1 of 5 | Running back Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals host the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday in Cincinnati. File Photo by John Sommers II /UPI |
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MIAMI, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Wild-card NFL playoff games top the weekend sports schedule. First-round 2022 Australian Open tennis matches, a PGA Tour tournament and NHL, NBA and college basketball regular-season games also air Friday through Sunday.
Saturday's slate features a light heavyweight boxing title bout between Joe Smith Jr. and Steve Geffrard.
Dozens of soccer games also take place this weekend throughout Germany, Italy, Spain, England and France, featuring Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and other elite playmakers.
The NFL's wild-card round starts Saturday and airs through Monday. A dozen of the league's 14 playoff teams will take the field, with six games apiece fought between the best of the AFC and NFC.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders kickoff the NFL postseason Saturday in Cincinnati.
NFL
Quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals (10-7) earned the No. 4 seed this postseason. They'll host the No. 5 Raiders at 4:30 p.m. EST Saturday on NBC.
Quarterback Josh Allen and the No. 3 Buffalo Bills (11-6) follow with another AFC wild-card game against coach Bill Belichick's No. 6 New England Patriots (10-7). That game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. and airs on CBS.
Former Patriots star Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4), the No. 2 seed in the NFC, host the No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) in the first of three games Sunday. That game kicks off at 1 p.m. on Fox.
The No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (12-5) then host the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at 4:30 p.m. on CBS, NICK and Amazon Prime Video.
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Ben Roethlisberger match up in Sunday's nightcap. Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs (12-5), the AFC's No. 2 seed, host the No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) at 8:15 p.m. on NBC.
The wild-card round ends Monday, when the NFC's fourth-seeded Los Angeles Rams (12-5) face the No. 5 Arizona Cardinals (11-6) at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN, ABC and ESPN2.
Australian Open
The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year, the Australian Open, launches Monday in Australia, but airs Sunday night in the United States due to a 16-hour time difference.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, assuming he has overcome immigration woes, is the favorite to win the men's singles title. No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia is the women's singles favorite. Djokovic will attempt to win a fourth-consecutive title, while Barty looks for her first crown in Melbourne.
The first round airs from 7 to 11 p.m. EST Sunday on ESPN and continues from 11 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday on ESPN+. The tournament continues through the end of the month. The 2022 Australian Open women's singles final airs Jan. 28 in the United States.
The men's singles final airs Jan. 29.
A total of 256 players will compete in the men's and women's singles circuits. The winners to emerge from each 128-player field will receive $4.4 million apiece.
Daniil Medvedev, of Russia Alexander Zverev of Germany, Rafael Nadal fo Spain and Stefanos Tsitsipas are among the other men's singles favorites.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Iga Swiatek of Poland and Simona Halep of Romania are among the other women's favorites.
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour season continues with the 2022 Sony Open. The tournament teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
World No. 8 Bryson DeChambeau entered the week as the tournament favorite, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. No. 10 Cameron Smith is now the favorite. No. 27 Kevin Na won the 2021 Sony Open and will attempt to defend his Hawaiian title.
No. 14 Harris English, No. 19 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 20 Abraham Ancer, No. 22 Jason Kokrak, No. 23 Billy Horschel and No. 24 Sungjae Im are other top players.
The 144-player field will compete for a first-place prize of $1.3 million.
Second- and third-round play of the Sony Open airs from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively, on NBC's Golf Channel. The final round airs from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday on Golf Channel.
Weekend schedule (all times EST)
Friday
Soccer
Bundesliga: SC Freiburg at Borussia Dortmund at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+
College basketball
Men's
Buffalo at Ball State at 6 p.m. on CBSSN
Nebraska at Purdue at 6:30 p.m. on FS1
VCU at St. Bonaventure at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Michigan at Illinois at 9 p.m. on FS1
Fresno State at UNLV at 11 p.m. on FS1
Women's
Stanford at Colorado at 9 p.m. on Pac 12 Network
Golf
Sony Open: Second-round from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
NHL
Stars at Panthers at 7 p.m. on NHL Network
Ducks at Wild at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Coyotes at Avalanche at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
NBA
Warriors at Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Mavericks at Grizzlies at 10 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday
Soccer
Premier League: Chelsea at Manchester City at 7:30 a.m. on Peacock
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich at FC Cologne at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN+
Premier League: Leicester at Burnley at 10 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Watford at Newcastle at 10 a.m. on USA
Premier League: Everton at Norwich at 10 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Southampton at Wolves at 10 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Manchester United at Aston Villa at 12:30 p.m. on NBC
Serie A: Udinese at Juventus at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports
Ligue 1: Brest at PSG at 3 p.m. on beIN Sports
College basketball
Men's
Northwestern at Michigan State at noon on Big Ten Network
Creighton at Xavier at noon on Fox
Texas Tech at Kansas State at noon on ESPN2
Seton Hall at Marquette at noon on FS1
Dayton at Duquesne at 12:30 p.m. on USA
Tennessee at Kentucky at 1 p.m. on ESPN
West Virginia at Kansas at 1:30 p.m. on CBS
NC State at Duke at 2 p.m. on ABC
Arkansas at LSU at 2 p.m. on ESPN2
Texas at Iowa State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
Florida State at Syracuse at 3 p.m. on ESPN
Oklahoma at TCU at 4 p.m. on ESPN2
Oklahoma State at Baylor at 5 p.m. on ESPN
Alabama at Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on SEC Network
Vanderbilt at Georgia at 6 p.m. on ESPN2
Utah at Arizona at 8 p.m. on Pac 12 Network
Houston at Tulsa at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Auburn at Ole Miss at 8:30 p.m. on SEC Network
Colorado at Arizona State at 10 p.m. on ESPN2
Oregon State at UCLA at 10:30 p.m. on Pac 12 Network
Oregon at USC at 11 p.m. on FS1
Women's
Iowa State at Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
Kansas State at Texas Tech at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
West Virginia at Texas at 8 p.m. on Longhorn Network
NHL
Predators at Bruins at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Canucks at Hurricanes at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Capitals at Islanders at 2 p.m. on NHL Network
Blue Jackets at Panthers at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
Sabres at Red Wings at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Stars at Lightning at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Rangers at Flyers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Maples Leafs at Blues at 7 p.m. on NHL Network
Ducks at Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Avalanche at Coyotes at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
Kings at Kraken at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Senators at Oilers at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Penguins at Sharks at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
NFL
Raiders at Bengals at 4:30 p.m. on NBC
Patriots at Bills at 8:15 p.m. on CBS
Golf
Sony Open: Third-round from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
NBA
Lakers at Nuggets at 9 p.m. on NBA TV
Boxing
Joe Smith Jr. vs. Steve Geffrard at 11 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+
Sunday
Soccer
Premier League: Brentford at Liverpool at 9 a.m. on USA
Premier League: Leeds at West Ham at 9 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Arsenal at Spurs at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock
Spanish Super Cup: TBD at Real Madrid at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Serie A: Inter Milan at Atalanta at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports
College basketball
Men's
Butler at Villanova at noon on FS1
Penn State at Ohio State at noon on Big Ten Network
Cincinnati at Wichita State at 1 p.m. on ESPN
Georgetown at St. John's at 4:30 p.m. on Fox
Women's
Louisville at Boston College at noon on ACC Network
Vanderbilt at LSU at 1 p.m. on SEC Network
North Carolina at Notre Dame at 1 p.m. on ACC Network
Stanford at Utah at 2 p.m. on Pac 12 Network
Georgia Tech at Miami at 2 p.m. on ACC Network
Kentucky at Tennessee at 3 p.m. on ESPN
Baylor at Kansas at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
South Florida at UCF at 3 p.m. on ESPNU
South Carolina at Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Duke at NC State at 4 p.m. on ACC Network
Michigan at Maryland at 5 p.m. on ESPN
NFL
Eagles at Buccaneers at 1 p.m. on Fox
49ers at Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. on CBS, NICK, Amazon Prime Video
Steelers at Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. on NBC
NHL
Canucks at Capitals at 2 p.m. on NHL Network
Golf
Sony Open: Final round from 6 to 10 p.m. on Golf Channel
Tennis
Australian Open: First round from 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN and from 11 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday on ESPN+
The San Francisco 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo raises his hands in triumph after beating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday. The 49ers defeated the Rams 27-24 to capture a playoff slot in the NFC. Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI |
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