SUNDAY
JUNE 15
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC, 11:30 a.m. ET

The 2014 World Cup has been quite a tournament so far, even though, four days in, several teams haven’t even played yet. But of the games played thus far, there hasn’t been a single tie, and there have been several outstanding goals and surprising upsets. England, one of many countries where football is more religion than diversion, lost to Italy. The Netherlands didn’t just beat Spain, but trounced it, 5-1. And today, we get three more games. ABC’s coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET, 30 minutes before the first match begins, with Switzerland facing Ecuador. The next game begins at 3 p.m. ET, with France vs. Honduras, and ESPN covers the day’s final game, with a 5:30 p.m. ET telecast that sets up the contest between Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina. For a full story on World Cup coverage to date, and a preview of what to expect today, see Monique Nazareth’s MNtv.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 12:00 p.m. ET

Through three days of golf at Pinehurst #2, Martin Kaymer has been in the lead, shooting a U.S. Open record the first two days with back-to-back five-under-par 65s, then holding on yesterday by shooting a 72. That was two over par, but considering the trouble he got into, and out of, at a pair of holes, it was an impressive performance nonetheless. The German golfer begins today with a five-shot lead over his nearest competitors, U.S. golfers Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler, and his strategy and play, and theirs, ought to make this a truly exciting final round at the U.S. Open.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

More sports in today’s Best Bets? Yes, indeed. After World Cup soccer and U.S. Open golf, there’s the potentially clinching game of the NBA Finals. (Happy Father’s Day, sports junkies.) This is Game 5, played in San Antonio, where the Spurs enjoy not only home-court advantage, but an imposing 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat. No team has ever come from that deficit to win the championship – but LeBron James says that’s true only until some team manages to do it, and he’d like to be part of that story. So tonight is either revenge for the Heat wresting victory from the Spurs last year, or the prolonging of an intense, increasingly interesting NBA rivalry.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: The final episode of this NBC series is a showdown between the factions of good and evil – as personified, respectively, by psychically gifted young girl Bo (Johnny Sequoyah) and those who would like to understand and use her talents for less noble purposes. But the story doesn’t have to end with tonight’s episode – and won’t, if the actress who played another plucky heroine has her way. For the full story, see Bianculli’s Blog.
 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Are you kidding me? Last week’s episode, essentially an hour-long battle scene, wasn’t enough? No, it wasn’t. To finish Season 4, Game of Thrones has a few more tricks, and treats, up its sleeve – and a few more major characters in very dire jeopardy.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s episode, Vanessa (Eva Green) has another vision, this time of Sir Malcolm’s daughter Mina (Olivia Llewellyn) walking on a beach. But though the beach may look inviting, the vision isn’t a pretty one, and sets the group out on yet another dangerous, troubling quest.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.