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In about 30 minutes, somebody in a red shirt or black shirt will kick a ball and signal the official start of the 2013-14 Premier League season. About time, I say!
Although Chelsea do not play until tomorrow, I'm giddy as a school boy for what otherwise will surely be an amazingly boring matchup between Liverpool's tiki-taka and Stoke City's longball-ing. But wait, Tony Pulis is no more and there's Mark Hughes instead. Maybe there's hope that I'm not going to fall asleep within five minutes then as Daniel Sturridge lights them up for five goals.
This is also the first day of the rest of our American TV lives as NBC takes over from FOX. Above all else, this transition is what I might be most excited about. They'll follow up the opener by staying on NBCSN with Arsenal vs. Aston Villa (10am EDT; 3pm BST) before switching to the national NBC network for Swansea vs. Manchester United (12:30pm EDT; 5:30pm BST). The other matchups (Norwich vs. Everton; Sunderland vs. Fulham; WBA vs. Southampton; West Ham vs. Cardiff) will all be available on live online streaming (and presumably on-demand replay as well) via NBC Sports Live Extra.
Welcome to the future!