Weekend Sports News Review

And it’s on to the Super Bowl … after Sunday’s NFC and AFC conference championship games.

Heiner-in-the-recliner time on Sunday begins at 3:05 p.m. ET with the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints meeting in the Superdome. The Saints won a regular-season meeting between the two. The Rams and Saints are both stocked with offensive talent, featuring a quarterback on the rise (Jared Goff) and a 40-year-old veteran (Drew Brees, who has already won a Super Bowl with the Saints). Fox will show this game.

The New England Patriots (yes, them again) meet the Chiefs in Kansas City at 6:40 p.m. on CBS. Tom Brady, 41 and winner of five Super Bowl titles, will duel Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City’s young QB. The Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s Super Bowl and they’ve been playing the “nobody respects us, nobody thinks we’re any good” card. Silly stuff, really, considering they beat the Chiefs earlier in the season.

Saturday provides good viewing for those whose NFL teams are already eliminated (and that’s 28 of them) and planning to restock their rosters. The East-West Shrine Game is on NFL Network at 3 p.m. The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl follows at 5 p.m. on FS1. Both showcase potential picks in the NFL draft.

Friday night marks the debut of All-Star DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles tendon) with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors, winners of their last six, visit the Los Angeles Clippers for the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins’ first game in nearly a year. ESPN televises at 10:30 p.m. ET.

If you need a little taste of college basketball, try this ACC biggie: No. 4 Virginia at No. 1 Duke on Saturday. ESPN, 6 p.m.

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