If you’re anything like us, you may be wondering how you’re going to fill that sports-sized void now that most leagues are either cancelled or postponed. Hopefully live games are back in no time, but in the meantime, Sling TV is putting together a weekly list of what to watch in the sports world. Check back here every Friday for updates.
You can find everything from your “Sports” tab in the app. The “On Now” ribbon has everything new and live in the world of sports. Scroll down for ribbons organized by sport, where you’ll find great documentaries and On Demand games and events from the past year. Here’s what you can look forward to this week, May 1-7.
ESPN’s 10-part documentary on Michael Jordan’s final championship season with the Chicago Bulls, The Last Dance, passes the halfway point this week, with episodes 5 and 6 airing Sunday at 9pm ET. But you probably already know that!
ESPN is also doing its best to keep some form of live competition among humans on its air, turning to eSports to fill the breach: The MLB Show 20 Players League, featuring real Major League players wielding controllers instead of bats and gloves, rounds third with the semifinal round airing at 3pm Saturday on ESPN2 and the final at 2:30pm Sunday on ESPN.
The Madden NFL 20 Bowl (not to be confused with the celebrity tournament that concluded last weekend) also continues this week on ESPN3, with Group Play rounds airing Wednesday and Thursday at 5pm ET and continuing into next week.
And of course e-racing is now enjoying its moment in the sun, with FS1’s Wednesday Night iRacing continuing at 7pm Wednesday; The Race All-Star Series on ESPN2 pitting sim racers against actual pros slumming in simulators at noon Saturday, the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix at 1pm Sunday on ESPN2, and eNASCAR hitting the Dover International Speedway at 1pm Sunday on FS1 and FOX in select markets.
Saturday’s highlight is unquestionably ESPN’s daylong transformation into ESPN8, aka “The Ocho” (an extended riff on a joke from the 2004 movie Dodgeball), featuring goofy sports like combat juggling, slippery stairs, and kicking things off in this edition’s sole live segment, an attempt by Hafthor Bjornsson, aka The Mountain from Game of Thrones, to break his own World Deadlift record at noon ET.
If you’re feeling nostalgic, this week features replays of Super Bowl XXXI (Packers/Patriots) at 7pm Friday on FS1; Game 5 of the 2016 Warriors/Cavs NBA Finals at 8pm Sunday on NBA TV; Game 7 of the 1991 Braves/Twins World Series at 8pm Sunday on MLB Network; and Game 5 of the 1984 Oilers/Islanders Stanley Cup Finals at 8pm Monday on NHL Network.
Check back on our Sports Page every Friday for the latest developments in the world of sports television. The best thing about sports is people of all walks of life coming together. Since we can’t do that right now, let’s congregate around the TV. In the end, we’re all on the same team.
