Your weekend viewing guide - The best games of the weekend and why you should watch. Usually everything from College Football, to the English Premier League, to the NHL but this week all we have is the Women’s World Cup, Copa America & MLL All-Star Game.
The Triple-Dub: July 8th – 11th
2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup:
Photo via zimbio.com
The Group Stages concluded on Wednesday with the Quarterfinals scheduled for this weekend. The teams advancing from Group Stages to the Quarterfinals include: Australia, Brazil, England, France, Germany(the hosts), Japan, Sweden And of course United States. The U.S. failed to win their group losing 2-1 to Sweden in their final Group C match setting-up a Quarterfinal clash with Brazil’s high-powered attack lead by Marta, Christiane and Rosana. Brazil’s speed and free-flowing attack could give the slower U.S. backline some trouble when rivals meet earlier than expected. Conversely, the U.S. attack should also be effective against Brazil’s susceptible defense which could result in an exciting game to watch. Keep your eye on Lauren Cheney against Brazil, Cheney has played well for the U.S. in a new role and is second in the tournament with 15 shots. Germany – the other tournament favorites along with United States and Brazil – faces Japan on the other side of the bracket which could set up an epic Final between the Germans and hopefully the United States (or Brazil) depending upon how things play out. Other than I can’t tell you much about the Women’s World Cup but here’s the schedule for this weekend:
- Saturday July 9th
England (Group B Winner) vs France (Group A Runner-Up) - 12:00 PM ET – ESPN
Germany (Group A Winner) vs Japan (Group B Runner-Up) - 2:45 PM ET – ESPN
- Sunday July 10th
Sweden (Group C Winner) vs Australia (Group D Runner-Up) - 7:00 AM ET – ESPN
Brazil (Group D Winner) vs United States (Group C Runner-Up) - 11:30 AM ET – ESPN
Copa America:
Photo via mexico.worldcupblog.org
Last week I highly recommended watching Copa America ”with the likes of Messi, Neymar, Diego Forlan, Carlos Tevez, Ganso, Luis Suarez and others” but so far I’ve been rather disappointed. There have been a total of 10 goals in 8 matches with 6 draws… Argentina (the hosts) have scored a whopping one goal in two matches (both draws) and have to beat Costa Rica on Monday to advance to the Quarterfinals. Brazil didn’t score in their only game so far (a 0-0 draw with Venezuela). The “other favorites” Uruguay and Paraguay both drew their openers while Chile was the only “favorite” to win their opener in 2-1 barn burner. If you aren’t outside this weekend enjoying the summer sun or doing something else you enjoy you can tune-in to Copa America at your own risk on YouYube:
- Friday July 8th
Uruguay vs Chile - Group C – 6:15 PM ET – YouTube (this one could actually be good)
Peru vs Mexico - Group C – 8:15 PM ET – YouTube
- Saturday July 9th
Brazil vs Paraguay - 3:00 PM ET – YouTube (might also be a good one)
Venezuela vs Ecuador - 5:30 PM ET – YouTube
- Sunday July 10th
Colombia vs Bolivia - 3:00 PM ET – YouTube
- Monday July 11th
Argentina vs Costa Rica - 8:45 PM ET – YouTube (must win for Argentina)
MLL All-Star Game:
Photo via zimbio.com
If you’re looking for something more physical, higher scoring and played at a slightly quicker pace then this should be perfect. The MLL All-Star roster of 40 players was announced last week with team captains Nathan Solomon and Michael Hatala will each hand pick their teams on Friday night. I haven’t really been following the season (at all) so I can’t tell you who to watch but these are 40 of the best lacrosse players in the world so I’m sure it’ll be good entertainment. The top five scorers in the league are Paul Rabil (33 pts), Brendan Mundorf (29), Ned Crotty (28), Joe Walters (27) and Matt Danowski (23) so you might want to keep an eye on them but then again statistics don’t always tell the whole story. Here’s more information about All-Star Weekend and the game time/TV information:
- Saturday July 9th
What are you watching this weekend?
