ESPN must have locked tonight’s Monday Night Baseball coverage in at the start of the season, because that’s the only reason you’d choose showing the LA Angels-Texas Rangers tonight at 7 PM ET, rather than go with the opener of the St. Louis-Pittsburgh series. But even though the Angels show no signs of life, they’ll get a little national exposure in the feature game of tonight’s daily sports schedule.
If you’re into basketball history, at least some of the better games of the modern era, then today’s the day I hope you have ESPN Classic as a part of your cable/satellite package and that you see this post in time to set the DVR before going to work. The programmers must be in a Boston Garden kind of mood, because we’ll see three memorable games on the old parquet floor.
The New York Yankees are facing the crunch point of their season. They just lost two of three this weekend in Fenway Park, including an 11th-inning walkoff defeat on Sunday night. Now they fly into Texas for another competitive series against the Rangers. ESPN televises the series opener tonight at 7 PM ET.
We’re still a day away from having regular season baseball back, as MLB extended the All-Star break to Friday as of last season. So if you want baseball today, you’ll have to settle for the minor leagues and for a movie. Actually the movie in question is big league, as MLB Network shows Bull Durham at 8 PM ET. It’s a sign of how dry the prime-time schedule is that the Kevin Costner/Susan Sarandon film is really the highlight of Thursday’s daily sports schedule.
Live events go dark for a couple days, as major league baseball action doesn’t resume until Friday. The showcase event of the daily sports docket for Wednesday is the presentation of the annual ESPY awards. ESPN will start coverage at 7 PM ET, with a two-hour buildup, and then the award show itself begins at 9 PM ET.
The stars come out in New York tonight, as baseball’s All-Star Game takes center stage in the world of daily sports. You can start the festivities at 7:30 PM ET with a half-hour “Red Carpet Show” on MLB Network and then game coverage itself begins at 8 PM ET on Fox, with the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver broadcast team handling duties.
The All-Star break is here for major league baseball, and if it’s Monday of All-Star Week that means it’s time to swing for the fences. The Home Run Derby (8 PM ET, ESPN) is tonight from Citi Field in New York.
The Chicago Cubs might not be having the best of seasons, but Wrigley Field always draws both a crowd and the TV cameras, and it’s one of the National League’s great rivalries—Cardinals-Cubbies—that will highlight daily sports throughout this weekend.
Matchups between contenders in both the American League and National League key up Friday’s daily sports agenda. MLB Network has split coverage action at 7 PM ET, and regardless of which side of the split you’re on, you will get a good game. The choices are Rangers-Tigers or Reds-Braves, as teams begin their final weekend series before the All-Star break.
The best programming tonight outside the lines comes in football and it’s on the NFL Network.
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has lit up the American League this season, with 33 home runs and he’s set to be the AL starter in the All-Star Game next week at Citi Field in New York. Before Davis was lifting the Oriole offense, he was a part of the Texas Rangers’ organization. Davis is back in his original MLB home in the early part of this week, and tonight’s Orioles-Rangers game (7 PM ET, MLB) is the highlight of Tuesday’s daily sports schedule.
The Nats have won four in a row. The Phils have won consecutive series against first-place teams in Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Both Washington and Philadelphia have to play with a sense of urgency, and their four-game series begins in Philly tonight.
Wednesday night in daily sports is about the AL East and the NBA draft, as most sports fans settle into summer, while fans in Miami and Chicago still pull the confetti out of the hair after the championship celebrations.