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Getting Ready For The Weekend Starting With MLB Hall Of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, adds six new members to its ranks on Sunday in a pageant that honors this timeless (in more ways than one) game.

Sunday’s inductees are Pitchers Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay, and Lee Smith; third baseman/designated hitter Edgar Martinez and outfielder Harold Baines.

MLB Network will show the induction ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. ET and there will be 59 other Hall of Famers in attendance to provide a taste of baseball’s legacy.

You might not be able to stay awake for this festival, however, if you devote your energies to the British Open golf championship. Saturday’s third round, from Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, gets started at 5 a.m. on Golf Channel and moves to NBC at 7 a.m. Sunday’s finale begins on Golf Channel at 4 a.m. and on NBC at 7 a.m. Early to bed, golf fans. And set that alarm. You may never get your heiner in the recliner otherwise.

For those who like to spend a lot of money to stay home and watch boxing, catch Manny Pacquiao’s challenge of Keith Thurman for supremacy of the welterweight (147 pounds) division on Saturday night. Pacquiao, 40, a champion in eight weight classes, maybe fighting for the last time. FOX PPV will let you enjoy this event for $74.99 plus applicable taxes and fees, with the undercard beginning at 9 p.m.

NASCAR’s bumping and thumping moves to New Hampshire for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. NBCSN will have the race at 3 p.m.

After you’ve watched baseball’s Hall of Fame inductions, hang around for Sunday night’s NL East division matchup between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves. The second-place Nats are looking to make up some ground on the division-leading Braves. ESPN shows this at 7:05 p.m.

And that’s this weekend’s variety pack.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman