forecast Archives - Dear Sports Fan

What should I watch at the Olympics on Sun, Aug 7?

The Olympics are here! The Olympics are here!

Now, what should I watch? It’s a universal question with a personal answer. I can’t tell you for sure what you’ll enjoy the most, but I can tell you what I think the best, most interesting events of the day are going to be. Listen to the podcast and follow along with the abridged schedule below. If you want to see a full schedule, check out today’s schedule and tomorrow’s schedule on Dear Sports Fan. If you’re on a phone, this Google Sheets link is your best bet.

Let me know if you enjoy what you see and hear and please, if you have a question as you’re watching, email dearsportsfan@gmail.com and I will reply!

How to plan for the week of June 29 – July 5, 2015

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: Wimbledon, the year’s most prestigious, fast moving, and above all extraordinarily British tennis tournament begins today. Because of the time difference, this is mostly a morning affair on the East Coast and a way-too-early-for-sports affair on the West Coast. In the evening, clear your calendar of all South American or otherwise soccer obsessed people because they’ll be watching the first half of the Copa America semifinals between Chile and Peru.

Tuesday: More Wimbledon tennis and the other Copa America men’s soccer semifinal today, but that’s just window dressing to the main event: the U.S. women’s national soccer team playing against Germany in the semifinals of the World Cup. If you’ve already gotten on board the World Cup bandwagon, that’s great, you know how critical this game is going to be. If not, now is the time. Don’t wait to watch the finals! Due to how FIFA set up the bracket, this is likely to be the most important game left in the World Cup. Whoever wins this game, Germany or the United States, is going to be the overwhelming favorite to win the whole thing. Germany, ranked number one in the world by FIFA, is the 60/40 favorite in this game.

Wednesday: The highlight of the day is definitely the other women’s World Cup semifinal. The game between Japan and England is the undercard of the semis — a game between two lesser teams than either Germany or the United States, but it’s not without its appeal. Japan is the most technically beautiful team in the tournament, playing with tight, short passes. Its players seem to know instinctively where each of their teammates is without needing to look. England, on the other hand, has been advancing off its spirit. Of all the teams left, they’re the spunkiest, most lovable bunch.

Thursday: Rest day when it comes to sports this week. Watch some Wimbledon tennis with your coffee (or even better, tea) in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day sports free… unless there’s a baseball game in your area.

Friday: On the face of it, this looks like an ideal date night. It’s almost as devoid of sports as Thursday was. I mean, who really watches a third place game in a soccer tournament? Lots of people! The mildly sad truth about soccer tournaments is that third place games are often more attractive to watch than finals. Without the ultimate prize to play for, teams relax a little and play more wide open, offensive soccer.

Saturday: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! You should be outside all day today, grilling and drinking some type of appropriate drink with your friends or family. Run some extension cords to your patio and pull a TV out there, because there’s too much you’ll miss otherwise. Enjoy the best our once colonial rulers have to offer in the morning with Wimbledon tennis. Cringe watch (as I always seem to find myself doing) Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest, live from Brooklyn’s Coney Island at 2 p.m. ET and then switch over to NBC at 3 p.m. ET to see what our Revolutionary War allies, the French, are getting up to. The answer? Cycling! It’s the first day of the Tour de France. At 4 p.m. ET, you’ve got a choice between two soccer games. Hopefully, the U.S. women will NOT be playing in the third place game of the World Cup, which will make it easier to choose. The finals of the Copa America should be a doozy, no matter which team are playing.

Sunday: The women’s World Cup comes to a close with its final match at 7 p.m. ET on Fox. If the United States makes it to this match, expect viewing records to be set. It will truly be a giant game. Other Sunday viewing options include the second stage of the Tour de France, some golf tournament, and a NASCAR race from the legendary Daytona Speedway.

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.

How to plan for the week of June 22-28, 2015

Download a full-size copy here.

Monday: The United States women’s national soccer team plays its first elimination game of the World Cup against Colombia. That’s a big deal. Only an hour later, the men’s college World Series begins and it’s a rematch of last year’s series between Virginia and Vanderbilt. That’s a big deal too. Women’s soccer and college baseball may be slightly more fringe than last week’s NBA and NHL finals but if you’re a fan of either or if you live with a fan of either, tonight is going to be a sports-heavy night.

Tuesday: Why is the soccer game so late? I’ve noticed that the World Cup times have been conveniently convenient for television viewing in home countries. 10 p.m. ET is 7 p.m in Vancouver and 11 a.m. the next day in Japan. Oh, sure, it’s 4 a.m. in the Netherlands, and that’s not so good, but Japan is the defending champions and if we were going to modify things for either country’s home audience, it would be there’s. For sports fans, it’s somewhat convenient because the late start takes the soccer game pretty much out of conflict with Game Two of the men’s college World Series.

Wednesday: On a relatively sports-light week, Wednesday could be the lightest day. If either Virginia or Vanderbilt wins both of the first two games of the men’s college World Series, then there won’t be a need for Game Three tonight and we’ll have a pretty much sports-free day. If you’re in the Boston area, join the Dear Sports Fan Viewing Parties meetup group. We’ll be in Central Square, watching the Boston Red Sox play the Baltimore Orioles. Baseball!

Thursday: The NBA draft is not actually a game but it is a sporting event in the truest sense. Basketball fans of all 30 NBA teams will want to pay attention. These days though, that can just mean a quick look at a cell-phone under the table or in the bathroom. It’s safe to go out for dinner.

Friday: Date night! There’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news for the prospects of a date is that there’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinal action from 4 p.m. ET to around 9:30 p.m. ET. The good news is that this should be the best day of the World Cup. France vs. Germany could/should be a finals matchup and although it’s something of a shame that they are meeting so early in the tournament, that doesn’t change how intense and skilled their game will be. The intensity of the later game will depend on who faces China. If it’s the United States, it may become the most watched U.S. women’s national team game to date. It would be a rematch of the 1999 World Cup championship game which famously ended in a shootout with the United States winning. If it’s Colombia, a big swatch of the viewership will be disappointed, including me.

Saturday: Two quarterfinals matches in the women’s World Cup, just like yesterday, but this side of the bracket is decidedly the undercard. It’s easy to think that whichever of the four teams that eventually comes out of Friday’s two games should have an easy time in the championship game with whichever team comes out of these two games. Still, as they say, “there’s a reason they play the games.” Anything can happen and it usually does.

Sunday: This is honestly not a bad Sunday to go for a day-trip. We do have the usual Sunday suspects: golf, NASCAR, and soccer, but none of it is can’t miss TV.

How to plan for the week of June 15-21, 2015

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.

Sports Forecast for Thursday, March 19, 2015 – March Madness Edition

We’re interrupting our normal daily sports forecasts to concentrate on March Madness, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and American cultural obsession. We’ll run you through the games each day and give you a little flavor for each one.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #14 Northeastern Huskies vs. #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

Hooooray!! March Madness is here! Let’s get this thing started! Time to settle in on your coach or your bar stool or duck down in your cubicle and get your illicitly streaming phone or tablet going! Unless you’re a Notre Dame fan, you’re all going to be rooting for Northeastern here. The best part of March Madness is the madness — the upsets, so that’s what we want to see!

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #14 UAB Blazers vs. #3 Iowa State Cyclones, 12:40 p.m. ET on TRU.

Okay, the first half of the Northeastern vs. Notre Dame game is over. Let’s switch over to the start of this game. What? What is TRU? Do I even get that channel? Ah, thank god for Sports Illustrated’s guide to finding TRU. Great, here we are. Hmmmm…. UAB’s name is “Blazers” and their mascot is a dragon? Who wants to bet that the dragon was added in later to bowdlerize the original meaning of the nickname. No, don’t look it up, that’s what bar bets are for.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #14 Georgia State Panthers vs. #3 Baylor Bears, 1:40 p.m. ET on TBS.

Okay, the first two games aren’t going to satisfy the country’s itch for an upset, so maybe this one will. Why the heck did the tournament decide to start with three #14 vs #3 matchups anyway? I’m guessing those are always the lowest rated games, so why not put them during the day when most people are at least supposed to be working anyway, but it does make for a bit of an inauspicious start to the tournament. Patience. Patience and more popcorn. Let’s go Georgia State! This would be a great upset story — their coach tore his achilles tendon while celebrating the win that put them into the tournament. He was hugging his son, a player on the team. Also, that guy Kevin Ware who broke his leg so terribly when he was on Louisville and they were in the Final Four a couple years ago is on this team.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #15 Texas Southern Tigers vs. #2 Arizona Wildcats, 2:10 p.m. ET on TNT.

Okay, so this is unlikely to be a competitive game, but it does give all of us a chance to actually see Arizona. Unless you’re on the West Coast or are a real college basketball junkie, you probably haven’t seen the Wildcats play yet this year and they’re supposed to be one of the two or three teams that could give Kentucky a run for their money. Are they really that good?

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #11 Texas Longhorns vs. #6 Butler Bulldogs, 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS.

Here we go! Two hours and thirty minutes since the tournament began and we’ve got what should be a real, competitive game. Not only is a 11 vs. 6 closer on paper than the earlier games but Texas is an unusually talented 11 seed. They’re one of those teams that, if they could put their shit together and play well for a week or two, could make a deep run. Butler, the team that’s used to playing the role of the underdog, is the overdog in this matchup and it should be interesting to see how they react.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #11 UCLA Bruins vs. #6 SMU Mustangs, 3:10 p.m. ET on TRU.

UCLA was once the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team of men’s basketball. They won everything all the time. Nowadays? Not so much. SMU is a different story. They’re coached by the 74 year-old peripatetic coach, Larry Brown, who is still the only coach to ever win an NCAA championship and an NBA one. Many people felt they should have gotten into the tournament last year, so they’re a bit of a sentimental favorite this time around, now that they’ve made it.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #10 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #7 VCU Rams, 4:10 p.m. ET on TBS.

Glurb. So much basketball. I gotta go do something else. But wait, this could be a good game. And after this one, there’s a quick break for an early dinner before the next one comes on. I’ll stick it out. Plus, there’s some built in interest here. The favorite in this game is VCU, a team from a small conference, and the underdog is Ohio State, a big school from a big conference. If you need a tie-breaker to figure out who to root for, VCU’s coach is named Shaka Smart!

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #16 Lafayette Leopards vs. #1 Villanova Wildcats, 6:50 p.m. ET on TBS.

“You’ve had your dinner,” the March Madness gods chortle, “now get back to the TV!” You meekly obey and watch poor Lafayette’s ritual slaughter at the hands of Villanova.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #9 Purdue Boilermakers vs. #8 Cincinnati Bearcats, 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS.

Now we’re cooking with gas. The second of four games all starting within 40 minutes. An 8 vs. 9 game is always a toss-up in terms of predicting what is going to happen and usually it’s a close game too. It’s hard to get too excited about either of these moderately successful teams in big, power conferences, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Cincinnati. They just seem like a tough team most of the time.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #13 Harvard vs. #4 North Carolina, 7:20 p.m. ET on TNT.

This is Harvard’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in a row. They’ve won their first game the last two years, upsetting higher ranked teams both times. This has a lot of people anticipating this game and hoping that Harvard can make it three in a row and show up the North Carolina basketball royalty. After a few minutes, you’ll realize this isn’t going to happen. Luckily, there’s lots of other games to watch.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #12 Stephen F. Austin vs. #5 Utah Runnin’ Utes, 7:27 p.m. ET on TRU.

This is another highly anticipated upset possibility. Two things play into that. First of all, there’s the tournament truism that a 12 always beats a 5. Also, Stephen F. Austin did it just last year when they beat number 5 seed VCU as a number 12 seed. Don’t buy into it. According to virtually all of the expert rankings out there, Utah is closer to a top ten team this year than the 20-24th best team their seed would suggest. They should be able to handle Stephen F. Austin.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #9 LSU Tigers vs. #8 North Carolina State Wolfpack, 9:20 p.m. ET on TBS.

Entering the home stretch for day one of the tournament. Only three games left. This is a sneaky good game. LSU has a couple of solid NBA prospects on their team, which is surprisingly something a lot of these teams can’t say, and North Carolina State actually beat Duke, Louisville, and North Carolina this year, so you know they can put on a show.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #16 Hampton Pirates vs. #1 Kentucky Wildcats, 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS.

One day a 16 seed will beat a 1 seed. It won’t be today. One day Kentucky might lose but also, not today. I find it interesting that CBS would even want to show this game but I guess Kentucky is the biggest star of this tournament and even showing them in a blowout will get great ratings.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – #13 Eastern Washington Eagles vs. #4 Georgetown Hoyas, 9:57 p.m. ET on TRU.

And now, finally, the game we’ve all been waiting for. This is one of the most popular choices for a big upset in round one. Somewhere between 15-20% of everyone who’s filled in a bracket thinks that the Eastern Washington Eagles are going to beat the Georgetown Hoyas. Why is this? Well, for one thing, a lot of people felt that Georgetown should really have been seeded lower than they were — that they made a better 5 or 6 seed than a 4 seed. Also, Georgetown has been a disappointing tournament team over the last few years. In fact, they haven’t made it past the first week of games since 2007.