Open up

The final tennis Grand Slam event of the season - the U.S. Open - kicks off its two-week run starting Monday on ESPN2 and CBS.
I always remember USA having two weeks of coverage, and those cool evening battles with Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe in the 1980s and early 90s.
U.S. Open coverage kicks off Sunday afternoon with Arthur Ashe Kids Day, starting at noon on CBS. If you have Tennis Channel, you can basically watch the U.S. Open round the clock.
The Little League World Series champion is crowned this weekend. The International and U.S. finals are set for Saturday, with the title game Sunday on ABC.
On FOX Saturday baseball, the choices are Dodgers at Reds, Rays at Tigers and Mets at Cubs. TBS has the White Sox at Yankees Sunday afternoon, while ESPN offers the Phillies at Braves Sunday night.
On MASN, the Nationals visit the Cardinals on MASN and the Orioles take on the Indians on MASN2.
Week three of the NFL exhibition season has CBS hitting the airwaves for a pair of games - Patriots at the Redskins Friday and Chargers at Falcons Saturday. NBC gets in the act with Sunday night's game between the Bears and Broncos, while the Vikings and their new quarterback face the Texans in Houston.
The NFL network has Saturday afternoon live games at Detroit and Oakland. Wow, makes you want to go out and add that to the TV lineup. MASN has the Ravens game at Carolina Saturday night, knocking one baseball game off the air. I can never remember if Fishersville gets those games, but I'm hopeful.
The PGA tour tries to add excitement to the fall with its FedEx Cup. They got Tiger Woods in the field at the Barclays, and CBS gets the coverage this weekend.
NASCAR takes the weekend off with two races left until the Chase for the Cup.

Look for Fishersville Mike's uncle

At our family gathering in July in Baltimore, my uncle passed out the schedule to the Junior League World Series. Why? Because he's one of the umpires.
The Junior League World Champion will be crowned Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Will my uncle be one of the umps? If the Eastern team - Jackson, New Jersey - wins the U.S. championship, no. If any of the other four U.S. regions win, then he should be. He was behind the plate at two games through the first four days of the tournament.
Also this weekend, Cal Ripken baseball crowns its championship. Cal and Bill Ripken do the broadcast on MLB Network.
The Little League World Series kicks off with 16 teams seeking to be the best. Play continues through next Sunday on ABC and its ESPN affliates.
Want to see some older guys play baseball? On MASN, the Orioles are in Chicago to face the White Sox for the weekend, while the Nationals host Milwaukee this weekend on MASN2.
It's another weekend of Red Sox-Yankees, this time from Fenway. They are on FOX Saturday - a few may see Cubs-Dodgers - and ESPN Sunday night. The TBS Sunday afternoon game features the Rangers at Tampa Bay.
NASCAR hits "Thunder Valley" for the best Saturday night race of the season, the Sharpie 500 at Bristol. ESPN has the coverage, and bring your earplugs.
The second week of the NFL exhibition season sees the Redskins and Ravens both on national TV. The Redskins play the Steelers Saturday night on NFL Network - also locally on NBC29 in Charlottesville - while the Ravens host former assistant coach Rex Ryan and the Jets Monday on ESPN.
If you want to see Jerry Jones' cool new stadium, the Cowboys host the Titans Friday on FOX.

Kicking off the preseason

Hope you're ready for some football. Because it's here.
Week one of the preseason kicks off Thursday night with a matchup of the Super Bowl teams - Arizona and Pittsburgh - in the Steel city. ESPN has the game, along with one Monday between the Panthers and Giants.
In the Mid-Atlantic area, the Redskins open the preseason at Baltimore against the Ravens. You can catch the game on radio, over the air TV and cable - Comcast Sportsnet and MASN. And it's just an exhibition.
For those who get it, NFL network has five games scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights. And they will have a bunch of replays of other games until week two starts next Thursday.
Also Thursday, the final Grand Slam event - the PGA championship - tees off. It's a weird time for the PGA - Tiger Woods is not defending champion at any of the Grand Slam and missed the cut at the British Open.
TNT has coverage the first two rounds, and early coverage of the final rounds. CBS takes over at 2 p.m. both days of the weekend.
The Nationals are in Cincinnati this weekend on MASN, while the Orioles host the Angels of Southern California on MASN2.
The Phillies at Braves get top billing this weekend, featured on FOX Saturday and on ESPN Sunday night. FOX also has Giants at Mets and Indians at Twins, while the Red Sox visiting Texas is Sunday afternoon's game on TBS.
If you like to watch baseball stars of the future, ESPN and ESPN2 will be showing all eight regional finals in the Little League World Series tournament all weekend. The Little League World Series championship is set for August 30.
NASCAR makes its return visit to Michigan, with ESPN coverage starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.

NFL - A.M. (after Madden)

The NFL begins life without John Madden this weekend, with the Hall of Fame game Sunday night opening the exhibition season.
It's the Bills vs. the Titans. T.O. is playing there, did you know? It's only been in all of NBC's commercials.
The booth will be so much different. Cris Collinsworth has filled in for Madden in the past, but now he's the man. It seems like Madden has been in the booth forever. But it's important to remember his first big break.


The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Saturday evening on ESPN and the NFL network.
In baseball, it's a Red Sox vs. Yankees weekend (Yawn.) They are on FOX Saturday afternoon and ESPN Sunday. Good thing I'll be at the beach and able to ignore those two teams.
FOX will also show the Rangers at Angels for their backup game. TBS has the Twins and Tigers Sunday.
The Nationals host the Diamondbacks on MASN, while the Orioles are in Toronto against the Blue Jays on MASN2.
Phil Mickelson returns to the tour for the World Golf Championships, with coverage on CBS.
NASCAR visits the road course at Watkins Glen, with ESPN coverage starting at 1 p.m.