Manchester United have had a calendar year to forget in 2014, with a seventh-place finish in last season’s Premier League (resulting in no European competitions in 2014-15), the midseason firing of David Moyes, and the summer exodus of many veteran players. Tuesday started brightly for the club, as they announced the signing of Argentinian Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid. But later that day, United suffered their most shocking defeat in recent memory: a 4-0 loss to League One Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the Capital One Cup.

For those who don’t understand how big this loss was for United, imagine a team from one of the NCAA Power Five conferences – particularly one with a high pedigree, like Alabama or Florida State – losing to a Division II school convincingly. After a bright start for United, MK Dons took the lead following an error from Jonny Evans, and never looked back the rest of the night.

Now for United, it’s back to the Premier League, and a visit to Burnley is the first match of Saturday’s slate. The Clarets were just promoted to the top flight in May and have yet to earn a point this season, but they did beat the Red Devils at Turf Moor in 2009. With no games next weekend, Louis van Gaal will likely be urging his players to go for three points instead of settling for a draw.

Fans do have some positives to rely on going into Saturday’s match. Di Maria is probable to play at some point, while being named England captain could give striker Wayne Rooney a psychological boost. Van Gaal has urged supporters to remain patient, and former captain Gary Neville offered some perspective this week to those frustrated by the results of the past year:

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Manchester City, Swansea, and Chelsea are aiming to continue perfect starts Saturday, against Stoke, West Brom, and at Everton respectively. Like Burnley, QPR looks for a first point when they host Sunderland, and Newcastle welcomes Crystal Palace to St. James’ Park. West Ham United will play Southampton in one of the 10 AM Eastern matches.

On Sunday, Tottenham could go into the two-week break atop the League if they beat Liverpool at White Hart Lane, but the Reds want to get back on track themselves after a Monday night loss at Manchester City.  Aston Villa take on Hull City, while in the final game of the weekend, Leicester hosts Arsenal in a battle between last year’s Championship winners and the FA Cup holders.

The English football season is underway! Who do you think will earn critical wins on Matchday 3?

If you’ve just read my article on Week 1 for the Big Ten, welcome! In this post, I’m talking about the Mid-American Conference. Is there a slim chance the league champion could sneak into the four-team playoff? Here’s who each MAC school is playing this weekend.

East

Most MAC teams are opening 2014 with FCS opponents, including Akron, which starts Year 3 of the Terry Bowden era Thursday against Howard. Defending champion Bowling Green travels to Western Kentucky on Friday, with new coach Dino Babers now in charge of the Falcons, who are picked to repeat as MAC champs. Ohio and Kent State will open their seasons against each other at Dix Stadium; the Golden Flashes have won four of the last five meetings in the series. Miami hosts Conference USA favorite Marshall, who boast a potential Heisman candidate in QB Rakeem Cato. Buffalo welcomes Duquesne on Saturday, while UMass begins its third year in the MAC with new head coach Mark Whipple, and a home opener with Boston College.

West

After losing in both the MAC Championship Game and the Poinsettia Bowl to finish 2013, Northern Illinois opens its 2014 season against FCS foe Presbyterian on Thursday; Central Michigan welcomes Chattanooga to Mount Pleasant that night, too. As mentioned in my last post, Western Michigan pays a visit to Purdue Saturday, while Eastern Michigan faces Morgan State that evening. The Broncos are the only West team to play a non-FCS opponent this weekend, because Ball State plays Colgate and Toledo will host New Hampshire. The Rockets are division favorites after just missing out on a bowl bid, but it’ll be interesting to see how they play against UNH, with Missouri visiting the Glass Bowl in Week 2.

MACtion is back, MAC fans! Who has the best chance to win the league and perhaps sneak into the playoff?

College football fans, the wait is almost over! The 2014 season officially begins Wednesday night when Georgia State hosts FCS Abilene Christian, while Saturday can’t come soon enough for most FBS schools. The Big Ten is ready to begin play with two new schools in Maryland and Rutgers. With 2014 marking the start of the college football playoff, there could be an opportunity for the league champion to get into one of those semifinals. Here’s how each team will begin their season.

East

Rutgers begins life as a Big Ten school when the Scarlet Knights travel to Washington State on Thursday, while Michigan State begins their quest for a second straight conference championship Friday night vs. FCS Jacksonville State. Saturday’s Big Ten slate begins at 8:30 AM, when Penn State begins Year 1 of the James Franklin era in Dublin, Ireland, against reigning AAC and Fiesta Bowl champions Central Florida. Indiana and Maryland both host FCS schools; the Terrapins welcome James Madison (coached by former Ohio State assistant Everett Withers), and the Hoosiers face off with Indiana State. Ohio State begins a new season away from Columbus for the first time since 1999, when they meet Navy in Baltimore. Michigan gets a chance for redemption when they welcome back Appalachian State to Ann Arbor, seven years after one of the greatest upsets in college football history.

West

One team is in action on Thursday; Jerry Kill begins his fourth year in charge when Minnesota hosts Eastern Illinois. Several other West schools take on FCS teams on Saturday: Iowa hosts Northern Iowa, while Illinois welcomes Youngstown State to Champaign. Darrell Hazell’s second year at Purdue starts with Western Michigan paying a visit to Ross-Ade Stadium, while Nebraska hosts Florida Atlantic. Two schools will take on fellow “Power Five” teams; Northwestern takes on California, while in one of the prime-time matchups, Wisconsin meets LSU in Houston. With the Badgers picked to win the West, can Wisconsin get off to a winning start against an SEC school also ranked in the top 15?

With 14 teams in the conference this season, expect some big changes, but also a lot of excitement. How will Braxton Miller’s absence affect Ohio State over the season? Will Michigan beat the Mountaineers the second time around? Who will win the league, and  will that team make the four-team playoff? Big Ten fans won’t need to wait much longer now.

Click here for my Week 1 preview on the MAC.

Last week saw the beginning of a new Premier League season, with a couple surprises greeting fans. For Manchester United, the new campaign means preseason results don’t count for much, if anything, if they can’t translate to success in competitive fixtures. Manchester City and Liverpool are both continuing their good runs from last year, and Leicester salvaged a point from its first top-flight match in 10 years. Here’s what to look forward to this weekend.

SATURDAY

This weekend’s action starts with Aston Villa hosting Newcastle United; the visitors are looking for their first points of the new season. Four games kick off at 10 AM Eastern, among them Chelsea-Leicester, as the Foxes’ first road game in the EPL takes them to Stamford Bridge. Crystal Palace host West Ham United under tricky circumstances; Palace were supposed to have named Malky Mackay as permanent manager, before the former Cardiff boss was reportedly sharing inappropriate texts with a colleague. Burnley visit a Swansea side coming off three points at Old Trafford, while Southampton entertain West Bromwich Albion. In Saturday’s final game, Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta pays a visit to former employers Everton, who seek their a first win in 2014/15.

SUNDAY

Sunday’s three matches start with Hull-Stoke, with the Tigers coming off a win at QPR on Matchday 1; Stoke lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa. QPR, meanwhile, pay a visit to Tottenham Hotspur, who enjoyed two top-four finishes under current Rangers manager Harry Redknapp, who has stated his own opinion concerning Mackay’s situation. At 11 AM Eastern, Sunderland host Manchester United, whose manager has declared himself the “devil of Manchester” and understands what consequences lay ahead should United continue to drop points. New Red Devils signing Marcos Rojo won’t feature this weekend, but Robin van Persie has been deemed fit to play.

MONDAY

The only Monday match is without question the marquee fixture of Matchday 2: Manchester City-Liverpool. Granted, the second Monday of the 2013/14 campaign produced a scoreless draw between Manchester United and Chelsea, but neutrals can expect a little more excitement at Eastlands. The top two teams in the league last year both opened their current seasons with wins: Liverpool over Southampton, and City at Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers doesn’t believe this match will define Liverpool’s season, but he knows the value of getting points from this fixture, especially since it’s away from Anfield.

Who will be celebrating victories this weekend in the Premier League? Leave a comment on which match you’re following!

Multiple media outlets have confirmed today that Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller will miss the 2014 college football season after re-injuring his shoulder in practice. The Huber Heights, Ohio native has been the Buckeyes’ starting signal-caller for most of the past three seasons, and was tabbed by many this preseason as a Heisman Trophy contender (he finished 5th in 2012). One of Miller’s first highlights with the Buckeyes came in 2011, when this 40-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith led Ohio State over the eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers (uploaded to YouTube by GameDayESPN):

With Miller gone for the year, Ohio State’s projected new quarterback is J.T. Barrett, a redshirt freshman from Wichita Falls, Texas. Barrett will be replacing a player who began his own Buckeye career as a backup, as Miller only became a starter in the fourth game of 2011, after interim coach Luke Fickell took the job away from Joe Bauserman. But unlike what happened three years ago (and in 2008 too, for that matter), this change is taking place before the start of a season, and because of an injury, not poor performance.

Ohio State opens their 2014 season August 30, against Navy in Baltimore. They are currently ranked in the Top 10 of both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

UPDATE (9:25 PM, 8/19/14): Ohio State has released a statement saying that Miller will indeed miss the 2014 college football season. Miller says he plans to graduate in December, then wants to attend graduate school and be ready to play in 2015.

Steve Moore and Todd Bertuzzi have agreed to an undisclosed settlement more than 10 years after one of the most infamous incidents in NHL history. On March 8th, 2004, Bertuzzi attacked Moore from behind during a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche, ending the latter’s playing career. The attack came largely as a response to another incident the previous month, when Moore hit Canucks captain Markus Naslund, giving Naslund a concussion.

Last March, TSN aired this piece of the incident and the events leading up to March 8. The video was uploaded to YouTube by HockeyWebCaster:

The Bertuzzi-Moore case had been scheduled to go to trial next month, after Moore’s lawyers were seeking to win more than what he initially sued Bertuzzi for. Now with this out-of-court settlement, one must wonder if this really is the end of the case, or if Moore will be seeking further payments in the future, not necessarily from Bertuzzi, but from the Canucks and then-head coach Mark Crawford.

While Moore’s playing career ended that night in Vancouver, Bertuzzi is still an active player, spending the last five seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. He is currently an unsigned, unrestricted free agent.

After a summer of World Cup and transfer drama, the English Premier League starts a brand new season Saturday. Manchester City are the defending champions, having won their second title in three seasons last May, while 19 clubs will begin their quests to lift the trophy in 2015. Here’s a quick preview of the 20 teams in English football’s top tier.

DISCLAIMER: The order in which I mention the clubs is not a prediction of where they finish in the Premier League this season.

Title/European Contenders

City will be eager to repeat as champions after failing to do so in 2013, but Chelsea & Liverpool are just as ready to mount a challenge and become the new kings of England. Arsenal finally shook their trophy drought last year by winning the FA Cup, and the Gunners hope that this time, spending nearly half the season atop the table pays off with silverware. Manchester United, with a new manager and captain, want to prove that last season was a fluke and get back into the Champions League. Tottenham and Everton are also keen to qualify for Europe’s top club competition.

Middle Of The Pack

Southampton surprised many with an eighth-place finish last season, but with Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, and Dejan Lovren all joining Liverpool, it’ll be difficult for the Saints to finish in the top half of the table. Stoke, Newcastle, and Swansea shouldn’t be in danger of relegation, and under Gus Poyet, Sunderland could continue the impressive run that saved them from going down several months ago. Aston Villa should improve from last year’s 15th place finish if they can avoid 20 losses, while Crystal Palace will be in the EPL for a second consecutive season, the first time in history.

Relegation Rumble

All eyes will be on the three clubs promoted from the Championship: Leicester City, Burnley, and QPR. The latter two have experienced EPL action in the last five years, but will a 10-season absence prove too much for the Foxes? Hull City and West Bromwich Albion will need better road records than in 2013-14 if they want to stay up. Another 40-point season will probably see West Ham United keep a spot, and they open the new campaign against Tottenham, who the Hammers have beaten three times recently. Something tells me this year will be one of those situations where some teams are relegated on Matchday 38.

Just like last year, Americans can view Premier League matches via NBC Sports’ multiple platforms. Will they see the trophy stay in Manchester, or will a surprise team take the crown in 2015? For Premier League followers, the wait is almost over.

It’s been almost 24 hours since golf fans were captivated by the dramatic finish to this year’s PGA Championship. After a rain delay, the final groups weren’t just playing against each other, they were all racing to finish their final rounds before nighttime. The excitement led to the tournament’s highest final-round TV ratings since 2009, when Y.E. Yang came from behind to beat Tiger Woods and the field.

Rory McIlroy had a less-than-stellar start on Sunday, but an eagle on the par-5 10th hole helped lead to a back-nine 32, and the top-ranked player was able to hold off Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler to win his fourth major title. Click here for the Sunday highlights from the PGA website.

McIlroy has now won the last three events he’s competed in, with the British Open & WGC-Bridgestone victories coming by multiple strokes. After the win in Akron, the Northern Ireland native climbed back to the top of the world golf rankings.

Even more remarkable about this run: McIlroy called off his engagement with Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki in May. He didn’t play any events between the U.S. and British Opens, but has come back to the Tour on fire. Jack Nicklaus himself has said he expects Rory to win 15-20 majors, which would challenge the Golden Bear’s record of 18.

A lot of media outlets have recently written articles about how the sport might suffer a fan withdrawal when Tiger Woods retires. If McIlroy can go on to win the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015 (which would give him a “Rory Slam”, as the holder of all four majors at the same time), casual fans might stay to see if he will seriously challenge Nicklaus’s record.

How many majors do you think McIlroy will win throughout his career? Cast your vote in the poll below, or leave a comment!

When the PGA Championship concludes this week in Louisville, the top nine players on the Ryder Cup points list will automatically qualify for Team USA. However, captain Tom Watson might be seeing a couple changes between now and next month; Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar, both of whom are in the top nine currently, both withdrew earlier this week due to various injuries. But one man who might get into the team on points is Steve Stricker, who days ago was named vice-captain. The Wisconsin native is currently tied for ninth after the second round of the year’s final major, and if he wins at Valhalla, Stricker will be in that top nine.

Stricker could also make the team as a captain’s pick, and Watson has said he will think about it if that ends up being the case. Stricker is currently 38th in the Team USA points standings, and winning this week would mean coming from behind to beat a red-hot Rory McIlroy. Also in pursuit of a “Top 9” spot is Phil Mickelson, who currently sits 10th, right behind Zach Johnson (who barely made the cut) and the aforementioned Dufner. “Lefty” eagled the 18th hole to cap off a second-round 67, sitting three shots behind McIlroy. This weekend should see some exciting golf not just from Mickelson and Stricker, but others who don’t want to wait another month to hear if they’re one of the three captain’s picks.

The Ryder Cup starts September 26 at Gleneagles in Scotland. Will the USA end their six-year drought in the competition? For now, let’s enjoy what happens the final two rounds of the PGA Championship.