Adam Kleeberger (Bing Images)
It is a jammed pack weekend of sports coverage, and I will be keeping an eye on a wide variety of sports.
In rugby, Canada is looking for a second consecutive victory when they take on the mighty French. France has one more point in the Group A Standings because they were able to record four tries in their 47-21 hammering of Japan.
The Canadians meanwhile exemplified outstanding determination in coming from behind to beat Tonga. They were down 20-13 with about ten minutes left before the Canadians scored 12 unanswered points to win. The game can be seen at 2:30am on Sunday morning on TSN.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday–6am–Davis Cup–Sportsnet–Canada and Israel are currently tied at one in Davis Cup qualifying. Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, British Columbia take on Israel’s Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich. The Israeli duo won’t be pushovers as they are ranked in the mid 30′s as a team. Canada is trying to get into the main draw of the Davis Cup for the first time since 2004.
Saturday–2PM–MLB–Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox–FOX–The Red Sox currently lead the Rays by four games in the American League Wildcard race. Boston is at 87-63, while Tampa Bay is at 83-67. Boston will be sending Jon Lester (15-7, 169 K, 3.07 ERA) to the mound against Jeff Niemann (10-7, 99 K, 3.97 ERA).
Saturday–5pm–CFL–British Columbia Lions @ Calgary Stampeders–TSN–In the 2011 CFL Hall of Fame, the Stampeders will look to maintain their lead in the Western Division at 7-3. The Lions, at 4-6, meanwhile will look to close the gap on the Eskimos. Fans of the Eskimos are probably still not sure who they should cheer for. If they want a playoff spot, they’ll need Calgary, but if they want a division title, they’ll need British Columbia.
Sunday–11am–NFL–Seattle Seahawks (0-1) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)–FOX–The Pittsburgh Steelers got absolutely hammered by the Baltimore Ravens, 35-7, last weekend and will look to even their record at 1-1 on Sunday. The Seahawks also lost to the San Francisco 49ers and it was their special teams that was poor as they gave up two kick returns for touchdowns in the final minutes to Ted Ginn Jr. This is a rematch of Super Bowl XL won by the Steelers 21-10.
Sunday–11am–NFL–Oakland Raiders (1-0) @ Buffalo Bills (1-0)–CBS–Two of the most impressive teams in week one will play each other in week two. I think Bills’ quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will have a more difficult time against the Raiders’ defense than he did against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. Don’t expect four touchdown passes on a Raiders’ defense that effectively prevented Denver Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton from finding his target in the end zone on multiple occasions.
Sunday–2pm–NFL–Dallas Cowboys (0-1) @ San Francisco 49ers (1-0)–FOX–The 49ers weren’t all that overly impressive on offense or defense last weekend, but won on special teams. Head coach Jim Harbaugh will look to continue professional success after leading the Stanford Cardinals to a 40-13 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2011 Orange Bowl. The Cowboys meanwhile lost a tight battle, 27-24 to the New York Jets in a game that went down to the wire.
Sunday–2pm–NFL–New England Patriots (1-0) @ San Diego Chargers (1-0)–CBS–Tom Brady was a machine last weekend in leading the Patriots to a 38-24 win over the Miami Dolphins. The Chargers meanwhile, got two second half touchdowns by running back Mike Tolbert in a come from behind 24-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Sunday–6pm–NFL–Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-1)–NBC–In a much anticipated game on the NFL schedule, Michael Vick will be playing his first game in Atlanta since his controversial court case. Expect the Falcons’ fans to bombard him with boos. Vick, left off his terrific 2010 season, with 187 yards passing and 97 yards rushing in a 31-13 win over the St. Louis Rams. The Falcons meanwhile gave up 158 total yards in a 30-12 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Sunday–6pm–MLB–St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies–TSN2–All of a sudden the Cardinals are back in the playoff hunt. At 82-68, they’re only 3.5 games back of the National League wildcard leading Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals, who have won 8 of 10, will send Chris Carpenter to the mound (9-9, 170 K, 3.80 ERA) against Cole Hamels for Philadelphia (14-8, 177 K, 2.71 ERA).
Tags: andy ram, atlanta falcons, boston red sox, british columbia lions, buffalo bills, Calgary Stampeders, chris carpenter, cole hamels, dallas cowboys, daniel nestor, davis cup, jeff niemann, jim harbaugh, jon lester, jonathan erlich, michael vick, mike tolbert, new england patriots, oakland raiders, philadelphia eagles, philadelphia phillies, pittsburgh steelers, rugby world cup, ryan fitzpatrick, san diego chargers, san francisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, st. louis cardinals, tampa bay rays, ted ginn jr., tom brady, vasek pospisil
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