My life is about to get even less interesting with so much stuff to do on the big box of light in my living room. You know it’s really bad when someone you haven’t seen in a while asks you what you have been up to lately and the response is “uh…..well there was Call of Duty 2, the Baseball playoffs have been on and oh yeah, I was really hung over last weekend”. The World Series is coming up this weekend and as of 6:00pm on 10/18/06, Tiger Woods is a resident in my XBOX 360. Both of these two factors should minimize my exposure to daylight and allow me to contribute substantially to the beer makers of America. For now we will focus on the sports programming side of the entertainment and note that a Tiger Woods ’07 review will be on the way soon…….Til then if no one hears from me, send in a search team.

As always this list of HD Sports Programming is shown by day and categorized by sport but…Please check your local listings for channels and availability.
Games and Times are listed in RED.....Games and Times in BLUE are do not miss.

Thursday 10/19/06
MLB
7:30pm EST: St. Louis Cardinals @ N.Y. Mets (NLCS Game 7) FOX in 720P
If you were to tell me at the half way point of the Major League Baseball season that the Cardinals and Mets would be playing a game 7 in the NLCS, I would have been doing mental backflips. If you told me this same thing yesterday before game 6, I would have asked you to repeat what you just said in hopes that you were mistaken in some way. Man has this series been boring! Does anyone realize Jeff Weaver and some guy named John Maine are the two best pitchers on either roster? All that said, game 7s are kind of rare and should be appreciated so enjoy this game 7, because the survivor gets their date with death against a hot Tigers team….... World Series = Tigers in 5 games*.
*Should be a sweep but I am allowing for a Kenny Rogers vs. Cameraman breakdown.

NBA
9:30pm EST: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Dallas Mavericks (Regional) HDNET in 1080i
Should we be thankful this in only regional?
Side note on the Bucks here……I think this could be a surprising team over the next few years. Milwaukee is a very underrated town and a good sports team in the area, outside of the packers could help finish the 9 year construction project going on around the city center. (take my word parts of Milwaukee look like downtown Sarajevo but on the bright side there is a bar that has 25 cent beers)
Jusy FYI Bucks Starting 5 – Bobby Simmons, Andrew Bogut, Maurice Williams, Charlie Villanueva, and Michael Redd. So who knows……but I bet they finish ahead of the Warriors. Sigh.

College Football
7:30pm EST: North Carolina Tarheels vs. Virginia Cavaliers ESPNHD in 720P

NHL
7:00pm EST: Calgary Flames vs. Boston Bruins (Regional) NESN in 1080i
7:00pm EST: Washington Capitals vs. Atlanta Thrashers HDNet in 1080i
10:00pm EST: L.A. Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes (Regional) FSN AZ in 720P
10:30pm EST: Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks (Regional) FSN BA in 1080i


Friday 10/20/06
College Football
7:30pm EST: West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Connecticut Huskies ESPNHD in 720P

NHL
7:30pm EST: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Florida Panthers (Regional) FSN FL in 720p
7:30pm EST: Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues (Regional) FSN MW in 720P
10:00pm EST: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Dallas Stars (Regional) FSN SW 720P


Saturday 10/21/06
College Football
12:00pm EST: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Purdue Boilermakers ESPNHD in 720P
12:00pm EST: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Penn State Nittany Lions ESPN2HD in 720P
12:00pm EST: Texas Longhorns vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Regional) ABC in 720P

2:30pm EST: UCLA Bruins vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish NBC in 1080i
Nothing like watching a team from LA get destroyed in high definition. I am just sad it’s not USC but
that is coming soon.

3:30pm EST: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines (Regional) ABC in 720P
3:30pm EST: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide CBS in 1080i
3:30pm EST: Washington Huskies vs. California Golden Bears FSN-HD

5:45 pm EST: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Pittsburgh Panthers ESPN2HD in 720P
GO RUTGERS! This team is on a roll and a win over a semi major school will do wonders for recognition.

7:00pm EST: San Jose State Spartans vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (Regional) ABC in 720P
I should be rooting for San Jose State here since they are the only major college within 15miles of me but really, they suck and how can you root for a team that considers canceling their program every year. Instead I will wait the 45 minutes for……………..
7:45pm EST: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Clemson Tigers ESPNHD in 720P
Ahhhh…..thats much better.

9:00pm EST: Fresno State Bulldogs vs. LSU Tigers ESPN2HD in 720P
Fresno State should keep this tight up until they come out of the tunnel in the second half……then its back to the California central valley for you small fry.

MLB
7:30pm EST: TBD @ Detroit Tigers (World Series Game 1) FOX in 720P
I am guessing that Jim Leyland would love to throw Kenny Rogers in game one because he is a lefty and also because he has been quite inspirational as the grandpa of the pitching staff. Not sure I have ever seen him hit so that may be another reason you use him in an AL ballpark. One thing that scares me with the Tigers is that if they go up against the Cardinals they better not have the “I am happy to be here” attitude cause the Cardinals have been there before and are pissed they haven’t won anything yet. Game 1 will be fun.


NHL
7:00pm EST: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals (Regional) CSN in 1080i
7:00pm EST: Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins (Regional) NESN in 1080i
10:00pm EST: Dallas Stars vs. Phoenix Coyotes HDNet in 1080i
The hottest place on earth has an Ice Hockey franchise and the greatest hockey player who ever lived is coaching them in PHOENIX. Boggles the mind but hey, Columbus, Ohio has a hockey franchise so why not.

MLS (Major League Soccer)
2:00pm EST: Conference Semi-Final #1 - D.C. United @ New York Red Bulls HDNET in 1080i
If a soccer game takes place in a forest and no one is around to watch it, did it really happen. I didn’t know the playoffs were going on right now but since I am a betting man, I am all over the Red Bulls here. I just picture this team in the locker room pre-game with an Alhambra size cooler of the energy drink and the team pacing around like coke heads. Over under on heart attacks is 1.5.

Sunday 10/22/06
NFL
1:00pm EST: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Atlanta Falcons CBS in 1080i
1:00pm EST: Detroit Lions vs. New York Jets FOX in 720P
1:00pm EST: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers FOX in 720P
1:00pm EST: Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins FOX in 720P
WOW…..winner gets to keep their dignity.

1:00pm EST: Carolina Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bengals FOX in 720P
Of all of the first games of the day in HD this one has the least potential to stink. Currently the Bengals are racing the Miami Hurricanes for the most suspensions in a single season and we may see another one on Sunday.

1:00pm EST: New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills CBS in 1080i

4:00pm EST: Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns CBS in 1080i
A Browns team that a year ago sent their entire offensive line over to Denver, now has to pass rush against that same O-Line. Keep Jake the Fake in the pocket and you have a good chance at 2 interceptions in the secondary.

4:15pm EST: Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks FOX in 720P
4:15pm EST: Washington Redskins vs. Indianapolis Colts FOX in 720P

MLB
7:30pm EST: TBD @ Detroit Tigers (World Series Game 2) FOX in 720P

NASCAR
12:30pm EST: Nextel Cup Subway 500 from Martinsville Speedway NBC in 1080i

Monday 10/23/06
NFL (Monday Night Football)
8:30pm EST: N.Y. Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys ESPNHD in 720P
Eli Manning, Eli Manning, Eli Manning……T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., Eli Manning, Eli Manning, Eli Manning……..T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O. Consider yourselves warned about the commentating for this game on Monday night. Turn the sound off and hope for a great finish like last Monday night.

Giveaway starting today on HiDef.com. Lucky winner will receive a copy of Blitz the League for either XBOX or PS2 (winner choice) and second place gets a copy of Martha Stewart’s Halloween Ideas on DVD. Contest ends midnight on 10/23/06.



GIVEAWAY RULES:

-Reply with your ugliest sports figure that doesn't belong on HDTV (could be male or female and announcers are acceptable)

-Must be 18 years of age

-LIVE in the Continental US (48 states)

-You may only enter ONCE per giveaway or contest

Winner will be chosen at Random on Tuesday October 24th at 12:01PM. Winner will be notified via EMAIL address associated with your site/forum account. Bitz the League and Martha Stewart DVD will be shipped within 5 days of winning the contest or giveaway.

Hello Gentiles,

My votes for the ugliest athletes who should never be allowed to appear in HD are as follows: Martina Navratolova on the mens side and Dikembe Mutombo taking it home for the missing link team. They should put an FCC blur over their faces at all times because I am extremely offended! Great site by the way.

Mel Gibson