Army-Navy

Anchors aweigh, it's time for Army-Navy.
The service academies have their annual grudge match Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS, and they have the major college football weekend all to themselves.
Navy's been on a roll in the rivalry, winning a series-record seven straight. The Middies would claim a seventh straight Commander-in-Chief's Trophy with a victory.
Navy knows they have another game to play - the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31 - and Army can claim a bowl berth with a victory. If the Middies win, then UCLA will go to the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington.
The smaller colleges are closing in on their championship games. In the Football Championship Series, William & Mary visits Villanova Friday on ESPN2 in one semifinal. The winner awaits Saturday's game on ESPN between Appalachian State and Montana.
ESPN has the Heisman Trophy presentation Saturday at 8 p.m.
For the other kind of college football, the soccer Final Four starts Friday on ESPN2 with Virginia facing Wake Forest at 5 p.m. The winner advances to play either Akron or North Carolina on ESPN2 Sunday at 1 p.m.
The NFL weekend begins Thursday night with the slumping Steelers visiting Cleveland, the first NFL team this season to clinch last place in their division.
The CBS doubleheader in Fishersville will feature division leaders - Cincinnati visits Minnesota early, then San Diego heads to Dallas in the 4:15 p.m. slot. Redskins fans will getto see if their team can beat the Raiders, who have posted comeback wins in two of the last three weeks.
NBC's Sunday Night package offers the Eagles-Giants, and the Cardinals vs. 49ers have the spotlight on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
It's exam time at colleges across the country, so the basketball schedule may be a little lighter.
CBS has Kentucky at Indiana at noon before the Army-Navy game.
ESPN has Syracuse-Florida Thursday at 9 p.m., after ESPN2 shows DePaul vs. Mississippi State. Saturday there's two games on ESPN starting at noon (Ohio State at Butler, then LaSalle-Kansas), while ESPN2 has three games. Virginia Tech visits Penn State at 7 p.m. in the middle of the tripleheader.
Comcast shows Georgetown against Washington Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Eastern Kentucky taking on Maryland. Sunday's game in the ACC package features the non-conference matchup of Rhode Island vs. Boston College.
MASN has a pair of Big East teams in non-conference play Saturday - Western Carolina at Louisville at 4 p.m., followed by West Virginia hosting Coppin St. at 7 p.m.
The Wizards get a spot in TNT's Thursday doubleheader, hosting Boston. Orlando visits Utah in the nightcap. Friday on ESPN, it's the TrailBlazers at the Cavaliers early, then Orlando heads to Phoenix.
Wizards are also on Comcast Saturday, facing Indiana.
The Capitals are home Friday against Carolina, then visit Toronto Saturday on Comcast. There's a hole in Comcast's schedule on Thursday, so they have Ottawa vs. Philadelphia on the schedule.
If you'd like some golf to warm up your weekend, NBC has the Shark Shootout Saturday and Sunday.

Conference championship time

Remember back 20 years ago, when conferences determined their champions through their regularly scheduled games? Then the Southeastern Conference picked up South Carolina and Arkansas to become a 12-team league, and used a rule established for a Division II league to have their own December conference championship game.
Saturday, football fans will be really glad for what they did.
The SEC brings us the de facto national semifinal when top-ranked Florida meets No. 2 Alabama on CBS at 4 p.m. Both teams have finished the regular season 12-0. Both made their way through the tough SEC.
And the winner heads to Pasadena for the national championship game Jan. 7. Fox has the official announcement of BCS bowl pairings Sunday at 8 p.m.
Texas expects to join the SEC winner in Pasadena, and can with a win over Nebraska in the Big 12 championship. ABC has that at 8 p.m., while at the same time in Tampa Bay the ACC championship will be held - matching Georgia Tech and Clemson on ESPN.
Two conferences without a championship game still have final weekend title matchups. In the PAC-10, the winner of Thursday's Oregon-Oregon State game (ESPN, 9 p.m.) will advance to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
In the Big East, it's Cincinnati at Pittsburgh at noon on ABC.
The league championship roundup also includes the MAC, where Ohio faces Central Michigan Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, and the Conference USA matchup between Houston and East Carolina Saturday at noon on ESPN2.
Some other regular season games this weekend include West Virginia-Rutgers (noon, ESPN), Arizona at Southern Cal (3:30 p.m., ABC). South Florida at Connecticut (8 p.m., ESPN2) and Wisconsin at Hawaii (11:30 p.m., ESPN2).
The NFL weekend begins Thursday in Canada, with the Bills hosting the New York Jets on NFL Network.
The Sunday afternoon schedule includes New Orleans at the Redskins and Cowboys at Giants on FOX. CBS in Washington has to avoid going up against the Redskins, so Fishersville gets its first chance to watch the Cleveland Browns when they host San Diego.
Brett Favre and the Vikings visit Arizona Sunday night on NBC, while the Ravens head to Lambeau Field to battle the Packers on ESPN Monday.
There's a smattering of college basketball games over the weekend. ESPN2 shows a pair of contests Thursday - Washington at Texas Tech and USC-Texas - and two games with ACC teams Saturday - St. Johns at Duke at 3:30 p.m., followed by Wake Forest at Gonzaga.
MASN has two contests Thursday - Mt. St. Mary's at Robert Morris at 7 p.m. and Coastal Carolina-VMI at 9 - followed by UNC-Asheville at Gardner-Webb Friday. Saturday there's three games starting at 3 p.m. - N.C. State at Marquette, then George Mason at UNC-Wilmington and Coastal Carolina-Liberty.
Sunday it's Harvard taking on Connecticut at 1 p.m. and the BB&T Classic from Verizon Center starting at 5 p.m. - Navy vs. George Washington in the opener and Maryland facing Villanova in the nightcap.
Comcast has late night Pac-10 action Thursday and Friday - Baylor at Arizona State, then Colorado at Oregon State. Saturday it's a CAA doubleheader - VCU vs. William & Mary at noon, then Georgia State at James Madison.
Sunday night, ESPN2 offers the women's matchup between Texas and Tennessee.
TNT's Thursday NBA doubleheader features the Celtics at San Antonio at 8 p.m., followed by the Heat at Denver. On Friday, ESPN offers Bulls at Cavaliers and follows Miami west for a matchup with the Lakers in the nightcap.
The Wizards host Toronto Friday, then visit the Pistons Sunday at 6 p.m.
The Capitals host Florida Thursday and begin a three-game road trip at Philadelphia Saturday.
The PGA tour has the Chevron World Challenge on NBC this weekend. You might not have known about that until news of Tiger Woods' trouble came out.
Soccer fans can begin gearing up for World Cup 2010 when the 32 teams find out what groups they will be playing in. ESPN2 has coverage of the draw Friday at noon.

Turkey Day football

Do you have your Thanksgiving turkey? The NFL sure does.
First, you have 2-8 Detroit hosting Green Bay.
Then, it's 3-7 Oakland visiting Dallas. (And it took fluke plays Sunday to give them such lofty records).
And NFL Network offers the Giants and Broncos in primetime. Both teams will be happy to see November end.
There's a few more turkeys on the Sunday schedule before you get to the meat of the slate in prime time - Steelers at Ravens on NBC Sunday night, and Patriots at Saints for Monday Night Football.
Locally, it looks like the Sunday afternoon slate will be Redskins at Eagles followed by Bears-Vikings on FOX. CBS goes with the late Sunday game of Jacksonville at San Francisco.
The college football regular season begins winding down this weekend. Thursday, ESPN has Texas at Texas A&M at 8 p.m.
The Black Friday football schedule opens with Rutgers at Louisville at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The deuce adds a primetime doubleheader - Pittsburgh at West Virginia at 7 p.m. followed by Nevada at Boise State.
ABC has a doubleheader - Illinois at Cincinnati at noon and then Nebraska visiting Colorado.
CBS features Auburn-Alabama Friday afternoon, then brings you Florida-Florida State Saturday.
Saturday, ABC has three games in the late afternoon time slot - Virginia Tech at Virginia, Arizona at Arizona State and Missouri-Kansas. In primetime, the choices are Notre Dame at Stanford and Georgia-Georgia Tech.
NBC offers entertaining football and a great halftime show - the Bayou Classic featuring Grambling and Southern.
ESPN has an ACC doubleheader - Clemson vs. South Carolina at noon followed by Miami-South Florida. Then it's Arkansas taking on LSU at 7 p.m. ESPN2's game of the day is North Carolina at North Carolina State at noon.
Wake Forest-Duke is the ACC game of the week. MASN offers Utah State at Idaho Saturday at 5 p.m. Comcast brings you Oklahoma-Oklahoma State at 12:30 p.m., and closes the night with USC-UCLA.
There's time for a few college basketball games. ESPN2 has five games through the day Thanksgiving, starting at noon, and the ESPN family has the Preseason NIT Friday and Old Spice tournament throughout the weekend.
MASN shows some games from the Great Alaska Shootout Thursday and Friday, along with the final and third-place game Saturday night.
The NBA has a Thanksgiving doubleheader - Orlando takes on Atlanta at 8 p.m. and Chicago-Utah is the nightcap. Friday on ESPN, it's the Wizards at Miami early and Suns-Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m.
The Wizards are also on Comcast Saturday when the Bobcats visit Verizon Center.
The Capitals take a post-Thanksgiving road trip, visiting Montreal Saturday on Comcast-plus and Carolina Monday on regular Comcast.

NASCAR at the finish line

After 36 races since February, NASCAR crowns its season champion Sunday.
And sends gearheads into withdrawal for a while - only 12 weeks or so until Darrell Waltrip screams "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity" again at Daytona.
Jimmie Johnson appears on his way to his 4th straight championship, as long as if finishes no worse than 25th. I thought the "Chase for the Cup" was supposed to increase competition and interest down to the final race.
Maybe if other racers could distract Johnson. Give him some projects to do, like the commercials show.
The MLS season also comes to a close, with Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy playing for the MLS Cup Sunday night on ESPN.
There are several big rivalry games on the college football schedule Saturday.
Ohio State takes on Michigan at noon on ABC.
Versus has "The Game" - Harvard at Yale - at noon and Stanford at California (keep that band off the field) at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN begins the weekend Thursday as Colorado visits Oklahoma State. Friday it's Boise State at Utah State on ESPN2.
Other Saturday games include the SEC package on CBS featuring LSU at Mississippi.
ABC shows Virginia-Clemson and Penn State-Michigan State in the late afternoon, with Oregon at Arizona and Kansas-Texas in primetime.
At noon, ESPN has Minnesota at faltering Iowa. ESPN2 has North Carolina-Boston College at noon and Kentucky at Georgia in primetime.
Maryland visiting Florida State is the ACC game of the week.
Notre Dame closes at its home schedule - and possibly the Charlie Weis era - against Connecticut on NBC.
MASN has Louisville-South Florida at noon, followed by UAB at East Carolina. Comcast shows Oklahoma at Texas Tech at 12:30 p.m. Versus has a 3:30 p.m. game featuring San Diego State at Utah in between its rivalry games.
In the NFL, Indianapolis will try to remain undefeated when taking on Baltimore in the CBS early game. The prime late afternoon game features the Jets at Patriots, and locally FOX will show the Redskins at Cowboys.
The Eagles visit the Bears Sunday night, while the suddenly resurgent Titans visit Houston on Monday night. Keep an eye on that owner's box.
The Dolphins visit Carolina Thursday on NFL Network.
ESPN2 has a college basketball tripleheader on Thursday. Indiana visits Mississippi at 5 p.m., followed by Syracuse-California and North Carolina-Ohio State. Comcast offers Florida State-Mercer Saturday at 4:30 p.m., while Sunday, MASN shows Morgan State-Louisville at 1 p.m.
TNT's NBA doubleheader Thursday features the Suns at New Orleans, followed by Bulls-Lakers. ESPN has Orlando visiting Boston for its early Friday game, with Nuggets-Clippers as the nightcap.
The Wizards have a Southwest swing this weekend, visiting Oklahoma City Friday and San Antonio Saturday.
The Capitals have a Canadian tour after hosting Montreal Friday on Comcast. Then it's off to Toronto Saturday and Ottawa Monday.

November Super battle

For several years, one of the biggest NFL regular season games has been Indianapolis-New England. It's usually gotten prime coverage in November, boosting the network that got the coverage when national ratings points are counted. This year that's NBC, which shows the game Sunday night.
You have Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady. Both teams have been successful throughout the decade, and the Colts remain undefeated halfway through the season.
On the other hand, look at the four games FOX has to choose from Sunday afternoon. Lions and Bucs on the road, and Rams at home against the Saints. The Falcons-Panthers may be the best of the lot, and that's not saying much. That's what we'll see in Fishersville.
At least FOX has Cowboys at Packers as the second game of their doubleheader.
The Redskins host their second AFC team of the season - Denver - so CBS from Washington will be showing that in Fishersville. No problem for Ravens' fans, since they head to Cleveland Monday night to beat the Browns on ESPN.
For those of you with NFL Network, the Thursday night package begins this week with the Bears visiting San Francisco.
The Big East kicks off your college football weekend. ESPN has South Florida at Rutgers Thursday night, then the big West Virginia-Cincinnati contest Friday night.
Saturday, ESPN has Michigan State at Purude at noon, and a primetime doubleheader - Alabama vs. Mississippi State at 7 p.m. followed by Arizona State at Oregon.
ESPN2 starts day with Georgia Tech at Duke, and offers Auburn-Georgia at 7 p.m.
In the late afternoon, ABC will bring Miami at North Carolina to ACC country. Other choices are Iowa at Ohio State and Nebraska-Kansas. In primetime, it's Notre Dame-Pittsburgh going to most of the country while Texas Tech-Oklahoma State goes to Big 12 territory.
CBS offers an SEC doubleheader - Tennessee-Mississippi at noon and Florida vs. South Carolina at 3:30 p.m.
Clemson takes on North Carolina State in the ACC game of the week. MASN shows the Big East game of the week, Syracuse at Louisville.
Versus has Missouri at Kansas State at noon, then the PAC-10 contest between Arizona and California at 6:30 p.m. Comcast starts the day with Texas at Baylor, followed by Stanford at USC.
Sunday, if you'd like a different football choice than Colts-Patriots, then ESPN has East Carolina at Tulsa.
NASCAR visits Phoenix in the 9th of 10 races in the Chase for the Cup.
The MLS conference finals are this weekend, and ESPN2 shows Friday's Western matchup between Houston and the L.A. Galaxy.
TNT's Thursday doubleheader starts with Cleveland at Miami at 8 p.m., then the Suns visit the Lakers. Friday on ESPN, it's the Hawks at Celtics followed by the Lakers at Denver.
The Wizards host Detroit on Saturday.
The Capitals play Friday and Saturday, both times pushed over to Comcast-plus. Why are they pushed there Friday? So Comcast can show Maryland basketball against Charleston Southern. It's that time of year.

Baseball's over, so now what?

Baseball fans, winter is here. No more baseball until mid-February, when pitchers and catchers report.
Time to check on the other sports. The NFL is halfway through the season, NBA and NHL just starting, and college football has just a few more weekends left.
Week 9 of the NFL season finds the Redskins coming off their bye to face Atlanta on FOX. Will they have any improvement as the schedule gets harder?
CBS has the doubleheader, and Fishersville should get the Ravens at Bengals early and Chargers at Giants late.
The Cowboys visit Philadelphia on NBC's Sunday Night package, and ESPN offers the Steelers at Broncos on Monday night.
The college football schedule starts with Virginia Tech at East Carolina Thursday on ESPN, then Friday Boise State is at Louisiana Tech on ESPN2.
Saturday night, the deuce has Vanderbilt facing Florida at 7:15 p.m. ESPN kicks off coverage at noon with Northwestern at Iowa, and has Florida State at Clemson in primetime.
ABC offers three choices at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The late afternoon games include Wake Forest at Georgia Tech (headed for ACC country), Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State and Ohio State at Penn State.
The prime time offerings are USC at Arizona State, Oklahoma-Nebraska and the Big East matchup of Connecticut at Cincinnati.
LSU visits Alabama in a big SEC matchup on CBS, while NBC has Navy's visit to Notre Dame.
Virginia takes on Miami in the ACC game of the week. Versus has TCU for the fourth straight weekend, visiting San Diego State at 4 p.m. At noon, it's Kansas vs. Kansas State.
MASN offers the Big East game of the week at noon - Louisville at West Virginia - and has VMI at Liberty in Big South action at 7 p.m. Comcast offers Central Florida visiting Texas at noon, followed by Villanova facing Richmond.
NASCAR heads to Texas Sunday afternoon on ABC. For another kind of racing, ABC and ESPN offer the Breeder's Cup Friday and Saturday.
The Capitals have a home-and-home series with Florida Friday and Saturday on Comcast.
The Wizards are in Indiana Friday and host the Suns Sunday afternoon.
TNT has two games Thursday - Bulls at Cavs and Spurs-Jazz. ESPN's Friday NBA doubleheader features the Cavs at Knicks, then Spurs-Trail Blazers.
The MLS playoffs continue with Real Salt Lake at Columbus on ESPN2.

Thursday night Hokies

Hokie fans get to start the weekend early the next two weeks.
Virginia Tech hosts North Carolina on ESPN Thursday Night football, and next week visits East Carolina on Thursday. Which means plenty of time to see what other teams are up to on Saturday.
ABC features USC and Texas again in prime time - Texas at Oklahoma State and USC at Oregon. In the late afternoon time slots, ACC country will see Miami at Wake Forest. Other choices are Michigan visiting Illinois, Kansas at Texas Tech and California at Arizona State.
Notre Dame goes prime time for its meeting with Washington on NBC. In the SEC, it's the big Georgia-Florida game from Jacksonsville.
ESPN offers undefeated Iowa hosting Indiana at noon, followed by Northwestern-Penn State with South Carolina-Tennessee in prime time. ESPN2 has Purdue at Wisconsin at noon, and ACC country gets Michigan-Illinois from the ABC offerings.
West Virginia teams get ESPN airtime in unusual time slots this weekend. The Mountaineers visit South Florida Friday, while Marshall takes on Central Friday Sunday night.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Comcast has Missouri visiting Colorado at 1:30 p.m. Versus features Nebraska visiting Baylor at noon, followed by UNLV visiting undefeated TCU.
MASN's afternoon kicks off with Rutgers facing Connecticut, followed by Presbyterian at Liberty. (Yes, the Blue Hose vs. the Flames). They pick up Louisiana Tech at Idaho when that contest concludes.
Trick-or-treating and the World Series go together, right? The Phillies host the Yankees in Game 3 Saturday night, with the series continuing through November 5 if necessary. Then it's only three months or so until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
The Phillies' presence in the playoffs made the day for FOX football. Their doubleheader features the Giants at Eagles early, moved from 4:15 p.m. to make room for baseball. The NFL then moved Brett Favre's return to Green Bay into the second slot to show to most of the country. (Carolina-Arizona only goes to Arizona and the Carolinas).
CBS has the undefeated Broncos at Ravens. NBC takes off Sunday night for the World Series, while ESPN has the Saints hosting the Falcons Monday night.
NASCAR's Chase for the Cup heats up with a trip to Talladega Sunday on ABC.
ESPN's Friday Night NBA doubleheader features the Bulls taking on the Celtics early, followed by the Mavericks at Lakers. TNT's Thursday doubleheader is Spurs at Bulls followed by Denver at Portland.
The Wizards are in Atlanta Friday on Comcast, then have New Jersey Saturday for their home opener.
The Capitals visit Atlanta Thursday, host the Islanders Friday and Columbus Sunday afternoon.
The MLS playoffs have begun, and ESPN2 shows Houston at Seattle Thursday at 10 p.m. In case the Hokies, the NBA or Game 2 of the World Series don't catch your interest.