SUN 25

Little League World Series championship game (2 p.m., Ch. 7): Look, tough guy, we don’t know how many teams get participation trophies, but don’t even try to convince us international finalists Japan and Curacao, and U.S. finalists Hawaii and Louisiana, don’t all deserve them. The winners of Saturday’s games will square off a day later for all the marbles. Such pressure! Such fun.

TUE 27

Twins at White Sox (7:10 p.m., NBCSCH+): Any chance the AL Central leaders will simply forget what Lucas Giolito did to them last time out? Otherwise, the revenge factor will be high six days after the 14-6 right-hander’s three-hit, 12-strikeout, zero-walk gem in Minneapolis. Our advice to Giolito: Just keep doing what you’re doing. Man, we should really look into finding a gig as a pitching coach.

WED 28

Cubs at Mets (6:10 p.m., NBCSCH): Kyle Hendricks has been at the very top of his game at home pretty much all season, but you might have noticed — this one’s in that dreaded location known as Anywhere Other Than Wrigley Field. It would be nice for a change if, when Hendricks and the Cubs pack their suitcases, they remember to leave room for their ability to play baseball.

THU 29

USA vs. Portugal (6 p.m., FS1): Who doesn’t love a so-called international friendly? At Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, America’s World Cup-winning women will aim to suffocate the Portuguese attack, squeezing the life out of an inferior opponent and keeping the rest of the soccer-playing world on notice about who can kick anybody else’s butts, any time, anywhere. See? Super friendly.

Titans at Bears (7 p.m., Fox-32): Presumably, at least a few spots on Matt Nagy’s Week 1 regular-season roster will still be up for grabs — and that, folks, makes this mammoth clash borderline exciting. (Insert tired joke about kickers here.)

FRI 30

Brewers at Cubs (1:20 p.m., Ch. 9): Not to freak anybody out, but isn’t this the time of year when Christian Yelich gets a hit basically every time he shows up at home plate with a baseball bat? If we may put on our pitching coach’s cap again, our advice is to stay focused, take it one pitch at a time and be afraid — very afraid.

SAT 31

Akron at Illinois (11 a.m., BTN): It’s the first game as Zips coach for Tom Arth. If you’d never heard of Arth, it’s probably because he has the words “Zips coach” before his name. But we shouldn’t make too much fun of the Zips, who won at Northwestern last September. Better have ’em ready, Lovie Smith.

Northwestern at Stanford (3 p.m., Fox-32): The Wildcats’ unsettled quarterback situation isn’t the only thing they need to worry about. There’s also the Cardinal’s very-much-settled quarterback situation. Whether it’s Hunter Johnson or T.J. Green — or both — for the ’Cats, it’ll take everything the Purple side has to keep up with Stanford’s 6-5 senior K.J. Costello.