“Five-card draw. Say aces, deuces, one-eyed jacks, and suicide kings are wild.”
“Ira, that’s the whole deck.”
— Johnny Galecki and Sean Patrick Flannery in the 1998 film, “Suicide Kings.”
It’s going to be a wild week in sports. It seems all the games are big, can’t-miss contests.
First, you have the wild card playoff series in baseball. One of those series is the Yankees against the Red Sox, which would be entertainment even if it were an exhibition.
Second, you have the Golden State Valkyries playing in the first round of the playoffs. They are up 1-0 in a best-of-three-game series after Sunday’s win, but will play later this week in Games 2 and possibly Game 3.
Third, you have a bunch of college football and NFL games. The 49ers are 3-0 and have looked like possibly the best team in the sport. Even if their wide receivers keep falling like snow in Russia.
Fourth, you have a bunch of local volleyball, flag football and football games this week. Benicia football is 4-1 on the season, with the Panthers’ only loss coming in overtime in Week 1. They look to be the real deal.
Finally, hockey is starting. Can you believe that? Hockey … in September.
It’s a lot to gauge, so thankfully the Thomas Gase Guide will tell you what is the best hand on each day in a deck that features so many.
Tuesday
Get up bright and early to see the first of four wild card games at 11 a.m. with the Philadelphia Phillies visiting the Atlanta Braves. These two squads have gone up against each other three times in postseason play, with the Phillies winning each time. The last two came in 2022 when Philadelphia made the World Series and in 2023 when the Phillies won in four games. The first one was in 1993 when the Phillies upset the then two-time defending NL champs.
The White Sox visiting the Houston Astros just might be the worst series of all time, at least on paper. In terms of playoffs, this series, starting at 2 p.m., is the opening band of the county fair. The Astros won the AL West Division with a whopping 81-81 record, while the White Sox weren’t much better with 84 wins. Neither squad would have made the postseason in the National League. However, someone has to win.
At 5 p.m. is the classic Yankees/Red Sox series, which on paper looks closer than twin sisters. The teams have met six times in the postseason, the most famous being the 2004 comeback by Boston on its way to its first title in 86 years. Each team has won three series, the most recent won by the Yankees a year ago in three games. The Yankees have won 14 of the 27 postseason games against each other, and also won the season series 7-6.
Finally, at 7 p.m. is the Chicago Cubs visiting Petco Park and the San Diego Padres in a rematch of last year’s wild card round, won by the Cubs in three games. This year, Chicago won five of six games against the Padres, and outscored them by nearly 30 runs.
If baseball isn’t your game, check out some local volleyball matches. Wood. is at home against Pioneer, while Vanden won’t travel far to play at Rodriguez. Vanden’s flag football team is also playing at Rodriguez at the same time. Vacaville volleyball is at Sacramento, while the Bulldogs flag football team is also playing at the same school on the road.
In WNBA action, Atlanta plays at Washington at 4 p.m., while Minnesota is at New York in the late game.
If baseball and basketball aren’t your sport, no worries! Hockey is here! The defending champion Carolina Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers in the opener at 2 p.m. (yes that’s the right time) in the season opener, while other games that night include the New York Rangers against the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Original Six matchups. The Chicago Blackhawks take on the Las Vegas Golden Knights at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Wednesday
The MLB wild card round continues with Game 2 in each series, with the starting times being the same as they were on Monday. It’s a best-of-three series, so some teams could be moving on to the division series with a win.
Another team looking to move on is the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA. If Golden State wins on the road, it can take the series against Dallas. If not, they play again on Friday in San Francisco.
In NHL action, watch the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia matchup at 4:30 p.m. and the Los Angeles Kings at the Colorado Avalanche at 7:30 p.m., with both games on TNT. This will be the first game in nearly 20 years the Kings will be playing without Anze Kopitar on the roster.
Thursday
Games 3 of the MLB playoff series, if necessary, take place on Thursday. The starting times won’t be known until late on Wednesday. If there are only two games, it’s likely both will be played in prime time.
Locally, I’d head to Vanden to see the volleyball team host Sacramento. The Wood volleyball team is also at home, playing River City. Vacaville flag football is at College Park, while Vanden is at home against Sacramento.
The NFL football game on Prime is Pittsburgh at Cleveland.
The San Jose Sharks finally open the regular season with a home game, but it’s a tough one with the Florida Panthers coming to the SAP Center. Still, there are a lot of expectations for the youthful Sharks, who just barely missed the playoffs a year ago. Expect a lively crowd.
Friday
In local football, Vacaville will look to build momentum off its win over Will C. Wood by trying to defeat Pioneer on the road. Wood is back at home against Sacramento, while Vanden takes on Rodriguez on the road.
In the WNBA, the Valkyries would play a series-deciding game on Friday at a time to be determined later, but that’s only if Golden State doesn’t beat Dallas on Wednesday.
In college football, check out Penn State visiting Northwestern, while in NHL action, tune in to the Rangers visiting the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks playing at Las Vegas. St. Louis at Dallas should be another good game to watch, this one available on TNT.
The weekend
The first games of the baseball division series begin today, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays all hosting the wild card-round winners. Times haven’t been determined yet, but I’d take a guess the Dodgers series played out west will be a night game, while the Rays may also play late in the day due to Tampa Bay taking on a large market in either Boston or New York.
In college football, the big games to watch early on Saturday include Alabama at Mississippi State at 9 a.m., the same time Stanford visits Wake Forest.
Ohio State visits Iowa at 12:30 p.m., with Iowa coming off a nice last-second win at Michigan that should have been the Wolverines’ second loss of the year at the buzzer.
Florida is coming off a huge win at home against Ole Miss. Now the Gators look to continue that success at Missouri, ranked No. 25 in the nation. That game is at 12:30 p.m., the same time Cal plays at UNLV.
No. 4-ranked Miami plays at Clemson at 4:30 p.m. on ABC, while USC also plays Washington at the same time. Indiana plays at Rutgers at 5 p.m., while San Jose State plays at Hawaii at 9 p.m. So you’ll likely be watching part of that game on Sunday morning.
In the NFL, check out early morning games like the New England Patriots at the Buffalo Bills, the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the 1-2 Los Angeles Rams, and the New York Giants (2-1?) hosting the Arizona Cardinals. All those contests begin at 10 a.m., while the best 1 p.m. games include the 3-0 49ers hosting the Denver Broncos and a pair of 3-0 teams — the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders (?) playing at Sin City and the Seattle Seahawks hosting the winless Los Angeles Chargers.
The 5:15 p.m. game is Detroit at Carolina, while the Monday night game is Atlanta at New Orleans.
If hockey is your sport, check out the always entertaining game between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings at the SAP Center on Saturday night. Get there early, and buy tickets — it may be sold out. Chicago at Buffalo, Washington at Tampa Bay, and New Jersey at the New York Islanders will also be good games to watch.
Read
“Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders” by Pete Richmond (because the Raiders are good again, so remember the 50th anniversary of their first Super Bowl-winning season).
“Triumph” by Jeremy Schaap (to remember the 90th anniversary of Jesse Owens pulling off one of the most important acts in sports history).
“Summer of ’49” by David Halberstam (to read during the Yankees vs. Red Sox series).