Welcome to the RealClearSports Weekend Warmup!
If summertime is known as the slow period in the sports year, well we hope you enjoyed your break because that slow stretch is coming to an end: Baseball is charging toward the playoffs, and the NFL is back!
With two months left in baseball's regular season, the league's top teams finalized moves this week to help boost their postseason chances in the fall. So with an eye on October, RCS editor Ben Krimmel put together his ranking of the Top 10 World Series Contenders.
MLB
The premier series of the weekend features two of baseball's top postseason hopefuls, as the Washington Nationals play three matinee games against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The first game of the set will showcase Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks versus Tanner Roark, who is filling in for the injury-prone Stephen Strasburg (Friday, 2 p.m. ET on MLB Network). At time of publishing the Nationals had not announced starters for the rest of the series, but the Cubs will throw John Lackey on Saturday (2 p.m. ET on MLBN), and veteran southpaw Jon Lester (who hit his first big-league home run on Tuesday) in Sunday's series finale (2:20 p.m. ET on TBS).
The New York Yankees made a big splash at this week's MLB trade deadline by acquiring former Oakland A's ace Sonny Gray, and they look to take the AL East lead from the Boston Red Sox (who hold a two-game edge) in a three-game set against the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians. Friday the Bronx Bombers have newly acquired pitcher Jaime Garcia on the hill against the Indians Trevor Bauer (7 p.m. ET on MLBN) with Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery going against Danny Salazar on Saturday (7 p.m. ET on MLBN).
The best team in baseball got better this week with the addition of Yu Darvish and two left-handed relievers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers (winners of 41 out of their last 48 games) are in New York to play the slumping Mets (losers of six of their last eight), with Saturday's game at 4 p.m. ET (on FS1) and Sunday night's game at 8 p.m. ET (on ESPN).
NFL
Football returned on Thursday with the annual Hall of Fame Game. The Dallas Cowboys erased an early 15-0 deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-18. It was just a little snack for those who just can't wait for the great feast of football that awaits.
On Saturday, a star-studded gathering of NFL greats -- such as Broncos running back Terrell Davis, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, and QB Kurt Warner -- will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. (Coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on NFL Network with the ceremony starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN and NFLN.)
Unfortunately you will have to wait until next week for preseason games on NFL Network (Wednesday, Aug. 9, Texans vs. Panthers at 7:30 p.m. ET and Thursday, Aug. 10, Broncos vs. Bears at 8 p.m. ET).
Soccer
On Sunday an MLS triple-header starts in the Rose City as the Portland Timbers host their Western Conference rivals LA Galaxy (4 p.m. ET on ESPN). On the other side of the country, crosstown rivals clash in the Hudson River Derby as NYCFC play the New York Red Bulls (6 p.m. on FS1). The weekend closes with the top team in the West, Sporting Kansas City, welcoming MLS newcomer Atlanta United to Children's Mercy Park (8 p.m. ET on FS1).
The regular season for European clubs is still a week away, but it is preseason cup weekend. The German Super Cup will be held this Saturday at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund with Borussia Dortmund facing off against Bayern Munich (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX), and on Sunday the 2017 FA Community Shield match takes place as defending Premier League champs Chelsea take on FA Cup winners Arsenal at Wembley Stadium (9 a.m. ET on FS1).
Golf
In a tuneup for next week's PGA Championship, all of the top players in the world -- such as British Open champion Jordan Spieth, U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka, and Masters champ Sergio Garcia -- head to Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Coverage begins on Friday on Golf Channel (1:30-6:30 p.m. ET) with Saturday and Sunday's coverage on CBS (2-6 p.m. ET).
On This Day
On this date 33 years ago, track and field star Carl Lewis won gold in the 100-meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Lewis defeated fellow American Sam Graddy and Canadian Ben Johnson with a time of 9.99 seconds, just slower than Calvin Smith's then-world record time of 9.93. At the 1984 Games, Lewis would go on to take gold in the 200-meter, the 4-x-100 meter relay, and the long jump. All told, Lewis would win nine gold medals at four different Olympics.
Check RealClearSports.com throughout the weekend for coverage of NFL training camps, Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, the MLB regular season, and more. Follow us on Twitter @RealClearSports and become a part of the conversation on Facebook.
