Day 41 without sports ðŸ˜: Here are the six best classic games airing this week
The reinforcements have come this week in our live sports drought, with ESPN airing "The Last Dance" documentary on Sunday and the virtual NFL draft slated for Thursday. But most networks are still relying on classic games to help quench sports fans' thirst for nostalgia.
Here's a look at this week's best (all times Eastern):
1. Team USA men's basketball gold medal marathon (NBC Sports Network — Wednesday): The 1992 Barcelona Dream Team (9 p.m.), 2008 Beijing Redeem Team (7 p.m.) and 2012 London (11 p.m.) Olympic men's basketball teams will be showcased in their respective gold-medal games. That means Michael Jordan wearing No. 9 and in his prime and LeBron James wearing No. 6 in his prime on star-studded rosters. Which team would win in a pick-up game?
4. 2009 NFC championship game Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints (Fox Sports 1, Thursday — 7 p.m.): One of the most controversial endings in NFL playoff history, this is a game Vikings fans likely will want to skip. The 31-28 overtime thriller was as good as it gets, though.
3. Boston Celtics' 2008 NBA title (ESPN — Wednesday): Game 4 (8 p.m.) and Game 6 (10 p.m.) of the Finals air, with the C's trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen bringing glory back to the storied franchise over Kobe Bryant's Lakers.
4. Super Bowl XLI (2006 season) Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears (CBS, Tuesday, 8 p.m.): MVP Peyton Manning earned his only ring with Indianapolis, while Tony Dungy became the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, doing so against a gritty Bears defense.
5. 2014 NLCS Game 5 St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants (Fox Sports 1, Saturday, 4 p.m.): Travis Ishikawa's walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning won the Giants the pennant and sent them to their third World Series appearance in five seasons.
6. 2019 first round playoffs San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Knights (NBC Sports Network Tuesday 5:30 p.m.): This double-overtime classic saw Tomas Hertl score a goal 11:17 into the second overtime to lift the Sharks to a 2-1 win, forcing a Game 7 (that the Sharks would win) in the first-round playoff series.
Sports video of the day
MLB Network is running a no-hitter marathon with Mark Buehrle's perfect game from 2009 (10 a.m.), Philip Humber's perfect game from 2012 (2 p.m. ET), Jake Arrieta's no-hitter from 2016 (4 p.m.) and Sean Manaea's no-hitter from 2018 (6 p.m.). We'll celebrate with Manaea's no-hitter vs. the Red Sox since it occurred exactly two years ago today.
Story time! Here are some of our best
Paste BN NETWORK: Mock NFL draft outlines how field will play out
NFL DRAFT: Here are 32 things we learned going into Thursday
THE LAST DANCE: Scottie Pippen is the ultimate sidekick
CORONAVIRUS FIGHT: Pro-athletes-turned doctors on the frontlines
NEW UNIFORMS: Patriots the latest team to unveil theirs
BOB KNIGHT: Coach saw Jordan's greatness early
Sports we're missing
NBA and NHL playoffs
MLB
- Oakland Athletics at Cleveland Indians
- New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
- Texas Rangers at Philadelphia Phillies
- Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
- Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington Nationals
- Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox
- Miami Marlins at New York Mets
- Arizona D'Backs at Atlanta Braves
- San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners at Minnesota Twins
- Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
- Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox
- Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros
- Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants
- Baltimore Orioles at Los Angeles Angels
Follow reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.