College football championships kick off Monday evening. Alabama's Crimson Tide is taking on the Georgia Bulldogs. Last week's semifinals achieved one of cable history's highest viewerships, and ESPN saw double digit audience growth year-over-year. ThePostGame.com Senior Editor Jeff Eisenband and FiveThirtyEight's Senior Sportswriter Neil Paine explain their expectations for the final.
"It will be something special," says Eisenband. The game kicks off at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN, who is offering the event through multiple viewing platforms. College football has been a ratings success for the network who has faced layoffs and shifted gears in 2017.
This is also the first major sports event at Atlanta's new stadium. Paine says there is a concern nationally over interest in a game that is so regional in nature.The college championship is increasingly trying to market itself as the "super bowl" of college football.
The NBA’s 78th season starts Tuesday, with a ring ceremony in Denver — the traditional celebration of the reigning champions — highlighting the opening-night celebration. The Nuggets beat Miami last June to become the league’s fifth different champion in the last five years, a run of parity the likes of which the league hasn’t seen in more than 40 years.
The Las Vegas Aces became the first team in 21 years to win back-to-back WNBA championships, getting 24 points and 16 rebounds from A’ja Wilson and a defensive stop in the closing seconds to beat the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the Finals.
American officials expressed disappointment Monday after learning that bobsled, skeleton and luge events will not be held in Italy during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, a move that means athletes from those sports will likely be competing in either Austria or Switzerland during the games.
