What Could There Possibly Be Left to Watch on TV This Weekend?
Funny You Should Ask…
By Drew Gallagher
ADVANCE COLUMNIST
The past few weekends have been an embarrassment of riches for sports fans. The New York Knicks raised the NBA championship for the first time since the Nixon administration, and the Carolina Hurricanes got to drink Storm Brew out of Lord Stanley’s Cup. There has also been a PGA U.S. Open Champion with anger issues, and Nelly Korda got one step closer to her career grand slam by winning the LPGA U.S. Open Championship without anger issues. Plus, there was the French Open in tennis, and Oklahoma winning the men’s college baseball World Series despite the best efforts of Gavin Gallaher for UNC.
So, what could there possibly be left to watch on television this weekend? Fear not, the World Cup continues to runneth over which will not make my sister, mother-in-law, or my friend Craig in Florida happy, just to name a few who have openly complained about the soccer focus of these columns recently.
Friday, June 26
All teams have played at least two of their three pool games at this point in the World Cup, which means that some will be heading home shortly and others, like the U.S. Men’s National Team—the greatest team in the history of the world—have already clinched spots in the elimination rounds and will be afforded the luxury of resting players as necessary. Then there are other teams that have neither clinched nor been eliminated and have a lot to play for, such as…
Norway vs. France, 3 p.m. on Fox
This is for first place in Group I, and features two of the best goal scorers in the world who are not named Lionel Messi. France is led by Kylian Mbappe, who may ultimately surpass Messi in the World Cup rankings for most career goals. Mbappe’s pursuit of Messi stalled out in Philadelphia earlier this week when the French match against Iraq was played in a downpour that made it difficult even to watch on TV. The two-hour rain delay was followed by crippling humidity that anyone who grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania without air conditioning can appreciate.
Norway is led by Erling Haaland who scored one goal against Senegal that looked like an afterthought. He was annoyed that one of his teammates had missed him with a pass, but interrupted this momentary disdain to turn away from his teammate to volley the ball home after it returned to him unexpectedly. He shook his head and grinned as the Norwegian fans started to row in unison. (One of the best parts of watching Norway is to watch the fans collectively row an imaginary boat. Little wonder that they beat Columbus to America.) For fans who think soccer is boring, and there is not enough scoring, watch Mbappe and Haaland and I will ask, as Maximus did before me: Are you not entertained?
Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m. on FS1
When Cape Verde stunned the world by tying Spain, it was a fun little story and expected to be nothing more than a footnote. Then a funny thing happened on the way to elimination: they went out and tied Uruguay. Now, with a win in this spot, the smallest country by land area to ever make the World Cup would move on to the elimination rounds and maybe even as a two-seed. If that happens, look for their jerseys being for sale alongside fireworks at the stand in front of the 7-11.
Saturday, June 27
Major League Baseball Yankees at Red Sox, 1.p.m. on ABC
This game has lost some of its luster since Yankee slugger Aaron Judge is on the injured list with a fractured rib, and the Red Sox entire offense should be on the injured list for sucking out loud. I hesitate to offer that the Red Sox hit rock bottom earlier this week by losing to the Rock Bottom Colorado Rockies, but the Sox blew a 2-0 lead to the worst team in baseball in the ninth inning on Monday. The Rockies first lead of the game came when the winning run scored on a bases-clearing double in the 9th. That was the last of eight straight hits Colorado had to end the game. It was a big game for Colorado because it meant that they were no longer alone in having the worst record in baseball. They now shared it with my beloved BoSox. Denver fans were tarps off this week, including Trevin Edwards who also complained about soccer coverage in The Advance.
WNBA Phoenix at Toronto, 2 p.m. on CBS
Neither of these teams is off to a great start this season, but CBS has a lot of holes in their broadcast schedule, and you can watch under the “At least it’s not soccer” banner.
World Cup England vs. Panama and the Angst of the entire UK, 5 p.m. on Fox
England got off to a rousing start in this World Cup by dissecting Croatia and scoring goals almost at will. And you know why? Because they have Harry F***ing Kane! (Ask any England fan, and they will swear that is his actual middle name.) All Kane did was score two goals, and give the Three Lions dreams of winning it all. That hope lasted less than a week as the English were somehow held to a 0-0 tie with Ghana and the F***ing was moved from the middle of Harry Kane’s name to the beginning, as in “F***king Harry Kane just blasted a shot at an open goal 15 rows deep into the stands.” The resignation of England’s Prime Minister will look like just another Caillou whinge at the playground compared to a possible loss to a Van Halen song.
U.S. Men’s National Weightlifting Championship in Colorado Springs, Co. 6 p.m. available on Live stream at www.usaweightlifting.org
Though not on regular television, this event will feature Austin Davis, a Riverbend High School graduate and son of Advance founder Marty Davis, competing in the 88-kilogram weight class on the A Stage. For most of the competitors, the national championship serves as a springboard to the Olympic games in Los Angeles in 2028. With a strong performance in Colorado, Davis could emerge as a strong candidate to make the U.S. Olympic team for L.A.
WNBA L.A. Sparks at Indiana Fever, 8 p.m. on CBS
It’s Caitlin Clark time again. Neither of these teams is amongst the top teams in 2026, but don’t say that to Caitlin Clark. She’ll yell at you. And she’ll probably yell at the referees a few times in this matchup for good measure. Clark is uniquely talented, and might be the most popular player to ever lace up sneakers in the WNBA, but her antics and technical fouls are getting to the level of professional soccer players falling down when a defender sneezes on them in the box.
World Cup Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m. Fox
Lionel Messi doesn’t need to play in this game for Argentina. After all, they have already clinched the top spot in Group J, and he turned 39 this week, so he could use the rest. Conversely, this is not your father’s Jordan, and Messi could have another hat trick or a double brace in this one by halftime. Somehow, after a couple of seasons playing in the United States-based MLS and not abroad in one of the snooty soccer leagues, Messi is even better than ever. Just Fontaine set the scoring record for most goals scored in a single World Cup in 1958 with 13. If Messi plays in this match. and Argentina makes a long run in the tournament, that total could be in jeopardy. If that happens, I hope they list him in the record books as Just Messi.
Sunday, June 28
World Cup Round of 32 South Africa vs. Canada, 3 p.m. Fox
We’re not in group play anymore, kids. We have entered the elimination rounds where a loss means someone is going home. This will be the first ever Round of 32 game played in World Cup history and, reminder, it cannot end in a tie. Neither of these teams was supposed to be here, with South Africa ranked 60th in the world and not expected to advance, and Canada expected to win their group and play another game in the Great White North as opposed to travelling to California. This is the first appearance for either country in the elimination rounds, which means that more history will be made when the winner advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.
Major League Baseball Yankees at Red Sox, 7:20 p.m. on NBC
I am reminded of a scene in the original Broadway cast recording of Man of La Mancha where Don Quixote continues to prostrate himself before the prostitute Aldonza as Dulcinea because he does not see her as a whore but as a regal woman worthy of his worship. Aldonza is initially put off by Quixote’s insistence that she is more than a “kitchen slut reeking of sweat” (her words, not mine), but slowly comes around. It’s not easy for her to see herself as Dulcinea, and she asks Quixote why he continues to torment her with his impossible dream.
In a similar vein, why, oh why, does Major League Baseball continue to torment me by putting the Sox on national TV? The 1967 Red Sox were referred to as the Impossible Dream Team. The 2026 Red Sox will one day be referred to as the Impossibly Bad Nightmare.