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SI VIEW THE WEEK IN TV SPORTS
Saturday 7/12
PRO BASKETBALL
Monarchs at Comets
Sacramento point guard Chantel Tremitiere is one of 15 kids. Big
deal! Backcourtmate Ruthie Bolton-Holifield (right), who at
week's end led the WNBA in scoring (21.5 points per game), has
19 brothers and sisters. (During her formative years in McClain,
Miss., "We got next!" referred to the bathroom.) For
Bolton-Holifield, the Summit meeting against Houston, a 350-mile
drive from McClain, offers an opportunity to see a few (dozen)
of her siblings' 72 offspring. Despite the absence of guard
Sheryl Swoopes, who produced child number 1 of her own (named
Jordan) on June 25, the Comets (4-3) have played well, with
their losses coming at the hands of the league-leading New York
Liberty (page 50). Houston's main weapon is sweet-shooting guard
Cynthia Cooper, who was scoring at a 17.3-points-per-game clip.
As a child, Cooper had a little more room to roam than did her
Sacramento counterparts: Her mom, Mary Cobbs, decreed that eight
was enough.
NBC, SATURDAY, 2 PM; COMETS AT MONARCHS,
LIFETIME, FRIDAY, 9 PM
GOLF
U.S. Women's Open
Since she turned pro, Karrie Webb of Australia has been named
rookie of the year on the European tour (1995) and the LPGA tour
('96). At Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Cornelius, Ore., the
worldwide Webb will try to dethrone defending Open titlist
Annika Sorenstam, the only player Webb trails on the LPGA money
list this year ($542,884 to $779,862). Sorenstam is bidding to
become the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Opens
since Willie Anderson (1903, '04 and '05).
NBC, SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY, 4 PM
SOCCER
Wizards at Revolution
"La," a certain guitar-strumming free spirit once sang, "a note
to follow so." Alexi Lalas, a latter-day guitar-strumming free
spirit, this year is hitting a more positive note following a
so-so debut season with MLS's New England Revolution. Under new
coach Thomas Rongen, defender Lalas has played well enough to
start in the MLS All-Star Game. New England, 8-2 against Western
Conference foes, such as Kansas City, and 10-7 overall, seems a
shoo-in for the playoffs, which should bring the
endorsement-friendly Lalas back to dough.
ESPN2, 7:30 PM
Thursday 7/17
GOLF
British Open
Royal Troon is Colin Montgomerie's Scotland yard. How so?
Elementary, my dear Watson (as in Tom, a five-time winner of
this major). Colin's father, James, is the club secretary, and
this is the younger Montgomerie's home course. The leading money
winner on the European tour for four years running and the
runner-up at last month's U.S. Open, Monty (right) will be
joined for Thursday's and Friday's opening rounds by 49 of the
top 50 players in the official Sony World Ranking (Jumbo Ozaki
is the exception), as well as by three-time champion Jack
Nicklaus, 57, playing in his 32nd British Open. With one of
Troon's marquee holes (the 11th) known as the Railway and with
minors being admitted to this major free for the first time,
might we espy that rancorous foursome from Trainspotting in the
gallery, cheering on youth's new standard-bearer, Tiger Woods?
ESPN, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, 9:00 AM
Friday 7/18
BOXING
Danny Romero vs. Johnny Tapia
Less than three weeks after the Holyfield-Tyson pay-per-chew
debacle, Las Vegas plays host to a bout that some ring experts
say will be the fight of the year. These junior bantamweights,
Albuquerque natives both, are bitter rivals. "If I knock him
down in the first, I'm going to pick him up [myself]," says the
30-year-old Tapia (40-0-2). "I'm going to punish him." WBO
titleholder Tapia (far left, against Adonis Cruz) once trained
under Romero's father, also named Danny, until the pair had a
falling-out. (Tapia parted ways with another trainer, Jesse
Reid, just three weeks ago.) Romero padre now concentrates on
training his IBF champion namesake, a fighter who boasts a 30-1
record and who has had more pro knockouts (27) than birthdays
(23). If Tapia, a.k.a. the Baby-Faced Assassin, is not careful,
Romero may murder him.
HBO, 9 PM
All times Eastern. Schedules are subject to change.
COLOR PHOTO: ROCKY WIDNER [Ruthie Bolton-Holifield in game]
COLOR PHOTO: AP/ERIC DRAPER [Johnny Tapia and Adonis Cruz boxing]
COLOR PHOTO: JIM GUND [Colin Montgomerie playing golf]
THE ! ZAPPER
From this summer's saturation coverage of the WNBA on NBC, ESPN
and Lifetime emerges this question: Shouldn't some of
basketball's hallowed terminology be altered to reflect the
gender of the new league's players? ESPN's lively and
informative Geno Auriemma, among other commentators, has been
using the manly mantra "man-to-man defense." Given that this
year is the 25th anniversary of Title IX, wouldn't "woman to
woman" be more appropriate? Or, on Lifetime's games (with a bow
to Swoosie Kurtz and company), "sister to sister"?
