A Sports Filled Weekend Ahead

It’s “something for everyone weekend.” The Olympics, the NFL, auto racing, whatever you like is probably to be found somewhere on the screen.

So let’s up plunk our heiners in our recliners and prepare for visual wonder…

Friday night brings us the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games from Rio De Janeiro. It has been rumored that teams will march in wearing hazmat suits (they won’t). The costumes, the flags, the music – all will enchant beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

If the frou-frou is not for you, ESPN has boxing at 9 p.m. Super middleweight David Benavidez (15-0, 14 knockouts) meets Dennis Douglin (20-4, 13 KOs) in Philadelphia. We’ll see if the 19-year-old Benavidez can solve Douglin’s southpaw style.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducts eight new members, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison, on Saturday night in Canton, Ohio. The speechifying begins at 7 p.m., continues endlessly and will be broadcast by both NFL Network and ESPN.

That segues into the NFL’s preseason opener between the Colts and Packers on Sunday night in Canton. ESPN gets that one at 8 p.m. You won’t see much of the starting players but you will see football. Welcome back, lads.

NASCAR fans will turn their attention to Watkins Glen in upstate New York for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 (I’m not kidding!). That’s 90 laps covering 220.5 miles. Once again, Jeff Gordon will be driving for the ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. This one’s on USA at 2:30 p.m.

The PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship’s final round is Sunday from 3-6 p.m. on CBS. The tournament is being played in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Relax, treat your TV remote gently and, as always, watch responsibly.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman