Champions League, NBA Playoffs, Red Sox-Yankees and More to Watch This Week

From European soccer pitches to ice rinks and hardwoods on both coasts of the United States, the stakes are high this week in a handful of sports and seasons. We have full nights of NBA and NHL playoffs and a sport you've definitely played before but maybe have never watched.

Must-Watch: UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals, Second Leg

The Champions League will have its final four set by the end of Wednesday, as the quarter-finals wrap up with second legs this week. Tuesday matches will feature Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, while Wednesday will include three English squads.

All matches will begin at 3 p.m. ET and stream on B/R Live, with one each day broadcasting on TNT. Pre-match coverage begins at 2 p.m. with B/R Football Matchday. At the conclusion of the matches, TNT will air the B/R Football Post-Match Show, while B/R Live will stream the managers’ press conferences from each team.

Here’s our mood for the week and a preview (first-leg scores in parentheses):

Tuesday

Juventus (1) vs. Ajax (1), Watch on B/R Live

In the first leg, Cristiano Ronaldo returned from his hamstring injury sustained during the international break and did what he does. He played all 90 minutes and scored a beautiful header to put Juventus ahead right before the half-time whistle. However, Ajax’s David Neres equalized almost immediately after the break to send things to Turin all square, although Juve have the away goal in their pocket.

But you don’t need to look any further back than the last round to know that Ajax will not be intimidated going into the stadium of a European giant. The Dutch side entered Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu after losing the first leg at home and proceeded to play the title-holders off their own pitch.

An Ajax win would be the club’s first at Juventus and would advance them into the semi-finals. They’ll have to do it without a key cog in the lineup, as left-back Nicolas Tagliafico is suspended for the match due to yellow card accumulation. Look for Juventus to try to exploit Tagliafico's replacement, with any one of Federico Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa and Paulo Dybala attacking the right wing heavily.

Barcelona (1) vs. Manchester United (0), TNT, Watch on B/R Live

This tie heads to the Camp Nou with Barcelona carrying the lead and the away goal. Manchester United will be happy to have held Lionel Messi relatively in check in the first leg but disappointed to not have leveled things after Luis Suarez’s early headed goal.

The challenge to turn the tie around is immense for the Red Devils, given that Barcelona have won 12 matches in a row at home. But then again, compared to their uphill climb in the last round, heading into Paris down 2-0, maybe this match will be a piece of cake for the likes of Paul Pogba, Fred, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford. Pogba and Fred controlled the midfield nicely in the first leg, but they’ll have to translate that control into at least one goal to get things going in Catalonia.

Wednesday

Porto (0) vs. Liverpool (2), Watch on B/R Live

The Reds hold the biggest first-leg advantage of all of the quarter-finalists, coasting to a 2-0 win at Anfield, and an away goal in the second leg may seal their trip to the semi-finals. Two-thirds of Liverpool’s attacking trio has done the job in its last two UCL matches, with Sadio Mane scoring against Bayern Munich and Roberto Firmino tallying last week, so keep your eyes locked on Mo Salah to get his on Wednesday.

But do not discount Porto’s chances at home. Pepe will be back from suspension and in the back line to complement Iker Casillas in goal, giving their side some significant European experience at the back. But any chance of Porto’s advancement will come down to Moussa Marega, Jesus Corona and Hector Herrera creating and finishing opportunities at goal, especially early on, which will shift some pressure back onto Liverpool.

Manchester City (0) vs. Tottenham (1), TNT, Watch on B/R Live

Tottenham christened their new home with a win in the first Champions League match played there but lost two important players in the process: Harry Kane went off with a gnarly left ankle injury, and Dele Alli broke his left hand.

Kane looks much less likely to play in the return leg against City than Alli, but Tottenham have confirmed no timetables on their returns. Their potential absences will leave even more to first-leg scorer Heung-Min Son.

On the other side, Pep Guardiola’s Man City will look to rebound at home, where they’ve won six out of seven in the UCL this season. After not starting in the first leg, midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane figure to play significant roles in flipping the tie around for City, who went out in this stage of the competition last season.

And just to make things a little more interesting, the teams turn around to play each other again in the same stadium on Saturday in the Premier League (7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN).

Watch This: NBA Playoffs

The first weekend of the NBA Playoffs contained some big surprises, as higher seeds Toronto, Philadelphia and Denver all lost at home in Game 1. The top seed in the West, the Golden State Warriors, took care of business in their opening game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The playoffs now hit fifth gear this week. There will be at least two guaranteed games every night for the next week. Here are the matchups and when to watch.

Monday

Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers (Nets lead 1-0): 8 p.m. ET, TNT

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors (Warriors lead 1-0): 10:30 p.m., TNT

Tuesday

Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors (Magic leads 1-0): 8 p.m., TNT

San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets (Spurs lead 1-0): 9 p.m., NBATV

Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers (Blazers lead 1-0): 10:30 p.m., TNT

Wednesday

Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics (Celtics lead 1-0): 7 p.m., TNT

Detroit Pistons at Milwaukee Bucks (Bucks lead 1-0): 8 p.m., NBATV

Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets (Rockets lead 1-0): 9:30 p.m., TNT

Thursday Game 3s

76ers at Nets: 8 p.m., TNT

Nuggets at Spurs: 9 p.m., NBATV

Warriors at Clippers: 10:30 p.m., TNT

Friday Game 3s

Raptors at Magic: 7 pm., ESPN

Celtics at Pacers: 8:30 p.m., ABC

Trail Blazers at Thunder: 9:30 p.m., ESPN

Saturday

Game 3: Bucks at Pistons – 8 p.m., ESPN

Game 3: Rockets at Jazz – 10:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 4: 76ers at Nets – 3 p.m., TNT

Game 4: Nuggets at Spurs – 5:30 p.m., TNT

Sunday Game 4s

Celtics at Pacers: 1 p.m., ABC

Warriors at Clippers: 3:30 p.m., ABC

Raptors at Magic: 7 p.m., TNT

Trail Blazers at Thunder: 9:30 p.m., TNT

More To Watch This Week:

1. Stanley Cup Playoffs

The early upsets in the NBA have nothing on what’s happening in the NHL just a couple days into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After their record-setting regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning lost both home games to fall behind the Columbus Blue Jackets 0-2. To make matters worse, their best player and likely league MVP Nikita Kucherov was suspended for Game 3 for this hit. And then Columbus won Game 3.

Keep in mind, however, that the Washington Capitals lost their first two games of the playoffs at home last year, against the Blue Jackets no less, and everything turned out fine. But 2-0 is different from 3-0, leaving one of the best regular-season teams in NHL history in danger of becoming just that: a team that had a great regular season. 

Like the NBA, there are all kinds of games every night this week. You can view the full schedule here, and make sure you don’t miss the top game of each night:

Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes (Capitals lead 2-0): Monday 7 p.m., CNBC—The defending champs can take a huge step toward advancing to the next round with a win.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets (Blue Jackets lead 3-0): Tuesday 7 p.m., CNBC—Tampa Bay has one game left to turn the series around.

Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs (tied 1-1): Wednesday 7 p.m., NBCSN—One of these teams would likely become the favorite in the East should the Lightning be eliminated.

Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks (Golden Knights leads 2-1): Thursday, TBD—If you like fierce, physical hockey from two teams that don't care for one another, this series is for you. Last night's Vegas win ended with a big fight.

Blue Jackets at Lightning, Game 5 (if necessary): Friday TBD

Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues (Blues lead 2-1) Game 6, if necessary: Saturday, TBD—The Jets themselves fell behind 0-2 at home before a win Sunday night in St. Louis got them back in the series.

Lightning at Blue Jackets, Game 6: Sunday TBD

         

2. UEFA Europa League Quarter-Finals

An exciting day of first legs in the Europa League sets us up for a fun Thursday of second legs. Each match will kick off at 3 p.m. ET and stream here on B/R Live as the field cuts from eight to four. While some big names remain, the biggest storyline heading into the second leg is the emergence of a 19-year-old potential superstar in the making at Benfica.

Here are the second-leg matchups, with first-leg scores in parentheses.

Napoli (0) vs. Arsenal (2) Watch

Valencia (3) vs. Villarreal (1) Watch

Eintracht Frankfurt (2) vs. Benfica (4) Watch

Chelsea (1) vs. Slavia Prague (0) Watch

          

3. MLB Division Rivalries

It’s a strong early week of baseball, as teams have their footing and division play cranks up. Here are a couple of can’t-miss games and series.

Monday

Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox: 11:05 a.m. ET, MLB.TV—On Patriot’s Day and Boston Marathon Day, the Red Sox host the O’s and Chris Davis, who finally broke his record streak of 62 at-bats without a hit over the weekend by tallying 3 hits and 4 RBI.

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies: 7 p.m., ESPN—The pitching matchup to start this NL East series is rich, with the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard facing the Phillies’ Aaron Nola, in what might be a case of whoever scores first wins.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Red Sox at Yankees, mini: In only a two-game series in the Bronx, the bitter rivals square off for the first time in the 2019 season. Tuesday’s pitching matchup is Chris Sale vs. James Paxton, and Wednesday’s features Nathan Eovaldi vs. J.A. Happ.

            

4. WAL is BACK 💪

World Armwrestling League returns to B/R Live on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, with the Supermatch Showdown Series from Pittsburgh. The night's main event features the return of Devon Larratt, who has previously defeated "The Mountain" from Game of Thrones (no spoilers) and was part of this epic final last year.

You can find the tale of the tape between Larratt and his opponent Todd Hutchings as well as more details on the full card for Thursday night here. To watch WAL on B/R Live, go here.

Quick Catch-Up: Tiger Woods, Masters Champion Edition

Tiger Woods is back. You’ve heard or read some form of that phrase many times over the last few years, but never has it been truer than it was Sunday afternoon in Augusta, Georgia.

After an impending storm pushed the final round into morning tee times for the first time ever, Woods went vintage Tiger, making clutch shots and bringing those signature roars to the back-nine.

After thinking he’d never play golf again, for the first time since 2008, Tiger Woods is a major champion, and for the first time since 2005, Tiger Woods is The Masters Champion. Check out the best scenes from his historic Sunday: