Bowls or Winter Classic?

For years, college football has been the tradition on New Year's Day. But with the Bowl Championship Series, several games moved off the traditional day each year as we build up to the national title game.

The past three years, the NHL has stepped into the Jan. 1 breach with its Winter Classic. After stops in Buffalo and Chicago, this time Boston's Fenway Park hosts the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.
The Classic continues to grow with each edition. In Boston this year, there's been a high school game on the ice. There's a college tournament next week, and the people of Boston will have a chance to skate on the ice - unless they decide to sell their free tickets for big bucks.
If the temperatures are in the 30s and the chance of snow arrives,
a cool hockey venue will look even cooler.

New Year's Day gives you five college bowl games - so does New Year's Eve and Jan. 2. I guess that helps you pace yourself.
Three of the New Year's Eve games are on ESPN - local fans will be waiting for Virginia Tech's game with Tennessee in primetime. Before that, it's service academies playing in Texas - Air Force vs. Houston at noon, followed by Navy against Missouri.
CBS shows the Sun Bowl - Stanford vs. Oklahoma - at 2 p.m. while the NFL Network has its bowl telecast - Minnesota vs. Iowa State in the Insight Bowl at 6 p.m.
You can still find the Rose Bowl at its traditional New Year's Day place - Oregon meeting Ohio State at 5 p.m. on ABC. The Sugar Bowl (Florida vs. Cincinnati) is in prime time, but on FOX.
There are three games around midday - highlighted by Bobby Bowden's farewell from Florida State in the Gator Bowl on CBS. ESPN shows the Outback Bowl with Northwestern meeting Auburn, while the Citrus matches Penn State and LSU on ABC.
With no NFL games on Jan. 2, the bowls claim the day. The Cotton Bowl will be on FOX, with Oklahoma State taking on Mississippi. There's the International Bowl from Toronto (South Florida taking on Northern Illinois on ESPN2) and a trio of games on ESPN - South Carolina vs. Connecticut in another pizza bowl at 2 p.m., followed by Arkansas against East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl and Michigan State vs. Texas Tech in San Antonio.
It's the final weekend of the NFL regular season, giving both CBS and FOX the chance to show a pair of contests Sunday afternoon. The Redskins (at Chargers on FOX) and Ravens (at Raiders on CBS) are both on the west coast.
The early games in Fishersville look likely to be Steelers at Dolphins on CBS and Giants at Minnesota on FOX. It will be the Dolphins' first appearance on over-the-air TV, leaving only four teams - Houston, Tennessee, Arizona and Seattle - not seen on Sunday afternoons in our area this season.
NBC has decided to show the Bengals at the Jets as its last game Sunday night. It's the final football game at Giants Stadium, unless the Jets win and as the fifth seed host the sixth-seeded Ravens in the AFC championship. (I'm just anticipating a Ravens' win on Sunday.)
TNT has a doubleheader on New Year's Eve - Heat at Spurs starting at 7 p.m., followed by the Sixers at Clippers. The Wizards host San Antonio Saturday on Comcast.
The Capitals open the new year on the West Coast, facing the L.A. Kings Saturday afternoon.
Comcast closes 2009 with a pair of basketball games - Arizona State vs. UCLA at 4:30 p.m., followed by William & Mary at Maryland. Sunday, the Terps face UNC-Greensboro at 1 p.m. Florida takes on N.C. State at 4 p.m., and the ACC contest of the week matches Clemson and Duke.
ESPN2 shows six games on New Year's Eve - going from noon to midnight. Michigan at Indiana starts the fun, and Duke hosts Penn at 6 p.m.

West Virginia visits Purdue Friday on ESPN, and there's three games on ESPN2 Saturday - Marquette vs. Villanova at 3:30 p.m., followed by Kansas at Temple. Seton Hall comes to Virginia Tech at 8:30 p.m. to cap off the day.
CBS offers two choices early Saturday - Arizona at UCLA or Gonzaga vs. Illinois - prior to showing Kentucky battling Louisville.
In women's basketball, Oklahoma visits Tennessee Sunday night on ESPN2.

Sports under the Christmas tree

After Santa Claus finishes his run, there's a few sporting events to catch as part of your Christmas fun.
The NBA has expanded its offerings to five for the day. The two big games are on ABC - Boston at Orlando at 2:30 p.m., followed by Cleveland facing the Lakers. After hours of having kids battle over their new toys, you can watch LeBron and Kobe battle.
ESPN opens the day's activities at noon with the Heat visiting the Knicks. The primetime schedule has the Clippers meeting the Suns at 8 p.m., followed by Denver at Portland.
The NFL Network has its final game of the season on Christmas Night, with San Diego visiting Tennessee.
CBS has the Sunday doubleheader, and Fishersville should get the Ravens at Steelers early and Broncos at Eagles late. Fox features the Giants at the Panthers.
NBC choose to keep the Cowboys at Redskins as their Sunday night game. The Vikings visit the Bears in ESPN's final Monday night game of the season.
The college bowl schedule heats up Christmas Eve with the Hawai'i Bowl on ESPN - Nevada vs. SMU. The Mustangs are making their first bowl appearance since 1984.
Saturday, ESPN has three bowls. Marshall and Ohio kick off the action from Michigan at 1 p.m. (get your pizza early), followed by a pair of ACC teams in their bowls - North Carolina vs. Pitt in Charlotte then Boston College vs. Southern Cal at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.
Sunday, Kentucky faces Clemson at 8:30 p.m. from Nashville.
A few college basketball teams hit the hardcourt after Christmas. Saturday, CBS has West Virginia visiting Seton Hall.
MASN offers Radford at Louisville Sunday afternoon.
The Wizards have Christmas off, but play at Minnesota Saturday on Comcast.
The Capitals host New Jersey Saturday on Comcast.

Let's go bowling

Sure, it's two weeks until New Year's Day. But it's already bowl season.
The first of two of 34 bowls will be held Saturday. The New Mexico Bowl kicks off the season, matching Fresno State and Wyoming. Later Saturday, it's the St. Petersburg Bowl matching Rutgers and Central Florida.
Not enough for you? How about catching the R&L Carriers Bowl from New Orleans? It's on Sunday, featuring Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee.
Between Saturday and Jan. 7, only three days will not feature a bowl game somewhere. Most on ESPN.
In the parts of the college football world where there's a playoff, Villanova meets Montana Friday on ESPN2 for the FCS (old Division I-AA) title.
Salem hosts the Division III championship game, televised on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. But it's a rerun - Mount Union faces Wisconsin-Whitewater for the fifth straight year.
NFL Network has a pair of contests this week - Indianapolis at Jacksonville Thursday, then the Cowboys visiting New Orleans Saturday. Will both stay perfect? Is it good for the NFL to put these games on their own network?
Fox has the Sunday doubleheader this week, and Fishersville will get a pair of NFC North teams visiting the AFC North - Chicago at Baltimore early, then the Packers at the Steelers.
CBS in Washington has decided to show the late CBS game - Cincinnati at San Diego - but other parts of Virginia south and west of us will be watching New England at Buffalo at 1 p.m.
NBC gets another chance to show Brett Favre and the Vikings - this week at Carolina - and the Redskins host the Giants on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
ESPN has an interesting college basketball doubleheader Saturday. Michigan visits Kansas for the "Green" game at noon, then North Carolina plays Texas at the new Cowboys Stadium. I wonder how many guys on exercise cycles it would take to power that 60-yard long video screen.
On ESPN2, Xavier visits Butler at 2 p.m., followed by Western Kentucky facing Louisville and Memphis-Massachusetts.
Comcast has a pair of men's basketball games Saturday - Tennessee at Southern Cal at 4:30 p.m., then UNC-Wilmington visiting Virginia at 7 p.m. Sunday, it's Sam Houston vs. Auburn at 2 p.m. and an ACC doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m. - Florida State at Georgia Tech, followed by N.C. State-Wake Forest.
MASN starts its Saturday hoops slate with Howard vs. Loyola at 1 p.m. They join West Virginia-Cleveland State when that game ends, and show Old Dominion at Georgetown at 7 p.m. Sunday they offer Central Florida at Connecticut.
Comcast also offers a women's basketball game Saturday, with Tennessee visiting Stanford at 2:30 p.m.
TNT starts Thursday's NBA action in Florida - Orlando at Miami - then offers Phoenix at Portland. ESPN has Milwaukee at Cleveland, then Washington at Golden State for its Friday doubleheader.
The Wizards visit Phoenix Saturday on Comcast.
The Capitals are spending their weekend in western Canada, visiting Vancouver Friday and Edmonton Saturday on Comcast. The Penguins-Flyers fill Comcast's scheduling void Thursday night.

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.

NFL across the pond

We're trying to excite Europe about American football. And we send the winless Buccaneers over there?
The troubles of NFL scheduling Sunday's game in London features the New England Patriots (good choice) against the Bucs (9-3 at one point last year, now 0-10 since) on CBS. Sorry, Brits, but we tried our best.
It's a rough football weekend locally. The Ravens have a bye, the Redskins play Monday night against the Eagles and the Hokies are off.
FOX has the doubleheader this weekend, and Fishersville viewers should get Vikings at Steelers early and Falcons at Cowboys late. NBC's Sunday night game matches the Cardinals and Giants.
ESPN starts the college football weekend in North Carolina, with the Tar Heels hosting Florida State. Rutgers faces Army on ESPN2 Friday.
Saturday, Notre Dame hosts Boston College on NBC. The Eagles won big at home after losing big at Virginia Tech the prior week. Which team will show up against the Fighting Irish?
Tennessee visits Alabama for CBS' game of the week. Wonder how this week's referees will do?
ABC's late afternoon contests include Clemson at Miami, Penn State-Michigan, Oklahoma at No. 25 Kansas and Oregon-Washington. In primetime, the choices are Texas at Missouri and Oregon State-USC.
The day on ESPN starts with Minnesota facing Ohio State and offers Florida-Mississippi State in primetime. ESPN2 has Illinois-Purdue at noon and Auburn-LSU at 7:30 p.m.
The ACC game of the week features your league-leading Virginia Cavaliers (didn't think I'd be writing that this year) hosting Georgia Tech. Virginia has not lost a conference game. Everyone else has. Unbelievable.
Versus has a tripleheader, starting with Oklahoma State at Baylor at noon. Air Force faces Utah at 4, then TCU meets BYU.
MASN has South Florida visiting Pittsburgh at noon, followed by Coastal Carolina at Stony Brook. Comcast has James Madison at William & Mary at noon, and joins Arizona State at Stanford at the conclusion of the ice hockey and soccer games.
The countdown to the World Series continues with Game 5 of the American League series Thursday on FOX. The Phillies await the winner for the World Series, starting Wednesday on FOX.
Over on four wheels, NASCAR hits the short track at Martinsville Sunday at 1 p.m.
The NBA season starts Tuesday, with the Wizards visiting Dallas on Comcast Sportsnet. TNT has a doubleheader that night, with the Celtics at Cleveland at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Lakers vs. Clippers.
The Capitals hit the road for games vs. Atlanta Thursday and the New York Islanders Saturday. They'll be on Versus Tuesday, hosting Philadelphia.
The MLS has two games on ESPN2 as its' regular season concludes - Chivas USA at Chicago Thursday and New England at Columbus Sunday.

Baseball's Final Four

At least it's not Yankees-Red Sox again.
The American League championship series starts Friday on FOX, and there's a chance the winner won't be from the AL East. But the Yankees do have home-field advantage over the Angels.
Games 1 and 2 will be Friday and Saturday in New York.
Over in the National League, the Dodgers host the Phillies Thursday and Friday on TBS. The series shifts to Philadelphia Sunday for three games.
If we're lucky, we'll have our World Series pairing by next Thursday.
Washington football fans aren't lucky this weekend. The Redskins host the winless Chiefs at 1 p.m., so CBS covers that game. FOX won't show a 1 p.m. game against that, so instead it's the Eagles at 1-4 Oakland. Double yuck. The second game on CBS is Buffalo at the Jets, unless you want to watch the winless Titans at New England.
While watching these luckless teams, remember most of the FOX world will be watching the battle of unbeaten teams - Giants at Saints (including Fishersville, thankfully). CBS gives widespread coverage to the Ravens at Brett Favre's latest team.
NBC's Sunday night game features the Bears at Falcons, while the unbeaten Broncos visit San Diego on Monday night.
It's a big rivalry weekend in college football. Southern Cal visits Notre Dame, with NBC providing coverage, while the Red River rivalry of Texas and Oklahoma goes on at noon on ABC. The late afternoon ABC choices are California at UCLA, Texas Tech at Nebraska and Minnesota visiting Penn State and Boston College-N.C. State for the ACC zone.
CBS offers Arkansas at top-ranked Florida.
ESPN starts the weekend Thursday with Cincinnati at South Florida, then has more Big East action Friday with Pittsburgh at Rutgers.
Saturday, it's Iowa at Wisconsin at noon and South Carolina taking on Alabama in prime time.
ESPN2 has the Hokies at Georgia Tech at 6 p.m., followed by Missouri at Oklahoma State. At noon, it's Northwestern at Michigan State.
Wake Forest against Clemson is the ACC game of the week Saturday at noon.
Versus has a tripleheader starting at 12:30 p.m. - Princeton at Brown, followed by Colorado State vs. TCU and Stanford at Arizona. Comcast offers a CAA contest between Richmond at Maine, then joins the Washington-Arizona State game after Capitals ice hockey.
MASN gives you more Big East, with Louisville facing Connecticut. Then it's off to C-USA, with Rice at East Carolina at 3:30 p.m., followed by Navy's visit to SMU at 8 p.m.
NASCAR races on Saturday night this weekend, with ABC covering the Charlotte race.
The Capitals have two home games this week - Thursday vs. San Jose and Saturday vs. Nashville - on Comcast SportsNet. Versus has the ice hockey coverage Monday and Tuesday, with Sharks at Rangers followed by Blues at Penguins.

A new football league

Who says there's too much football on TV?
Not the founders of the United Football League, who have four teams and a contract to show games on Versus. The first contest comes Thursday with the California Redwoods facing the Las Vegas Locomotives.
The head coaches you'll recognize - Jim Fassel and Dennis Green - from NFL gigs and Coors Lite commercials. Maybe a few players, if you're intense fantasy players.
Instead, you can watch college football on ESPN. Nebraska opens its Big 12 season at Missouri Thursday. Friday, it's Louisiana Tech at Nevada.
Saturday night, you have two college games to choose from. CBS offers top-ranked Florida against No. 4 LSU (don't celebrate too much) while ABC has Michigan visiting Iowa.
The late afternoon time slots have Alabama at Mississippi on CBS, and four choices on ABC - Connecticut at Pittsburgh, Baylor at Oklahoma, Oregon at UCLA and Wisconsin at Ohio State. Ohio State will be shown in most of Virginia, but if I visit my in-laws I'll be treated to Pittsburgh.
Saturday on ESPN starts with Auburn at Arkansas, and Colorado takes on Texas in prime time. ESPN2 has Purdue at Minnesota at noon and Georgia Tech at Florida State at 8 p.m.
Virginia Tech's homecoming game vs. Boston College gets to be the ACC game of the week.
Now that baseball is done, MASN has a football doubleheader - West Virginia vs. Syracuse from the Big East at noon and East Carolina at SMU at 8 p.m. ComcastSportsnet comes close to town, televising Richmond at JMU.
On Versus, Iowa State takes on Kansas at noon.
The Redskins again face a winless team Sunday, traveling to Carolina on FOX. Locally, CBS will offer Cincinnati at Baltimore early and New England at undefeated Denver late.
Monday Night Football visits Miami again as the Jets take on the Dolphins, while NBC's Sunday game features 4-0 Indy at 0-4 Tennessee. Not what they expected when they made the schedule.
TBS has all four playoff series filling its schedule this weekend. You have two games Friday and Saturday, starting at 6 p.m., and either two, three or four games Sunday. Then the leagues alternate nights playing through Wednesday.
NASCAR continues its Chase for the Cup, this week at California Sunday on ABC.
Versus offers ice hockey Monday and Tuesday nights, and this week it's Calgary at Chicago followed by Detroit at Buffalo. The Capitals are on Comcast for home games against the Rangers Thursday and the Devils Monday, along with Saturday's visit to Detroit.
NBC shows the President's Cup - the Ryder Cup's little brother - all weekend.

Time for baseball postseason

I got out of the newspaper business before baseball added the third round to the postseason. Boy, was I glad.
From 1988 to 1993, every October meant waiting for the baseball game to end. Our press deadline was supposed to be 11:30 p.m., but deadlines meant nothing to baseball. Rarely was the 8 p.m. game done with time to spare.
The press room and mailroom guys who come upstairs and join us in the editor's office, where the TV was turned to the game. The ninth inning almost always seemed to last forever. Another sports guy was a Pirates' fan, and 1992 really killed him. I still remember his reaction when Sid Bream rolled around the bases to win Game 7 of that year's National League series.
TBS now does the first round, so newspapers can breath easier on deadlines. The first two days have games at 2:30, 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. You get two games on the sports page and mark the other one late. And you can relax and go home.
Instead of all Yankees at 8 p.m., this year it's Yankees at 6 p.m.
The Rockies visit the Phillies for afternoon games Wednesday and Thursday, while the Cardinals at Dodgers close out the first night and get the 6 p.m. game Thursday. The Yankees picked starting their series on Wednesday, giving the Twins very little time to recover from Tuesday's extra-inning win in the division-deciding game.
The Red Sox and Angels play the late games Thursday and Friday.
Game 3 of the National League series are Saturday, and schedules Sunday through next Wednesday depend on how the series go.

Hockey's back

Drop the puck on the ice hockey season.
Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals open play Thursday against Boston, the first game in Versus' opening night doubleheader. San Jose at Colorado is the nightcap, and there's two more games Friday afternoon - Florida vs. Chicago at noon and Detroit/St. Louis at 3.
ComcastSportsnet has the Capitals home opener Saturday vs. the Maple Leafs.
The start of ice hockey means baseball's regular season is done. So this weekend is your last chance to catch the Nationals (at the Braves on MASN) Orioles (vs. Blue Jays on MASN2).
FOX picked up Saturday's Nationals-Braves game for its coverage, hoping Atlanta stays in the wild-card race - not very likely Thursday afternoon. The Royals at Twins and Phillies hosting the Marlins have also been selected for the time slot.
ESPN will show the White Sox taking on the Central-Division leading Tigers Friday, and TBS has the Dodgers-Rockies on the slate for Sunday.
The most anticipated NFL game of the early season comes Monday night, when Brett Favre and the Vikings host the Packers. NBC has a rematch of the AFC championship, with the Chargers in Pittsburgh Sunday night.
Sunday afternoon's schedule for Fishersville has the Ravens visiting the Patriots for their Weekend in New England. FOX has the doubleheader, with the Buccaneers at Redskins early and Cowboys at Broncos late.
For those who want to watch Virginia en route to its possible 0-12 season, the Cavaliers' game with North Carolina will be the ACC game of the week.
ESPN kicks off the football weekend Thursday when Colorado visits West Virginia. Friday there's Big East action, as Louisville hosts Pittsburgh.
Saturday's play begins with Wisconsin meeting Minnesota at noon, and the primetime game features Auburn at Tennessee. ESPN2 offers Arkansas State at Iowa at noon and Texas A&M vs. Arkansas at night.
ABC's prime time game offers USC at California, scheduled before Oregon slammed the Bears around last Saturday, and Oklahoma at the Miami Hurricanes. In its afternoon slot, ACC country will get Florida State at Boston College. Other areas of the country get Penn State at Illinois or UCLA taking on Stanford.
NBC has Notre Dame hosting Washington, while CBS brings you LSU at Georgia.
MASN jumps into the college football scene with a doubleheader - South Florida at Syracuse at noon, followed by Liberty hosting West Virginia Wesleyan.
Versus starts the day in the Ivy League with Penn at Dartmouth at noon. William & Mary vs. Villanova follows, with Oregon State visiting Arizona State at 6:30 p.m.
ComcastSportsnet has Alabama at Kentucky at noon, followed by New Hampshire facing Towson.
NASCAR makes its lone visit to Kansas Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC.
The MLS regular season is drawing to a close, and Friday Chicago visits Los Angeles on ESPN2.
The WNBA Finals continue Thursday in Phoenix, with Game 3 set for Indiana Sunday afternoon on ESPN2.

Red Sox-Yankees, again

Ever since baseball went to an unbalanced schedule several years ago, it has meant six series between the Yankees and Red Sox. It just seems like more.
The teams meet for the final time this weekend, unless they both reach the AL championship. A very likely scenario.
This weekend, you can watch them Friday night on TBS, Saturday afternoon on FOX and Sunday afternoon on ESPN. Unless you get the Cubs at Giants as the FOX alternate game.
Gives you reason to root for the Angels and Tigers/Twins when the playoffs start.
The Orioles visit Cleveland on MASN while the Nationals host the Braves on MASN2. TBS Sunday afternoon has the Cardinals at the Rockies.
The Redskins continue their tour of the bottom of the NFL, visiting Detroit. Check for your local listings, but Fishersville should see the Chiefs at Eagles early and Steelers at Bengals late on CBS. For the second straight week, the Colts and Cowboys have the national spotlight. The Colts visit Arizona on NBC Sunday night, while the Panthers visit Dallas and Jerry Jones' super stadium for Monday night football.
For the second straight week, Virginia Tech gets the ABC 3:30 p.m. game against a ranked foe. This week, Miami visits Lane Stadium in a key ACC matchup. Other parts of the country will see Illinois at Ohio State or California at Oregon.
Iowa visits Penn State in the ABC prime time game, while CBS has the SEC at 3:30 p.m. - Arkansas at Alabama.
ESPN starts the college weekend Thursday with Mississippi visiting South Carolina, followed by Missouri at Nevada Friday.
Saturday's slate starts with Michigan State at Wisconsin at noon, and has Notre Dame visiting Purdue in prime time. On ESPN2, Indiana visits Michigan at noon. Florida hits Kentucky at 6 p.m. and Texas Tech at Houston closes the night.
The ACC game of the week features North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech at noon.
Versus offers three games Saturday from across the spectrum - Cornell at Yale with Ivy League action at noon, followed by the Atlanta Football Classic - Florida A&M vs. Tennessee State - and Arizona at Oregon State at 7:30 p.m.
Comcast opens its day with two teams that beat ACC squads last weekend - Southern Miss at Kansas. UTEP at Texas follows, and there's a Pac-10 game at 10:30 p.m. - Washington State at USC.
NASCAR visits the Monster Mile Sunday on ABC, with Mark Martin leading the Chase for the Cup after the first playoff race.
The PGA tour closes out the FedEx Cup with the Tour Championship on NBC this weekend.

SEC - Super Excellent Conference

Living in Virginia, each week ABC shows an ACC game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Even if there might be a better game elsewhere in the country, we get to watch ACC teams.
Even though there's numerous other opportunities on local TV to watch the league.
Fortunately, there's usually another national game at 3:30 - the Southeastern Conference on CBS. The conference of the last three national champions. Where four schools set school records for attendance at the spring game (h/t ESPN's TMQ). The conference several bloggers I follow pump up.
The SEC schedule starts this week, with top-ranked Florida hosting Tennessee. Don't have the same thrill as the late 1990s, but Tim Tebow ought to keep it exciting.
This is a week where the ACC zone gets a game that looks worthwhile - Nebraska visiting Virginia Tech. USC at Washington and Arizona at Iowa will be offered in other parts of the country.
ABC's prime time offering is Texas Tech at Texas.
The weekend begins Thursday with an ACC battle, Georgia Tech at Miami, on ESPN. Boise State visits Fresno State on Friday.
ESPN's Saturday slate starts with California at Minnesota, followed by Utah at Oregon and Georgia at Arkansas in prime time. ESPN2 offers East Carolina at North Carolina at noon and West Virginia at Auburn in prime time.
NBC29 and other ACC affliates will feature Boston College at Clemson. Versus has a pair of ACC teams heading west - Duke at Kansas at noon and Florida State facing BYU at 6:30 p.m.
ComcastSportsnet offers four games, starting with North Texas at Alabama at noon. Tulsa at Oklahoma follows, then it's Cincinnati at Oregon State and Kansas State at UCLA.
This week's NFL action starts with the Rams visiting the Redskins on FOX. CBS has the doubleheader this week, but Fishersville gets nothing early since our CBS station is from Washington. The late game will be Ravens at Chargers. (Sorry for those Steelers fans who'd like to see them beat the Bears).
NBC visits the new Cowboys Stadium as the Giants visit. Let's see how many times the punters can hit the new scoreboard.
Monday night, Peyton Manning and the Colts are in Miami on ESPN.
As baseball winds down, the Cubs at Cardinals highlights the schedule. They appear on FOX Saturday afternoon, along with Giants at Dodgers and Tigers at Twins, and on ESPN's Sunday night game. TBS has the Angels at Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
Red Sox Nation visits Baltimore on MASN, while the Nationals head to New York on MASN2.
Week one of NASCAR's Chase for the Cup comes from New Hampshire, with ABC coverage starting at 1 p.m.
The WNBA playoffs begin this week, and Thursday night ESPN2 has a pair of games -Indiana at the Washington Mystics and Phoenix vs. San Antonio. ESPN2 also has doubleheaders scheduled Sunday and Monday, if needed.

It's NFL season

Warm up Hank Williams Jr. and Faith Hill. It's time for NFL football.
The season starts Thursday night on NBC with the Super Bowl champion Steelers hosting the Titans. And it closes with a Monday night doubleheader with an old AFL feel - Bills at Patriots at 7 p.m., followed by Chargers at Raiders.
For Sunday's schedule in your area, check www.the506.com/nflmaps. They check the TV listings across the country to find which markets get which games.
Fishersville is part of the Washington, D.C. market, so we'll have the Chiefs at Ravens and Cowboys at Bucs as our early games. The FOX late game will be Giants at the Redskins, of course.
The Bears at Packers is NBC's first Sunday night game.
FOX has the first week doubleheader since CBS has the U.S. Open men's final. That follows super Saturday, with the men's semifinals starting at 11 a.m. and the women's final at 7 p.m. But if it's not a battle of the Williams sisters for the title, is it really a Grand Slam event?
It's another big week of college football. ESPN starts things off with a Thursday night battle between Clemson and Georgia Tech, and Friday Colorado visits Toledo.
Saturday's big game comes on ESPN at 8 p.m., when Southern Cal visits Ohio State. Navy almost upset the Buckeyes last week, and the last thing the Big Ten needs is another big loss.
Fresno State at Wisconsin (Troglopundit will be happy) opens the day for ESPN at noon, followed by UCLA at Tennessee at 4 p.m. ESPN2 has Central Michigan vs. Michigan State at noon, followed by BYU at Tulane and South Carolina going between the hedges against Georgia at 7 p.m.
ABC simplifies things at 3:30 p.m., offering just Notre Dame at Michigan. Local fans with expanded cable and strong stomachs can watch TCU visit Virginia at the same time. But really, why?
Versus starts its college football lineup with Texas at Wyoming at 3:30.
The ACC schedule begins with Stanford visiting Wake Forest at noon on various stations, including NBC29.
Comcast SportsNet picks up the Fox Sports college feed, with Iowa at Iowa State at noon followed by Houston at Oklahoma State. Then it's Purdue at Oregon at 10:30 p.m.
NASCAR's final race before the Chase comes Saturday in Richmond on ABC.
The Orioles and Nationals are winding down their long seasons. The Orioles visit the Yankees this weeked on MASN, while the Nationals face the Marlins on MASN2.
The highlight national game of the week is the Phillies at Mets, featured on FOX Saturday and ESPN Sunday night. White Sox vs. Angels and Braves at Cardinals join the FOX rotation, while the Dodgers at Giants gets the TBS treatment Sunday afternoon.

Watch sum Hokees

It's college football season, and the highlight game of the weekend matches Virginia Tech and Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Why else would it be Saturday at 8 p.m. on ABC, and site of the College Gameday show?
The weekend starts Thursday with South Carolina visiting N.C. State on ESPN. Then Oregon visits Boise State, so you can go to sleep watching football on the blue turf.
Friday - when you're supposed to concentrate on high school football - it's Tulsa vs. Tulane.
Saturday, ESPN has Navy at Ohio State at noon, followed by Missouri vs. Illinois, BYU at Oklahoma in prime time and LSU at Washington at 10:30 p.m.
On ESPN2, it's Syracuse at Minnesota at noon, and Maryland at California after the NASCAR Nationwide race.
ABC kicks off it's 3:30 p.m. slot with Georgia vs. Oklahoma State. Guess which state will get Western Michigan at Michigan?
NBC offers Notre Dame hosting Nevada. Wow, such a traditional rivalry to start the season. Charlie Weis better win a few more this year.
Sunday, since the NFL is off, ESPN has Memphis vs. Mississipi in the afternoon. There's even Monday college football, with Rutgers vs. Cincinnati at 4 p.m. and ACC rivals Miami and Florida State meet at 8 p.m.
The NFL exhibition season closes Friday, with the Cowboys visiting the Vikings on NFL Network. The Redskins are in Jacksonville Thursday for their last preseason contest, and NBC29 has the Redskins Network coverage.
FOX has picked up the Rangers game at Baltimore as part of its Saturday package, joining Giants at Brewers and Red Sox at White Sox (also the TBS Sunday afternoon game). ESPN visits Dodgers Stadium Sunday night for a game against the Padres.
MASN2 has the Orioles-Rangers on Friday and Sunday, while the Nationals host the Marlins on MASN.
The middle rounds of the U.S. Open fill the weekend on CBS, with afternoon coverage Saturday through Monday.
NASCAR's Labor Day weekend race moves to Atlanta this year, and ESPN's coverage starts at 7 p.m. on Sunday. If attendance is poor, maybe they should move back to Darlington where the race belongs.
The PGA tour takes advantage of the Labor Day holiday, scheduling the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship for Monday. NBC is on the course Sunday and Monday.
Put the remote down Tuesday morning. It will need the rest.

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.

Drought almost over

This is the final weekend of 2009 without a football game on TV. (the numerous training camps are opening stories don't count).
Next week starts the exhibition season with the Hall of Fame game. Usually no exhibitions are shown on national TV the last week of preseason, but that's Labor Day weekend when college football starts. Plenty of action to keep you on the couch.
Then it's 17 weeks of regular season and three weeks of playoffs. This year the Pro Bowl will be held the week before the Super Bowl, so it's early February before the next weekend without gridiron action.
Make your plans accordingly.
To tide you over, ESPN offers the X games. It looks cool. I don't know any of the people, and would never try what they are doing. But it looks cool.
NASCAR makes its second trip to Pocono, where points leader Tony Stewart won in June. ESPN has coverage starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Orioles, struggling through the second half as usual, have Boston coming to town on MASN. The Nationals are in Pittsburgh, thus get shuffled off to MASN2.
The Dodgers visit the Braves Saturday on FOX and Sunday on ESPN. The other offerings for FOX Saturday are Royals at Rays and Yankees at White Sox.
TBS has the Phillies visiting San Francisco late on Sunday afternoon. For those with MLB network, they show the Astros at the Cardinals Saturday night.
The senior golfers are back in the States for the U.S. Senior Open, Friday on ESPN and weekend coverage on NBC. CBS has the PGA's Buick Open Saturday and Sunday.

NASCAR at the Brickyard

ESPN cranks up its NASCAR coverage this weekend with NASCAR's 16th trip to the Brickyard.

Remember when the Indianapolis 500 was a bigger deal than NASCAR. About the time NASCAR paid its first visit to Indy in 1994, Indy car split into two groups. Indy ratings went into the tank, while NASCAR added its touch to the famous race track.

Nobody ever thought of kissing the bricks at the start/finish line until NASCAR came along.

The Tour de France finale concludes its three-week run by riding into Paris. Versus has coverage each morning.
The Orioles visit Boston on MASN, while the Nationals host San Diego. Both teams are more than 20 games behind the division leader, so plan accordingly.

FOX has the Cardinals at the Phillies Saturday, and the two teams are on TBS Sunday afternoon. The White Sox at Tigers - ESPN's Sunday night game - is also in the Saturday afternoon mix, along with Twins vs. Angels.
Think a few more people are interested in the British Senior Open, after Tom Watson's run last weekend? Watson joins his fellow seniors at Sunningdale this weekend on ABC.
CBS offers the Canadian Open Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
The WNBA has made it halfway through the season, and plays its All-Star game Saturday afternoon on ABC.

Golf across the pond

Set the alarm clock. They're golfing in Scotland this week.
The Open championship tees off awfully early, 1:30 a.m. Eastern time Friday. They're playing at Turnberry for the first time since 1994, thus the first time in the Tiger Woods era.
TNT opens coverage Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m., then begins at 6 a.m. for Sunday's final round. ABC hits the links Saturday 9 a.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m.
Thursday's opening round brought out an unexpected story line - Tom Watson shooting a 65 to stand one shot off the lead. Watson knows plenty about the course, winning there in 1977 with a 65 on the final round. He also won the Senior British Open in 2003 there.
Woods stands at 71, seven shots off the lead as he seeks his 15th major championship.
The Orioles make Fox's Saturday schedule this week, visiting the White Sox. Much of the nation will see the Mets and Braves, or Angels at the A's, but the Mid-Atlantic gets more Orioles.
Baltimore returns to MASN2 Friday and Sunday, while the Nationals host the Cubs on MASN.
Sunday's baseball is the Tigers at Yankees on TBS and Mets at the Braves on ESPN at night.
There is no NASCAR race this week. Everybody idle. Your speed on wheels is supplied by the Tour de France on Versus.
If you'd like to catch up with your soccer, D.C. United hosts the Colorado Rapids Saturday night on ComcastSportsnet. ESPN2 will show Houston at Toronto Saturday afternoon.

All-star time

My son was born in 1997, about a week before that year's All-Star game. The American League has not lost since then.
The National League tries to regain its winning ways Tuesday in St. Louis, following Monday's home run derby and assorted contests.
I grew up during the era of National League dominance, when the senior circuit won 19 of 20 games between 1963 to 1982. It's wild to think the American League hasn't lost since Philadelphia in 1996, although the two leagues tied in 2002.
That tie brought out several rules changes, including giving the winning side home-field advantage in the World Series. Six straight years the AL has hosted Game 1, but each league has won three times since then.
It's nice to have home-field advantage, but it's not an overwhelming difference.
Before the All-Star break, there's some more baseball to play.
The Nationals visit Houston for a series on MASN, while the Orioles return home to play Toronto on MASN2.
Saturday on FOX, you'll get either the Yankees at Angels or Cardinals at Cubs. ESPN has the Cardinals and Cubs on the Sunday night game, while the Dodgers visit the Brewers Sunday on TBS.
Hard to believe, but TNT's run covering NASCAR ends Saturday night with the Chicago race.
The Tour de France continues, with coverage on Versus each morning. And highlight shows in the afternoon and night.
Lance Armstrong, you know. The many bike riders in the packs, so close together you wonder how they ride, you don't know. But it can be interesting to watch, especially the mountain stages.
Most of the top golfers are across the Atlantic, getting ready for the British Open. Those who stayed behind will be at the John Deere Classic this weekend on CBS.

Breakfast at Wimbledon

It's the 30th anniversary of Breakfast at Wimbledon, with NBC presenting the men's and women's finals live Saturday and Sunday morning.
On the women's side, you get the Williams sisters. For the fourth time for the Wimbledon title, so that promises to be plenty interesting tennis.
The men's semifinals are Friday (NBC coverage starts at noon), then it's get up at 9 a.m. to watch the champion crowned.
For the Fourth of July weekend, the Nationals host the Braves on MASN while the Orioles spend the weekend in L.A. against the Angels.
Fox's Saturday game has the Phillies and Mets, along with Tigers at Twins and Dodgers at Padres. Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers' lineup this weekend, so I bet a few more fans will get that game.
The Rays visit the Rangers for Sunday's ESPN game, after the Brewers face the Cubs in the afternoon on TBS.
NASCAR gets to run on 4th of July, although in the evening on TNT. For many years, it was the Firecracker 400 starting in the Monday to beat the thunderstorms in the heat of the day.
The PGA tour comes to Washington for the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods (that's what the logo says). CBS has coverage Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and ComcastSportsnet Mid-Atlantic will have plenty of info from the course.
For those ready for some football, the NFL network will be running it's "America's Game" series starting Saturday morning. It's one hour each on the first 42 Super Bowl champs, plus five teams that missed out on the rings.

End to interleague play

It's the last weekend to enjoy your interleague play for the season. So we've got the big matchups - Yankees at Mets, Cubs at White Sox, L.A. Angels at ...Arizona. Well, it's hard to balance schedules when the West and Central divisions have different number of teams.
Locally, the MASN crews get a workout as the Orioles and Nationals are at the same park. One crew's feed goes out on MASN HD, and the other is delegated to MASN2.
You can get your Yankees and Mets on MLB Network Saturday night or ESPN Sunday night. The Cubs and White Sox and Angels-Diamondbacks join the Red Sox and Braves as the choices for Fox's Saturday afternoon coverage. TBS has the Red Sox and Braves Sunday afternoon.
South Africa is getting ready for World Cup 2010, and - big surprise - the United States reached the final of the warmup tournament - the Confederation Cup. The final Sunday matches the U.S. and Brazil on ESPN.
Wimbledon closes the first week of its fortnight on ESPN2 and NBC. Before the "Breakfast at Wimbledon" finals next weekend, ESPN2 shows live coverage starting Friday at 7 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m.
If you didn't get enough thinking about the future with Thursday's NBA draft, then you can watch the NHL draft Friday on Versus. These picks are more likely headed to the ECHL, AHL or back to their Canadian junior leagues, but you can dream of the impact they'll have down the road.
South Carolina's good news story of the week - Lucas Glover - plays in the Travelers tournament this weekend. After winning the U.S. Open and all the attention that draws, see how he does on CBS.

Mega Monday for sports

Rain pushed the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament back to Monday. When play resumes at 9 a.m., ESPN will have coverage until 11:30 a.m.
NBC will pick up the telecast until its conclusion. If there's more rain or a playoff, throw the schedule out the window.
This adds to an awesome Monday TV lineup. Wimbledon gets underway in London, with ESPN2 coverage starting at 7 a.m.
Monday night, LSU and Texas begin the final showdown for the College World Series title. Play concludes either Tuesday or Wednesday. Weather permitting, of course.

Father's Day viewing

It's Father's Day weekend. And Dad has plenty of good sports to enjoy on his day, after opening the card and present.
Tiger Woods is playing golf. What could be better. Maybe a duel with Phil Mickelson, who finished second to Woods in 2002 when the Open was last at Bethpage Black.
The US Open fills the weekend on NBC, even more after Thursday's rain drowned the course. Woods gave us a splendid effort in 2008, forcing an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate and narrowly winning after an extra playoff hole. Then he had knee surgery and did not play the rest of the year. Quite a way to go out.
Mickelson had the memorable Open 10 years ago, losing to Payne Stewart while waiting to hear when his wife would give birth. This year, he's playing to win the trophy for his wife before she begins treatment for breast cancer.
NBC has coverage Friday at 3 p.m., followed by six hours of golf Saturday and a 1:30 p.m. start to coverage Sunday. Plan Dad's day accordingly.
NASCAR visits the road course at Sonoma, so the end of the race will be up against the end of the Open. Make sure Dad has plenty of batteries in the remote.
Father's Day baseball features the Boston matchup from the far past - Braves at Red Sox on TBS - and the Los Angeles matchup of Dodgers vs. Angels on ESPN at night.
The Orioles visit the Phillies on MASN, and the Nationals host the Blue Jays on MASN2 this weekend.
Saturday, most of the nation will see the Rays visit the Mets. The Cardinals and Royals or Brewers at Tigers go to the midwest.
College World Series has reached its final four. If LSU and Texas win Friday, they advance to the final best-of-three series starting Monday. If Arkansas or Arizona State win, then there's a game Saturday for the right to advance out of their bracket.
If you're into soccer, the MLS has a game on ESPN2 the next five weekends. San Jose hosts the LA Galaxy Saturday afternoon.
The NBA season is over, so it's time to think about next year. ESPN has draft coverage Thursday night.

Over the air, over and out

ESPN announced Friday that the 2011 Rose Bowl will be on cable instead of ABC. Thus ends tradition.
This New Year's will be the last with the major bowls on over-the-air networks. Fox ends its run broadcasting most of the BCS games, and ABC has the Rose Bowl and national championship at that venue a week later.
The ghosts of Lindsey Nelson calling the Cotton Bowl and Curt Gowdy at the Rose Bowl will be replaced by telecasts on cable. Good for ESPN.

We got a Game 7

The Stanley Cup will be in Detroit Friday night, and somebody will raise it over the ice. Even if it's early Saturday morning.
For the fifth time since 2001, the NHL championship comes down to a single contest. The Red Wings look to repeat as champions, while the Penguins look to bring the Cup back to Pittsburgh for the first time since 1992. (although 1995 movie Sudden Death was set in Pittsburgh for Game 7 of the finals).
I look forward to seeing the Octopus hovering over the crowd, and seeing if a fan tosses one onto the ice.
Another championship will be settled sometime this week. The NBA Finals continue on ABC Sunday night from Orlando. If the Magic win that one, it's back to L.A. for Game 6 Tuesday. Thursday night would be Game 7, if needed.
Eight teams, including the University of Virginia, converge on Omaha for the NCAA's College World Series. Virginia faces LSU Saturday at 7 p.m., then will play again Monday against either Arkansas or Cal-State Fullerton. Games start at 2 and 7 p.m. through Tuesday, and it's lose twice in your bracket and you go home.
In the majors, this weekend is my favorite interleague matchup. Not Yankees-Mets. It’s the Orioles hosting the Braves on MASN. I grew up an Orioles fan, and my wife liked the Braves from watching TBS on cable (she wrote the 1982 lineup on the inside of her closet. But we didn’t name any of our children Brett Butler).
Also this weekend, the Nationals visit the Rays on MASN2. Not one of the most anticipated interleague matchups.
If you want to see the Mets and Yankees, they'll be on FOX Saturday and TBS Sunday afternoon. The Indians host the Cardinals for ESPN's Sunday night contest.
TNT's NASCAR coverage continues at Michigan Sunday, starting at 1:30 p.m.

College World Series pairings

Virginia begins its first trip to the College World Series Saturday at 7 p.m ., facing LSU in a game televised on ESPN.
The rest of the schedule, from UVa's press release:
2009 MEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 13
Game 1 – 2 p.m. (ESPN HD) - Arkansas (39-22) vs. No. 2 Cal State Fullerton (47-14)
Game 2 – 7 p.m. (ESPN HD) - Virginia (48-13-1) vs. No. 3 LSU (51-16)

Sunday, June 14
Game 3 – 2 p.m. (ESPN HD) - No. 5 Arizona State (49-12) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (47-16)
Game 4 – 7 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Southern Miss (40-24) vs. No. 1 Texas (46-14-1)

Monday, June 15
Game 5 – 2 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 6 – 7 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Tuesday, June 16
Game 7 – 2 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 8 – 7 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Wednesday, June 17
Game 9 – 2 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6

Thursday, June 18
Game 10 – 7 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8

Friday, June 19
Game 11 – 2 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 12 – 7 p.m. (ESPN2 HD) - Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8