More than a few Americans joined me in taking Thursday and Friday of last week off, mostly to lounge in front of the TV, watching college hoops. If you're like us, you're going to be doing the same thing today and tomorrow; I don't need to tell you how to find those games, since you already have the channels memorized.
If you finally get tired of hoops, though, here's what else to check out this weekend:
Noon: Twins vs. Yankees (FSN Plus and MLB Network). Kevin Correia starts for the Twins, Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees. I feel strongly that Tanaka needs to start going by one single name, like Ronaldo used to in soccer. Kevin Correia could also do this, too, but should you start suggesting names in the comments, I guarantee that those comments will get deleted.
1pm: Detroit at Wild (FSN). I have always enjoyed a matinee hockey game; there's something truly delightful about getting your hockey fix and then walking outside and finding out that you still have eight or nine hours left over for activities.
9pm: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks, in Australia (MLB Network). It's regular-season baseball, which we enjoy, as long as we ignore this game being played on the other side of the world and more than a week before the rest of the regular-season games begin.
6:30pm Sunday: Wild at Detroit (NBCSN). It's pretty rare that you see two NHL teams playing a home-and-home weekend series, but that's exactly what's happening for Minnesota and the Red Wings this weekend. No doubt NBC Sports is hoping for a couple of brawls this afternoon that carry over into some bad blood for Sunday night's game.
What to read this weekend
Joe Posnanski explored the legend of Louis Sockalexis, and the origin of the name "Cleveland Indians," and whether the team was named to honor one of the great lost ballplayers, or just an early-20th-century racist caricature.
