What Your Television Is Doing This Weekend
↵NBA Playoffs:
↵The NBA Playoffs finally get underway this weekend with games on TNT, ESPN, and ABC. ESPN decided to shake it up for the first round. Joining the ABC team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy will be the teams of Dave Pasch and Rick Carlisle as well as Dan Shulman and Doris Burke. While Burke has done some analyst work during the season Rick Carlisle, she is taking her first trip out of the studio since she’s been with ESPN and should be an interesting listen.↵↵Most of the regular players are on the call for TNT, but with the addition of current Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy as a color guy for the first round. I tried to remember the last time a current coach was in the booth for a set of games and couldn’t recall one. The studio show is also usually pretty crazy this time of year and Charles Barkley has already begun calling teams out. Last year, the city of Oakland was his target and this year’s city is Washington DC. CB called the Wizards the “the dumbest team in the history of civilization” for riling up Lebron James. He, Kenny Smith, Magic Johnson and Ernie Johnson will certainly provide more soundbytes during the three month Playoff run. Here’s your schedule for this weekend’s games:↵
↵↵Sat., April 19↵
- ↵↵⇥↵⇥12:30 p.m.- Washington at Cleveland, Game 1 (ESPN)↵⇥Announcers: Dave Pasch, Rick Carlisle, Holly Rowe
- ↵⇥3 p.m.- Phoenix at San Antonio, Game 1 (ABC)↵⇥Announcers: Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy
- ↵⇥7 p.m.- Dallas at New Orleans, Game 1 (ESPN)↵⇥Announcers: Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown, Lisa Salters
- ↵⇥9:30 p.m.- Utah at Houston, Game 1 (ESPN)↵⇥Announcers: Dan Shulman, Doris Burke, Heather Cox↵⇥
↵↵↵Sun., April 20↵
- ↵↵⇥↵⇥12:30 p.m.- Toronto Raptors @ Orlando Magic (TNT)↵⇥Announcers: Matt Devlin, Mike Dunleavy and Stephanie Ready
- ↵⇥3 p.m.- Denver at L.A. Lakers, Game 1 (ABC)↵⇥Announcers: Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Michele Tafoya
- ↵⇥6 p.m.- Philadelphia 76ers @ Detroit Pistons (TNT)↵⇥Announcers: Marv Albert , Reggie Miller and Dei Lynam
- ↵⇥8:30 p.m.- Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics (TNT)↵⇥Announcers: Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello and Cheryl Miller ↵⇥
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↵HBO Boxing:
↵Normally with playoffs going on in two major Sports, I wouldn't put Boxing in the main body of this post, but Saturday night's fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins (9:45pm) should be the best non-PPV fight HBO has put on in quite some time. TSB's own Large wrote about the motivation of the two combatants yesterday and this quote alone should get you excited for this fight: "The similarities between the two men are astonishing, both long-time title holders, the dominant forces at their weight-classes for over a decade, and yet both frequently disrespected by the boxing media and rarely given their due during their reigns as champions." That's motivation right there.↵
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↵↵Baseball:
↵FOX has an interesting set of announcers as well for their Baseball coverage this weekend. Joe Buck will be in St. Louis for a charity event, so Kenny Albert gets the main game with Tim McCarver. Also, if you live in the Midwest, you'll get to check out the newest analyst and ex-Pitching Coach extraordinaire Leo Mazzone's first game of the season. All games are on Saturday and start at 4pm (EST):↵
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↵↵Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves- Dick Stockton & Eric Karros
↵Markets: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Tulsa ↵
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↵↵New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies- Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal
↵Markets: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Fort Myers, Hartford, Indianapolis, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach ↵
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↵↵Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins- Matt Vasgersian & Leo Mazzone
↵Markets: Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle↵
↵↵TBS Sunday Baseball: LA Dodgers at Atlanta Braves (Sunday, 1pm)↵Announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling↵
↵↵ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies (Sunday, 8pm)↵Announcers: Jon Miller and Joe Morgan↵
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↵↵Other Options:
↵NHL Playoffs on Versus (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Nights) and on NBC (Saturday, 1pm and Sunday, 3pm)↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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