Before we get to the start of the NL Championship Series on Friday (5 p.m., FS1), we need two dance partners. Milwaukee has the luxury of waiting now, even if the odds remain in TV land’s favor for a Brewers-Dodgers meeting. If it means anything, back in that regular season – which seems like an eternity ago at this point – the Dodgers just picked up Manny Machado and won two of three in Milwaukee right out of the All-Star break, including an 11-2 decision behind two Matt Kemp homers and Alex Wood’s six shutout innings on July 22. The Brewers came to Dodger Stadium about a week later and split a four-game series, The Brewers with their SoCal contingency – former NL MVP Ryan Braun (Granada Hills High), Mike Moustakas (Chatsworth High) and probable NL MVP Christian Yelich (Westlake High), not to mention team owner Mark Attanasio – would embrace a homecoming of sorts. But first, Atlanta can tie up this NLDS (Game 4, Monday, 1:30 p.m., FS1) or even force a winner-take-all contest (Game 5, Wednesday at 5 p.m., Dodger Stadium). What do you say, Rich Hill?
The rest of the American League playoff schedule, with that league’s championship series starting Saturday on TBS:
* Houston at Cleveland, ALDS Game 3, Monday at 10:30 a.m., TBS; Game 4 if necessary at Cleveland, Tuesday at 1:35 p.m., TBS; Game 5 if necessary at Houston, Thursday at 1:07 p.m., TBS.
* Boston at New York, ALDS Game 3, Monday at 4:40 p.m., TBS; Game 4 at New York, Tuesday at 5:07 p.m., TBS; Game 5 if necessary at Boston, Thursday at 4:40 p.m., TBS.
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The Rams’ 5-0 start came down to an interesting fourth-and-short call at Seattle on Sunday, after they had already come out in punt formation, but then decided to let Jarred Goff push it over that imaginary yellow line on the Rams’ side of the 50 yard line. Their next trip takes them to Denver (Sunday, 1:05 p.m., Channel 11) just a touchdown favorite against a Broncos team that has lost three in a row and just gave up 34 points and 512 yards to the New York Jets. The Rams’ old friend Case Keenum is calling signals in Denver – for the moment.
The Chargers were 1-4 after the first five games of the 2017 season, but sport a 3-2 mark this time when they head out to visit a somewhat rejuvenated Cleveland (Sunday, 10 a.m., Channel 2). But going up head-to-head with it: The Raiders’ trip to Wembley Stadium in London to face Seattle (Sunday, 10 a.m., Channel 11).
To finish Week 5:
* Washington at New Orleans, Monday at 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Also in Week 6:
* Philadelphia at New York Giants, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11, NFL Network, Amazon Prime
* Jacksonville at Dallas, Sunday at 1:25 p.m., Channel 2
* Kansas City at New England, Sunday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 4
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Week 7 of the college football season pretty much marks the mid-way point, and USC’s test after a bye week comes against 5-0 Colorado (Saturday at the Coliseum, 7:30 p.m., FS1. The Buffs just slid two spots up the AP rankings to No. 19 and remain one of 11 unbeatens left in FBS. During the Trojans’ 11-3 run last season, they handed the Buffaloes a 38-24 pounding in Boulder, Colo., improving their record to 12-0 all time against newest Pac-12 entrant and outscoring them, 419-169. Colorado QB Steven Montez completed 27 of 49 for 376 yards and two TDs, but also had two picks and was sacked three times. The junior from El Paso, Tex., rates 10th in the nation (and third in the Pac-12) with a 174.2 passing rating and tied for first with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailova in passing percentage at 75.2 (115 for 153, for 1,420 yards, 11 TDs and just two picks. By the way: Colorado has 40 players from Southern California on their roster; USC have none from Colorado and have had only 11 in their football history, including Tony Boselli and LenDale White. The Trojans are also amidst a 18-game home winning streak.
UCLA’s next attempt to post a victory comes at Cal (Saturday, 4 p.m., Pac 12 Network). The Bears (3-2, 0-2), losing at Oregon and at home against Arizona after landing a spot in the AP Top 25 with the 3-0 start. The Bruins (0-5, 0-2) have been outscored 182-92 overall, and 69-40 in conference. They beat the Bears four of the last five meetings, but Cal won last time in Berkeley by a 36-10 count in ’16.
Other key games in Week 7:
Friday
* Air Force at San Diego State, 6 p.m., CBSSN
* Arizona at Utah, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday
* Nebraska at Northwestern, 9 a.m., Channel 7
* Florida at Vanderbilt, 9 a.m., ESPN
* Minnesota at Ohio State, 9 a.m., FS1
* Pittsburgh at Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m., Channel 4
* Georgia at LSU, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2
* Washington at Oregon, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7
* Baylor at Texas, 12:30 p.m., ESPN
* Missouri at Alabama, 4 p.m., ESPN
* Miami at Virginia, 4 p.m., ESPN2
* Wisconsin at Michigan, 4:30 p.m., Channel 7
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Four road games over the next seven days could mean some early-season trouble for the goalie-challenged Kings, who start this thing off in Winnipeg on Tuesday (5 p.m., Fox Sports West), before hitting Montreal (Thursday, 4:30 p.m., FSW) and Ottawa (Saturday, 11 a.m., FSW). Six of their next eight are away from Staples Center, for that matter.
The Ducks’ 2-0 start brings them to Honda Center for games against Detroit (Monday, 7 p.m., Prime Ticket) and Arizona (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Prime Ticket) before going to Dallas (Saturday, 5 p.m., Prime Ticket) and St. Louis (Sunday, 4 p.m., Prime Ticket).
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One more week before the NBA season begins, so the Lakers’ final two practice moves against Golden State (Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas and Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, both at 7:30 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet as well as ESPN and ESPN2 respectively) are again to get fans drooling over how LeBron James’ new running mates may fare against the defending NBA champs. But this is hardly a fair measurement, even if spectators might be paying upwards to $200 a ticket.
The Clippers wrap up with exhibitions against Denver (Tuesday, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket) and the Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club from the Israeli league (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
Now that we have a little more focus on what’s going on here: The Dodgers’ best-of-five NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves launches Thursday (5:35 p.m., MLB Network, Ryu vs. Foltynewicz) and Friday (6:30 p.m., FS1, Kershaw vs. TBA) at Dodger Stadium. Game 3 goes to Atlanta for Sunday (5 p.m., FS1). The Dodgers won five of seven meetings against the Braves, the franchise they eliminated from the postseason in 2013. That was also the Braves’ last playoff appearance — it doesn’t help having the Washington Nationals or New York Mets in your division when they’re healthy. Fifty bucks if you can name the Braves current manager. Time’s up. It’s Brian Snitker. He’s been there three seasons. He allows Charlie Culberson to get some swings in, so beware of past performance coming back to curse the Dodgers.
The Chargers’ home game Sunday against the Raiders (StubHub Center, 1:05 p.m., Channel 2) might otherwise get overlooked on the NFL Week 5 schedule. But as a public service to the folks in Carson, many of whom probably are Raiders’ followers, there needs to give everyone a heads up. The Raiders are riding a wave of success — their first win last Sunday, in OT, against Cleveland. Coach Jon Gruden admits: “We have a long way to go. It’s fun to win, we felt that we had a couple of victories slip away, but to close out the first quarter of the season with a win. At least we got paid, at least we made something.” Meanwhile, the 4-0 Rams are more than a touchdown favorite Sunday at Seattle (1:25 p.m., Channel 11). Through the first four wins, Jared Goff has completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 1,406 yards, 11 TDs and just two picks. He’s second in the league with a 127.3 passer rating.
Since you asked, yes, the NHL’s 2018-19 season does in fact begin. The Ducks get first crack at leading the Pacific Division with a game at San Jose on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN), which comes after the defending champion Washington Caps raise their title banner (sorry, Vegas) at home (4:30 p.m., NBCSN). The Sharks are also the opening night foe for the Kings (Staples Center, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports West).
At some point, UCLA will pick up its first college football victory of the season. Just don’t count on it happening in Week 6, when the play host to No. 10 Washington at the Rose Bowl (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Channel 11). USC has a bye week.
Because we all know more practice is needed the Clippers have agreed to meet up with the Lakers in Anaheim for a game on Saturday at the Honda Center (7 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet, Prime Ticket).
Also: UFC 229: Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagoinedov. As McGregor, the 30-year-old from Dublin who hasn’t been in the octogan in almost two years, cashes in in a new six-fight UFC deal, including the matchup with Nurmagomedov, this should make everyone a lot of pocket change as the organization says this world lightweight championship is trending toward 2.5 million buys. That would crush the previous record of 1.6 million when McGregor had a rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 202.
Magic numbers. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t win an MLB division title without ‘em, apparently. One lousy week left on the regular-season schedule to rack up personal launch-angle related stats. The Dodgers have only to tackle what is in front of them: Three in Arizona, three in San Francisco. So there is only an outside chance of clinching NL West with a pool party at Chase Field, where the teams play Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday nights (all 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA). It would take a Dodgers sweep and the Rockies to lose three in a row. That will mean the games in San Francisco on Friday (7:15 p.m.), Saturday (1:05 p.m.) and Sunday (12:05 p.m.) could be more than an mere exercise. You really want to cut it that close?
NFL Week 4: The not-so-great part of all this is that the Rams have the short week that includes flying. Their game at the Coliseum against Minnesota (Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Channel 11, NFL Net, Amazon Prime Video) might be something highly anticipated for fans trying to measure their team’s value, but some of the luster may have faded considering the Vikings suffered a rare home loss to Buffalo last Sunday, and now have to make the L.A. trip.
LeBron James may have been on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter last week, but from here on, it’ll likely just be ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated – or the New York Times, trying to spoil L.A.’s buzz. His Lakers’ career becomes more official with training camp opening Tuesday (a day after Monday’s media barrage in El Segundo). The exhibition opener is at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego against Denver (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN). FYI: Courtside seats in this 16,100-seat arena formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena in Point Loma are already priced at $305.
No sooner is the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta finished than the U.S. sends a sizzling-hot Tiger Woods to go with Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Brooks Koepka, meeting up with Jordan Spieth at the Albatros Course of Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris for the Ryder Cup. Woods and Mickelson were two of the captain’s picks for Jim Furyk. The European Team also had Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari playing in Atlanta before jetting across to France. Each of the first two days includes one four-match session of four-ball and one four-match session of foursomes. The final day is reserved for 12 singles matches. The TV coverage:
College football Week 5: With UCLA students back in school on the quarter system, this is the time in every season we usually target as the time glorious September starts begin to meet the reality of the extra classload of work. Which is usually the time to predict the Bruins’ first loss of the season. Except that’s already happened. Three times. The Bruins’ trip to Colorado on a Friday night doesn’t make this any easier (6 p.m., FS1). USC, meanwhile, has a trip to Arizona to face the slumbering Wildcats (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Someday soon, we don’t know when, we’re going to get to that place where we’re told the Rams and Chargers will walk into a fabulous Inglewood multi-purpose facility, across the street from the once-called Fabulous Forum, on the site of one of the more fabulous race tracks that Southern California ever had. It’s 2020? Sure… But til then, we’ll trample out to the Coliseum for Week 3 of the NFL season – Sunday, 1:05 p.m., Channel 2 — for a meet-and-greet. They still could be destined to win the NFC West and AFC West, respectfully, and until then, they respectfully must play their best at this moment in time and rile up the Los Angeles NFL marketplace.
The Dodgers’ three game series at home against Colorado has several layers of importance with two weeks left in the season and the Dodgers starting their final homestand. Before you get to amped up after that weekend in St. Louis, maybe the team finally realized: They lead the league in runs and ERA, and no team that has been first in run differential and missed the playoffs in 28 years. The rest depends on how they score with runners in scoring position and with two out – they’re among the worst in that department in the last 45 years according to research by Jared Diamond at the Wall Street Journal.
Before the Rams-Chargers have their Coliseum summit, USC will try to see how many fans it can pretend to can fit into the place on a Friday night at 7:30 p.m. just so ESPN has some programing of a Pac-12 Conference game. The opponent: Washington State. The underlying cause: Get to 1-1 in the conference standings.
Who isn’t ready for some NHL exhibition matchups? The Kings set the blades in motion with a couple of split-squad contests at Staples Center against Arizona (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.) and at Las Vegas (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.). The Ducks are also in play, including a televised game at home against San Jose (Thursday, 7 p.m. Prime Ticket) to go with games at San Jose (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.) and at Arizona (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
Where in the world is Sergio Dipp? The ESPN sideline reporter who was part of the 2017 first “Monday Night Football” team with Beth Mowins and Rex Ryan on the Chargers-Broncos game from Denver 
Tom Hoffarth's The Drill: More Farther Off the Wall 