Si View The Week in TV Sports

Saturday 7/25

U.S. Senior Open

It's official: The Golden Bear has entered his golden years.
Jack Nicklaus (above) sports a mere hint of gray hair, but he
has thrown in his lot with the sport's graybeards. By
withdrawing from the British Open two weeks ago, Nicklaus ended
a record string of 146 consecutive majors entered. But the
58-year-old grandfather of eight wasted no time entering the
last of the year's four Senior majors. "[The Senior Open] is
more important to me right now than competing in the British
Open," says Nicklaus, who has won the former tournament twice
(1991 and '93). The tour's leading money winner, Hale Irwin
($1,735,250), and leader in victories, Gil Morgan (four), will
also be on hand at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific
Palisades, Calif. Morgan has won two '98 majors (The Tradition
and the Ford Senior Players Championship), and Irwin took the
third (PGA Seniors).
NBC, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 4 PM

The Mike Tyson Story

Punk, prodigy. Challenger, champion. Puppet, pariah. Carnivore,
carnival act. Mike Tyson has played all those roles, as this
terrific, no-frills documentary reveals. Interviews with major
figures in Tyson's life such as Kevin Rooney and Jose Torres,
and with boxing observers such as Larry Merchant, depict a
walking paradox: the most vicious of predators, the most
sympathetic of victims. Home footage of Tyson at 16, taken
before an amateur fight, shows him weeping, afraid that if he
loses the bout, he will not be loved; a later interview has Iron
Mike, then the heavyweight champion, speaking of breaking an
opponent's eye socket as "a high." Says narrator Stu Daily,
"Mike Tyson is the very living epitome for every 'requiem of a
heavyweight' story ever told." Also this week: On HBO's Real
Sports (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), Armen Keteyian reports on junior
middleweight Tony Ayala Jr., imprisoned for the past 15 years on
a conviction for rape, burglary and making terroristic threats.
Ayala's tale of self-destruction dwarfs even Tyson's.
THE LEARNING CHANNEL, 10 PM

Sunday 7/26

CART US 500

The men driving CART wheels will perform cartwheels if Alex
Zanardi (opposite) decides to shift from their circuit to
Formula One. With wins in his last four races, the 31-year-old
Italian is even hotter than Se Ri Pak. The reigning CART series
champion, Zanardi has won six of 11 events this year and owns a
175-106 lead in the series standings over his Target/Chip
Ganassi Racing teammate Jimmy Vasser. Last year during this
event at Michigan Speedway, Zanardi mistakenly pulled his
Reynard Honda in for a pit stop in Vasser's area. The resulting
penalty dropped Zanardi from sixth place to 18th. Not only did
he recover to take the checkered flag, but he also won by an
eye-popping 31 seconds. Even though Zanardi's car is equipped
with rear-view mirrors, are there any rivals close enough for
him to see?
ABC, 1 PM

Cardinals at Rockies

How much would Mark McGwire's 62nd home run ball be worth to the
bleacher creature, bullpen flunky or, in the case of Coors
Field, passing motorist on I-25 who snares it? Charlie Sheen
might have to start acting again if he wants in on the bidding.
McGwire, who from the start of last season through Sunday had
bashed 100 homers, including 58 in '98, has all the elements in
his favor to climb closer to 62 tonight: high altitude;
vindication for his previous appearance at this ballpark (and on
this network), in the All-Star break's Home Run Derby; and the
Rockies' team ERA--a major-league-worst 5.24. Even Denverites,
who are accustomed to shielding their noggins against
baseball-sized hail, will hail Big Mac's pursuit of Roger Maris
(who, incidentally, had 40 homers by this date in '61).
ESPN, 8 PM

Tuesday 7/28

One on One: Jim Brown

If this were a Fox production, it might have been James Brown on
Jim Brown. Instead Dick Schaap, who first saw Brown excel at
Manhasset (N.Y.) High, is the interviewer in this two-part
interview. The hour covers lots of ground--Brown's gridiron
career, his foray into films, his image, his '60s activism and
his crusade to help ghetto youth. Number 32 (left) dodges
questions the way he once did tacklers, which is to say not at
all. Asked why he retired in his NFL prime, Brown says, "You're
going to have more money [in films], you're going to have Raquel
Welch, Jacqueline Bisset...and you're going to hobnob with the
Beatles and the Stones." That good enough for you?
ESPN CLASSIC SPORTS, TUES. AND THURS., 7:30 PM

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

COLOR PHOTO: BOB MARTIN [Jack Nicklaus grimacing on golf course]

COLOR PHOTO: PASCAL RONDEAU/ALLSPORT [Alex Zanardi driving CART race car]

COLOR PHOTO: NEIL LEIFER [Jim Brown running with ball in game]

THE ! ZAPPER

We're hooked on Saturday fishin' shows! We sit our bass down to
watch ESPN's The Bass Class (9 a.m.) and Inside Big Game Fishing
(9:30 a.m.), you bet. Or we flick that remote-control doohickey
over to TNN to watch The Bassmasters (12:30 p.m.). Y'all might
like them huntin' programs, too. How 'bout The World of Ducks
Unlimited (TNN, 10:30 a.m.)? We reckon that might just be the
best duck program on TV. Only one problem: Why are all these
shows on at the very time when we should be outdoors trackin'
game and catchin' fish?