Saturday 12/20
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
North Carolina at Florida State
Hats off to Steve Robinson, new coach of the Seminoles (8-1 at
week's end). "The first time we met him, I had my hat on
backwards [in the Moore Athletic Center]," says senior guard
LaMarr Greer. "The first thing he said was, 'Take off the hats
in the building.'" (Has Robinson never watched an NBA draft?)
Robinson's commitment to discipline--already he has briefly
benched Florida State's top two returning scorers, Randell
Jackson and Corey Louis, for tardiness and missing a class,
respectively--should galvanize players who recently interpreted
the second word of Atlantic Coast Conference as a verb. The
formidable Tar Heels (10-0) will encounter one of the league's
most precocious freshmen in 7'2" Seminoles center Karim Shabazz.
CBS, 2 PM
Sunday 12/21
PRO BASKETBALL
Quest at Glory
No chance of Atlanta's leading scorer attacking her coach in
practice: They are one and the same person. Teresa Edwards
(left) is so pleased with her scoring--a league-leading 23.7
points per game for the Glory at week's end--that she has
rewarded herself by playing 39 minutes per game, tops in the
ABL. Columbus's leading scorer, Katie Smith, who says the
athlete she most admires is a certain hoary Glory player-coach,
rang up 28 points in a recent overtime victory against Atlanta.
FOX SPORTS NETWORK, 7 PM
Monday 12/22
PRO FOOTBALL
Patriots at Dolphins
At stake in this duel of 9-6 teams is the AFC East title. Last
month New England defeated Miami 27-24 as Dolphins quarterback
Dan Marino tied his single-game highs for pass attempts (60) and
touchdown passes thrown to opposing defenders (two). Miami coach
Jimmy Johnson has since acquired bad-guy running back Lawrence
Phillips in hopes of reviving Miami's moribund rushing attack.
Tonight Phillips will be encouraged to run afoul of the
law--specifically New England defensive backs Ty Law and Lawyer
Milloy.
ABC, 9 PM
Thursday 12/25
PRO BASKETBALL
Heat at Bulls
Today we invoke the yuletide lyric "Five golden rings!" Bulls
coach Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen own that
many. (Jackson has a sixth from his playing days as a Knick.)
Miami coach Pat Riley also has five (one as player, four as
coach) from his Lakers tenure. If the Bulls were Christmas
characters: Pippen would be the Grinch, for his obstinate,
self-imposed isolation; forward Dennis Rodman (left, battling
Miami's Ike Austin) would be Rudolph, for his colorful ways;
Steve Kerr would be Rudolph's towheaded pal, Herbie the Dentist;
and Jordan, of course, would be Santa.
NBC, 5:30 PM
Friday 12/26
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Motor City Bowl
Miss Moss at your own peril! Marshall wideout Randy Moss
(right), the best example of a big fish in a small pond this
side of Free Willy (save the postage: Sure, a whale isn't a
fish, but you get the idea), performs on a prime-time national
stage for the second time this season, against Mississippi.
Moss, a 6'5" sophomore for the 10-2 Thundering Herd, has at
least one scoring reception in 26 of his 27 games, and 53
touchdowns overall. Tonight all eyes should be on the MAC-daddy
as he plays in what will be his final collegiate game if, as
expected, he opts for the NFL draft. The Rebels (7-4), making
their first bowl appearance since 1992, are led by senior
tailback John Avery (862 yards rushing).
ESPN, 8 PM
COLOR PHOTO: BILL POLO [Teresa Edwards in game]
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER [Dennis Rodman and Ike Austin in game]
COLOR PHOTO: AL TIELEMANS [Randy Moss in game]
THE ! ZAPPER
During last Saturday's North Carolina-Princeton basketball game,
ESPN's Dick Vitale took the students at Old Nassau to task for
not regularly filling Princeton's Jadwin Gym (capacity: 7,550)
in support of their perennially powerful Tigers. Hey, Dickie V,
go easy! There are only 4,300 Princeton undergraduates, many are
in the library at tipoff time, and for the past decade few elite
teams have been willing to journey to Princeton, rendering most
home games walkovers.... The Retort of the Week award goes to
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart. Last Saturday,
after the Steelers beat the New England Patriots 24-21 in OT,
NBC's Jim Gray asked, "If that wasn't a miracle win, what was?"
Said Stewart, "The Michigan game."
All times Eastern. Schedules are subject to change.
