Open tennis tournaments, but they don't make it to the top of my list.

What it comes down to is the World Series, the NBA Finals and the Super Bowl. All are special.

But the World Series gets eliminated from my list because nobody is exhausted at the end of the game. Part of my enjoyment as a spectator is watching the agony of incredible effort take its toll on a body. Baseball, for all its drama, doesn't require the kind of sustained physical effort that a championship demands.

So, I am left with the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals.

I've watched every Super Bowl  and have attended five or six of them. The whole production is a wave of over-the-top events that the game rarely matches. But it's just about the biggest sports event in the entire world, including (for all you soccer fans) the World Cup. It's got great athletes and physical demands that we can only imagine.

But the NBA Finals win out in the end for several reasons. One is that the best-of-seven format creates more ebb and flow. We can get such incredible swings in the fortunes of the two teams that you can live or die with each development. In addition, basketball is so much easier to see than football. You can see the drama etched on the faces of the players, the exhaustion, the determination. Think of Michael Jordan and his tongue.

I'm glad I never have to make the decision about which event is the greatest, but if forced to do so, the NBA Finals win by a slim margin.