Day 18 without sports 😭: Super Bowl LI is here for our Sunday quarantining

March 29, 2020
Sport

Have no fear. Football is here to get us through these tough times. The NFL on Fox returns with a full slate of classic games to air throughout the month of April, and we’ll get the party started a little early with Sunday kicking off an encore presentation of Super Bowl LI at 3 p.m. ET.

In case you forgot, that game was the best comeback in Super Bowl history, just three years ago when the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots clipped the Atlanta Falcons in memorable fashion. After trailing by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, the Pats stormed back to escape the Falcons 34-28 in overtime. The game ranks as the best Super Bowl games of all-time in USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings.

After the Falcons were nearly flawless for three quarters behind regular-season MVP Matt Ryan, Brady came alive, ultimately throwing for a then-Super Bowl record 466 yards, leading his team to 31 unanswered points and earning MVP honors a fourth time. WR Julian Edelman made an epic catch, RB James White caught a record 14 passes while also scoring the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns. This game had everything.

New England Patriots running back James White (28) completes a two-point conversion after a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.

Additionally, ESPN is in lock step with Fox, planning to air Monday Night Football classics every Monday from March 30-April 27. The 2018 showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams — the first game in NFL history in which each team scored 50-plus points — will kick off the five-game schedule this Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

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What else to watch:

► NBC Sports Network is airing Game 7 of the 2013 playoff series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins at 8 p.m. and then Game 7 of the 2019 playoff series between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks at 10 p.m. Both contests were decided in overtime.

► The “Madden NFL Invitational” will air at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports, as Michael Vick and current and former players provide coronavirus relief.

► Wrestlemania 32 is airing at 7 p.m. on ESPN as a culmination to an 11-hour wrestling marathon.

► ESPN2 is commemorating Women’s History Month with day-long programming dedicated to historic performances by female athletes. UConn reaching the longest winning streak ever with 111 consecutive wins in 2017 airs at 10:30 a.m., and Mo’ne Davis pitching a shutout in the 2014 Little League World Series airs at noon. It’s capped off by the airing of Serena Williams’ 23rd grand slam title — the 2017 Australian Open — over her sister, Venus, at 4 p.m.

► CBS Sports Network continues to air some of the best NCAA tournament classics:

9 a.m.: 1992 Elite Eight: Duke vs. Kentucky

1 p.m.: 2018 Elite Eight: Kansas vs. Duke

3 p.m.: 2019 Elite Eight: Michigan State vs. Duke

10 p.m.: 2015 Elite Eight: Kentucky vs. Notre Dame

Sports video of the day

ESPN is airing the 30 for 30 documentary, Nature Boy, in which wrestling juggernaut Rick Flair’s life is chronicled. Here’s the preview:

March 29 in sports history

1940: Joe Louis improves to 42-1 in his career with a win vs. Johnny Paychek.

1966: Muhammad Ali defeats George Chuvalo via unanimous decision to move to 23-0.

1976: Indiana beats Big Ten-rival Michigan in the national championship game, 86-68, finishing a perfect 32-0. The Hoosiers remain the last men’s Division I basketball team to finish a season undefeated.

1982: North Carolina beats Georgetown in the national title game, with freshman Michael Jordan scoring the game-winning basket on a jump shot. It’s the Tar Heels’ first championship under Dean Smith.

1984: Beginning the night of the 28th and going early into the morning of the 29th, the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis.

1987: Tennessee beats Louisiana Tech to win the women’s national championship, its first title under Pat Summitt.

1987: Hulk Hogan defeats Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III.

1999: Connecticut beat Duke, 77-74, as the Huskies claimed their first national title under coach Jim Calhoun. Guards Khalid El-Amin and Richard Hamilton led the way.