Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died Friday at age 99. Queen Elizabeth II’s husband of 73 years, he’ll be put to eternal rest on Saturday with a funeral that will capture the nation’s attention. And that means some sports events will need to be moved around in order to avoid clashing with the funeral.
In the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sheffield United will now be pushed back to Saturday night, 8:15 p.m. local time (1915 GMT). It had originally been slated to kickoff at 3 p.m. the same time monarch’s funeral service at Windsor Castle is set to start.
Neither team really has anything to play for in that clash. Wolves are squarely midtable, with significant distance from the drop zone and the European qualification slots. Meanwhile the Blades are dead last and destined for relegation. Needing 13 points to move out of the relegated zone, it is far too late for them to play their way to safety.
Saturday’s other Premier League game, between Newcastle United and West Ham United, as more on the line, with the Hammers now having blown the top four race wide open.
Led by Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard, arguably the most exciting player in the league right now, the Irons look like a side that will stay in top four contention until the end.
As for Newcastle, they sit in the final safety slot, by six points, but by the time you read this, West Bromwich Albion will have narrowed the gap to five. The Magpies need to accumulate points down the stretch, in order to stay up. This match will kick-off at 12:30 p.m. as planned.
Also, some fixtures in the English Football League and Premiership Rugby will also be shuffling some start times, in order to accommodate the Prince Phillip funeral.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.