Friday, September 11, 2009

Weekend watchdog - NFL opening weekend

Warm up Hank Williams Jr. and Faith Hill. It's time for NFL football.
The season started Thursday night on NBC with the Super Bowl champion Steelers hosting the Titans. And it closes with a Monday night doubleheader with an old AFL feel - Bills at Patriots at 7 p.m., followed by Chargers at Raiders.
For Sunday's schedule in your area, check www.the506.com/nflmaps. They check the TV listings across the country to find which markets get which games.
Fishersville is part of the Washington, D.C. market, so we'll have the Chiefs at Ravens and Cowboys at Bucs as our early games. The FOX late game will be Giants at the Redskins, of course.
The Bears at Packers is NBC's first Sunday night game.
FOX has the first week doubleheader since CBS has the U.S. Open men's final. That follows super Saturday, with the men's semifinals starting at 11 a.m. and the women's final at 7 p.m. But if it's not a battle of the Williams sisters for the title, is it really a Grand Slam event?
It's another big week of college football. ESPN has a game 9 p.m. Friday as Colorado visits Toledo. Nice traditional rivalry.
Saturday's big game comes on ESPN at 8 p.m., when Southern Cal visits Ohio State. Navy almost upset the Buckeyes last week, and the last thing the Big Ten needs is another big loss.
Fresno State at Wisconsin (Troglopundit will be happy) opens the day for ESPN at noon, followed by UCLA at Tennessee at 4 p.m. ESPN2 has Central Michigan vs. Michigan State at noon, followed by BYU at Tulane and South Carolina going between the hedges against Georgia at 7 p.m.
ABC simplifies things at 3:30 p.m., offering just Notre Dame at Michigan. Local fans with expanded cable and strong stomachs can watch TCU visit Virginia at the same time. But really, why?
Versus starts its college football lineup with Texas at Wyoming at 3:30.
The ACC schedule begins with Stanford visiting Wake Forest at noon on various stations, including NBC29.
Comcast SportsNet picks up the Fox Sports college feed, with Iowa at Iowa State at noon followed by Houston at Oklahoma State. Then it's Purdue at Oregon at 10:30 p.m.
NASCAR's final race before the Chase comes Saturday in Richmond on ABC.
The Orioles and Nationals are winding down their long seasons. The Orioles visit the Yankees this weeked on MASN, while the Nationals face the Marlins on MASN2.
The highlight national game of the week is the Phillies at Mets, featured on FOX Saturday and ESPN Sunday night. White Sox vs. Angels and Braves at Cardinals join the FOX rotation, while the Dodgers at Giants gets the TBS treatment Sunday afternoon.

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