Olympics, football, hockey All-Star games, NASCAR top weekend sports menu

Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries competing in Beijing will attract the most global attention over the next month.

Competitions at the 2021 Winter Games started Wednesday in Beijing. The Opening Ceremony, which airs Friday morning on NBC, marks the official launch of the Olympics.

Competition continues through the Feb. 20 Closing Ceremony in Beijing.

Winter Games

Ice hockey, curling, alpine skiing, ski jumping, the luge, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, the nordic combined, snowboarding, speed skating and other events will be featured from Friday through Sunday as part of 2022 Winter Games coverage on NBC-affiliated networks and platforms.

Many of the events will air very early in the morning in the United States, because Beijing time is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Time. NBC also will re-air some competitions and feature other live events in prime time.

Viewers can tune in at 6:30 a.m. EST Friday to catch the Opening Ceremony. Some of Team USA’s top snowboarders are in action for women’s slopestyle qualifications at 10 p.m. Friday on USA.

The men’s moguls freestyle skiing finals air lead off Saturday’s schedule at 6:30 a.m. on USA. A preliminary women’s ice hockey match between Team USA and the Russian team follows at 8:10 a.m. on the same network.

Additional events air starting at 2 p.m. on NBC. The women’s snowboarding slopestyle final airs at 8:30 p.m. on USA. Figure skating team competitions air at 8:30 and 11 p.m. on NBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0gsLxJMpI

The women’s moguls finals in freestyle skiing air at 6:30 a.m. Sunday on USA. Another preliminary hockey match between Team USA and Switzerland airs at 8:10 a.m. Sunday on the same network.

Coverage of the men’s 5000m race in speed skating, the men’s skiathlon in cross-country skiing and more starts at 2 p.m. Sunday on NBC.

NBC also will air more ski jumping, luge, figure skating and alpine skiing events starting at 7 p.m. Sunday. The men’s snowboarding slopestyle final airs at 11 p.m. Sunday on Peacock.

Pro Bowl

The 2022 NFL Pro Bowl airs at 3 p.m. EST Sunday on ESPN and ABC. The event, which features the NFL’s all-stars, will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev.

This year’s game features new rules, which abolish the typical kickoff. Instead, the team that wins the coin toss will get to choose the placement of the ball on the field for the first play of the first quarter or decide whether to start the game on offense or defense from the other team’s designated spot.

After a score, a team also will get the option to give the ball back to its opponent at its own 25-yard line or can keep the ball at its own 25-yard line for a fourth-and-15 play. If that team converts, it will retain position.

Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers were among the players selected for the AFC Pro Bowl roster.

Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings, Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys were among the players selected for the NFC Pro Bowl roster.

NASCAR at LA Coliseum

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule starts with the Busch Light Clash on Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 23-car, 150-lap exhibition race airs at 6 p.m. EST on Fox.

Qualifications for the event air at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1. Additional qualifying heat races for the main event are expected to air at 3 and 4:10 p.m. Sunday on Fox.

The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum marks the first time NASCAR will hold an event at a venue that has hosted the Super Bowl, World Series and the Olympics.

Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson are among the favorites to finish first on the 0.25-mile asphalt oval track.

Weekend schedule (all times EST)

Friday

Olympics

Opening Ceremony at 6:30 a.m. on NBC

Curling: Mixed doubles USA vs. Sweden at 2 p.m. on USA

Figure skating: Team competition, men’s short program (re-air) at 4 p.m. on USA; Team competition, rhythm dance (re-air) at 5:15 p.m. on USA; Team competition, pairs short program (re-air) at 6 p.m.

Snowboarding: Women’s slopestyle qualifications at 10 p.m. on USA

Golf

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Second round from 3 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel

Soccer

FA Cup: Middlesbrough vs. Manchester United at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

NHL

All-Star Skills at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

College basketball

Men’s

St. Bonaventure at Richmond at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Creighton at Seton Hall at 7 p.m. on FS1

San Diego State at Colorado State at 9 p.m. on FS1

Nevada at Fresno State at 11 p.m. on FS1

Women’s

Texas at Baylor at 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Oregon at Arizona at 10 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

NBA

Cavaliers at Hornets at 7 p.m. on NBA TV

76ers at Mavericks at 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Olympics

Freestyle skiing: Men’s moguls finals at 6:30 a.m. on USA

Women’s hockey: USA vs. Russia at 8:10 a.m. on USA

Daytime coverage at 2 p.m. on NBC

Primetime coverage at 8 p.m. on NBC

Snowboarding: Women’s slopestyle final at 8:30 p.m. on USA

Figure skating: Team competitions at 8:30 and 11 p.m. on NBC

Soccer

FA Cup: Plymouth Argyle at Chelsea at 7:30 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Fulham at Manchester City at 10 a.m. on ESPN+

Serie A: AC Milan at Inter Milan at noon on beIN Sports

Bundesliga: RB Leipzig at Bayern Munich at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Sevilla at Osasuna at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men’s

UConn at Villanova at noon on Fox

Illinois at Indiana at noon on ESPN

St. John’s at Butler at noon on FS1

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State at noon on ESPN2

Auburn at Georgia at 1 p.m. on SEC Network

Tennessee at South Carolina at 1 p.m. on CBS

Texas Tech at West Virginia at 2 p.m. on ESPN

Iowa State at Texas at 2 p.m. on Longhorn Network

DePaul at Xavier at 2 p.m. on FS1

Louisville at Syracuse at 2 p.m. on ESPN2

Michigan at Purdue at 2:30 p.m. on Fox

Baylor at Kansas at 4 p.m. on ESPN

Michigan State at Rutgers at 4 p.m. on FS1

Missouri at Texas A&M at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

USC at Arizona at 5 p.m. on Fox

Duke at North Carolina at 6 p.m. on ESPN

Penn State at Wisconsin at 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network

LSU at Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. on SEC Network

SMU at Wichita State at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Oregon State at Colorado at 6 p.m. on FS1

Kentucky at Alabama at 8 p.m. on ESPN

UCF at Memphis at 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Gonzaga at BYU at 10 p.m. on ESPN

UCLA at Arizona State at 10 p.m. on ESPN2

Women’s

Florida Gulf Coast at Lipscomb at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Oklahoma State at Iowa State at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Texas Tech at Kansas State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

NHL

All-Star Game at 3 p.m. on ABC

Golf

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Third round from 3 to 7 p.m. on CBS

NBA

Knicks at Lakers at 8:30 p.m. on ABC

Sunday

Olympics

Freestyle skiing: Women’s moguls finals at 6:30 a.m. on USA

Women’s hockey: USA vs. Switzerland at 8:10 a.m. on USA

Daytime coverage at 2 p.m. on NBC

Primetime coverage at 7 p.m. on NBC

Men’s snowboarding slopestyle final at 11 p.m. on Peacock

Soccer

FA Cup: Cardiff City at Liverpool at 7 a.m. on ESPN+

Serie A: Napoli at Venezia at 9 a.m. on beIN Sports

Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Dortmund at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Atletico at Barcelona at 10:15 a.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Villarreal at Real Betis at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Ligue 1: PSG at Lille at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

Serie A: Hellas Verona at Juventus at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

La Liga: Granada at Real Madrid at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men’s

Providence at Georgetown at noon on FS1

Maryland at Ohio State at 1 p.m. on CBS

Houston at Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Women’s

Louisville at Syracuse at noon on ACC Network Plus

Tennessee at UConn at noon on Fox

Miami at North Carolina at noon on ACC Network

Texas A&M at Kentucky at noon on ESPN2

Florida at Georgia at 1 p.m. on SEC Network

Notre Dame at Florida State at 2 p.m. on ACC Network

Baylor at Texas at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

Stanford at USC at 6 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Iowa at Michigan at 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network

NFL

Pro Bowl at 3 p.m. on ESPN, ABC

Golf

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Final round from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on CBS

NBA

Nets at Nuggets at 3:30 p.m. on NBA TV

Hawks at Mavericks at 6 p.m. on ESPN

Bucks at Clippers at 9 p.m. on NBA TV

NASCAR

Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at 6 p.m. on Fox