Welcoming Back Football & More

Serena Williams is two sets away from another record.

In her 31st Grand Slam final on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the U.S. Open, she can equal Margaret Court’s career mark of 24 victories. Williams will play No. 20 seed Naomi Osaka, the first Japanese player to reach a Grand Slam final. The men’s final is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

The NFL season opened Thursday night and marches forward on Sunday. Check local listings for your home team’s schedule. We’ll offer you the Chicago Bears – Green Bay Packers match-up at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

No doubt you will plunk your heiner in the recliner for college football on Saturday. It will do your eyeballs good to watch No. 2 Clemson (1-0) at unranked Texas A&M (1-0). Clemson has a pair of sterling quarterbacks. ESPN gets this match-up at 7 p.m.

Another interesting pairing features UCLA (0-1), a surprise loser to Cincinnati in its opener at home, at No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0), which scorched upstart Florida Atlantic. Fox has this at 1 p.m.

Tiger Woods was tied for the lead after the first round of the BMW Championship. No telling how he will fare over the next two days, but Sunday’s final could be that elusive victory he has been seeking on the comeback trail. Keep an eye on the tourney and watch for the red shirt at 2 p.m. on NBC.

NASCAR’s regular-season finale occupies the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday (2 p.m., NBC Sports Network) for the Big Machine Vodka 400, with Kevin Harvick in striking distance of Kyle Busch for the regular-season championship.

Quite a variety there. Something for everybody. Come on, weekend!

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