The Texas Longhorns have one more weekend of nonconference games – hosting UT-Rio Grande Valley, Fri., Sept. 14, 7pm, and Northern Colorado, Sun., Sept. 16, 3pm – before starting Big 12 play hosting Baylor next Friday, Sept. 21 at 8pm. They’ve looked really good so far, with a lot of weapons in attack, and a seemingly solid defense that hasn’t really been tested in the last four home games, as the midfield has controlled play… Katie Glenn was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after scoring in both of the Horns’ wins… St. Edward’s men and women both start Heartland Conference play this week, after going a combined 1-4-1 in a tough nonconference slate.
The European Champions League group stage starts this week, Tue.-Wed., Sept. 18-19 – get used to a new channel and a new schedule, because Turner Sports now has the U.S. broadcast rights, and UEFA has tweaked the schedule to have some games kick off early each day, meaning TNT will show four games live each week instead of two. Tuesday: Barcelona-PSV at noon, Liverpool-Paris Saint Germain at 2pm. Wednesday: Ajax Amsterdam-AEK Athens at noon, Real Madrid-Roma at 2pm.
The U.S. men extended a 19-year unbeaten streak in friendlies against Mexico, winning 1-0 in Nashville Tuesday; both sides featured very young squads, missing a lot of established starters… Elsewhere in the international break, Europe’s UEFA Nations League kicked off, and though it doesn’t have much prestige yet, the 12-team “League A” now comprises the toughest international competition in the world. They’ll be back Oct. 11-16.
This article appears in September 14 • 2018.