A Sports Filled Weekend Ahead

Imagine if the NFL played the Super Bowl on opening day. That’s a fair analogy to NASCAR, which kicks off its season with its most famous event – the Daytona 500. There’s a reason it’s known as the Great American Race.

NASCAR has implemented a number of changes to make the races more compelling and also has a new sponsor. So out goes the Sprint Cup and in comes the Monster Cup. The energy drink is supposed to “drive” a younger audience to the sport. You can see this in all its glory on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on Fox.

Your heiner will, no doubt, have long in the recliner by the time the gentlemen start their engines. Saturday has some great events as well. So here’s the rest of your Weekend TV Six-Pack…

Let’s all tune in Saturday evening at 8 p.m. on Fox to the heavyweight boxing match between Deontay Wilder and Gerald Washington for Wilder’s WBC belt. Wilder won his piece of the much-divided title in January of 2015 but he has since battled injuries and a few opponents no tougher than cheap veal. Wilder possesses excellent punching power and the potential for a knockout should make this worth seeing.

College basketball’s regular season is drawing to a close and Saturday’s SEC battle between No. 11 Kentucky and No. 13 Florida should be a beaut. CBS, 2 p.m. For the night owls, No. 1 Gonzaga, the lone unbeaten Division I team, is host to BYU at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

One more college hoop game to recommend: Syracuse at No. 7 Louisville on Saturday at 2 p.m. on CBS. Syracuse comes off an upset of No. 10 Duke and always seems to get dangerous around tournament time.

For something more eclectic, try men’s lacrosse. Co-No. 1 Maryland is host Saturday at noon to No. 8 Yale on ESPNNews.

Watch with gusto. If he can’t make it, watch with someone else.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman