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.
This does not include MLB baseball games. There are so many of those every day that another approach is needed. That approach is our special Daily MLB Forecast. Same deal, for the most part, with NFL football games. For those, see our NFL Forecast.
Download a full-size copy here.
Monday: We’ll all be able to take a breath during the day and recover from this past weekend’s sports excesses. In the evening, the NFL returns with a compelling game between the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks. Both teams seem to be tumbling backwards this year and it’s always interesting to see who can stop their fall and start climbing again and how they do it.
Tuesday: Major League Baseball’s playoffs get started today with a one-game wildcard game in the American League. A lot of people are opposed to the existence of these games. It seems cruel to end a team’s playoff run, after a 162 game regular season, with a single defeat. It sure pumps up the drama though, there’s no denying that. At the same time, the WNBA finals get serious with game two between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever.
Wednesday: It’s hockey season again! Let me repeat: it’s hockey season again! I love hockey. If you want to know why, and why many people love hockey, read my post on the topic. The first nationally televised game of the season is the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks playing against the New York Rangers, who lost in the semifinals last year. It should be a good game but more importantly, it signals the return of hockey! All that said, I can’t really recommend watching it over the MLB’s National League wildcard game which starts at the same time.
Thursday: The European Championships are considered by some people to be an equal or even a superior tournament to the World Cup. How could it be better? Because of the geographic distribution of teams in the World Cup, some feel that the European only field is actually deeper with more skilled teams than the World Cup whose Asian, African, and North American representatives rarely make it past the first knockout round. The next European Championships will be in the summer of 2016 but its qualifying tournament has already begun. Watch Ireland try to upset Germany today. Later on, switch over to the first games of baseball’s divisional series. Or, if you prefer America’s new past-time to its old or future ones, watch a divisional NFL game between the Colts and Texans.
Friday: Date night!
Saturday: Of all the college football on this Saturday, my favorite game to watch will be Navy vs Notre Dame. Navy is such a joy to watch. They play football using a mostly antiquated but still surprisingly effective offensive system called the triple option. This involves running the ball on nearly every play. To make up for the loss of surprise over whether they’ll run or pass, they set up two or three different players who look like they’re going to carry the ball. If the defense guesses wrong, they’ll pay for it. At night, there’s one of the biggest non-World Cup men’s international soccer games in memory. The United States and Mexico play in a one-game playoff to decide who qualifies for the next Confederations Cup. This international tournament is important because its held in the spot of the next World Cup (Russia) the year before the World Cup. It provides an opportunity for something close to a dress rehearsal and is perceived as providing a big advantage for the teams that qualify. This only adds fuel to the always simmering fire of the U.S. vs. Mexico men’s soccer rivalry.
Sunday: The NFL eclipses everything else on most Sundays during the fall. That’s true this Sunday but there are a few other events to keep your eye on. If you’re a golf fan at all, you should check in on the final round of the Presidents Cup. The baseball playoffs, with one game on in the evening, offer a reasonable alternative to football. European championships qualifying soccer and Game Three of the WNBA finals are also strong contenders.
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.