What Your Television Is Doing This Weekend

By Brian Powell
So we’re mired in our first “official weekend” without football and I’m here to tell you that it’s not that bad. Sure you can relive all of your favorite games, and even go back and watch the Super Bowl that you TIVO’d, but we need to get past this weekend and start enjoying other sports again. Here’s a list that will help cure you of your football withdrawal this weekend.
College Basketball: You may have missed the better part of the college season, but now is a better time than any to catch back up with the sport. Seven of the nation’s Top 25 teams are going to be on television this Saturday with another two in action on Sunday.
[img=http://i.tsn.com/i/photos/20080208/86442.jpg]
Dick Vitale is back in action for the rest of the season, and whether you like him or not, he always makes games pretty entertaining. He will reportedly be wearing a device that monitors the level of strain to his vocal chords during the Georgetown-Louisville game this weekend, so that should be worth at least 10 minutes of material for him.
Saturday
#16 Marquette at #21 Notre Dame (ESPN, Noon)- Dave Pasch, Len Elmore
Boston College at #2 Duke (CBS, 1pm)- Verne Lundquist, Billy Packer
#12 Texas at Iowa State (ABC, 3:30)- Terry Gannon, Fran Fraschilla
USC at #17 Washington State (ABC, 3:30)- Brent Musburger, Steve Lavin
Georgia Tech at #19 Connecticut (ESPN, 4pm)- Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke
Oklahoma State at #24 K-State (ESPN, 6pm)- Ron Franklin, Bob Wenzel
#6 Georgetown at L’ville (ESPN, 9pm)- Dan Shulman, Vitale, Erin Andrews
Sunday
#13 Indiana at Ohio State (CBS, 1pm)- Kevin Harlan, Clark Kellogg
Clemson at #3 North Carolina (FSN, 6:30pm)
NBA: The season just got a whole lot more interesting as two centers switched teams over the last week. Shaq and Pau Gasol will both be on television this weekend and on top of that you’ll get a double dose of the Boston Celtics, as they’re on TV both Friday (ESPN) and Sunday (ABC).
Friday
Boston at Minnesota (ESPN, 8pm)
Washington at Denver (ESPN, 10:30pm)
Sunday
San Antonio at Boston (ABC, 1pm)
Los Angeles Lakers at Miami (ABC, 3:30pm)
Denver at Cleveland (ESPN, 7pm)
Washington at Phoenix (ESPN, 9:30pm)
Golf: It’s starting to slowly get warmer outside and the PGA Tour’s season is really just getting underway. Tiger Woods is unfortunately not in action this weekend during the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, but the rest of the competitors are pretty impressive. The defending champ Phil Mickelson, along with Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, and John Daly highlight the list vying for the win. Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo will have the coverage 3-6PM on Saturday and Sunday.
NASCAR: I have to admit that my interest in NASCAR has dwindled over the past few years, but there’s nothing like the Daytona 500. While that race isn’t until February 17th, the Bud Shootout airs this Saturday at 8pm on FOX. The format is a little odd (including a 10-minute intermission), but it’s the first look at some of the best drivers the sport has to offer. Plus crashes in HD with surround sound on are just flat out awesome.
Hockey: I really have no idea what’s going on in the NHL, but I usually watch a little bit of the Sunday contests every weekend on NBC. The league leading Red Wings are at home to take on last year’s Stanley Cup winners the Anaheim Ducks at 3:30, so that might be worth checking out.
It’s almost like there are even more options out there now that football is over! Hopefully we can all make it through to March when the real fun starts.↵