TV Timeout: Best bets for the weekend

The NHL season has begun and the NBA isn’t too far behind, but when it comes to watching sports on television this weekend, the NFL, college football and playoff baseball are your best bets.

TODAY

■ American League Championship Series, Game 1, Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles (5:07 p.m., TBS (7)): Former Las Vegas resident “Big Game James” Shields will try to live up to his nickname again in his third playoff start for the surprising Royals, who have won their first four postseason games this year in their first playoff appearance since 1985, when the movie “Back to the Future” was released. Biff Tannen’s glorious “Grays Sports Almanac” only had the winners from 1950 to 2000, so it’s anybody’s guess who’ll take this series. But, to borrow a phrase from George McFly, Kansas City appears to be a team of density.

■ Fresno State at UNLV (7 p.m., CBSSN (333)): We don’t actually consider this game a must-see, but it’s homecoming for the Rebels (1-5), so let’s pour one out for our fallen homies.

SATURDAY

It will be tough to top an incredible week of college football in which five of the top eight ranked teams lost and there were eight outright upsets of top-25 squads, but this week’s card — featuring five matchups between top-25 teams — could produce a similar shakeup.

■ No. 2 Auburn at No. 3 Mississippi State (12:30 p.m., CBS (8)): Both unbeaten Southeastern Conference squads are coming off routs of ranked teams as the Tigers trounced then-No. 15 Louisiana State 41-7 and the Bulldogs knocked off then-No. 6 Texas A&M 48-31. Mississippi State, which also spanked LSU this season, is gunning for its third straight win over a top-10 opponent. The teams are led by emerging Heisman Trophy candidates in Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall and Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott.

■ No. 9 Texas Christian at No. 5 Baylor (12:30 p.m., ESPN2 (31)): After knocking off then-No. 4 Oklahoma at home, the Horned Frogs take their show on the road to Waco, Texas, where they’ll try to slow down Heisman candidate quarterback Bryce Petty and the high-flying Bears, who lead the nation in scoring with 51 points per game and rank fifth in defense (12.4 ppg).

■ No. 3 Mississippi at No. 14 Texas A&M (6 p.m., ESPN (30)): After pulling off an upset for the ages over then-No. 3 Alabama at home, the Rebels’ reward is a road trip to College Station, Texas, where quarterback Kenny Hill and the Aggies will try to avoid a dreaded second straight defeat.

■ BEST OF THE REST — No. 12 Oregon at No. 18 UCLA (12:30 p.m., Fox (5)); No. 13 Georgia at No. 23 Missouri (9 a.m., CBS (8)); Southern California at No. 10 Arizona (7:30 p.m., ESPN2 (31)); and San Francisco Giants (Madison Bumgarner) at St. Louis Cardinals (Adam Wainwright) in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series (5:07 p.m., Fox (5)).

SUNDAY

■ New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (5:20 p.m., NBC (3)): The Eagles are fortunate to be 4-1 after having to erase double-digit deficits in their first three wins and getting subpar play by running back LeSean McCoy and Napoleon Dynamite lookalike quarterback Nick Foles. Philadelphia might be better served starting Uncle Rico, who we bet could throw a football over them mountains and is a deadeye with a steak. If coach would have put him in fourth quarter in ’82, they would’ve been state champions.

■ BEST OF THE REST — Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins (10 a.m., Fox (5)); Denver Broncos at New York Jets (10 a.m., CBS (8)); Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks (1 p.m., Fox (5)).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.