Tag: MLB Playoffs

What to Watch This Weekend: NFL Week 8, F1 in Austin, MLB Playoffs, and a Regatta of Pumpkins

What to Watch This Weekend: NFL Week 8, F1 in Austin, MLB Playoffs, and a Regatta of Pumpkins

If you thought last weekend was busy, this one’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of sports chaos. We’ve got international football that starts before your coffee, college rivalries that spill into the night, playoff baseball holding America hostage, and an F1 sprint weekend deep in the heart of Texas.

Oh — and if none of that moves the needle, there’s a regatta featuring people racing in hollowed-out pumpkins. Let’s dive in.

NFL — Week 8
  • Rams vs Jaguars (London, Wembley) — Sunday 9:30 AM ET, NFL Network
    The NFL international games roll on. Stafford vs. Lawrence with tea and scones.
  • Patriots at Titans — Sunday 1:00 PM ET, CBS
    Mike Vrabel faces his old team, and Tennesse plays its first game since firing his replacement. You can practically smell the awkward.
  • Eagles at Vikings — Sunday 1:00 PM ET, FOX
    Two of the best receiving duos in the NFL, if Hurts decides to use his receivers again.
  • Colts at Chargers — Sunday 4:05 PM ET, CBS
    Two teams with plenty of talent, let’s just hope nobody on the Colts has to go to the hospital pregame.
  • Falcons at 49ers — Sunday 4:25 PM ET, FOX
    Motion on motion on motion. Somewhere, an analytics intern is having a breakdown.
  • Monday Night Football Doubleheader — 7:00 PM ET (Buccaneers @ Lions, ABC) and 10:00 PM ET (Texans @ Seahawks, ESPN)
    Baker and Dan Campbell sure to bring plenty of entertainment. Texans still trying to figure out who they are while Darnold is looking legit in the Pacific Northwest.
College Football — Rivalries and Ranked Drama
  • Louisville at Miami (FL) — Friday 7:30 PM ET, ESPN
    Friday-night humidity meets ACC volatility.
  • LSU at Vanderbilt — Saturday 12:00 PM ET, ESPN
    Vandy is no longer the SEC dormat of the past, this is no cakewalk for LSU.
  • Ole Miss at Georgia — Saturday 3:30 PM ET, CBS
    Rebels air raid vs. Bulldogs brick wall.
  • Tennessee at Alabama — Saturday 7:30 PM ET, ABC
    The Third Saturday in October: cigars, grudges, and one coach crying in the tunnel.
  • USC at Notre Dame — Saturday 7:30 PM ET, NBC/Peacock
    Not Catholics vs. Convicts, but the tension’s familiar.
  • Utah at BYU (Holy War) — Saturday 10:15 PM ET, FOX
    You’ll be watching at midnight. Don’t lie.
MLB Postseason — One Ticket to Toronto, One to L.A.

Friday, Oct 17

  • Blue Jays @ Mariners — Game 5 (ALCS) — 6:08 PM ET, FS1
  • Brewers @ Dodgers — Game 4 (NLCS) — 8:38 PM ET, TBS/truTV/Max

Saturday, Oct 18 — Game 5 Brewers–Dodgers (if necessary)

Sunday, Oct 19

  • Blue Jays vs. Mariners — Game 6 (ALCS) — 6:03 PM ET, FS1

October baseball — because your blood pressure wasn’t high enough already.

NHL — Early-Season Showdown
  • Bruins vs Avalanche — Saturday 8:00 PM ET, ABC/ESPN+
    Two heavyweights skating like it’s April already. Someone’s goalie gets embarrassed.
Soccer — Cups, Classics, and Chaos
  • U-20 World Cup: Third Place — Colombia vs France — Saturday 2:00 PM ET, FS2
  • *Final — Argentina vs Morocco — Sunday 4:00 PM ET, FS2
  • Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund — Saturday 12:30 PM ET, ESPN+
  • Premier League: Liverpool vs Manchester United — Sunday 11:30 AM ET, NBC/Peacock
Racing — Two Flavors of Mayhem
NASCAR Playoffs — Talladega Superspeedway

Sunday 2:00 PM ET, NBC/USA Network
Restrictor-plate roulette: half the field finishes upside down, the other half finishes furious.

Formula 1 — United States Grand Prix (COTA, Austin)

Sprint Weekend Schedule (ET):

  • Friday: Practice 1 (1:30 PM, ESPN2), Sprint Quali (5:30 PM, ESPN)
  • Saturday: Sprint Race (1:00 PM, ESPN), Grand Prix Qualifying (5:00 PM, ESPN/ABC)
  • Sunday: Grand Prix (3:00 PM, ABC)

McLaren’s dominance, Ferrari’s optimism, Mercedes’ confusion — all served with brisket.

Wildcard Window — West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta (Tualatin, Oregon)

Sunday, Oct 19 — Heats at 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM ET
Competitors climb into 1,000-pound pumpkins and paddle across the lake in costume.
Part race, part fever dream, all glory

The Stain Viewing Plan

Friday: Louisville–Miami, then Game 5 in Seattle.
Saturday: Ole Miss–Georgia, F1 Sprint, and nighttime chaos in South Bend and Tuscaloosa.
Sunday: London football breakfast → Talladega mayhem → F1 COTA → MLB ALCS → Pumpkin boats.
Your remote deserves hazard pay.

What to Watch This Weekend: Flush the Excuses, Strap In, and Pray for Your Plumbing

What to Watch This Weekend: Flush the Excuses, Strap In, and Pray for Your Plumbing

The Stain Sports was born out of bathroom humor, so it’s only fair the weekend ahead feels like a marathon Taco Bell run — fast, messy, and guaranteed to test your guts. What is a Taco Bell run you wonder? Well Denver’s most deranged ultramarathon makes Taco Tuesday look like a spa day. NFL goes abroad, college football brings service-academy swagger in fighter-jet threads, F1 lights the streets of Singapore, NASCAR chews up the ROVAL, and UFC straps up for a title brawl.

NFL — Week 5 Headlines

  • Vikings vs Browns (London) — Sun 9:30 AM ET, NFL Network/ESPN+
    Breakfast football, defense vs. Jefferson, and another chance for London to politely clap for punts.
  • Broncos at Eagles — Sun 1:00 PM ET, CBS
    Philly’s trench dominance against Denver’s pass rush.
  • Buccaneers at Seahawks — Sun 4:05 PM ET, FOX
    Baker’s chaos in one of the loudest stadiums in sports.
  • Commanders at Chargers — Sun 4:25 PM ET, CBS
    Washington’s front four trying to collapse SoFi.
  • Patriots at Bills — Sun 8:20 PM ET, NBC/Peacock
    Bills are supposed to own the division, but divisional dogs always bite harder in primetime.

College Football — Rivalries and Flyovers

  • Boise State at Notre Dame — Sat 12:00 PM ET, NBC/Peacock
    Blue turf toughness hits the golden helmets.
  • Air Force at Navy — Sat 12:00 PM ET, CBS Sports Network
    Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy opener. Forget “whiteout” — Air Force is rolling out F-16 inspired uniforms built for supersonic option football that go entirely too hard.
  • Vanderbilt at Alabama — Sat 3:30 PM ET, CBS
    Last year Vandy shocked Bama; Tuscaloosa hasn’t stopped muttering since. Revenge tour or repeat nightmare?
  • Virginia at Louisville — Sat 3:30 PM ET, ABC/ESPN App
    ACC undercard with bite.
  • Miami (FL) at Florida State — Sat 7:30 PM ET, ABC
    Sunshine State spite in primetime.

MLB Postseason — Division Series Begin

American League

  • New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays — Game 1 Sat Oct 4, Rogers Centre, Toronto (FOX/FS1)
    Classic AL East blood feud, now with October stakes. The Bronx Bombers ride momentum into a hostile Canada.
  • Seattle Mariners vs Detroit Tigers — Game 1 Sat Oct 4, T-Mobile Park, Seattle (TBS/TruTV/Max)
    Mariners’ power vs. Detroit’s arms. Two fan bases starving for October glory collide.

National League

Philadelphia Phillies vs Los Angeles Dodgers — Game 1 Sat Oct 4, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (FOX/FS1)
Two heavyweights. Two stacked lineups. One ticket to the NLCS.

Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs — Game 1 Sat Oct 4, American Family Field, Milwaukee (TBS/TruTV/Max)
NL Central neighbors turned October enemies. Wrigley vs. Milwaukee taps straight into Midwest baseball heartache.

Formula 1 — Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay)

  • Practice: Fri 5:30 AM & 9:00 AM ET (ESPN platforms).
  • Qualifying: Sat 9:00 AM ET, ESPN.
  • Race: Sun 5:00 AM ET, ESPN.
  • Support: F1 Academy + Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.

It’s hot, it’s humid, and if a driver sneezes in Turn 18, half the field’s in the wall.

NASCAR — Charlotte ROVAL Playoffs

  • Truck: EcoSave 250 — Fri 3:30 PM, FS1
  • Xfinity: Blue Cross NC 250 — Sat 5:00 PM, The CW
  • Cup: Bank of America ROVAL 400 — Sun 3:00 PM, USA Network/truTV

Half oval, half road course, all mayhem.

Combat Sports — UFC 320

  • UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira II (Light Heavyweight Title) — Sat Oct 4
    • Early Prelims: 6:00 PM ET, ESPN+
    • Prelims: 8:00 PM ET, ESPN+/ESPNEWS
    • Main Card: 10:00 PM ET, ESPN+ PPV

Ankalaev plays the long game, Pereira brings the sledgehammer.

Soccer — Euro Heavyweights & U-20 Spotlight

Saturday:

  • Chelsea vs Liverpool — 12:30 PM ET, NBC/Peacock/Universo
  • Dortmund vs RB Leipzig — 9:30 AM ET, ESPN+
  • Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich — 12:30 PM ET, ESPN+
  • Real Madrid vs Villarreal — 3:00 PM ET, ESPN+/ESPN Deportes

Sunday:

  • Sevilla vs Barcelona — 10:15 AM ET, ESPN+/ESPN Deportes
  • Juventus vs AC Milan — 2:45 PM ET, Paramount+
  • Lille vs PSG — 11:45 AM ET, beIN/stream TBA
  • Porto vs Benfica — 11:15 AM ET, GolTV/Fubo

Youth Spotlight:

  • FIFA U-20 World Cup — South Africa vs USA — Sun 4:00 PM ET, FS2

WNBA Finals — Aces vs Mercury

  • Game 2 — Sun 3:00 PM ET, ABC
    Las Vegas star power vs Phoenix grit. And yes, it comes after the league’s commissioner made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week — which only adds heat to a Finals already packed with it.

Taco Bell 50K Ultramarathon (Denver)

Forget Boston. Forget Berlin. The most sadistic race on Earth involves ten Taco Bells, nine required food items, and 31 miles of regret.

By Stop 4, you’ve got to hammer down a Chalupa or Crunchwrap. By Stop 8, it’s a Burrito Supreme or Nachos Bell Grande. All while running. All under 11 hours. Only one designated bathroom break (avoid Wash Park if you in Denver this weekend).

Optional bonuses include drowning everything in Diablo sauce or attempting to keep two liters of Baja Blast inside your body. Spoiler: it won’t work.

The prize? A commemorative token. The punishment? Your own digestive tract filing for divorce.

The Stain Remote Plan

Saturday: Boise-ND and AF-Navy at noon → ROVAL Xfinity mid-afternoon → Miami-FSU primetime → UFC 320 at night.
Sunday: London breakfast football → Singapore GP sunrise → ROVAL Cup chaos → NFL quadruple stack (Vikings-Browns, Broncos-Eagles, Bucs-Seahawks/Commanders-Chargers, Pats-Bills) → WNBA Finals G2 → and the Taco Bell 50K if you dare.
Saturday and Sunday: Baseball playoff action.