The First Weekend Of The Rio Olympics Looks Great

It's finally time for the highly-anticipated 2016 Rio Olympic Games. What could possibly be more enjoyable than watching the world's greatest athletes display superhuman strength while we sit on our couches, snacks in hand? (In case you were wondering, the answer is "nothing.") I'm already chomping at the bit to see my favorite events, but the Olympics run from Aug. 5 through Aug. 21 — so we'll have to patiently wait for certain events to take center stage. But, the festivities will begin in style with the Opening Ceremony on Aug. 5 — and then we'll have a full weekend to sit back and watch the competitions. So, what does the first weekend of the Rio Olympics schedule look like?

Friday, Aug. 5 is all about the opening ceremony, which airs at 7:30 p.m. ET. You won't want to miss it — we can count on at least a few of Brazil's most famous musicians to perform, and 6,000 volunteer dancers have been rehearsing since May. The athletes will hit the ground running on Saturday morning and the weekend schedule is jam-packed. After looking at the schedule, my first question was how in the world could NBC manage to air all these events? Don't worry, they thought ahead — Olympic programming will be broadcast across 11 TV networks including Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, and the Golf Channel. So, be sure to check your local listings in order to find the networks your events of choice will air on. And, you can always live stream any event on NBC's website.

Now that that's cleared up, let's take a look at the sports we'll see during the first weekend.

Saturday, Aug. 6

Coverage kicks off bright and early at 7:30 a.m. ET. The following sports will air throughout the day:

• 7:30 a.m. ET — Women's and men's rowing
• 8:00 a.m. ET — Women's archery; Women's and men's table tennis; Men's fencing
• 8:30 a.m. ET — Men's volleyball
• 8:45 a.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (qualifying round for subdivisions one and two)
• 9:00 a.m. ET — Women's field hockey; Women's and men's judo; Women's and men's weightlifting; Women's beach volleyball
• 9:45 a.m. ET — Women's and men's tennis
• 10:00 a.m. ET — Boxing; Rugby; Women's field hockey; Women's shooting; Women's beach volleyball
• 10:30 a.m. ET — Men's handball; Men's volleyball
• 11:00 a.m. ET — Women's basketball; Men's beach volleyball
• 11:30 a.m. ET — Women's field hockey; Women's cycling; Men's canoe & kayak
• 12:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's and men's tennis; Women's and men's swimming; Men's beach volleyball
• 12:30 p.m. ET — Women's and men's table tennis; Equestrian
• 1:00 p.m. ET — Women's archery
• 1:15 p.m. ET —Women's and men's basketball
• 1:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastic (qualifying round for subdivision three)
• 1:40 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 2:00 p.m. ET — Women's diving; Men's soccer; Men's volleyball; Women's shooting; Women's and men's tennis
• 2:30 p.m. ET — Women's and men's judo; Women's beach volleyball; Women's weightlifting
• 3:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's rugby; Men's fencing
• 3:30 p.m. ET — Men's beach volleyball
• 3:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 4:00 p.m. ET — Men's boxing; Men's field hockey; Men's volleyball; Women's and men's tennis
• 4:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (qualifying round for subdivision four); Women's basketball; Men's beach volleyball
• 5:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Men's field hockey; Men's table tennis
• 5:30 p.m. ET — Women's beach volleyball
• 5:45 p.m. ET — Women's and men's tennis
• 6:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Men's weightlifting; Men's basketball
• 6:30 p.m. ET — Men's field hockey
• 6:45 p.m. ET — Women's basketball
• 6:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 7:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (qualifying round for subdivision five); Men's field hockey; Men's volleyball
• 8:00 p.m. ET — Women's beach volleyball; Women's and men's tennis
• 8:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 9:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's and men's swimming; Women's beach volleyball; Gymnastics recap
• 9:30 p.m. ET — Men's basketball; Men's volleyball
• 10:00 p.m. ET — Men's beach volleyball

Sunday, Aug. 7

• 7:30 a.m. ET — Women's and men's rowing
• 8:00 a.m. ET — Women's archery; Women's and men's table tennis; Men's fencing
• 8:30 a.m. ET — Men's handball; Men's volleyball
• 8:45 a.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (another qualifying round for subdivisions one and two)
• 9:00 a.m. ET — Women's field hockey; Women's and men's judo; Women's and men's weightlifting; Equestrian; Women's beach volleyball
• 9:45 a.m. ET — Women's and men's tennis
• 10:00 a.m. ET — Men's boxing; Women's field hockey; Rugby; Women's shooting; Women's beach volleyball; Women's and men's tennis
• 10:30 a.m. ET — Men's handball; Men's volleyball
• 11:00 a.m. ET — Women's basketball; Men's beach volleyball
• 11:30 a.m. ET — Women's field hockey; Women's cycling; Men's canoe and kayaking
• 12:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's and men's tennis; Women's and men's swimming; Men's beach volleyball
• 12:30 p.m. ET — Women's field hockey; Women's and men's table tennis; Equestrian
• 1:00 p.m. ET — Women's archery
• 1:15 p.m. ET — Women's and men's basketball
• 1:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (another qualifying round for subdivision three)
• 1:40 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 2:00 p.m. ET — Women's diving; Men's soccer; Men's volleyball; Women's shooting; Women's and men's tennis
• 2:30 p.m. ET — Women's and men's judo; Women's beach volleyball; Women's weightlifting
• 3:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's rugby; Men's fencing
• 3:30 p.m. ET — Men's beach volleyball
• 3:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 4:00 p.m. ET — Men's boxing; Men's field hockey; Men's volleyball; Women's and men's tennis
• 4:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (another qualifying round for subdivision four); Women's basketball; Men's beach volleyball
• 5:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Men's field hockey; Women's and men's table tennis
• 5:30 p.m. ET — Women's beach volleyball
• 5:45 p.m. ET — Women's and men's tennis
• 6:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Men's weightlifting; Men's basketball
• 6:30 p.m. ET — Men's field hockey
• 6:45 p.m. ET — Women's basketball
• 6:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 7:30 p.m. ET — Women's gymnastics (another qualifying round for subdivision five); Men's field hockey; Men's volleyball
• 8:00 p.m. ET — Women's beach volleyball; Men's and women's tennis
• 8:50 p.m. ET — Men's handball
• 9:00 p.m. ET — Men's soccer; Women's and men's swimming; Women's beach volleyball; Women's gymnastics recap
• 9:30 p.m. ET — Men's basketball; Men's volleyball
• 10:00 p.m. ET — Men's beach volleyball

It looks like we have a busy weekend ahead of us — and, personally, I couldn't possibly be more excited to cheer on America's amazing athletes.