What to watch in sports this week: NBA and Stanley Cup finals are tied, U.S. Open tees off
The week ahead is loaded with good stuff, starting right away as the off-the-rails Stanley Cup Final resumes Monday night. On Wednesday, the NBA Finals head to Indiana, knotted at 1-1. U.S. Open golf tees off Thursday. We have international soccer matches, primetime WNBA spots and the latest installment of baseball's signature rivalry. As the world around us rapidly intensifies, here is some leisure-time television to look forward to.
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Does this cover every big game in the forthcoming week? Nope. It's a quick survey of the top-line stuff, and a Monday morning reminder that cool things are in our near future.
Should you take it personally if your favorite sport is omitted? Never, but drop a comment to let us know what you're hyped for, or what we should consider for the next guide. Every night is a Super Bowl for someone across the sports cosmos, and we will celebrate that.
Are there any restrictions to be aware of? Only if you live in a market featured on the MLB Network broadcast. This Friday's series opener between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, for instance, will be blacked out for in-market households that don't have the regional carrier (YES and NESN, respectively).
Will you get in trouble if you miss any of these matches? That's a clown question.
Programming on ABC and ESPN is also available on ESPN+. NBC's U.S. Open coverage can be streamed on Peacock.
When: Monday, 8 p.m. ET
Why you should watch: Friday night's Game 2 epic should be immortalized in hockey history. Breathe in: There were five goals netted in the frantic first period. Breathe out: Both sides tightened up and allowed just three scores across the second and third. Breathe in again: Corey Perry's improbable game-tying goal with 18 seconds made for Edmonton euphoria. And breathe out once more: Brad Marchand's stunner in double-overtime tied the series and silenced all of Alberta. The Stanley Cup odyssey now shifts to the Sunshine State. Game 4 will also be in Florida on Thursday, and Game 5 is slated for a Saturday night return to Canada.
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET
Why you should watch: The strutting reigning champs are undefeated through their first fifth of the WNBA season. New York hosts Tuesday's action at a perfect 8-0, and the Liberty are absolutely balling in Brooklyn so far. They open the week No. 1 in, well, so many things: points per game, offensive and defensive efficiency, field goal percentage, 3-point shooting and blocked shots. The seafoam wagon has a plus-24 net rating; the next-closest team, the Minnesota Lynx, is at plus-13.4. Bask in the greatness. For what it's worth, Chicago is second in pace of play and first in offensive rebounding. This will be big-on-big energy, as Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso go against Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.
When: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Why you should watch: These playoffs have been a bona fide banger. The buzzer-beaters, the seeding upsets, the many (many) 20-point comebacks. It seems only right that affairs are tied up after the first home leg in Oklahoma City. Tyrese Haliburton saved the most clutch moment of his unprecedented clutch run for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cruised to a win Sunday night. Indy and OKC are both kinetic, switchable, home-grown and forward-thinking teams. The fast-paced mirror match will be extra turned up at the Pacers' Fieldhouse. We'll then stay in Hoosier territory for Game 4 on Friday.
When: Thursday-Sunday
Why you should watch: Now, for something major.
Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open title last year, surviving the narrowest of finishes with Rory McIlroy. In fact, each of the tournament's past four champions triumphed by just a single stroke — Wyndham Clark over McIlroy in 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick over Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris in 2022, and Jon Rahm over Louis Oosthuizen in '21. Rounds go Thursday through Saturday before Sunday's Open finale.
When (Eastern): Friday 7:10 p.m. | Saturday 7:15 p.m. | Sunday 1:35 p.m.
Why you should watch: May we interest you in some dingers? Wholesale, industrial-sized shipping containers of dingers, really. These two East Coast archenemies went all out in this weekend's three-game series. New York won the first contest, 9-6; star batters Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt and Rafael Devers each went yard. Then Boston bounced back in the Saturday showcase, winning 10-7 behind five RBI from Trevor Story. And the Sox stole the rubber match in the Bronx on 'Sunday Night Baseball.' That game was unhinged — eight combined homers and 49 total bases. Off to Fenway Park for this weekend's re-do. Aaron Judge is essential summertime viewing as he goes for baseball's Triple Crown.
When: Saturday and Sunday
Why you should watch: Monday and Tuesday give us some World Cup qualifying action, but it's all about Concacaf come Saturday and Sunday. Matchday 1 kicks off with Mexico and the Dominican Republic, followed by the USA against Trinidad and Tobago. Together, USMNT and 'El Tri' have lifted the last 12 trophies. The initial group stage play has Mexico in Inglewood's SoFi Stadium and the U.S. in San Jose's PayPal Park. USA then goes to Austin for its second match and finishes in 'Jerry World' (Dallas) on June 22. Mexico plays Suriname in the Dallas Cowboys' mega-arena next week, then wraps up Group A in the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium. Decorated keeper Guillermo Ochoa leads Mexico with 151 international caps; captain center-back Tim Ream tops the Americans with 68 caps.
1990: Monica Seles made a grand entrance at the top of women's tennis. From Robin Finn in the New York Times:
'The girl with the biggest grunt in the game and tennis strokes lifted from the blueprints in her father's physics textbook swiftly and noisily rendered a rainy afternoon in Paris historic today. Seles, the teen-age terror whose two-fisted ground strokes have spelled a special kind of double trouble ever since she burst upon the scene here last year, became the youngest women's champion in French Open history when she ran roughshod over top-seeded Steffi Graf, 7-6, 6-4.'
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Connor McDavid and Gustav Forsling: Leila Devlin / Getty Images)
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