Sports world has eye on Hurricane Joaquin

Hurricane Joaquin could cause significant havoc on the sports world this weekend.

The tropical storm is forecast to be a major force in multiple NFL cities, could lead to juggling of games that impact Major League Baseball's postseason and has NASCAR setting up contingency plans for Sunday's race at Dover, N.H.

Estimated landfall and lingering nasty weather is projected for parts of the East Coast, and the Philadelphia Eagles' visit to the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., is one game that could be moved back a month.

NASCAR would run its third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup on Monday if weather models predicting landfall between North Carolina and New Jersey on Sunday are accurate. Qualifying for the AAA 400 scheduled for Friday is already in jeopardy under a forecast of high winds and heavy rain Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the blunt force of the hurricane is expected.

Several MLB playoff races will be determined in East Coast cities. The Toronto Blue Jays finish the season at Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees are in Baltimore and heavy rains have the potential to impact games involving the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates in season-ending home series.

The NFL will not a make a call on the game until it's absolutely necessary, according to CBS Sports. Postponing the game would likely lead to it being rescheduled Nov. 1, during the scheduled bye week for both teams.

There are also concerns for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, who kick off in London at 9:30 a.m. ET from Wembley Stadium. Weather threats could force both teams to park in England until they receive the all-clear to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Jets chose not to leave for London until after Thursday's practice, while the Dolphins practiced in England.

Coach Todd Bowles said he relied on an offseason conversation with St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, whose team traveled to London to face the New England Patriots in 2012.

"Just talking about the setup and the meeting rooms and the outlets and those type of things," Bowles said. "Getting ready to play, what you have, what you don't have, how the grass is and what kind of cleats and those things, we went through. Most of it was technical stuff. He was real helpful that way, from a travel standpoint as well."

Alas, all the advance work in the world can't prepare a coach for everything: The Jets may end up coming back from London later than anticipated due to hurricane-related weather issues. Joaquin may soak the New York/New Jersey area on Sunday and/or Monday.

While Bowles could not predict the weather, he did his best to establish the Jets' sleep patterns in London, which is five hours ahead of New York. The team brought in sleep consultants, who apparently did their job well: Rookie defensive end Leonard Williams said he fell asleep during one of the lectures.