News Information and Media Site: Sports: What to Read and Watch

March 7, 2020

What to Read

Adam Ondra, far above ground.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The world’s best climber, Adam Ondra, is a wiry 27-year-old with a curly mop of hair and a noticeably long neck, John Branch writes. He has climbed three of the four hardest routes in the world; no one else has done more than one.

But speed is not his forte. “The fact that you can climb in five seconds or six seconds has nothing to do with climbing,” Ondra said. “It’s a circus.”

But Ondra must climb fast now, because the gold medal at the Olympics will be awarded to the best performance over a combination of lead climbing, bouldering, and, yes, speed climbing.

Read the full article here.

What to Watch

These Manchester United fans like Marcus Rashford. They do not like Manchester City.Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

All times are Eastern.

SOCCER

Liverpool, which had been rampaging through the season, suddenly stumbled in recent days, falling to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, losing in the Premier League for the first time, to Watford, and then being knocked out of the F.A. Cup by Chelsea. Look for the team to get well in a hurry against Bournemouth (Saturday, 7:30 a.m., NBCSN).

Then a day later, it’s red Manchester against blue Manchester with the always fierce United-City derby. (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., NBC).

GOLF

The Arnold Palmer Invitational, at Bay Hill in Florida, draws a strong field eager to honor a golfing legend (and maybe enjoy his namesake drink). Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler could be in the mix this year. (Final round, 2:30 p.m., NBC).

N.B.A.

Lakers-Clippers was always something of an afterthought in Los Angeles. The Lakers almost always ruled the roost, and as recently as last season, neither team was particularly good. Not anymore. Now the Lakers, boosted by the coming of Anthony Davis, have soared to the top of the Western Conference, and are closely followed by the Clippers, who added Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and are on target to make the conference finals for the first time, well, ever. (Sunday, 3:30 p.m., ABC)