Tag: Bundesliga

What to Watch: Week 0 Is Real Football — and It’s Leaving the Country

What to Watch: Week 0 Is Real Football — and It’s Leaving the Country

Week 0 Is Real Football, and It’s Leaving the Country

The actual college football season starts this weekend, and it starts with a flight.

North Carolina vs. TCU, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN), Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Year 2 of the Bill Belichick experiment, and it’s opening with the program’s first-ever game outside the country. Make of that what you will.

NC State at Virginia, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). All-ACC, moved from Rio to Charlottesville — still a real conference game with real stakes, just with better travel logistics now.

USC vs. San Jose State, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (NBC). The only ranked team playing this weekend. No. 14 has no excuse not to look the part.

Memphis at UNLV, Saturday, 10 p.m. ET (FOX). The nightcap. West Coast kickoff for a sport that just spent seven months pretending it wasn’t dead.

Final Word: One Saturday, four time zones, and the whole sport waking back up at once.

Meanwhile, Fake Football Gets One Last Look

NFL Preseason, Week 3. The last dress rehearsal before Tuesday’s cutdown to 53. Whatever you see this weekend is the last audition tape for guys fighting for a locker.

Soccer, Firing on All Cylinders

Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart, Friday, 2:30 p.m. ET. Bundesliga’s season opener — Kompany defending the title from the jump.

Crystal Palace vs. Man City, Friday, 3 p.m. ET (Peacock). City coming off a win, Palace looking to be the league’s most annoying underdog again.

Real Madrid vs. Málaga, Sunday. Mourinho’s Bernabéu debut. Whatever’s left in the tank from the Espanyol trip gets tested at home.

Milan vs. Venezia, Friday. Reigning champs, home crowd, a newly promoted side that’s already learned this league doesn’t care about your feelings.

Two Ovals, One Playoff Cutoff

NASCAR — Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona, Saturday night (NBC). Regular-season finale. Win Saturday and lock into the Chase; lose and start doing math nobody wants to do.

IndyCar — Milwaukee Mile doubleheader, Saturday and Sunday (FOX). The only doubleheader on the calendar. Palou’s chasing a fourth straight title and Milwaukee’s the kind of short oval that turns championships into arguments.

Baseball’s Actual Stakes

Red Sox at Yankees, four games, Friday–Sunday. AL East, both clubs jockeying for playoff position with a month left to sort it out. This is the series that decides who’s playing in October and who’s watching it.

Under the Radar: A Mountain in Italy

UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, Val di Sole, Italy, streaming on FloBikes. Cross-country and downhill finals land this weekend — the world championship of a sport most of you have never watched a full run of. Tom Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel, and Valentina Höll headline; this is the second-biggest event on the mountain biking calendar behind the Olympics, and it airs to almost nobody in this country.

Final Word: Belichick’s in Dublin, Milwaukee’s got a doubleheader, and somewhere in the Dolomites people are throwing bikes down a mountain for a rainbow jersey. Pick your chaos.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND – Football Owns the Weekend, Everything Else Fights for Space

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND – Football Owns the Weekend, Everything Else Fights for Space

This is one of those weekends where the sports calendar stops pretending it has manners. NFL playoff football stacks Saturday and Sunday. The NBA slips in a few national windows. Soccer gives you a proper derby. And Olympic sports quietly sneak in some must-see events if you’re willing to leave the mainstream lane.

You won’t watch everything — but you should know where to look.

NFL — DIVISIONAL ROUND

Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos

Saturday, Jan 17 — 4:30 PM ET — CBS

This is the early Saturday game, which historically means one of two things: either a blowout nobody remembers or a weird classic that ruins the rest of your weekend expectations. Buffalo brings the firepower. Denver brings the defense and altitude energy. Someone’s season ends before dinner.

San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks

Saturday, Jan 17 — 8:00 PM ET — FOX

This rivalry never needs help. Familiar opponents. Familiar tension. Familiar “how did that just happen?” moments. The late Saturday slot is where grudges go to thrive.

Houston Texans vs New England Patriots

Sunday, Jan 18 — 3:00 PM ET — ESPN / ABC

The Patriots aren’t supposed to be here. The Texans are supposed to be happy just being invited. That combination usually produces chaos. The early Sunday national window is deceptive — this one could turn sideways fast.

Los Angeles Rams vs Chicago Bears

Sunday, Jan 18 — 6:30 PM ET — NBC / Peacock

Prime-time playoff football in Chicago. Cold weather. Tight game. Everyone suddenly becomes a running-game expert. This is the “wrap the weekend in stress” game.

NBA — NATIONAL WINDOWS & SPOTLIGHT GAMES

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Philadelphia 76ers

Friday, Jan 16 — 7:00 PM ET — ESPN

This is the kind of Friday night NBA game that reminds you the regular season still matters when the teams actually care. Physical, emotional, and loud — especially if it’s close late.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets

Friday, Jan 16 — Late Evening ET — ESPN / Regional

Young legs, fast pace, and a game that can flip from sloppy to electric in about three possessions. Perfect background basketball once your brain starts switching gears.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Miami Heat

Sunday, Jan 18 — Evening ET — Regional / League Pass

Not a national window, but a quietly important matchup. OKC’s speed against Miami’s structure always makes for uncomfortable basketball — which is usually the good kind.

Toronto Raptors vs Los Angeles Lakers

Sunday, Jan 18 — Night ET — Regional / League Pass

Late-night NBA with stars on one side and chaos on the other. If you’re still awake after the NFL, this is where you land.

SOCCER — DERBIES AND REAL STAKES

Manchester United vs Manchester City

Sunday, Jan 18 — Late Morning ET — Peacock / USA Network

Derbies don’t care about form. They care about moments. This one sets the tone for your entire Sunday before football even kicks off.

RB Leipzig vs Bayern Munich

Saturday, Jan 17 — 12:30 PM ET — ESPN+

Fast, aggressive, and played like someone turned the difficulty setting up too high. Bundesliga at its best never apologizes.

AFCON — Senegal vs Morocco

Friday, Jan 16 — Afternoon ET — beIN SPORTS / beIN CONNECT

Tournament football hits differently. This one carries real weight, real pressure, and zero patience. If you want intensity before the weekend fully explodes, this is it.

OLYMPIC SPORTS — IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW

Figure Skating — European Championships

Friday–Sunday — Peacock

This isn’t background viewing. This is elite skating with Olympic implications, pressure situations, and performances that actually matter. Peacock has full session coverage — it’s the only reliable place to watch without guessing.

Speed Skating — ISU World Cup

Friday–Sunday — Peacock

Session-based coverage with Olympic qualification points on the line. Not flashy, but incredibly tense if you care about margins and moments.

THE REMOTE PLAN

(Because discipline matters.)

Friday Night
NBA on ESPN → AFCON earlier if you want the warm-up → skating on Peacock as the late-night reset.

Saturday
Early afternoon: Leipzig–Bayern
Late afternoon: Bills–Broncos
Night: 49ers–Seahawks
Second screen all day: Figure skating sessions

Sunday
Morning: Manchester derby
Afternoon: Texans–Patriots
Evening: Rams–Bears
Late: NBA or skating depending on energy level

FINAL WORD

This weekend doesn’t need hype — it needs organization. The NFL owns the calendar, but the edges are where things get interesting. If you pace it right, you’ll hit football, basketball, soccer, and Olympic sports without burning out by Sunday night.

And if you don’t?
There’s always next weekend.

Where to Find USMNT Players in Europe This Season

Where to Find USMNT Players in Europe This Season

The European soccer season is kicking off, and plenty of American players—past, present, and future USMNT stars—are on the move. Some transfers are done, others are still hanging in the balance, but here’s your guide to who’s playing where and which clubs to keep an eye on if you’re following the U.S. men’s national team.

Still Waiting on Final Moves

  • Gio Reyna, Yunus Musah, Josh Sargent, Ricardo Pepi – All are linked with transfers, but nothing’s official yet. Expect late-window drama here.

Completed Transfers & Loans

  • Matt Turner – Looked set for Lyon until the club’s financial troubles complicated the deal. It eventually went through, but Turner has been loaned back to New England Revolution in MLS. The move should give him much-needed minutes as he battles for the No. 1 goalkeeper spot ahead of the home World Cup.
  • Malik Tillman – After a standout season at PSV, the versatile attacker joins Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. With Florian Wirtz off to Liverpool, Tillman has a genuine shot at regular starts.
  • Timothy Weah – Loaned to Marseille, where his father once played. His throwback magazine cover recreation for the announcement was an instant classic.
  • Johnny Cardoso – Moves from Real Betis to Atletico Madrid. Playing time could be scarce under Diego Simeone, but if Cardoso becomes a regular, his spot on the World Cup roster would be almost certain.
  • Damion Downs – After a brief USMNT cameo this summer, the striker joins Southampton in the EFL Championship.
  • Patrick Agyemang – Heads to Derby County, also in the Championship. This league has been a strong springboard for Americans in recent years.
  • Caleb Wiley – On loan to Watford, another Championship side.
  • Julian Eyestone – The 19-year-old goalkeeper is now with Brentford’s senior squad in the Premier League, serving as a backup.

Clubs with Multiple USMNT Players

While the days of big “American hubs” in Europe are fading, a few teams still have more than one U.S. player:

  • Celtic (Scottish Premiership) – Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty anchoring the defense.
  • AC Milan (Serie A) – Christian Pulisic plus Yunus Musah—for now. Musah’s transfer rumors are heating up.
  • PSV (Eredivisie) – Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi, though Pepi could still move before the window closes.
  • Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga) – Veteran Timmy Chandler and Paxten Aaronson.
  • West Bromwich Albion (EFL Championship) – George Campbell and Daryl Dike, though neither is likely to feature at the next World Cup.

Bottom line: American players are scattered more widely than in past seasons, but there’s still plenty to watch across Europe’s top leagues. The real intrigue will come in the next few weeks as Reyna, Musah, Sargent, and Pepi finalize their futures.