SI VIEW THE WEEK IN TV SPORTS
Saturday 12/27
SPECIALS
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Year in Review
This video yearbook, hosted by Keith Olbermann, spares us the
machinations of agents and the mastications of Marv and Mike and
focuses on heroic performances. Among them: Michael Jordan's
Game 5 of the NBA Finals, in which the incredi-Bull overcame the
flu to score 38 points; Tiger Woods's wondrous weekend at
Augusta; and tennis phenom Venus Williams's swift ascension at
the U.S. Open. Sprinkled throughout are trenchant comments by
SI's top writers, such as William Nack, who refers to boxing as
"an American burlesque."
NBC, 3 PM
Thursday 1/1
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Rose Bowl
The final installment of ABC's Bring Your Son to Work Day
miniseries finds Bob Griese--the daddy of quarterback Brian
(left) of top-ranked Michigan (11-0)--providing the analysis at
the granddaddy of 'em all. Will Bob, who quarterbacked Purdue to
a 1967 Rose Bowl win, shed his rigorously maintained veneer of
objectivity and act like a proud papa? Washington State (10-1)
has its own fumblin', rumblin', stumblin' presence in the booth:
alumnus (class of '54) Keith Jackson, the Voice of college
football. If all that isn't enticing enough, consider the
prospect of watching Cougars quarterback Ryan Leaf challenge
Wolverines Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson.
ABC, 4:30 PM
Friday 1/2
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl has been to retiring Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
what the Globe Theatre was to Shakespeare: the stage for his
greatest tragedies and triumphs. Losses in 1984 (to Miami) and
'94 (to Florida State) cost Osborne's Cornhuskers the national
title, while his first championship came after the '95 Orange
Bowl defeat of the Hurricanes. Tonight Osborne ends his run as
No. 2 Nebraska (12-0), featuring Lombardi Award-winning
defensive end Grant Wistrom, takes on No. 3 Tennessee (11-1) and
Peyton Manning, the Heisman Trophy runner-up. Should Michigan
lose in the Rose Bowl, the script will finish with a national
crown for the victor.
CBS, 8 PM
Saturday 1/3
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Connecticut at Tennessee
Last week a Volunteers football player was honored by having a
street named after him (Peyton Manning Pass). That thoroughfare
could someday form an intersection with Chamique Holdsclaw
Drive. The 6'2" junior forward has led the top-ranked Lady Vols
to consecutive national championships and, at week's end, to a
cruise-control 13-0 start this season. In the last three seasons
Tennessee-UConn has blossomed into the distaff version of
Duke-North Carolina. In 1995 the Huskies defeated the Lady Vols
in the regular season and in the NCAA championship game. Today,
though, Nykesha Sales (left), Connecticut's senior All-America
guard, must excel if third-ranked UConn (10-0) is to be more
than just a speed bump in Knoxville.
CBS, 4 PM
Thursday 1/8
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. Championships
Michael Weiss is willing to make a leap of faith in
Philadelphia. Only two men can qualify for the U.S. Olympic team
that will compete in Nagano. Four-time U.S. and 1996 world
champion Todd Eldredge (left) has a toe-pick hold on the top
spot. Weiss, 21, figures to place second but won't be content to
do so. On his first jump in tonight's long program, he plans to
attempt a quadruple Lutz, something no other skater has
landed--even in practice. A fall could end his Olympic dream. "I
like to compare it to boxing," says Weiss, who estimates he
lands 10% of his quad Lutzes in a typical workout. "You've got
to knock the champion out." In the city that spawned Rocky,
that's a bold analogy. Like Balboa, Weiss can ill afford to land
on his rear.
ABC, 8 PM
All times Eastern. Schedules are subject to change.
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER [Brian Griese in game]
COLOR PHOTO: BOB CHILD/AP [Nykesha Sales in game]
COLOR PHOTO: ANDREW CUTRARO/AP [Todd Eldredge]
THE ! ZAPPER
It's time for View Year's Wishes--things we'd like to see or
hear in 1998: an ESPN NASCAR Ride-Along promo featuring
passenger O.J. Simpson; a college basketball announcer saying
that a coach is "doing a poor job and doesn't care squat about
academics"; more of ESPN's Rich Eisen; a bench-clearing brawl at
the Sports Humanitarian Bowl; three words: "Sideline reporter
Coolio"; Susan Lucci win an Espy; Fuzzy Zoeller on Politically
Incorrect; nice guy Chris Myers of Up Close say to a guest,
"That's bull! Now answer the question!"; and Marv Albert, A.J.
Foyt, Jim Harbaugh and Latrell Sprewell on a special "people
segment" of When Animals Attack.
