Screen Shots: Friday, August 2nd, 2024

Welcome to Screen Shots! This is where I tell you what you should watch on TV. It’s going to be a very sports-centric list since that’s really the only thing we have left that you simply must watch live. Speaking of watching things, you should watch me on YouTube! Have your own suggestions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]!

A peek behind the curtains here, but I watch more events than I list here because a big part of the fun of the Olympics is stumbling across all of the different sports that you never would have considered watching. This led to me watching the race for the medal in women’s rowing. The race is 2000 meters long, or ~1.24 miles, and I could not believe how close it was. The Netherlands crew won by eighteen-hundredths of a second. That’s only slightly longer than it takes to blink. Imagine rowing your ass off for about six and a half minutes and having it all come down to that. To the events!

Equestrian: Jumping Team Final (Medal event) at 8 a.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: I’m not asking you to understand this sport or learn the rules or anything. I just want you to watch it for as long as you’d like. Then, I want you to ask yourself why we don’t have any Olympic competitions for dogs.

Men's Soccer: United States vs. Morocco at 9 a.m. ET on USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: The US men’s soccer team has been utterly disappointing as the organization scrambles to right the ship in time to host the 2026 World Cup. Perhaps reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated. Now, in men’s Olympic soccer, teams use their U23 national teams with 3 “overage” players, so you very well may not see any of these guys during that World Cup, but who cares? This is about hope, damnit! And if they manage to bring home the gold, then they should automatically represent us in the World Cup. This is the first time the US men have made an Olympic quarterfinal since 2000.

Tennis: Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Match at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: I don’t know anything about the competitors, but all of the tennis events have been pretty spicy so far and a gold medal on the line should only add to that.

Men's Swimming: 50m Freestyle Final (Medal event) at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: The only swimming event that I am confident I could complete without the assistance of a lifeguard. By now, you should be familiar with 22-year-old French swimming star Léon Marchand. Well, before him there was Florent Manadou. He shocked the world by winning gold at the 2012 Olympics when he was 22 years old himself. He’ll be looking to recapture that magic in front of the home crowd. He’ll have his work cut out for him in this blink-and-you-miss-it event as he’s past his prime, but aren’t we all?

Women's Swimming: 200m Backstroke Final (Medal event) at 2:39 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: This one figures to be a rematch of the 100m backstroke from the other day. In that one, Aussie Kaylee McKeown edged out American Regan Smith for the gold medal. Can Smith get revenge and her 1st-ever Olympic gold?

Men's Swimming: 200m Individual Medley Final (Medal event) at 2:49 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: Maybe you weren’t familiar with 22-year-old French swimming star Léon Marchand when I wrote about him up there. Well, he’s incroyable. With 3 golds already at this Olympics, he’s now the leader in career gold medals by a French swimmer. If that’s not impressive enough, Marchard won 2 of those golds in the same day, becoming the first male swimmer to do so since Frederick Lane of Australia did it at the 1900 Games, which also happened to be in Paris. It’s worth checking this one out just to hear the crowd cheer for him.

Men's Basketball: France vs. Germany at 3 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: The French squad was gifted a victory by the referees in their game against Japan. Nothing like a little Olympic home cooking! You know by now that you should be tuning in to watch Victor Wembanyama. However, I’ve got another reason: Rudy Gobert. Not only is he single-handedly responsible for my confusion as to how to refer to the Toyko Olympics (2020? 2021? Should be 2021, right?), but he’s as uncool as Victor is cool. Rudy helps put into context why Victor is so amazing because Rudy is how people that size are supposed to look when they play. Last game, he accidentally clocked his teammate, Nic Batum, in the face just being goofy. Batum wanted to fight him. Join the club.

Men's Soccer: France vs. Argentina at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: Both of these teams are talented enough to win the gold, but they have to play here. It should be a good one taken up several notches due to the host nation being involved. Again, not the same players, but their men’s World Cup final in 2022 was quite possibly the most exciting sporting event I’ve ever watched in my life.

Men's Track & Field: 10,000m Final (Medal event) at 3:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Why you should watch: Our first track and field event! A lot of qualifying events are taking place as well, but this will quickly turn into a track and field post if I don’t demonstrate a bit of self-control. Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda has won the past 2 world championships in this event and holds the current world record with a time of 26:11. My time in the Cooper River Bridge Run this past spring was 53:05. In fairness to me, Cheptegei didn’t have to run up a bridge.

Happy Watching!