Sports News

NFL playoffs, Australian Open, golf in Hawaii fill weekend sports schedule

By Alex Butler   |   Jan. 14, 2022 at 4:00 AM
Running back Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals host the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday in Cincinnati. File Photo by John Sommers II /UPI Cameron Smith is the favorite to win the 2022 Sony Open this weekend in Honolulu. File Photo by Corey Sipkin/UPI Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the favorite to win the 2022 Australian Open, which first airs Sunday night on ESPN. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots face the Buffalo Bills in a wild-card game Saturday in Orchard Park, N.Y. File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI Quarterback Tom Brady (12) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers start their postseason run with a wild-card game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. File Photo by Steve Nesius/UPI

MIAMI, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Wild-card NFL playoff games top the weekend sports schedule. First-round 2022 Australian Open tennis matches, a PGA Tour tournament and NHL, NBA and college basketball regular-season games also air Friday through Sunday.

Saturday's slate features a light heavyweight boxing title bout between Joe Smith Jr. and Steve Geffrard.

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Dozens of soccer games also take place this weekend throughout Germany, Italy, Spain, England and France, featuring Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and other elite playmakers.

The NFL's wild-card round starts Saturday and airs through Monday. A dozen of the league's 14 playoff teams will take the field, with six games apiece fought between the best of the AFC and NFC.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders kickoff the NFL postseason Saturday in Cincinnati.

NFL

Quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals (10-7) earned the No. 4 seed this postseason. They'll host the No. 5 Raiders at 4:30 p.m. EST Saturday on NBC.

Quarterback Josh Allen and the No. 3 Buffalo Bills (11-6) follow with another AFC wild-card game against coach Bill Belichick's No. 6 New England Patriots (10-7). That game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. and airs on CBS.

Former Patriots star Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4), the No. 2 seed in the NFC, host the No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) in the first of three games Sunday. That game kicks off at 1 p.m. on Fox.

The No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (12-5) then host the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at 4:30 p.m. on CBS, NICK and Amazon Prime Video.

Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Ben Roethlisberger match up in Sunday's nightcap. Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs (12-5), the AFC's No. 2 seed, host the No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) at 8:15 p.m. on NBC.

The wild-card round ends Monday, when the NFC's fourth-seeded Los Angeles Rams (12-5) face the No. 5 Arizona Cardinals (11-6) at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN, ABC and ESPN2.

Australian Open

The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year, the Australian Open, launches Monday in Australia, but airs Sunday night in the United States due to a 16-hour time difference.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, assuming he has overcome immigration woes, is the favorite to win the men's singles title. No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia is the women's singles favorite. Djokovic will attempt to win a fourth-consecutive title, while Barty looks for her first crown in Melbourne.

The first round airs from 7 to 11 p.m. EST Sunday on ESPN and continues from 11 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday on ESPN+. The tournament continues through the end of the month. The 2022 Australian Open women's singles final airs Jan. 28 in the United States.

The men's singles final airs Jan. 29.

A total of 256 players will compete in the men's and women's singles circuits. The winners to emerge from each 128-player field will receive $4.4 million apiece.

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia Alexander Zverev of Germany, Rafael Nadal fo Spain and Stefanos Tsitsipas are among the other men's singles favorites.

Defending champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Iga Swiatek of Poland and Simona Halep of Romania are among the other women's favorites.

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour season continues with the 2022 Sony Open. The tournament teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

World No. 8 Bryson DeChambeau entered the week as the tournament favorite, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. No. 10 Cameron Smith is now the favorite. No. 27 Kevin Na won the 2021 Sony Open and will attempt to defend his Hawaiian title.

No. 14 Harris English, No. 19 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 20 Abraham Ancer, No. 22 Jason Kokrak, No. 23 Billy Horschel and No. 24 Sungjae Im are other top players.

The 144-player field will compete for a first-place prize of $1.3 million.

Second- and third-round play of the Sony Open airs from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively, on NBC's Golf Channel. The final round airs from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday on Golf Channel.

Weekend schedule (all times EST)

Friday

Soccer

Bundesliga: SC Freiburg at Borussia Dortmund at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men's

Buffalo at Ball State at 6 p.m. on CBSSN

Nebraska at Purdue at 6:30 p.m. on FS1

VCU at St. Bonaventure at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Michigan at Illinois at 9 p.m. on FS1

Fresno State at UNLV at 11 p.m. on FS1

Women's

Stanford at Colorado at 9 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Golf

Sony Open: Second-round from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel

NHL

Stars at Panthers at 7 p.m. on NHL Network

Ducks at Wild at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

Coyotes at Avalanche at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

NBA

Warriors at Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Mavericks at Grizzlies at 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Soccer

Premier League: Chelsea at Manchester City at 7:30 a.m. on Peacock

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich at FC Cologne at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN+

Premier League: Leicester at Burnley at 10 a.m. on Peacock

Premier League: Watford at Newcastle at 10 a.m. on USA

Premier League: Everton at Norwich at 10 a.m. on Peacock

Premier League: Southampton at Wolves at 10 a.m. on Peacock

Premier League: Manchester United at Aston Villa at 12:30 p.m. on NBC

Serie A: Udinese at Juventus at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

Ligue 1: Brest at PSG at 3 p.m. on beIN Sports

College basketball

Men's

Northwestern at Michigan State at noon on Big Ten Network

Creighton at Xavier at noon on Fox

Texas Tech at Kansas State at noon on ESPN2

Seton Hall at Marquette at noon on FS1

Dayton at Duquesne at 12:30 p.m. on USA

Tennessee at Kentucky at 1 p.m. on ESPN

West Virginia at Kansas at 1:30 p.m. on CBS

NC State at Duke at 2 p.m. on ABC

Arkansas at LSU at 2 p.m. on ESPN2

Texas at Iowa State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Florida State at Syracuse at 3 p.m. on ESPN

Oklahoma at TCU at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

Oklahoma State at Baylor at 5 p.m. on ESPN

Alabama at Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on SEC Network

Vanderbilt at Georgia at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Utah at Arizona at 8 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Houston at Tulsa at 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Auburn at Ole Miss at 8:30 p.m. on SEC Network

Colorado at Arizona State at 10 p.m. on ESPN2

Oregon State at UCLA at 10:30 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Oregon at USC at 11 p.m. on FS1

Women's

Iowa State at Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Kansas State at Texas Tech at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

West Virginia at Texas at 8 p.m. on Longhorn Network

NHL

Predators at Bruins at 1 p.m. on ESPN+

Canucks at Hurricanes at 1 p.m. on ESPN+

Capitals at Islanders at 2 p.m. on NHL Network

Blue Jackets at Panthers at 6 p.m. on ESPN+

Sabres at Red Wings at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Stars at Lightning at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Rangers at Flyers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Maples Leafs at Blues at 7 p.m. on NHL Network

Ducks at Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Avalanche at Coyotes at 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Kings at Kraken at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Senators at Oilers at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Penguins at Sharks at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+

NFL

Raiders at Bengals at 4:30 p.m. on NBC

Patriots at Bills at 8:15 p.m. on CBS

Golf

Sony Open: Third-round from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel

NBA

Lakers at Nuggets at 9 p.m. on NBA TV

Boxing

Joe Smith Jr. vs. Steve Geffrard at 11 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+

Sunday

Soccer

Premier League: Brentford at Liverpool at 9 a.m. on USA

Premier League: Leeds at West Ham at 9 a.m. on Peacock

Premier League: Arsenal at Spurs at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock

Spanish Super Cup: TBD at Real Madrid at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Serie A: Inter Milan at Atalanta at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

College basketball

Men's

Butler at Villanova at noon on FS1

Penn State at Ohio State at noon on Big Ten Network

Cincinnati at Wichita State at 1 p.m. on ESPN

Georgetown at St. John's at 4:30 p.m. on Fox

Women's

Louisville at Boston College at noon on ACC Network

Vanderbilt at LSU at 1 p.m. on SEC Network

North Carolina at Notre Dame at 1 p.m. on ACC Network

Stanford at Utah at 2 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Georgia Tech at Miami at 2 p.m. on ACC Network

Kentucky at Tennessee at 3 p.m. on ESPN

Baylor at Kansas at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

South Florida at UCF at 3 p.m. on ESPNU

South Carolina at Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Duke at NC State at 4 p.m. on ACC Network

Michigan at Maryland at 5 p.m. on ESPN

NFL

Eagles at Buccaneers at 1 p.m. on Fox

49ers at Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. on CBS, NICK, Amazon Prime Video

Steelers at Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. on NBC

NHL

Canucks at Capitals at 2 p.m. on NHL Network

Golf

Sony Open: Final round from 6 to 10 p.m. on Golf Channel

Tennis

Australian Open: First round from 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN and from 11 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday on ESPN+