Daily Sports: Cup Finals Ship Up To Boston On Monday

If the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals have been any indication, get ready for a long Monday night. The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins hook up for Game 3 of the Finals, and the first two have seen a combined four overtime sessions. The series is tied at a game apiece, and tonight’s battle in Boston will begin at 8 PM ET on NBC Sports Network.

Those who aren’t into hockey have a nice set of options on Monday’s daily sports menu. You can catch the team with the best record in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals, as they host the Chicago Cubs at 7 PM ET on ESPN.

And don’t overlook college baseball. ESPN2 carries Mississippi State-Indiana (8 PM ET) in a game where the winner will guarantee themselves a two-to-win-one opportunity to make it to the national final. Matinee coverage earlier in the day on the same network has Louisville-Oregon State (3 PM ET), where the loser will be out.

Moving outside the box, there’s stuff for both draftniks and history buffs. You can get set for the NBA draft later this month with a look at the combine workouts (7 PM ET, ESPNU). At the other end of the spectrum, the NFL Network will show a replay of one of the best and most significant playoff games in recent history.

It’s the 2006 AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, where Peyton Manning rallied the Colts from 21-3 down to finally win a postseason game over the Pats and ultimately set up their Super Bowl win. The program starts at 8 PM ET and is followed by a half-hour show that looks at the Colts season as a whole.

TheSportsNotebook will have NBA commentary coming up a little later on, as we look back on last night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Yesterday’s NHL analysis looked at the Cup Finals after two games, and over the weekend there was a double dose of MLB coverage, with a special focus on both the Oakland A’s and the Washington Nationals.