Welcome to Screen Shots! This is where I tell you what sporting events you should watch on TV every week! Make sure you subscribe, so it comes straight to your inbox! Have your own suggestions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]!

A first in Beyond The Arc with Brandon Silvers history, as we have a hockey episode! One of my oldest friends, Nick Fogle, comes through to talk about why we need to tap into our hockey fandom. Nick won 3 straight state championships here in South Carolina before going on to coach at the developmental level. A lot of great stuff in here as we discuss what hockey has in common with some of the other major sports!

Now, to the sports!

It would be wild to have our first-ever hockey-centric podcast episode and not include some NHL playoff action in here, wouldn’t it? Game 5 of this series. The Carolina Hurricanes are already waiting for whichever team prevails in the conference finals. We will learn together!

How were we not more indoctrinated in hockey as children after Disney purchased a team and named it after one of its iconic ‘90s movie franchises? The team dropped the “Mighty” and attempted a rebrand after Disney sold it in 2005, but they’ve circled back around to the incredible duck goalie mask logo. Tap in for some Flying V action!

I cannot believe we’re still doing this Prime Video bullshit this deep into the postseason. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the coverage, but the playoffs need to be seen by as many people as possible, or we risk David Stern rising from the dead to wreak havoc on the world as we know it.

Anyway, this has turned into a decent series as the Pistons have bounced back from whatever they were doing in the first round. Kinda wild that the Cavs let go of JB Bickerstaff a couple of seasons ago and added James Harden, and now they’re in a battle with a Bickerstaff-coached team that had the best record in the East. A good reminder that coaches, like players, just need a change of scenery sometimes.

Victor Wembanyama faces the Minnesota crowd for the first time since his game 4 elbow and ejection. On top of that, Wemby and the Spurs have the home team on the ropes. An important road playoff test for a team getting its first taste of the postseason. If the Timberwolves are going to force a game 7, they’re going to need more than the crowd. More specifically, they’ll need Julius Randle to hit some shots. He’s shot an abysmal 13 for 39 in the Timberwolves’ 3 losses this series.

Quite the stretch here for Manchester City. This will be their 2nd of 4 matches in 6 days as they try to win their 1st FA Cup since 2023 while also closing out their Premier League slate with a legitimate shot to claim that title, too. Chelsea, meanwhile, only has this to play for (as far as I know at least), but that’s not bad considering they just fired their manager last month. Some nice brunch viewing!

A DMV showdown! If you’re looking for a great pitching matchup, go somewhere else. They are both in the top-3 for most runs allowed per game. However, the Nationals do have some pop in their bats. SS CJ Abrams is leading the way for them on that end. He’s currently on pace to set a career-high in RBIs by the All-Star break. It would appear that he’s come a long way since being demoted at the end of the 2024 season because he pulled an all-nighter at a casino. Kinda crazy that he was demoted to their West Palm Beach affiliate when West Palm Beach has its own “The BEST 10 Casinos in West Palm Beach” Yelp article, but maybe they didn’t have a lot of time to Google that before making the decision.

A WNBA Finals preview AND the first WNBA game on NBC since 2002? The Dream are 2-0 even though their offense has yet to look good. But missed shots mean more offensive rebounding opportunities for star offseason acquisition Angel Reese, and she has delivered. She’d be in the top-10 in rebounding if we only counted her work on the offensive glass.

Speaking of star offseason acquisitions, Chennedy Carter hasn’t missed a beat in her return to the W. She’s putting up 16 points per game in just 19 minutes per game while making an absurd .667% of her field goal attempts to start the season. Will she have a little extra as she faces off with the team that drafted her back in 2020?

Portland is clinging to first place atop a very competitive NWSL table. Their balanced offensive attack is led by Olivia Moultrie, who famously sued the league for the right to sign with Portland as a 15-year-old back in 2021. As you may have guessed, she won the lawsuit and has delivered on the promise that would make a pro sports team want to sign a 15-year-old in the first place. She leads the Thorns against an Angel City club desperate for a win after dropping four in a row.

A scheduled Framber Valdez start for the Tigers, assuming he doesn’t get suspended again. Valdez is coming off a 6-game suspension after hitting Red Sox SS Trevor Story back on May 5th. What was Story’s crime? Well, nothing. Ol’ Framber was just mad that he had given up 10 runs to Boston. Not ideal for a guy you just signed to a 3-year $115 million contract this offseason! Detroit is lucky that he spared his teammates this time. Last year with the Astros, Valdez appeared to intentionally hit his own catcher in the chest after giving up a grand slam. Can you imagine if he hits Jose Ramirez? Seems like a great way to end up on a mural!

Remember when the Blue Jays were just a strike away from winning the World Series at home, but the GOAT himself, Miguel Rojas, homered to tie it up? It must feel like a distant but painful memory for Toronto fans as the Blue Jays find themselves near the bottom of the American League as we start the second quarter of the season. Tough scene for MLB’s 4th-highest payroll! Guess buying a World Series isn’t as easy as the Dodgers make it seem.

The busiest teams in the offseason face off. This will be the first home game for the Sky after 4 straight on the road to open the season. What better way to get acquainted with your new teammates than going on a road trip? I imagine the Wings are hoping that’s the case, too, because this will be game 1 of a 3-game road trip for them. So I guess we’ll see which team travels better!

As always, thank you for reading! Make sure you’re subscribed so you get this in your inbox first thing Thursday mornings! Also, share with your friends! See you next week!