Nothing annoys some people like the mingling of sports, activism and politics. Yet they are linked in myriad ways. Lest we forget, the 2021 MLB All-Star Game (8 p.m., Fox) was originally supposed to take place in Atlanta, showcasing Truist Park, their new(ish) home. But when Georgia joined other states in restricting voting access, Major League Baseball moved the game to Denver.
Curiously, the game will now be played at Coors Field. For some time, the Coors family was vocally associated with conservative politics. Some decades back they funded the Heritage Foundation think tank, instrumental in drafting pro-business legislation and electing corporate-friendly candidates.
Nearly all sports stadiums are named after huge corporations now and owned by tycoons who leverage their ownership into tax avoidance. Not unlike the villains on the Amazon Prime series "The Boys," team owners hold fans and cities hostage by threatening to move should the taxpayers not cough up enormous sums to pay for stadiums that sit empty much of the year.
So yes, sports, business and politics are intertwined in ways many would not think about. And some fans get testy when mere players, "owned" by those tycoons, decide to speak up for their particular cause.
The "30 for 30" (9 p.m., ESPN) documentary series presents "Breakaway," a profile of WNBA star Maya Moore, who took a sabbatical from a stellar career at age 29 to devote her life to clearing the name of Jonathan Irons, who she believed to have been wrongly convicted of burglary and sentenced to 50 years in prison. She also wanted to shed light on how society demonizes the incarcerated and their families.
There’s something powerful and almost biblical about a person walking away from riches and fame to pursue a righteous cause. Of course, there are others who believe that athletes should just keep quiet. When NBA player LeBron James spoke about social justice, Fox News personality Laura Ingraham told him to "shut up and dribble." That rude taunt seemed to inspire James and others to become more vocal. It even inspired the three-part Showtime series "Shut Up and Dribble," which can be streamed on Hulu.
— "Frontline" (10 p.m., PBS) looks at "The Power of the Fed" and the policy of "quantitative easing," which has pumped billions of dollars into equity markets. While this may have helped the markets during a time of COVID-related stress, some fear that the Fed is picking winners and losers and disproportionately aiding the investor class. Some think this may be the business story of our time, one taking place well below the radar.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— "America’s Got Talent" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Stage 16 of the Tour de France (8 p.m., NBCSN) rolls by. Cord-cutters can catch this on Peacock, but they’ll have to pay for the Premium version.
— The 2021 documentary "The One and Only Dick Gregory" (8 p.m., Show2) profiles an incendiary comic-turned-activist.
— The unread meet the undressed on "Love Island" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— "Brad Paisley’s Shark Country" (9 p.m., Discovery) takes us far from Nashville.
— Brothers seek vengeance through ecoterrorism on "FBI: Most Wanted" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Peyton Manning hosts the quarterfinals between Ole Miss and Auburn on "College Bowl" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— "Miracle Workers" (10:30 p.m., TBS, TV-MA) enters a third season with a new story, set in the Old West.
CULT CHOICE
— After the triumph of "The Godfather," Francis Ford Coppola directed a sequel, the 1974 epic "The Godfather, Part II" (7 p.m., ESPN), which incorporated a backstory presented in Sicilian with subtitles. In short, he asked viewers to watch a "foreign" film tucked inside an American movie, and audiences have loved it for nearly half a century.
SERIES NOTES
In search of an arms dealer on "NCIS" (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Beverly meddles even more on "The Goldbergs" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Daze of future passed on "The Flash" (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Siblings clash on "Home Economics" (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Harris brings a surprise guest on "The Conners" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Jordan seeks Dad on "Superman & Lois" (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … A power outage drives Dre around the bend on the blackout episode of "black-ish" (9:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … "To Tell the Truth" (10 p.m., ABC).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Edgar Ramirez and musical guest BTS on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Amy Poehler, M. Night Shyamalan and Charlie Benante visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC).
