Manchester City-Chelsea, Lakers-76ers and More to Watch This Weekend

Must Watch: Soccer Showdowns

Pivotal matchups are happening this weekend across Europe just after the transfer window closed.

      

Liverpool vs. Bournemouth
Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN

Liverpool, maybe for the first time this season, is starting to feel the pressure of being on top of the Premier League for so long. After the Reds dropped points in back-to-back matches against Leicester City and West Ham, Manchester City are now top of the table after their 2-0 midweek win against Everton. Liverpool would do well to respond as quickly as they can. Having Mohamed Salah certainly helps.

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid
Saturday at 10:15 a.m. ET on beIN Sports

What else really needs to be said about this match? The Madrid derby speaks for itself, as Antoine Griezmann and Gareth Bale look to lead their respective clubs to glory. Real are in their best run of the La Liga season, having won their last four league matches. They're coming off a 1-1 draw at Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Meanwhile, Atletico is just six points behind Barcelona in the league standings. A derby win would be a massive boost to their chances of catching up and would widen the gap between them and Real for second place.

       

Bayern Munich vs. Schalke
Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS2

Similar to Liverpool, Bayern Munich are also starting to feel some pressure. Rival Borussia Dortmund are seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, while Bayern sits at third. If the Bavarians are going to make a run, it needs to start pretty soon. It won't be easy as star goalkeeper Manuel Neuer remains sidelined with an injury. However, the good news for Bayern supporters is the club has done extraordinarily well in the month of February the past few years.

Manchester City vs. Chelsea
Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN

The Cityzens' first test as the hunted? A Chelsea side hoping to string together a series of wins in the aftermath of manager Maurizio Sarri calling his players out for their dreadful performance against Bournemouth in a 4-0 loss. A win for the Blues would keep Manchester United and Arsenal at bay for a little while longer for the league's coveted fourth and final UEFA Champions League spot.

NBA Deadline Aftermath

The dust has settled on a frantic NBA trade deadline, and now we're back with the on-court action.

On Sunday, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Philadelphia 76ers. After weeks of Anthony Davis trade talk, it ended up going nowhere for the Lakers as the trade deadline came and went Thursday. For now, they'll just have to ride the adrenaline from their last game, when Rajon Rondo hit a buzzer-beater against the Boston Celtics, his former team. Watch Lakers vs. 76ers at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

On Saturday, James Harden faces his former team as the Oklahoma City Thunder travel to Houston. The Thunder have won 11 of their last 12. On Thursday, both Harden and Russell Westbrook were drafted to the same All-Star team by LeBron. A lot of fans were excited for the two to join Kevin Durant and have a small reunion of former teammates—until James agreed to trade Westbrook to Team Giannis. Watch Thunder vs. Rockets at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

His new All-Star teammate Joel Embiid, who has had his issues with Westbrook in the past, did not seem ecstatic about the news.

You can also catch every NBA League Pass game right here on B/R Live, including the Toronto Raptors vs. the New York Knicks on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. This could mark the debut of Marc Gasol, who was traded to the Raptors just hours before the deadline. This would be the first time in Gasol's 11-year career that he isn't playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. Their fans sent him off in style.

Here's how to sign up to watch on B/R Live, and here's the full NBA schedule.

What's New

1. Alliance of American Football

Already miss football? You're in luck, as the Alliance of American Football makes its highly anticipated debut Saturday. Not sure what to expect from the AAF? Here's some of what you should know.

The season runs through April 14. That's followed immediately by a four-team playoff, with the two higher seeds hosting the semifinals. The championship game will be held in Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium on April 27. 

Rather than act as a competitor to the NFL, it seems as though the two leagues are working together, as the NFL Network will broadcast almost half of the AAF's games. This is seen by many as a middleman of sorts between college football and the NFL as well as a chance for former NFL players to prove themselves late in their careers. Roughly 70 percent of players in the AAF have been a part of a pro football roster in the past 18 months. 

Like any new league, there are some rules that make the AAF stand out. Here are a few of them.

Timeouts/challenges: There are no television timeouts during games. That's part of an effort to keep the length of a game to roughly 150 minutes; an NFL game lasts about 180 minutes. Additionally, replays will be limited to two coach's challenges for either team. 

Kickoffs: There are no kickoffs. Instead, teams will start drives from their 25-yard lines. Instead of an onside kick, each team will have a "fourth-and-10" from their 35-yard line. If the offense converts for a first down, it keeps the ball.

Two-point conversions: There will be no extra-point attempts after touchdowns, only two-point conversions.
 
Overtimes: To help keep games within a two-and-a-half-hour time slot, there will be one overtime session. Each team will start an offensive possession from the 10-yard line, and just like in regulation, two-point conversions are required. Games can end in a tie after the overtime period. 

Here is Saturday's full Week 1 schedule (all times ET):

Memphis Express at Birmingham Iron, 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
Atlanta Legends at Orlando Apollos, 8 p.m. on CBS East
San Diego Fleet at San Antonio Commanders, 8 p.m. on CBS West
Salt Lake Stallions at Arizona Hotshots, 8 p.m. on NFL Network

Here are 10 college football stars in the Alliance of American Football.

2. Ho-Sung Choi 

Ho-Sung Choi is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the golf world due to his unorthodox swing. He's making his PGA Tour debut this week at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on a sponsor's exemption.

He shot a one-over 72 and was tied for 111th after the first round. Even Aaron Rodgers had to show the people's champ some love. Game recognize game.

Here's how to watch the Pebble Beach Pro-Am (all times ET):

Saturday, Round 3: Golf Channel, 1-2:45 p.m.; CBS, 3-6 p.m.
Sunday, Round 4: Golf Channel, 1-2:45 p.m.; CBS, 3-6:30 p.m.

Here's the current leaderboard.

Must Listen

Winging It, a podcast with Atlanta Hawks players Vince Carter, Kent Bazemore and co-host Annie Finberg, has quickly made a name for itself with outlandish conversations. In fact, this is the same podcast where Steph Curry said he thought the moon landing was fake (he later said he was joking after NASA offered to give him a tour).

During a recent show, Carter admitted that he had no idea he jumped over a 7'2" player during THAT dunk in the 2000 Olympics, stating: "That was next-level adrenaline. ... In my mind, he moved out of the way."

In case you need a refresher, here's that dunk they're talking about.

For the full podcast episode and all of the Winging It content, click or tap here.