Weekend watchdog

It's championship weekend for NASCAR and the MLS.
The Sprint Cup champion will be crowned Sunday at Homestead, with ESPN providing coverage at 3 p.m. Carl Edwards holds a slim lead over Tony Stewart, who has won four of the first nine races in the chase.
The MLS season closes Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPN, when Los Angeles plays Houston for the MLS Cup. The Galaxy finished the season with the best record in the MLS, and will be playing at home against the Dynamo - seventh best in the regular season. Former Virginia soccer coach Bruce Arena and David Beckham look to keep the Cup in L.A.
The Nationwide racers also end their campaign this weekend, with the final green flag dropping Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Virginia Tech opens the college football weekend Thursday, hosting North Carolina on ESPN at 8 p.m. Friday, second-ranked Oklahoma State travels to Iowa State on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Virginia tries to keep alive its hope for an ACC championship, traveling to Florida State Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The ACC network offers Georgia Tech at Duke at 12:30 p.m., and Comcast has Maryland playing Wake Forest at 3 p.m. Clemson gears up for the ACC championship game, facing N.C. State on ABC at 3:30 p.m.
Notre Dame hosts Boston College at 4 p.m on NBC.
ABC's afternoon offerings also include Penn State at Ohio State or Texas Tech-Missouri. ESPN will carry the Penn State game in the Fishersville area. In primetime, ABC has either USC vs. Oregon or Oklahoma traveling to Baylor.
Arkansas hosts Mississippi State on CBS at 3:30 p.m.
Versus has "The Game" - Harvard vs. Yale - Saturday at noon. Then it's out west for Colorado State at TCU, with Colorado taking on UCLA at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN begins its Saturday with Nebraska's trip to Michigan at noon. Top-ranked LSU takes on Mississippi at 7 p.m., followed by California's battle with Stanford. ESPN2 has Wisconsin facing Illinois at noon.
MASN opens the day with a Big East battle between Louisville and Connecticut at noon. Liberty faces Stony Brook at 3:30 p.m., with the WAC game between Utah State and Idaho following. Comcast's CAA game at noon features William & Mary at Richmond.
FX brings Kansas State taking on Texas at 8 p.m.
Can the Redskins stop their losing streak? The Cowboys come to town Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX. That means CBS in Washington can only show one game - San Diego at Chicago at 4:15 p.m. The Eagles try to slow their recent troubles on NBC Sunday Night, as the Giants come calling.
The Chiefs visit New England on ESPN Monday night, while NFL Network showcases the Jets at Tim Tebow and the Broncos Thursday at 8:15 p.m.
It's President's Cup weekend down under. Golf Channel has the live coverage in primetime, and NBC offers tape-delayed action Saturday at 8 a.m. and Sunday at noon.
ESPN2 gets college basketball going for the weekend Thursday at 5 p.m., as Maryland plays Alabama. It's Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State at 7 p.m., followed by Arizona-St. John's. Friday, there's two games from the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament starting at 4:30 p.m. At 9 p.m., it's a semifinal game from Puerto Rico.
The championship game from Puerto Rico will be Sunday at 8 p.m., with the third place game tipping at 5:30 p.m.
MASN offers a basketball battle of Baltimore Thursday at 7 p.m., with Loyola facing UMBC. Sunday at 1 p.m., Coppin State travels to Connecticut.
The Capitals make their first trip to Southeast Division rival Winnipeg Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast and travel to Toronto Saturday at 7 p.m.