If you are a sports fan or if you live with a sports fan then your weekly schedule becomes inextricably linked with what sporting events are on at what times during each week. The conflict between missing a sporting event for a poorly committed to social event and missing an appealing social event to watch a game is an important balancing act in any kind of romantic, familial, or business relationship between a sports fan and a non-sports fan. To help facilitate this complicated advanced mathematics, Dear Sports Fan has put together a table showing the most important sporting events of the upcoming week. Print it out, put it on your fridge, and go through it with your scheduling partner.
Download a full-size copy here.
Monday: Teams in the women’s World Cup begin playing their third and last games of the group stage. Group games are played simultaneously so no one gains an advantage by knowing the result of the other game before their own. The only team of the eight playing today that has basically no chance of advancing is the Ivory Coast. The most highly anticipated game of the day will be Canada vs. the Netherlands. Both teams are likely to advance, but a win would likely put either team in first place, giving them an easier road through the knockout round. Meanwhile, the National Hockey League’s knockout rounds (the Stanley Cup playoffs) are coming to a close. It’s game Six of the seven game series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Blackhawks are up three games to two. If the Blackhawks win tonight, the season is over and they are champions.
Tuesday: This is the hardest decision of the week. What to watch at night? The US Women’s National Soccer Team playing their last group stage game against Nigeria or Game Six of the NBA Finals, which have been absolutely wonderful so far? Well, take it one thing at a time. The soccer game starts at eight. Watch the first half. If all goes well and the U.S. is up 4-1, switch to the basketball. If not, finish the soccer game and then pick up the basketball game mid-stream.
Wednesday: The last day of the Group stage in the World Cup features the most exciting group so far, Group F. France, the overwhelming favorite coming into the group, is in third place, trailing Colombia and England. If you can get yourself to a place with multiple televisions, enjoy the drama unfold starting at 4 p.m. ET with Mexico vs. France and England vs. Colombia! If the Chicago Blackhawks don’t win on Monday, tonight will feature a deciding Game Seven. There’s nothing better than a Game Seven.
Thursday: The World Cup takes the day off, hockey will definitely be over, and if the NBA needs a Game Seven, it won’t be until tomorrow. So, what do you do? Well, I’ll take the day off from watching sports. But if you don’t want to, the men’s U.S. Open golf tournament begins with coverage virtually all day, and you could tune into the college World Series.
Friday: Date night! You should be clear unless the NBA Finals need a seventh game. In that case, all bets are off. If you’re with a basketball fan, they’re going to be glued to the television set.
Saturday: The World Cup is back and this time, in a single elimination format. After the two games at 4 and 7 p.m. ET, two countries will be going home and two will be moving on to the quarterfinals.
Sunday: Three more elimination games in the World Cup plus the final day of the men’s U.S. Open golf tournament should make for an exciting day. And if you need any more excitement, there’s also a good Major League Soccer game in the late afternoon.
Caveat — This forecast is optimized for the general sports fan, not a particular sports fan. As such, your mileage may vary. For instance, you or the sports fan in your life is a fan of a particular team, then a regular season MLB baseball game or MLS soccer game may be more important on a particular day than anything on the forecast above. Use the calendar as a way to facilitate conversation about scheduling, not as the last word on when there are sports to watch.