SI View The Week in TV Sports
Saturday 8/8
Cubs at Cardinals
Greetings, fellow Powerball losers. The good news: Super-duper
model Linda Evangelista is freshly available (split from Kyle
MacLachlan), and your odds are no worse with her. Speaking of
Powerball, with each passing summer day the odds grow shorter
that St. Louis's Mark McGwire (45 homers at week's end) or
Chicago's Sammy Sosa (42) will either hammer number 62 or the
next reckless sportswriter who in their presence uses the phrase
"chasing Maris." Going into this weekend's series, the Cardinals
and Cubs had played each other four times, with Mac Daddy
(below, right) socking two homers to Sosa's one. However,
Slammin' Sammy (left) had gone 7 for 16 against Redbirds pitching.
FOX, 1 PM; SUNDAY, WGN, 2 PM
Galaxy at Fire
Clash and Burn. On July 29 the Los Angeles Galaxy (16-6 at
week's end) and the Chicago Fire (13-9), the top two teams in
the Western Conference of Major League Soccer, were shut out by
the middling Dallas Burn and San Jose Clash, respectively. That
defeat ran Los Angeles's losing streak to three games, despite
the best efforts of mono-monikered midfielder Welton (13 goals,
nine assists this season). For Chicago it was the fourth loss in
a row. Matchup to watch for: L.A. defender Danny Pena, tied for
the league lead in ejections (two), against Chicago midfielder
Roman Kosecki, the league's most fouled player (66 times).
ABC, 4 PM
Sunday 8/9
Haskell Invitational
In May trainer Shug McGaughey held Wood Memorial winner
Coronado's Quest out of the Kentucky Derby because of the colt's
unruly behavior in the paddock. Hey, Shug, that's why it's
called horsing around. A minor injury forced Quest (below) to
scratch from the Preakness, and McGaughey eschewed the Belmont,
where Real Quiet and Victory Gallop played out their Triple
Crown rivalry. While Real Quiet (injured stifle) will miss the
Haskell, Coronado's Quest and Victory Gallop will headline the
field of 3-year-olds for the 1 1/8-mile, $1 million gallop at
Monmouth Park. If Quest could speak he would invoke the words of
a singer raised a few furlongs from this track: "Tramps like us,
baby, we were born to run."
ESPN2, 5 PM
Monday 8/10
Sting at Comets
A brief history of the Charlotte Sting: British rock star
becomes WNBA franchise, releases hit single If You Love
Somebody, Set a Pick. Actually, the buzz around the league is
that Eastern Conference leader Charlotte (15-8 at week's end)
has the talent to challenge the defending WNBA champion and
Western Conference-leading Houston Comets (21-2). Charlotte's
5'11" forward Tracy Reid (right) was second among rookies in
scoring (14.3 points per game), and every little thing she does
is magic: She also was averaging 5.1 rebounds.
ESPN, 8 PM
Thursday 8/13
PGA Championship
The year's final major (concluding this weekend on CBS) has
become a father-son scramble. Two years ago Brent Geiberger
played the Sahalee Country Club course in Redmond, Wash., with
his father, Al, the 1966 PGA champion. Brent, aware that Sahalee
would be the site of the '98 PGA and that Al had a lifetime
exemption, made Al promise that if the son qualified, the father
would enter. At week's end Brent stood at 60 on the Tour money
list. Since the top 70 qualify for the PGA, the Geibergers are
the first father-son duo to enter this major and the most famous
such sporting tandem in the Seattle area since the Ken Griffeys.
TBS, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, 2:05 PM
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER [Sammy Sosa batting in game]
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO [Mark McGwire batting in game]
COLOR PHOTO: BILL FRAKES [Horse Coronado's Quest in race]
COLOR PHOTO: ELSA HASCH/ALLSPORT (REID) [Tracy Reid in game]
THE ! ZAPPER
Ask guys like us to cite two words that guarantee entertainment,
and we'll answer either "Food fight!" or "Shark Week." Beginning
Sunday and continuing the next seven nights at 9 p.m., Discovery
Channel will post a NO SWIMMING sign around such programs as
Great White: In Search of the Giants and Hammerheads: Nomads of
the Sea. Endorsalable programs, but why not give others in the
food chain equal time? May we suggest Monkey Mondays, Wildebeest
Wednesdays, Mite Night and our personal favorite, The Bunny Hour?
