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SI VIEW THE WEEK IN TV SPORTS
Saturday 10/11
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Florida at LSU
Although the 14th-ranked Tigers lost sophomore tailback Cecil
Collins and his 194.3 yards a game to a broken leg in their
victory over Vanderbilt last Saturday, the formidable LSU ground
game, ranked eighth in the nation, isn't hurting as much as it
would seem. That's because Kevin Faulk (above), who ran for
1,282 yards at tailback last season, is back from a pulled
hamstring injury. Top-ranked Florida, on the other hand, is
allowing 32.0 yards a game on the ground, the second lowest in
the nation. Advantage, Gators. But not a home field advantage:
This is the first of three games away from the Swamp for
Florida, with No. 8 Auburn and No. 13 Georgia to follow.
ESPN, 7 PM
Sunday 10/12
PRO BASKETBALL
Glory at Blizzard
After having been a part of 12 NBA title-winning teams as a
player and a coach, former Celtics great K.C. Jones, 65,
appeared to be easing into retirement last May when he signed on
as coach of the ABL's New England Blizzard. Just his luck: Not
only will he have to match wits with Atlanta Glory coach Teresa
Edwards in the season opener, but he'll also have to find some
way to stop her from scoring. Edwards, the ABL's second-leading
scorer (21.1 points a game) in '96-97, was promoted to
player-coach in the off-season. UConn icon Kara Wolters returns
to Hartford as a rookie with the Blizzard and reunites with
college teammate Jennifer Rizzotti (below, with ball).
FOX SPORTS NETWORK, 7 PM
Monday 10/13
PRO FOOTBALL
Cowboys at Redskins
The nation's capital hasn't created a red scare like this one
since the days of Joe McCarthy. The Washington defense is tied
for third in the NFC in fewest red-zone touchdowns allowed,
while the Dallas offense is third from last in the conference in
scoring touchdowns from the 20-yard line and in. Skins coach
Norv Turner, who previously was the Cowboys' offensive
coordinator, is 3-2 in games against his former prize pupil,
Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman. As Cowboys coach Barry Switzer
can attest, Aikman is every pass-happy coach's dream: A big gun
you can take through the airport.
ABC, 9 PM
Friday 10/17
PRO BASKETBALL
McDonald's Championship
When training camp opened last week, the Chicago Bulls were
squabbling in midseason form (Scorecard, page 17). Was this any
way to prepare for a trip to a city of such romance? Competing
in Paris along with the reigning NBA champs in this three-day
tournament will be teams from Argentina, France, Greece, Italy
and Spain, all of which also won their respective league titles.
(Among the most notable European players is 6'11" center
Efthimios Rentzias of FC Barcelona, a 1996 first-round draft
pick of the Denver Nuggets whose rights were recently acquired
by the Atlanta Hawks.) The NBA entrant has never lost the
championship in this event since its inception in 1987, which
should put Michael Jordan (right) and his mates somewhat at
ease. No matter what happens this year, they'll always have Paris.
TNT, 8 PM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Midnight Madness
Three years ago, during this made-for-TV start of college
basketball practice, University of Cincinnati student Cory
Clouse sank a half-court shot, earning a year's worth of
tuition, board and books courtesy of Dick Vitale. This year
Dickie V. takes his hyperkinetic hyperbole to Duke's Cameron
Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils are no long shot, as they hope
to show when they unveil the nation's top-rated freshman class.
ESPN will also visit Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee,
where the defending national champion Lady Vols will participate
along with the men. But in case this special is aired past your
bedtime, ESPN will telecast 183 games beginning Nov. 11.
ESPN, MIDNIGHT
COLOR PHOTO: PATRICK MURPHY-RACEY [Kevin Faulk in game]
COLOR PHOTO: BOB CHILD/AP [Jennifer Rizzotti and other in game]
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER [Michael Jordan in game]
THE ! ZAPPER
During last Saturday's American League divisional playoff game
between the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees, NBC's
Joe Morgan wondered why righthander Chad Ogea was summoned to
face lefty Paul O'Neill with the bases loaded. O'Neill forthwith
smacked a 3-2 pitch over the centerfield fence to lift the Yanks
to a 6-1 win. Which leaves us to wonder: With Morgan engagingly
providing such astute analysis, why must NBC summon a third man,
in this case Bob Uecker, to the booth to sit beside play-by-play
man Bob Costas? Ditto for Fox, which has Bob Brenly and Tim
McCarver next to play-by-play man Joe Buck. ESPN made the better
call during the divisional playoffs by going with two-man booth
teams. Fox and NBC again will employ trios during this week's
League Championship Series, even though when it comes to
baseball announcing, three is less than two.
All times Eastern. Schedules are subject to change.
