Must Watch Sports: Conference Championships, College Baseball, French Open, and More

Fans of Real Madrid show their support prior to the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match between Real Madrid and FC Bayern München at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 08, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

This weekend sets up as a unique viewing weekend for sports fans across North America. There might be a series decided to determine the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final. But if the remaining series are finished before the weekend, neither championship round will begin until later next week. That leaves us wondering what to circle on our calendar to watch this weekend.

Here are a few events around the sports world that I’ll have an eye on this coming weekend.

WNBA

While there might not be NBA games to watch this weekend, one of the biggest regular-season games in the history of the WNBA will air on ESPN at Noon ET on Saturday. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will host Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. The two had a powerful rivalry while at Iowa and LSU, respectively, during their college careers. This will be their first match-up as professionals.

National Hockey League

In both conference final series, a Game Six means one team will have the opportunity to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Final. And we’ll be treated to two such games this weekend.

The Eastern Conference Final will require at least six games. This has been an old-school series with a lot of hitting (including some after the whistle) and it’s obvious these two teams really don’t like each other. The New York Rangers will visit the Florida Panthers for their Game Six on Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers have traded dramatic wins in their Western Conference Final series, with each team winning a road game already in the series. They’ll play Game Six on Sunday evening in Edmonton at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

Major League Baseball

It’s another packed weekend of games for the big leagues with some old—in one case, really old—rivalries being renewed and some other intriguing matchups. The New York Yankees cross the country to play in San Francisco against the (formerly New York) Giants, the Chicago White Sox revisit their old American League rivalry with the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Tampa Bay Rays will head into Baltimore to see which team wants to grab a bigger piece of the American League East.

For my money, the matchup to watch is Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres visiting Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals. Two of the most exciting young players in the game in the same series is worth the price of admission.

Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres avoids an inside pitch against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill., on May 8, 2024. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

NCAA—Men’s College World Series

The brackets are set for the road to the men’s College World Series, and the action begins this week. Games will be played in the regional portion of the tournament this weekend with teams hoping to punch their tickets to the next round on their path to Omaha.

There are some fascinating regional matchups, including Illinois visiting Lexington in the regional being hosted by Kentucky, Indiana traveling to Knoxville in the regional being hosted by Tennessee, and Vanderbilt heading to Clemson as the No. 2 seed in that region.

UEFA Champions League

There is one match of note this weekend as the Champions League continues. Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday afternoon (3:00 p.m. ET, CBS). Madrid is undefeated in six matches in Group C, while Borussia Dortmund comes into the match with a slight lead on Paris Saint-Germain in Group F.

This figures to be a defensive battle. Madrid has allowed only seven goals in their six matches to date, while Borussia Dortmund has allowed only four goals in their six matchups. Madrid’s Vinicius Junior figures to be a factor in the scoring, entering the match with five goals and four assists in his nine games to date.

Real Madrid's Ukrainian goalkeeper #13 Andriy Lunin attends a training session at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid ahead of their Champions League final football match against Borussia Dortmund on May 27, 2024. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

Tennis—French Open

The fourth round of the men’s singles will take place on Sunday, June 2. Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 seed and the defending champion, but the eyes of many tennis fans are on the player who is considered the future of the game: No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The 21-year-old Spaniard has already battled Djokovic in some dramatic matches and the two may be on a collision course to meet in the final once again.

The fourth round of the women’s singles will also take place on Sunday. Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, has been cruising but lost her last two tournaments in the final round to the No. 1 seed, Iga Swiatek. Will they meet in the final round for a third consecutive tournament—this time, a major?

PGA Tour–RBC Canadian Open

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood headline the field as the PGA Tour moves north of the border to compete in Canada this weekend. They’ll be playing at the beautiful Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.

Nick Taylor will look to defend his title from this event last year; Fleetwood finished as the runner-up in a playoff. Taylor became the first Canadian to win the tournament in the 69-year history of the event in 2023.

Nick Taylor of Canada reacts after playing the 16th green during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 30, 2024. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)