Back-to-back sporting events ... with a hint to the answers to the italicized clues

DOUBLEHEADERS

Think of a baseball term where two games are played in one day, often scheduled to make up for a rainout.

"Back-to-back sporting events" directly points to doubleheaders, which are two games played one after the other by the same teams. The phrase also acts as a meta-hint: the word double signals that the answers to the italicized clues in the puzzle are each two words long, not one. It’s a clever way to tie the theme together while giving solvers a nudge about the structure of other answers.