Viewers's guide to super sports Saturday
Saturday, June 6, is another action-packed day for sports fans.
The day starts off strong with the French Open women's final between Serena Williams and Lucie Safarova. Then viewers can tune in throughout the day to the NCAA's College Baseball super regionals, the X Games Austin, the UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and Barcelona, the PGA's Memorial Tournament and the Belmont Stakes. As the sun starts to set on the East coast, the Women's World Cup kicks off with two games, the second game of the Stanley Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning will be underway, and there will be plenty of action for fight fans from UFC Fight Night 68 and the Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale middleweight championship fight.
Here's a viewing guide to help you keep track of all the action:
French Open: Men's semifinal
Time: 7 a.m. ET
Channel: NBCSN
Why you should watch:Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were locked in an epic battle to determine who would advance to the final when the match was suspended due to an incoming storm. Djokovic is leading 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 3-3.
French Open: Women's final
Time: 9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Why you should watch: A visibly sick Serena Williams managed to rally and defeat Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals, and the 19-time Grand Slam champion is the odds-on favorite to win and take home her 20th major. However, she'll be going up against Lucie Safarova, who has yet to drop a single set throughout the tournament and upset defending champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round. Safarova will be playing in her very first Grand Slam final.
College Baseball: NCAA super regionals
Time: 11 a.m.–11 p.m. ET
Channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
Why you should watch: Baseball fans rejoice: Saturday has 12 straight hours of college baseball action with the second day of the NCAA super regionals taking place. There are eight games spread throughout the day, but there are five matchups in particular that you don't want to miss.
- Texas A&M at TCU: On top of being a huge rivalry matchup, it should be fun to watch to see if TCU's arms can shut down Texas A&M's bats.
- Maryland at Virginia: Maryland upset UCLA, the No. 1 seed, to earn a spot in the super regionals, but it will be facing an experienced Virginia team that nearly won the College World Series last year.
- Florida State at Florida No matter the sport, the rivalry between these two schools runs deep. While the No. 4-seeded Gators are favored, things don't always go as planned in rivalry matchups.
- Louisiana (Lafayette) at LSU Besides the intense rivalry between these two schools, the pressure is on LSU as the highest seed in the super regionals and arguably the most well-balanced team in the nation to see if it can win the College World Series.
- Vanderbilt at Illinois: Vanderbilt, the reigning national champions, will be looking to get to Omaha in its bid to become back-to-back champions.
Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals:
Time: 12 p.m.–3 p.m. ET
Channel: MLB Network
Why you should watch: Look for the Washington Nationals to try to break its three-game losing streak against the Chicago Cubs.
X Games Austin
Time: 12 p.m.–2 p.m., 2 p.m.-6 p.m., 8 p.m.-11p.m. ET
Channels: ESPN, ABC
Why you should watch: For all you adrenaline junkies out there, get your extreme sports fix by catching all the action from X Games Austin.
Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals
Time: 2 p.m.–5 p.m. ET
Channel: Fox Sports 1
Why you should watch: The Rangers have been hot lately, having won seven of their last 10 games. The Royals haven't fared as well, but they'll try to get things back on track with ace Yordano Ventura taking the mound.
UEFA Champions League Soccer: Juventus vs. Barcelona
Time: 2:30 p.m.–5 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Why you should watch: The UEFA Champions League final pits two powerhouse clubs in Barcelona and Juventus against one another, with each looking to cap off its season with a treble. With Lionel Messi leading the way for Barcelona, that should be reason enough to watch. And if for nothing else, tune in just to see if Luis Suarez decides to sink his teeth into someone else.
PGA Tour: Memorial Tournament
Time: 3 p.m.–6 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Why you should watch: The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, is often considered to be a "mini-major" with a Masters-like feel. Things are tight atop the leaderboard right now, and expect the intensity to ratchet up for the third round of the tournament.
Belmont Stakes
Time: 4:30 p.m.–7 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Why you should watch: American Pharoah, having won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, is looking to claim the first Triple Crown in 37 years. Since Affirmed won the Triple Crown back in 1978, 13 horses have tried and failed to match that feat, with California Chrome from last year being the most recent horse to fall short of reaching horse racing's crown jewel.
FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada vs. China
Time: 6 p.m.–8 p.m. ET
Channel: Fox Sports 1
Why you should watch: Host nation Canada takes on China to kick off the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament. Expect a raucous (but polite) home crowd for the opening game of the tournament, and keep your eyes on forward Christine Sinclair and midfielder Sophie Schmidt as they work their magic against China.
Stanley Cup Final: Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning (Game 2)
Time: 7 p.m.–10 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Why you should watch: The Chicago Blackhawks rallied in the third period to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the first game of the Stanley Cup Final, but expect the Lightning to come out firing on all cylinders as it looks to avoid losing at home again and falling into an 0-2 hole.
FIFA Women's World Cup: New Zealand vs. Netherlands
Time: 9 p.m.–11 p.m. ET
Channel: Fox Sports 2
Why you should watch: New Zealand and the Netherlands will need to get off to a strong start before they have to face host nation Canada. Keep an eye on teenage phenom Vivianne Miedema, who was the top scorer in the UEFA qualifying group stage.
UFC Fight Night
Time: 8 p.m.–1 a.m. ET
Channel: Fox Sports 1
Why you should watch: Dan Henderson and Tim Boetsch will be headlining UFC Fight Night 68 from New Orleans, and expect a hard-hitting brawl from these two middleweights.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Time: 10 p.m.–1 a.m. ET
Channel: MLB Network
Why you should watch: The St. Louis Cardinals sport the best record in the league, but the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't too far behind and could close the gap a bit with Clayton Kershaw on the mound.
Miguel Cotto vs. Daniel Geale
Time: 10:30 p.m.–11:45 p.m. ET
Channel: HBO
Why you should watch: Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto will be entering his first title defense against former title holder Daniel Geale.
