Well, the NBA and NHL playoffs have come around again, and a good theme for this year’s wacky first round could be the title of that famous soap opera, “The Young and the Restless.” Really, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.

The Timberwolves, Nets, Blazers, Lakers, Senators, Sharks, Sabers and Coyotes are young. The Sonics, Rockets, Jazz, Bulls, Knicks, Heat, Devils, Red Wings and Flyers are restless. And for the most part, the young are having their way with the restless, especially in the NBA’s Western Conference and the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Behold! Seattle and Utah, the two teams who had shaken off the image of choking before getting to the finals the past two years are on the ropes. Seattle is about to be knocked out by a young, inexperienced and much injured Minnesota team, while Utah is about to be knocked out by a desperate, injury-racked, but very talented group of Rockets.

Two dominant NHL teams of the 1990s, New Jersey and Philadelphia, the numbers one and three seeds respectively in the Eastern Conference, are on the verge of being routed by Ottawa and Buffalo. Ottawa is a team that is practically an expansion franchise, while Buffalo fired its coach after last season.

Actually, each series has a soap opera, movie or talk show you could compare it to. Let me demonstrate:

T-wolves vs. Sonics: “North by Northwest” or “Northern Exposure.” Just due to geography. And if the Sonics lose, one could say they’ve had too much Northern Exposure.

Rockets vs. Jazz: “Dallas.” Partly due to geography and also due to the fact that the series is about a bunch of old guys engaged in power struggles and struggling to recapture past glories.

Bulls vs. Nets: The Bulls win first round series as regularly “As the World Turns,” so that’s the soap for this series.

Heat vs. Knicks: “The Jerry Springer Show.” These two teams hate each other, ever since Pat Riley left the Knicks for the Heat. Hey, there are even family connections, as Jeff Van Gundy, an ex-Riley assistant, is coach of the Knicks, while his brother Stan Van Gundy is the Heat’s assistant coach.

Lakers and Blazers: Any soap opera of your choice. The Blazers are the prototypical soap opera. Young players who are good at what they do but have all sorts of off-the-court problems.

Flyers and Sabers: “The Jenny Jones Show.” Dominik Hasek has undergone a makeover from playoff choker to playoff star, and Miroslav Satan has been devilishly destroying the Flyers. Eric Lindros has shown that he is a whining loser, and the bottom line is that the Flyers blow.

Senators and Devils: “Mighty Ducks.” You have the little guy winning out against the bigger, stronger favorites.

Heck, even the Daily office can resemble a soap opera sometimes, with all the co-editors and all. But it’s been fun all year long, and I hope to be writing again next year.

Before I go though, I would like to thank my editors Amanda and Drew, Bill Yungclas, Bill Fennelly and Monty for helping me out with my columns, and to everybody who has made the year the blast it’s been.

Jayadev Athreya is a junior in mathematics and computer science from Ames.