Weekend Pre: AFL, Auto Racing and Softball

Sure, we're getting closer to the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals (with a potentially interesting storyline involving the Philadelphia Flyers) but my remote might skip over the respective conference finals in those sports to find some even more niche events this weekend.

First, there's the Arena Football League on the NFL Network (8 p.m. Friday) -- just because I miss football that much. Plus, this game marks the on-air debut of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, who seems destined to find a TV assignment with the real league once the fall rolls around.

We'll see how he sounds doing arena games, and he should be as well suited as anyone because the much-told and retold story of his career was how he started with the Iowa Barnstormers. He's working the Arizona Rattlers-Barnstormers game, and his Iowa jersey will be retired during the night.

Auto racing also merits a look this weekend, with Saturday as the big day. It includes pole qualifying for the Indy 500 on Versus (11 a.m. Saturday) and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star (9 p.m. Speed). Of the two, expect the NASCAR event to produce more drama, because it's a race and because of a not-so-simple qualifying process for the Indy 500.

While Indy qualifying used to produce "bumping," as one driver's top speed would put him into he field for the race and push another out, that's not going to happen this year. Still, it will determine where some drivers start and the technology of racing, with on-screen graphics that usually convey necessary information well, provides a nice technological highlight.

Finally -- and it's not an afterthought -- there's college softball. As it has with the Little League World Series, ESPN has latched onto college softball in a big way. It has expanded its popular coverage of the Women's College World Series back to regional and then super regional events. Regional play begins this weekend.

Game coverage works on TV because its fast-paced and the smaller diamond puts viewers closer to the action. Plus, the college competition comes with a bit more energy and enthusiasm than other events on the tube.

While we get a push of college softball at this time of year simply because it's a fairly empty TV window that ESPN can fill, the games usually are competitive. This weekend's regional action might not be quite the quality of the eventual super regionals (May 27-30) and College World Series (June 3-9), but they'll still be OK and they serve an even bigger purpose for ESPN because they provide familiarity with the coaches, players and teams involved -- giving any viewers who follow the action from the regionals to the World Series some relationships and rooting interests.