Like last week’s and the one before that, the forthcoming TV slate is loaded with worthwhile offerings. The NBA and NHL postseasons both up the stakes to second-round action. The Champions League semifinals boast four of the world’s most prestigious clubs. Major League Baseball rolls forward as the temperature rises, while college softball narrows into conference championship play. Even the preseason WNBA previews are looking sublime.
“I watch sports, man, that’s what I’m into,” Lil Wayne told us in 2006. “Sports, sports, sports. Every sport.” Has a chart-topping artist ever been so relatable to our readership?
Here is our weekly abridged look at the national sports schedule. First, a few questions to guide us:
Does this cover every big game coming up? Nope, just a light survey of the top-line stuff.
Should you take it personally if your favorite sport is omitted? Never, but drop a comment to let us know what you’re hyped for, or what we should consider for the next guide.
Are there any restrictions to be aware of? Only if you live in a market featured on the MLB Network broadcast. This Friday’s game between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, for instance, will be blacked out for in-market households that don’t have the regional carrier (SNY and Marquee, respectively).
Will you get in trouble if you miss any of these matches? That’s a clown question.
Viewing schedule
Monday
NBA Playoffs
- New York Knicks at Boston Celtics (7 p.m. ET, TNT)
- Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
Round 2 looks like a smash across the board. Warriors-Timberwolves puts decade-long playoff fixtures (Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler) against pro basketball’s generational heir apparent. Cavaliers-Pacers already delivered an eye-opening upset on Sunday and should give us ultra-efficient modern offense all the way through.
But Monday’s pair of Game 1s is particularly hard to defy.
Up first: ever-fresh animosities between New York and Boston. The Celtics are the NBA’s defending champions and the Eastern Conference’s standard-bearers, and the Knicks are specifically configured to compete against their longtime rivals. Boston’s parquet floor should be quaking come Monday night. The hooping public knows precisely what this Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown core can achieve; even if the Celts are favored at tip-off, Jalen Brunson demands our unwavering respect:
Monday’s second Game 1 puts historically good Nikola Jokić against historically good Oklahoma City. Postseason crowds in OKC carry a certain college feverishness that jumps off the broadcast. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets to test his MVP competition, and Russell Westbrook returns to the city he went guts-out for in his prime years. Like the Celtics, the higher-seeded Thunder will be series favorites. And like Brunson, Playoff Jamal Murray is gloriously unafraid of a main stage.
Tuesday
UEFA Champions League Semifinals
- Inter Milan vs. Barcelona (3 p.m. ET, CBS)
The first leg of this matchup was a multi-platinum banger. Marcus Thuram dealt a back-heel score for Inter in last week’s opening minute, and the once-flailing Italian side suddenly enjoyed a multi-goal road lead against formidable Barcelona. Then came Lamine Yamal’s prodigiousness and Ferran Torres’ 2-2 equalizer.
Down the stretch, Denzel Dumfries was practically unstoppable, while Raphinha came up supremely clutch. Even with the 3-3 score in tow, we still sat through a narrow offside call and a wrenching crossbar clanker. Instant classic. Let’s run it back!
Yamal has become international appointment television. Here’s The Athletic’s Tim Spiers on the 17-year-old Barça baller:
“Inter had sat in two perfectly acceptable banks of four to protect their two-goal advantage, but Yamal cared not for defensive structures. He embarked on a one-man heist of the ball, carrying it from some 35 yards from goal, skipping past the helpless Mkhitaryan, a man more than double Yamal’s age. The 17-year-old showed Lionel Messi-esque elasticity, precision and vision. Slaloming into a shooting position, surrounded by players but with the presence of mind to pause briefly and thread a bending shot through a crowded mass of bodies towards the corner…
“The entire thing lasted six seconds, which wasn’t long enough for goalkeeper Yann Sommer to anticipate what was happening. He could only gawp at Yamal’s shot as it hit the net.”
Wednesday
UEFA Champions League Semifinals
- PSG vs. Arsenal (3 p.m. ET, CBS)
The winner on aggregate of Tuesday’s semifinal faces either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain, with the latter up 1-0 after last week’s London victory. Arsenal recorded more shots on target in that match and took three corners to PSG’s one, but Ousmane Dembélé was the difference-maker with this gorgeous fourth-minute marvel:
Ousmane Dembélé with the first-time finish 😮💨@Heineken | #UCLGOTD pic.twitter.com/lnNCbRwB12
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 29, 2025
The Gunners seemed to draw even through a Mikel Merino header … before it was disallowed for offside. Stuart James on where that leaves Arsenal for Wednesday:
“The simple answer is needing to produce a performance in Paris similar to the one that PSG delivered at Anfield, when the French club recovered from losing 1-0 at home to Liverpool in the first leg to triumph on penalties in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
“That’s not beyond Arsenal — this is a team that eliminated Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the previous round — but they will have to play with much more conviction than they did in the opening half an hour at the Emirates. They must also show the sort of creativity and imagination in their attacking play that was lacking for long periods on a night when they ran out of ideas and Mikel Arteta struggled to contain his frustration on the touchline.”
Arteta once suited up for PSG as a 19-year-old on an 18-month loan. He’ll now try to engineer a sizable turnaround in the French capital. Both decorated clubs are seeking their first-ever Champions League title.
Thursday
Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
- Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Once again, we tap the sign. Postseason hockey is a singular rush. Colorado-Dallas was our first-round headline-printer, and forthcoming Florida-Toronto gives us the reigning champs against the sport’s longest-suffering fan base. Here, we get Alex Ovechkin’s Caps at home for Game 2 before Connor McDavid’s Oilers hit Vegas for the nightcap.
Here’s our hockey staff with key matchups for these two series:
Hurricanes at Capitals — Tom Wilson vs. Seth Jarvis:
“Whether you love him or hate him, Wilson tends to generate conversation in the postseason. He showed what a difference-maker he can still be on both ends of the ice this season, now that he is back up to full strength. And in Round 1, he made an impact. Wilson plays with an edge that frustrates opponents and can bring offense when it matters.
“Wilson isn’t the only winger in this series who is a pain to play against — the Canes boast a rising star in Jarvis. With a plus-12.3 Net Rating, Jarvis leads all forwards in this series. He is a threat on both ends of the ice, even against top competition, which likely earned him some Selke love this year. Jarvis brings puck-moving ability to the Canes’ attack, which adds more rush offense to a team that thrives off the forecheck. He is an all-around threat, likely to be tasked with shutting down Wilson’s line.”
Oilers at Golden Knights — Jack Eichel vs. Connor McDavid:
“The last time the Oilers and Golden Knights faced off in the playoffs, in 2023, Eichel and McDavid didn’t see much of each other at five-on-five. Neither team opted for a power-versus-power matchup, and Eichel wasn’t in a shutdown role yet.
“Ten years after getting drafted No. 1 and 2 in the 2015 draft, the two will meet again in the playoffs. This time, though, they will likely go head to head. Eichel’s all-around game has taken strides over the last couple of years, and now he takes on matchup minutes for the Golden Knights. In Round 1, that meant Kaprizov, and in Round 2, it will be McDavid. If it’s McDavid and Draisaitl, it might be Eichel and Karlsson again. McDavid always sees his opponents’ best shutdown talents, but few have the offensive game that Eichel brings. These are elite skaters in transition who can play end-to-end against each other. It should make for a star-powered battle between two of the West’s best centers.”
Friday
MLB
- Chicago Cubs at New York Mets (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network)
Friday night goes under the lights: The NL-Central-leading Cubs visit the NL-East-leading Mets, initiating a weekend triptych between two of baseball’s biggest payrolls. It’s a strength-on-strength draw, too: Chicago begins the week with the top-scoring offense in the sport, and New York touts an impressive sub-3.0 team ERA. Queens crowds have been electric, but North-Siders congregate everywhere that peanuts and Cracker Jacks can be found.
As MLB attendance and viewership trend upward, both clubhouses give us young marquee stars to celebrate and consider. Kyle Tucker looks like an MVP candidate in his first Cubs campaign. Pete Crow-Armstrong is equal parts strength and speed, as swaggering as he is likable. Meanwhile, the hosts have a throwback home-run walloper in Pete Alonso, a radiant big-market star in Francisco Lindor, and the highest-paid athlete on the continent in Juan Soto. There’s an apple in a top hat waiting for whoever hits the ball farthest … unless that player is a Cub, in which case, the ball will be thrown back.
Saturday
NCAA Softball
- ACC Tournament Championship (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
- SEC Tournament Championship (5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No worries if you aren’t fully hip to the party that is postseason college softball — the door is propped open for any and all late arrivals with Saturday’s conference tourneys. The ACC action is fronted by Florida State, the sport’s fifth-ranked squad fresh off a freshman no-hitter from Jazzy Francik. Duke, Clemson, Stanford and Virginia Tech are all top-20 teams, too. Saturday’s ACC tournament finale will be followed by an even more stacked SEC field. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Florida are the top three outfits in the nation, and eight of the NCAA’s top 10 hail from the Southeast right now. The Gators are bidding to be this conference’s first back-to-back titlist since … the Gators, who did it in 2018-19. The Sooners have been national champions for the past four years — yup, Patty Gasso’s group is going for a five-peat at the forthcoming Women’s College World Series, which will appropriately be hosted at Oklahoma City’s Devon Park, a.k.a. the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex.
Sunday
La Liga
- Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (10:15 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Two words: El Clásico.
Now, a few more words about those amazing two words. Barcelona could be pursuing its third-ever treble, depending on how Tuesday’s Champions League leg shakes out. Sunday will be ESPN’s first Clásico since the network’s deal with La Liga in 2021. And the last Clásico was nothing short of incredible, a Match of the Year candidate from Pedri’s long-range stunner to Kylian Mbappé’s career-first free kick goal to … this sheer loopiness in the 116th minute?
Un but qui vaut un titre. Jules Koundé 🙌#ElClasico (3-2) pic.twitter.com/nwXVRGMqlz
— FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_fra) April 26, 2025
So, two words: El Clásico. Or: “yes please,” “thank God,” etc.
From the archives: Monday — On this date (May 5) in 1904, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in MLB history. Among the batters he stifled: “Topsy” Hartsel, “Socks” Seybold and Ossee Schreckengost.
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(Photo of FC Barcelona: César Manso / Getty Images)
Steven Louis Goldstein is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. He lives in Los Angeles and graduated from Northwestern University.
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