A healthy amount of lumens (for 2D), a sharp image, and particularly good color in a brightest mode (not to mention an almost as bright "best" mode), would make you think the Sharp XV-Z17000 would be pretty good at showing sports and HDTV.
I thought so too, and it turns out we're all correct. Oh, one can always use even more lumens, and certainly just under 1200 lumens isn't exactly blinding, just slightly brighter than average, but it is sufficient to do a really nice job on the 100 inch diagonal high contrast gray screen I'm currently using, with some ambient light, and I could tackle a screen a size or two larger, and still handle some controlled ambient light.
3D content, though comes through far less bright. Fortunately, the Sharp has a good amount of lumens, so even in 3D the picture is decent, though hardly bright on a standard gain screen. You are back to viewing in man cave conditions - in terms of room lighting, instead of being able to tolerate a modest amount of ambient light, enough to make watching a football game, more of a social experience.
Above right: Sharp filling 100" Elite HC gray screen surface. Below, the same image properly exposed: