On the air
AUTO RACING Noon FS1 — NASCAR, Monster Energy Cup Series, Food City 500, practice, at Bristol, Tenn. 1 p.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Xfinity Series, Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300, practice, at Bristol, Tenn. 3 p.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Xfinity Series, Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300, final practice, at Bristol, Tenn. 4:30 p.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Monster Energy Cup Series, Food City 500, qualifying, at Bristol, Tenn. 1:55 a.m. (Saturday) ESPN2 — Formula One, Heineken Chinese Grand Prix, qualifying, at Shanghai BASKETBALL 10 p.m. ESPN2 — USA Junior Team, Nike Hoop Summit, at Portland, Ore. BOXING 9 p.m, FS1 — Premier Champions, Jamal James vs. Abel Ramos, welterweights, at Minneapolis GOLF 6 a.m. GOLF — European PGA Tour, Open de Espana, second round, at Madrid Noon GOLF — Champions Tour, Mitsubishi Electric Classic, first round, at Duluth, Ga. 3 p.m. GOLF — PGA Tour, RBC Heritage, second round, at Hilton Head Island, S.C. 7 p.m. GOLF — LPGA Tour, LOTTE Championship, third round, at Kapolei, Hawaii MLB 2 p.m. MLB — Atlanta at Chicago Cubs 7 p.m. SNY, 710 AM, 590 AM — Milwaukee at Mets YES, 660 AM, 104.5 FM — Yankees at Detroit MLB — Regional coverage, Colorado at Washington OR St. Louis at Cincinnati (6:30 p.m.) NHL 7 p.m. NBCSN — NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, first round, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m. USA — NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, first round, Minnesota at Winnipeg 10 p.m. NBCSN — NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, first round, Los Angeles at Las Vegas NBA 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 — NBA G-League, Finals, Game 3, teams TBA SOCCER 2:20 p.m. FS2 — Bundesliga, Wolfsburg vs. Augsburg 8 p.m. ESPN — MLS, Orlando City at Philadelphia SWIMMING 12:30 a.m. (Saturday) NBCSN — TYR Pro Swim Series, at Mesa, Ariz. (sameday tape)
While all about him lost their heads, Cristiano Ronaldo kept his.
Yet again he stepped up for his club, Real Madrid, while Gianluigi Buffon, at the tail end of 17 seasons of loyal service to Juventus, let his down with a tantrum rightly punished with a red card.
Ronaldo showed he can wait, and not be tired of waiting, as Buffon’s replacement, Wojciech Szczesny, took an age to ready his gloves and prepare himself for the penalty kick that referee Michael Oliver awarded correctly.
Ronaldo blocked out the din ringing around Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the batedbreath expectations of its 75,796 spectators focused only on him, the pressure of standing at the crossroads of triumph and disaster in the 97th minute of the Champions League quarterfinal second-leg match.
The spot kick, one of Ronaldo’s finest, of course found the back of the net, just as the look of intense concentration on his face promised it would. Aimed with astounding accuracy and power into a 50-centimeter (20-inch) gap between the outstretched fingers of the diving Szczesny and his left-hand post, the goal gave Madrid a 4-3 aggregate victory on Wednesday night and a semifinal berth for the eighth straight season.
Off came Ronaldo’s shirt in celebration.
It is tempting to roll one’s eyes when he whips his kit off like this, peacocking his egg-carton stomach muscles to cameras and crowds. But think of those bumps and ridges he is so proud of this way: they’re proof of how hard Ronaldo continues to work to stay on top, to prepare his body and mind for these key moments that separate great players from good ones.
In the latter stages of the 33-year-old’s career, Ronaldo’s untiring enthusiasm for football, the dayin, day-out seriousness and focus he continues to devote to his craft are mightily impressive. Every goal still clearly matters to him. The misses still hurt. His appetite for winning never seems satiated.