What 2 Watch (Nov. 18-20)
Another busy weekend in sports will get underway Friday as there will be something for almost everyone. Football continues to dominate TV with a number of big games on the schedule with most leagues entering the end of their seasons. The CIS will see two big games this weekend as the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl will determine the two teams to face off next weekend in the 47th Vanier Cup. The CFL will also be ending their season soon with the Conference Finals this weekend as four teams fight it out to earn a spot in the 99th Grey Cup. The NCAA is coming to the end of their season with only a few weeks left as the Oregon Ducks look to make their case for a major bowl against the USC Trojans. The NFL is nearing the final part of their season with divisions still up for grabs this weekend. There is still of course hockey all weekend with the CHL featuring a QMJHL matchup and the NHL featuring a matchup of rising and falling teams on Hockey Night in Canada. Meanwhile Golf will feature their annual tournament with the Presidents Cup featuring the US vs. the World matchup. UFC has yet another event with legends abound and a very deep card at UFC 139. Two seasons are also ending this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series enters their last race and MLS hosts their championship game for the MLS Cup.
PGA Golf: 2011 President’s Cup
The annual match between the US and World golfers takes place in Australia with the final games being played this weekend. With both teams looking for the win the US and World Teams will finish off the week with foursome and four ball matches along with singles matches. The U.S. will try to extend their winning streak in the tournament as they have won 4 of the past five years. Of course the biggest news is the return of Tiger Woods to the tournament for Team U.S. and he will be playing against his former caddy, who is currently the caddy for Adam Scott of the World Team. Both of these men have had a rocky end to their relationship and with a racial slur added to the mix last week the tension is there, although more created than anything. Currently Team US is winning 7-3 after 2 days of competition as the US look to continue their success this weekend.
When: Friday November 18th – Sunday November 20th
Time: 11:30 am & 3:00 pm (Fri.)/8:00 am & 6:30 pm (Sat.)/12:00 pm (Sun.)
Channel: TSN/TSN2/NBC
CHL Hockey: Val’D’Or Floreurs vs. Gatineau Olympiques
Friday Night Hockey continues in its second week with a matchup in the Quebec Major junior League of the CHL. The second version of the Friday Night Hockey series will travel to Quebec to view the skill of the QMJHL. Val D’Or will take on Gatineau in a West division matchup between the top team and one of the bottom teams. Gatineau has gone 12-10-1-0 so far with 25 points while Val D’Or has gone 10-14-0-3 with 23 points. A win by the Floreurs could help them out to move up the division while Gatineau will try to increase the gap with a win of their own. Meanwhile the future of the game will continue to develop after the preliminary rankings of QMJHL prospects have come out. Val D’Or will be looking to right-winger Vladislav Shalimov, ranked 11th in the QMJHL, and Top ranked goalie Francois Tremblay. The Olympiques will be looking to Tomas Hyka, ranked 10th, and Taylor Burke, ranked 9th, for their offensive power. The future of the game will be on display this week as these two QMJHL teams will face off on Friday Night Hockey.
When: Friday November 18th
Time: 7:00 pm
Channel: Sportsnet
CIS Football: Uteck Bowl
The CIS is one week away from the big game with two bowls this weekend for a chance to play in Vancouver for the Vanier Cup. The Uteck Bowl will take place in Moncton as the Acadia Axemen will travel down the road to take on the McMaster Marauders from Hamilton. The 9th ranked Acadia Axemen finished first in the AUS conference and beat out rival Saint Mary’s for the Jewett Cup and a berth in the National Playoffs. The 4th ranked McMaster Marauders finished their season in second place and beat out the first place and 3rd ranked Western Mustangs to earn their spot. The Uteck Bowl will be both of these team’s ticket to the 47th Vanier Cup in Vancouver. They will both be travelling, although Acadia will be much closer, to Moncton in a continuation of the Touchdown Atlantic series as they will attempt to show that Moncton is a football city. Both teams looked very good in their conference games and both surprised many people in their games and will look to continue to roll into the Vanier Cup.
When: Friday November 18th
Time: 6:30 pm
Channel: TSN
CIS Football: Mitchell Bowl
With the conference championships done two familiar foes will face off in the second national semi-finals. The Big Red Machine from Quebec City will travel to Calgary and take on the Calgary Dinos. The top ranked Laval Rouge et Or won their 9th straight conference title beating archrival Montreal to earn a spot in the Mitchell Bowl. The second ranked Calgary Dinos took out the UBC Thunderbirds to win their fourth straight Hardy Cup and take on the Rouge et Or in the Mitchell Bowl. The matchup will be a rematch of last year’s Vanier Cup final when Laval beat the Dinos easily to win another Vanier Cup. The Dinos will be hoping to make their third straight trip to the Vanier Cup and finally get a win after two straight losses. The Rouge et Or will be looking to add to their growing legend by making another Vanier Cup and repeating as champions to earn their 7th Vanier Cup. Both teams have been here before and are in very familiar positions as they both hope to make the 47th Vanier Cup.
When: Friday November 18th
Time: 9:30 pm
Channel: TSN
UFC 139: Shogun vs. Hendo
The UFC will continue their four-week stretch of fight weekends with UFC 139 as two Light Heavyweigths look to get back in the title conversation. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take on Dan “Hendo” Henderson as former UFC champion will take on current Strikeforce Champion. Rua will be looking to get back into title contention and get a rematch with Jon Jones who ended his title reign. Henderson will be looking to make an impression in his return to the UFC after earning the Strikeforce title. While these two face off in the main event two other fighters will be fighting for their careers when Wanderlei Silva take son Cung Le. Silva’s career is almost done after a number of bad losses and one more loss could put him in forced retirement or on the cut list. Cung Le has not fought in almost a year and seems to be on his way out to focus on his acting career. A loss by either of these fighters could spell the end of their careers as they will both be looking to get the win and continue to fight in the UFC.
When: Saturday November 19th
Time: 6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (Prelims)/9:00 pm (PPV)
Channel: Facebook/Sportsnet/Pay-per-View
Hockey Night in Canada: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals have been a very powerful offensive team for years now and are looking to dominate the top of the league. Meanwhile the Leafs are looking to figure out a way to get back into their winning ways. The Leafs are still trying to find out who can replace James Reimer after his injury earlier this year and will go with either Jonas Gustaffson or Ben Scrivens to try to get back. The Caps have continued to play well with offensive output from almost everyone and a solid backstop in Tomas Vokoun. This will be the first of a four game series between the two as they will face off another three times after this Saturday. Both teams are at different points with the Leafs looking to stop their slide while the Caps are looking to continue their climb to the top of the league.
When: Saturday November 19th
Time: 7:00 pm
Channel: CBC
NCAA Football: USC Trojans vs. #4 Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks slipped briefly at the beginning of the season but are now looking like the team tat many had thought they would be. They are still leaning on LaMichael James who recovered from an injury a few weeks ago and are looking to outpace the USC Trojans. The Trojans are not ranked but they are not a team to sleep on. The Trojans have the ability to beat the Ducks this week and will hope to be the rankings buster by doing so. The Ducks will be looking to continue to rack up the wins and gain a BCS Bowl berth with very few weeks left before the Bowls are decided. The Ducks and Trojans will face off in this Pac-12 matchup with both teams leading their respective divisions in what could be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship.
When: Saturday November 19th
Time: 8:00 pm
Channel: ABC
CFL Football: Eastern Final
The CFL is now one week away from the 99th Grey Cup ion Vancouver as the Conference Finals take place this weekend. The Eastern Final will feature the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their shot at the Grey Cup. The Blue Bombers were the surprise of the season as they were able to fend off the Montreal Alouettes to earn the first place spot. With this they earned a bye last week in hopes that they could heal up their starting QB Buck Pierce who will start this week injured or not. The Ti-Cats were the surprise of the playoffs as they finally beat the Montreal Alouettes who had dominated them over the past decade. With their win they will now travel to Canad-Inns stadium in the last game to be played there before the new stadium is built in Winnipeg. Both teams will be playing to get into the ultimate game as Winnipeg will look to go from worst to first and the Ti-Cats will finally try to get rid of their middle of the road image.
When: Sunday November 20th
Time: 1:00 pm
Channel: TSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Ford 400
The NASCAR season will end this weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway with the last race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Ford 400 will determine a lot in the standings as Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards are coming into the race at a very close 1 and 2. Edwards will be looking to continue to lead the Chase without really winning any races. Meanwhile Tony Stewart has already won two Chase races and if he can win his third he will take home the Sprint Cup. The race will generally be against Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards which means that Jimmie Johnson will end his reign as champion after years of Johnson being the constant champion. The sprint Cup will come down to one last race as Edwards and Stewart will look to get the win and the championship.
When: Sunday November 20th
Time: 3:00 pm
Channel: TSN2
CFL Football: Western Finals
The Second semi-final in the CFL will take place in the home of the 99th Grey Cup as the B.C. Lions and the Edmonton Eskimos will face off in Vancouver. Both teams have gone from two of the worst teams in the Western Conference to playing in the finals. The B.C. Lions will take their hot streak into the playoffs after earning the top spot and a bye. The Lions won 10 of their last 11 games and passed everyone to take the top spot. They will take their win streak into newly renovated B.C. Place and hope that they can stay at home for the Grey Cup next weekend. The Edmonton Eskimos were the worst team last year in the West and started strong earning a first place spot. The middle of their season was not as good as they lost a number of players to injury and lost their hold on the top spot. They still took the second spot after a great finish and beat Calgary last week to earn their spot in the Conference finals. The Eskimos will have to go into this game without their outstanding Canadian RB as Jerome Messam was injured last week and will not play against the Lions. The Lions will be looking to win the game and play at home in the Grey Cup while the Eskimos will be looking to take the win and finish off what promised to be a great season.
When: Sunday November 20th
Time: 4:30 pm
Channel: TSN
NFL Football: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants
The NFL is one week closer to finding out who will be in the playoffs with a few teams looking to make their case for the division crown. This is true in the NFC East as the race is almost a done deal with a few key games that could make the difference. The Giants are at the top of the division that many though they would need to fight it out for. The Eagles were one of the teams that many thought would win the East after they made a big splash in the free agent market. They have not lived up to the hype as they have not been able to win many games this year putting them in a bad spot for the playoffs. The Eagles still have a shot but they will need to beat the Giants if they want a chance at the crown. The Giants will be looking to get the win and essentially eliminate their biggest challenger in the division. The game will not determine a playoff spot but will go a long way to figuring out the east division as the NFL comes closer to the end of their season and the beginning of the playoffs.
When: Sunday November 20th
Time: 8:20 pm
Channel: TSN/NBC
MLS Cup: L.A. Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo
The MLS Cup will be in Los Angeles this year giving the L.A. Galaxy the advantage in the 16th year of the MLS Cup. The Galaxy will take on the young but talented team of Houston who has only been in the league for 6 years but have been one of the best teams in the past few years. The Dynamo will enter their second straight MLS Cup after winning the Eastern Conference in 2010 and repeating as champions in 2011. The L.A. Galaxy are in their 16th season. They will try to win another MLS Cup after losing out last year in the Semi-Finals. This will also be a big game for the Galaxy as their superstar David Beckham is in his last year under contract. This could be his last game in the MLS as he may choose to return to Europe to play and he would like to go out as a champion if he chooses not to return. The 16th MLS Cup will be an interesting matchup as everything is leaning towards the Galaxy but the Dynamo could easily take home the win.
When: Sunday November 20th
Time: 9:00 pm
Channel: TSN2
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