A Sports Filled Weekend Ahead

Usually we tell you to put your heiner in the recliner. This weekend? Keep your head in the bed.

Our Weekend TV Six-pack kicks off Saturday morning at 3:30 a.m. ET with the women’s final of the Australian Open. It matches sisters Serena and Venus Williams. Serena owns a 16-11 edge in matches against her older sibling. It’s the first time they’ve met in a Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 2009.

Once you rouse yourself sufficiently to get to the easy chair, there’s plenty more to see. No real NFL, though the Pro Bowl (pffft) will be played (if that’s the word) for the first time in Orlando, Florida. Want to watch NFL players slog around and not care? ESPN shows this at 7:50 p.m. on Sunday. If you’re more interested in players you’ll soon see at the NFL scouting combine, tune into the Senior Bowl from Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The NFL Network will show this.

To the extent that horses can be rivals, California Chrome and Aggregator are. In your best announcer voice say, “These two horses just don’t like each other.” Very good.They’re matched in the Pegasus Cup Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on NBC.

The NHL All-Star game, with its freewheeling 3-on-3 matches, is fun and fast-paced. If you’re not a hockey fan, this could turn you. It’s Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on NBC.
There’s the usual boatload of college basketball as well, but let’s focus in on No. 12 Virginia (15-3) at No. 1 Villanova (19-2) on Saturday. That’s 1 p.m. on Fox.

What an eclectic mix. We’re excited. Stay up late, get up early, enjoy a wide variety of televised fun. Watch responsibly. Our spies are everywhere.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman