Category: Rugby

What to Watch: August 21–23

Football Owns the Weekend, Even the Fake Games

Preseason football is a lie we all agree to keep telling each other, and this weekend — Week 2 of 3 — is still very much part of the lie.

Packers at Broncos, Friday, 9 p.m. ET (regional). Late window, low stakes, camp bodies auditioning for the practice squad in prime time. Live your dreams, gentlemen.

Falcons at Colts, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET (regional). Full slate of guys who’ll be cut in two weeks playing like it’s the Super Bowl. That’s the whole appeal.

Seahawks at Titans, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET (FOX). One more preseason weekend after this before the roster gets real.

Final Word: Roster-bubble football is inherently absurd — starters resting, camp legends fighting for a locker — and that’s exactly why it’s worth an hour of your weekend.

The World Actually Starts Playing Soccer Again

Arsenal vs. Coventry City, Friday, 3 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock). Premier League, Gameweek 1, the actual season opener. Haji Wright’s on the other bench — the first real test of whether Coventry belongs in the top flight at all.

Newcastle vs. Liverpool, Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET (NBC/Peacock). Defending champs on the road, in a building that’s given them fits before. Season openers lie about a lot of things, but not always this one.

Inter vs. Monza, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET (Paramount+). Serie A, Opening Day. Reigning champs open at home against a newly promoted side that has no business being on the same pitch and knows it.

PSV vs. FC Groningen, Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET (ESPN+). Eredivisie, Matchday 3. PSV are three-time defending champions and unbeaten so far — Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi both in the fold for the three-time champs chasing another title with room to spare.

Baseball Goes to Summer Camp

Braves at Brewers, Friday–Sunday, Miller Park / Little League Classic in Williamsport. This one’s not just the novelty broadcast. Milwaukee just took three of four from the Dodgers and is trying to hold ground in the Central; Atlanta’s fighting for a wild card spot. Sunday the whole thing relocates to Historic Bowman Field for the Little League Classic — big leaguers in Little League-sized digs, kids in the stands close enough to touch the dugout.

Giants at Red Sox, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock). Sunday Leadoff window, and the more meaningful game of the day if you actually care about the standings — both clubs jockeying for playoff position with six weeks left to sort it out.

Zandvoort, One Last Time

The Dutch Grand Prix is leaving the calendar, and nobody knows when — or if — it’s coming back. F1’s off its summer break, and this is the reintroduction.

Sprint Qualifying, Friday, 9:30 a.m. ET. Sprint, Saturday, 5 a.m. ET. Qualifying, Saturday, 9 a.m. ET. Race, Sunday, 8 a.m. ET. All sessions on Apple TV.

Antonelli’s up 50 points on Hamilton in the standings, but Norris just won Hungary and McLaren looks like it’s finding another gear at the worst possible time for everyone else.

Remote Plan: Set an alarm for the race Sunday morning. Win or lose, this is the last lap here for a while.

New Pavement: Freedom 250

IndyCar — Freedom 250, Streets of Washington, D.C., Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET (FOX).

Brand new to the calendar, first laps IndyCar has ever run through the District. New street courses are always a little bit chaos theory — nobody’s raced these corners, nobody knows where the walls bite, and the setup sheets are educated guesses at best. Turn 1 on lap 1 is appointment viewing for exactly that reason.

Under the Radar: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, Round One

The Rugby Championship got shelved this year so New Zealand could do something the sport hasn’t done since 1996 — a full old-school tour of South Africa, provincial matches and all. It builds to this.

Springboks vs. All Blacks, Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (free on RugbyPass TV).

First Test of a four-match series between the two best teams on the planet — the world champions defending home turf against the side that just hung 43 points on them the last time they met. This is the biggest rivalry in the sport, round one of four, and most of the country won’t know it’s on.

Final Word: Football and soccer own the headlines this week, but Ellis Park on Saturday might be the best actual game on the board.

What to Watch This Weekend: Big Fights, Border Battles, and a Bristol Nightlight

Clear the coffee table—the remote’s getting a workout. Between a true superfight in Vegas, SEC heat, Arrowhead vs. Philly fireworks, a Bristol brawl under the lights, Rugby World Cup knockouts, speed climbing at ludicrous velocity, two tasty MLB national windows, and the WBSC U-18 World Cup Final, this weekend is stacked. All times ET with U.S. viewing info.

Boxing — The Superfight

Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence “Bud” Crawford — Sat 9:00 PM, Netflix

No PPV tax—just log in and watch one of the decade’s pound-for-pound showdowns from Allegiant. Prelims on Netflix at 5:30 PM; main card at 9:00 PM. Crawford chases audacious history up at 168; Canelo defends the empire.

College Football — Brand Fights (Sat)

Georgia at Tennessee — 3:30 PM, ABC

Checkerboard tension, volume knob stuck at 11. Georgia tries to stay clinical; Neyland tries to melt faces.

Texas A&M at Notre Dame — 7:30 PM, NBC & Peacock (pregame 7:00 PM)

Gold helmets in prime time with two defenses that hit like rent’s due. Elko vs. Freeman is the chess inside the brawl.

NFL — The National Mood (Sun/Mon)

Eagles at Chiefs — Sun 4:25 PM, FOX

You’ve seen this movie; the ending’s never guaranteed in a Super Bowl rematch. Arrowhead humidity vs. Philly spite.

Sunday Night Football: Falcons at Vikings — Sun 8:20 PM, NBC/Peacock

Two young QBs with cannons and zero fear under the dome lights.

Monday Night Football Doubleheader — Mon 7:00 PM & 10:00 PM

Buccaneers at Texans — 7:00 PM, ABC/ESPN
Chargers at Raiders — 10:00 PM, ESPN
Two-screen night: precision at happy hour, chaos for the nightcap.

NASCAR — Playoffs Under the Coliseum Lights

NASCAR Cup: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Bristol) — Sat 7:30 PM, USA Network

Short-track truth serum. Concrete, tire wear, tempers—someone’s title hopes leave with stripes.

Rugby World Cup (Women) — Quarterfinal Weekend

New Zealand vs. South Africa — Sat 8:00 AM, CBS Sports Network & Paramount+
Canada vs. Australia — Sat 11:00 AM, Paramount+
France vs. Ireland — Sun 8:00 AM, Paramount+
England vs. Scotland — Sun 11:00 AM, CBS Sports Network & Paramount+
Coffee, collisions, and bracket nerves.

IFSC — Speed World Cup Finale (Guiyang)

Speed Finals — Sat 7:30 AM, IFSC YouTube (geo-restrictions possible)

Blink-and-you-miss-it. Fifteen meters, sub-five seconds, overall titles on the line.

International Baseball — WBSC U-18 World Cup Final (Okinawa)

World Championship Final — Sun 3:00 AM, GameTime (PPV tournament pass)

Night-owl special: elite prospects, loud atmospheres, morning-coffee baseball.

Prospect Showcase — UA Next All-America Baseball Game (Baltimore)

Sat 1:00 PM, streaming on GameChanger

The nation’s top high-school talent takes over an MLB cathedral. Expect premium velocity, loud contact, and a handful of future first-rounders.

MLB — Two National Windows, Perfect Between-Football Bites

Cardinals at Brewers — Sat 8:15 PM, FOX
September baseball with playoff teeth.
Yankees at Red Sox — Sunday Night Baseball — Sun 7:00 PM, ESPN
Fenway. Lights. Volume.

The Stain Remote Plan

Saturday: Speed finals with coffee → UA All-America at 1:00 PM (GameChanger) → Georgia–Tennessee → Bristol under the lights → Canelo–Bud.
Sunday (pre-dawn): WBSC U-18 Final, 3:00 AM.
Sunday: Eagles–Chiefs late window → Yankees–Sox collide → SNF in Minneapolis.
Monday: Doubleheader damage control—hydrate and charge both screens.

What to Watch This Weekend: August 22-24

Every Friday, we’re cutting through the clutter and telling you what’s actually worth your eyeballs this weekend. Big stage, small stage, and the stuff hiding in the corner that you’ll be glad you found. Let’s roll.

Football

Forget the fake preseason stuff—real football is here. Week 0 drops Saturday with FBS and FCS action, and it’s juicier than usual.

Iowa State vs. Kansas State — Dublin, Ireland (Sat, Noon ET, ESPN)
This isn’t your sleepy Week 0 cupcake. Two ranked Big 12 teams, two future NFL quarterbacks in Rocco Becht (Iowa State) and Avery Johnson (K-State), and playoff stakes already in the air. Add in the novelty of Irish pints before kickoff—this one’s appointment viewing.
Incarnate Word @ Nicholls (Sat, 1 PM ET, ESPN2)
Don’t sleep on the FCS. Southland rivals, a Top-5 squad in UIW, and a Nicholls team trying to bounce back from a flop season. Should be spicy down in Thibodaux.
Stanford @ Hawaii (Sat, 7:30 PM ET, CBS)
Normally, this is perfect midnight-on-the-mainland Rainbow Warrior chaos. Instead, we’re stuck with a standard kickoff. Still, plenty to watch: Andrew Luck is running Stanford’s GM chair, Frank Reich is on the sideline, and transfer QB Ben Gulbranson just beat out freshman Elijah Brown for the starting gig. New era vibes for the Cardinal.

Baseball

Rivalry weekend, full blast.

Red Sox at Yankees (capped by Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN) — two clubs fighting for positioning in the Wild Card standings
Dodgers at Padres — San Diego gets another swing at the reigning champs of the NL West.
Mets at Braves — Braves fans haven’t had a ton to cheer for this season, but they always get up to root against the Mets.

And don’t forget: Little League World Series Championship hits Sunday (1 PM ET, ABC). U.S. vs. International, bragging rights for life.

Golf

The Tour Championship is live from East Lake, with $40M on the line. Scottie Scheffler has the inside track, but there are plenty ready to wreck his repeat bid.

Rugby

The Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off in England. The U.S. opens against the hosts at the Stadium of Light (CBS Sports, late Friday night/early Saturday morning stateside). Pour one more and root for the Eagles.

Soccer

Europe’s back in full swing, and there are some tasty matchups to keep on your radar this weekend:

Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig (Fri, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+)
Bundesliga action from the Allianz Arena. Bayern usually dominates Leipzig, but Leipzig loves a statement game.

West Ham vs. Chelsea (Fri, 3:00 p.m. ET, USA Network/Universo)
West Ham hosts Chelsea at London Stadium in a clash that could set the tone for the rest of the season. Expect drama, late tackles, and maybe a surprise upset.

Manchester City vs. Tottenham (Sat, 7:30 a.m. ET, USA Network/Universo)
Early bird gets the goals. Pep’s squad at home, Spurs looking to prove a point. It’s a Premier League heavyweight bout that kicks off bright and early stateside. Coffee mandatory.

Sure, there’s more. But these are the headliners, the sneaky gems, and the built-in excuses not to mow the lawn. The couch is calling—answer it.