Yahoo Sports AM: Weekend watchlist

Weekend Watchlist first appeared in Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

⚾️ MLB Playoffs

After both series began with 2-0 leads, Houston has fought back to tie things up with Texas and Arizona finally quieted Philly's red-hot bats, giving the Snakes a much-needed victory in the desert. Suddenly, we've got a couple series that look capable of going the distance.

• ALCS: Astros (tied 2-2) at Rangers (Fri. 5pm ET, FS1) … Justin Verlander (1.42 postseason ERA) vs. Jordan Montgomery (2.08). Game 6 is on Sunday (8pm, FS1).

• NLCS: Phillies (up 2-1) at Diamondbacks (Fri. 8pm, TBS) … Christopher Sánchez (postseason debut) vs. Joe Mantiply (9.00). Game 5 is on Saturday (8pm, TBS).

⚽️ MLS Decision Day

MLS Decision Day has arrived, with all but one team* taking the field on Saturday for their last game of the regular season. Five teams in the East are fighting for the two wild card spots and five teams in the West are fighting for the final three spots. Clinching scenarios.

• Schedule: There are seven games at 6pm ET and another seven at 9pm, all streaming on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass. Seven are free to watch.

• How it works: This year's postseason is the biggest ever, with nine teams qualifying in each conference, up from seven last year. Seeds 1-7 automatically advance to Round One, which is now a best-of-three series, while Nos. 8 and 9 will play a single-elimination wild card match.

*Because there are an odd number of MLS clubs (29), one team concluded its season before Decision Day. That was D.C. United, who’ve already been mathematically eliminated.

⚽️ NWSL Playoffs

Six of the league's 12 teams reached the postseason, which kicks off this weekend with the quarterfinals. The top two seeds have already earned byes into the semifinals.

• Friday: No. 4 OL Reign vs. No. 5 Angel City FC (10pm ET, Paramount+) … Winner faces the No. 1 seed San Diego Wave in the semifinals.

• Sunday: No. 3 North Carolina Courage vs. No. 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC (7pm, CBSSN) … Winner faces the No. 2 seed Portland Thorns in the semifinals.

The intrigue: Megan Rapinoe's retirement is on hold for as long as her OL Reign stay alive in the playoffs. Their next loss — or a win in the championship — will be her final professional game.

🏈 College Football: Ranked matchups

Week 8 of the college football season is headlined by four ranked-on-ranked matchups in four different Power Five conferences.

• Big Ten: No. 7 Penn State (+4.5) at No. 3 Ohio State (12pm ET, Fox)

• SEC: No. 17 Tennessee (+8.5) at No. 11 Alabama (3:30pm, CBS)

• ACC: No. 16 Duke (+14.5) at No. 4 Florida State (7:30pm, ABC)

• Pac-12: No. 14 Utah (+7) at No. 18 USC (8pm, Fox)

Best of the rest: No. 22 Air Force (-10.5) at Navy (12pm, CBS); Washington State (+20.5) at No. 9 Oregon (3:30pm, ABC); No. 2 Michigan (-24.5) at Michigan State (7:30pm, NBC)

🏈 NFL Sunday: Eagles-Dolphins

NFL Week 7 is headlined by a heavyweight clash on "Sunday Night Football," as the Dolphins visit the Eagles (8:20pm ET, NBC) in a matchup of 5-1 teams and MVP favorites.

• Betting lines: Spread: PHI -2.5 | O/U: 51.5 | Money: PHI -145, MIA +120

• MVP odds: Tua (+350) is tied with Patrick Mahomes for the best MVP odds and Hurts (+800) is in fourth behind those two and Josh Allen (+700), per BetMGM.

Best of the rest: Browns (-3) at Colts (1pm, CBS); Falcons (+2.5) at Buccaneers (1pm, Fox); Lions (+3) at Ravens (1pm, Fox); Steelers (+3) at Rams (4pm, Fox)

🏁 F1 in Texas

The U.S. Grand Prix (3pm ET, ESPN) will be run at Austin's Circuit of the America's for the 11th straight year (minus 2020) as Max Verstappen and Red Bull — who've already clinched the title — look to continue their historically dominant season.

Looking ahead: After Austin, there are just four races left this season, including the highly anticipated debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 18.

⛳️ LIV Golf finale

The LIV Golf season ends this weekend (Fri-Sun, CW) with the Team Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami.

• The purse: All 12 teams are competing for a $50 million purse, with $14 million going to the winners.

• How it works: Friday's quarterfinals and Saturday's semifinals are match play (singles and foursomes), with the top four teams from the regular season earning a bye into the semifinals. The four-team finals on Sunday are stroke play.

🏉 Rugby World Cup: Semifinals

The Rugby World Cup has reached the semifinals, with Paris' Stade de France hosting four teams from four different continents who've combined for seven of the nine World Cup titles all-time.

• Friday: Argentina vs. New Zealand (Fri. 3pm ET, Peacock) … Argentina's the only remaining nation seeking its first title, while the All Blacks have won a record-tying three.

• Saturday: England vs. South Africa (Sat. 3pm, Peacock) … One-time champion England seeks revenge against the Springboks, who beat them in the final of the last edition for their third title.

More to watch

• 🏁 NASCAR playoffs: Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30pm ET, NBC) … The penultimate race in the Round of 8.

• ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester City vs. Brighton (Sat. 10am, USA); Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace (Sat. 10am, Peacock); Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sat. 12:30pm, NBC); Aston Villa vs. West Ham (Sun. 11:30am, USA); Tottenham vs. Fulham (Sun. 3pm, USA) … All top-12 matchups.

• 🏀 NBA preseason: Spurs at Warriors (Fri. 10pm, NBA) … The final day of preseason games before the season tips off on Tuesday.

• ⛳️ PGA: Zozo Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf/ESPN+) … At Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club near Tokyo, Japan.

• ⛳️ LPGA: BMW Ladies Championship (Fri-Sun, Peacock) … At Seowon Valley Country Club near Seoul, South Korea.

• 🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs at Lightning (Sat. 7pm) … The perennial Eastern Conference contenders face off in Tampa.

• 🥊 UFC 294: Islam Makhachev (24-1, 4 KOs) vs. Alexander Volkanovksi (26-2, 13 KOs) (2pm ET, ESPN+ PPV) … Makhachev defends his lightweight title in a rematch from this past February, which he won by unanimous decision.