Big weekend of sports kicks…um…tips off tonight with a great NBA doubleheader on ESPN. The league’s top four MVP candidates — LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard — will all be in action. Saturday is a huge day in college basketball with no fewer than five top 25 matchups featuring nine of the top 15 teams in the country. Of course, Sunday features a pair of NFL Championship Games.

Oh, there are a couple of hockey games on too…

All times ET…

NFL
Sun, 3 PM: Eagles @ Cardinals (FOX)
Sun, 6:30 PM: Ravens @ Steelers (CBS)

College Hoops
Sat, 12 PM: #13 Notre Dame @ #8 Syracuse (ESPN)
Sat, 1:30 PM: #12 Georgetown @ #2 Duke (CBS)
Sat, 3:30 PM: #3 Wake Forest @ #9 Clemson (ABC)
Sat, 3:45 PM: #15 Arizona St. @ #7 UCLA (CBS)
Sat, 6 PM: #1 Pittsburgh @ #20 Louisville (ESPN)

NBA
Fri, 8 PM: Hornets @ Cavs (ESPN)
Fri, 10:30 PM: Magic @ Lakers (ESPN)

NHL
Fri, 9:30 PM: Oilers @ Avalanche (TSN)
Sat, 10 PM: Coyotes @ Flames (CBC)
Sun, 12:30 PM: Rangers @ Penguins (NBC)

Your guide to what’s on the tube in the world of sports through Thursday.

All times ET…

College Hoops
Mon, 7 PM: #13 Notre Dame @ #20 Louisville (ESPN)
Mon, 9 PM: #11 Texas @ #5 Oklahoma (ESPN)
Wed, 7:30 PM: #8 Syracuse @ #12 Georgetown (ESPN2)

NBA
Tues, 8:30 PM: Lakers @ Rockets
Tues, 9 PM: Hawks @ Suns
Tues, 9 PM: Mavs @ Nuggets
Wed, 8:30 PM: Hornets @ Mavs
Wed, 9 PM: Lakers @ Spurs (ESPN)
Thurs, 8 PM: Cavs @ Bulls (TNT)
Thurs, 10:30 PM: Suns @ Nuggets (TNT)

NHL
Mon, 8 PM: Red Wings @ Stars (Versus)
Tues, 7 PM: Canadiens @ Bruins (Versus)

Here’s what’s on tap in the world of sports television through Thursday…

(All times ET)

College Football
Mon, 8 PM: #10 Ohio St. vs. #3 Texas – FOX
Tues, 8 PM: #22 Ball St. vs. Tulsa – ESPN
Thurs, 8 PM: #2 Florida vs. #1 Oklahoma – FOX

College Basketball
Mon, 7 PM: #10 G’town @ #13 Notre Dame – ESPN
Tues, 7 PM: #5 UConn @ #22 West Virginia – ESPNU
Wed, 7 PM: Davidson @ #2 Duke – ESPN
Wed, 9 PM: Gonzaga @ #25 Tennessee – ESPN2

NBA
Mon, 7:30 PM: Spurs @ Heat – NBA TV
Tues, 10:30 PM: Hornets @ Lakers
Wed, 7 PM: Magic @ Hawks
Wed, 7:30 PM: Rockets @ Celtics
Wed, 9 PM: Heat @ Nuggets – ESPN
Wed, 9 PM: Hornets @ Jazz
Wed, 10 PM: Pistons @ Blazers

NHL
Mon, 7 PM: Penguins @ Rangers – Versus
Tues, 7 PM: Wild @ Bruins – Versus
Tues, 7:30 PM: Panthers @ Maple Leafs – TSN
Wed, 7:30 PM: Canadiens @ Rangers – TSN

Here’s the best of sports on the tube through Thursday.

All times ET…

College Football
Mon, 8 PM: #21 Missouri vs. #23 Northwestern (ESPN)
Tues, 8 PM: #13 Oklahoma St. vs. #17 Oregon (ESPN)
Thurs, 1 PM: #15 Georgia vs. #18 Michigan St. (ABC)
Thurs, 4:30 PM: #5 USC vs. #8 Penn St. (ABC)
Thurs, 8:30 PM: #12 Cincinnati vs. #19 Virginia Tech (FOX)

College Hoops
Mon, 7 PM: #8 Georgetown @ #2 UConn (ESPN2)
Wed, 12 PM: #15 Michigan St. @ #21 Minnesota
Wed, 2 PM: Wisconsin @ #24 Michigan (ESPN2)
Thurs, 2:30 PM: #13 Villanova @ #25 Marquette (ESPN2)

NBA
Mon, 7:30 PM: Magic @ Pistons (NBA TV)
Tues, 7:30 PM: Cavs @ Heat (NBA TV)
Tues, 10 PM: Celtics @ Blazers

NHL
Tues, 7:30 PM: Chicago @ Detroit
Wed, 10 PM: Edmonton @ Calgary (TSN)
Thurs, 1 PM: Detroit @ Chicago (NBC)

NFL
Mon, 8:30 PM: Packers @ Bears – ESPN

College Football
Tues, 8 PM: #9 Boise St. vs. #11 TCU – ESPN

NBA
Mon, 9 PM: Blazers @ Nuggets
Tues, 7 PM: Rockets @ Cavaliers
Tues, 8 PM: Lakers @ Hornets – NBA TV
Tues, 10 PM: Nuggets @ Blazers
Thurs, 12 PM: Hornets @ Magic – ESPN
Thurs, 2:30 PM: Spurs @ Suns – ABC
Thurs, 5 PM: Celtics @ Lakers – ABC
Thurs, 10:30 PM: Mavericks @ Blazers – TNT

College Hoops
Tues, 7 PM: Butler @ #12 Xavier
Tues, 9:30 PM: #8 Texas @ Wisconsin – ESPN2

NHL
Mon, 7 PM: Pittsburgh @ Buffalo – Versus
Tues, 7 PM: Boston @ New Jersey – Versus
Tues, 10 PM: Vancouver @ San Jose – TSN

Your guide to what’s on the tube in the sports world this weekend…

(All times ET.)

College Hoops

Sat, 2 PM: #22 Michigan State @ #5 Texas – CBS
Sat, 2 PM: #7 Xavier @ #6 Duke – CBS
Sat, 4 PM: #2 UConn @ #7 Gonzaga – CBS
Sat, 4 PM: #20 Davidson @ #18 Purdue – CBS
Sat, 6 PM: #11 Syracuse @ #21 Memphis – ESPN

Wow, with five Top 25 matchups, that’s a great lineup of games. Though I don’t know why CBS can’t schedule them back-to-back instead of having two games on at any given time.

NBA

Fri, 8 PM: Lakers @ Heat – ESPN
Fri, 10:30 PM: Cavs @ Nuggets – ESPN
Sat, 7 PM: Lakers @ Magic
Sat, 9 PM: Nuggets @ Suns

NHL

Fri, 9 PM: Chicago @ Calgary
Sat, 1 PM: Washington @ Philadelphia
Sat, 10 PM: Chicago @ Vancouver – CBC
Sat, 10:30 PM: NY Rangers @ San Jose
Sun, 1 PM: Philadelphia @ New Jersey

College Football

ESPN and ESPN2 have four snoozer bowls on Saturday — just one ranked team (#16 BYU) among them.

All times ET…

College Hoops

Tues, 7 PM: #22 Davidson vs. West Virginia, ESPN
Tues, 9 PM: #6 Texas vs. #12 Villanova, ESPN

NBA

Tues, 10 PM: Orlando @ Portland
Wed, 8 PM: Cleveland @ Philadelphia, ESPN
Wed, 10:30 PM: Phoenix @ LA Lakers, ESPN
Thurs, 10:30 PM: Portland @ Utah, TNT

NFL

Thurs, 8:15 PM: Saints @ Bears, NFL Network

NHL

Wed, 7:30 PM: Calgary @ Detroit, TSN
Thurs, 10:30 PM: Anaheim @ San Jose