A Weekend Filled With Sports

This is it. The last of football for many, many months. Super Bowl 50 marks a historic time for the NFL and its never-ending quest to exceed the excessive with excess.

The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers meet in the game Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. A Broncos win could send quarterback Peyton Manning, 39, into a well-earned retirement. The Panthers have never won a Super Bowl but the Cam Newton Era is dawning.

Denver owns the No. 1 defense in the NFL but Newton accounted for 45 touchdowns (35 passing, 10 rushing) with his fascinating combination of skills, size and savvy. The pick here: Panthers 31, Broncos 27.

So what’s in our weekend TV six-pack? More than a little football. Some of it centered around the Super Bowl.

You will, of course, join about 115 million other Americans in watching the game itself at 6:30 p.m ET on CBS. The Panthers are favored in Las Vegas, but Manning gets the sentimental favorite sympathies. Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem and the halftime show features Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars.

Earlier in the day, to help you warm up the couch and empty the refrigerator, you may enjoy the NFL Films’ presentation of Road to the Super Bowl at noon. It’s an excellent refresher on the season. And at 6 p.m., it’s probably worth dialing up CBS’ kick-off show so that you can hear the same analysis of the teams you’ve heard for the last two weeks.

In the mood for something completely different? Saturday offers a look at a very good women’s college basketball team, as No. 6 Texas (20-1) visits Iowa State (12-9). We’ll give you two good men’s games as well that both match ranked teams:

No. 3 Villanova at No. 11 Providence, and No. 18 Purdue at No. 4 Maryland. If you haven’t seen Maryland freshman Diamond Stone, well, you should.

That’s your six-pack. Watch responsibly.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman