MLB Playoffs, 'UFC 280' PPV Event: What's On This Weekend in TV Sports (October 22-23)

Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros vs. the New York Yankees in game two of the 2022 American League Division Series.
Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros vs. the New York Yankees in game two of the 2022 American League Division Series. (Image credit: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

This weekend’s lineup of live TV sports events features a rare Sports Equinox where on Sunday for just the 28th time all four major sports leagues will have regular-season or postseason games in play. 

Sunday’s action begins on the baseball field with Game 4 of the Major League Baseball American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros on TBS. Also on Sunday, the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies battle in Game Five of their National League Championship Series on Fox.

On the football field, week seven of the National Football League regular-season kicks off with afternoon regional game telecasts on CBS and Fox, as well as an NBC Sunday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins.

The National Basketball Association enters the first weekend of its 2022-23 regular season with a Sunday primetime doubleheader on NBA TV featuring the Washington Wizards versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Phoenix Suns vs. the L.A. Clippers.    

On the ice, ESPN will air a National Hockey League matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. 

Pro soccer will also be in play Sunday with Peacock, CNBC and USA Network offering seven Premier League games combined, while ESPN is airing a Major League Soccer doubleheader.

Saturday’s events include a slate of college football games, beginning with second-ranked Ohio State hosting Iowa on Fox, No. 3 Tennessee playing UT Martin on SEC Network, and fifth-ranked Clemson battling No. 14 Syracuse on ABC. 

The lineup for the remaining top 10-ranked schools includes No. 6 Alabama-Mississippi State (ESPN), No.7 Ole Miss-LSU (CBS), No. 8 TCU-Kansas State (FS1), and No. 9 UCLA-No. 10 Oregon (Fox).

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 280 pay-per-view mixed martial arts fight card featuring the main event bout between Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. ■  

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.