SI View The Week in TV Sports

SATURDAY 9/19

Central Florida at Purdue

The marquee matchup today is Florida vs. Tennessee (8 p.m. on
CBS), but serious fans will pounce on this chance to see
multithreat quarterback Daunte Culpepper (right) play. On the
cover of the Central Florida media guide Culpepper is billed as
ORLANDO'S BIGGEST ATTRACTION. (Sure, now that Shaq plays for the
Lakers and Disney World has shut down Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.)
Culpepper, a 6'4", 240-pound senior who ran for 76 yards and
threw for 406 yards in a 48-0 win over Eastern Illinois last
Saturday, finished fourth in the nation in total offense last
season. The Boilermakers (1-1) must try to contain a player with
4.36 speed who can launch the ball 80 yards, a dual threat for
whom a 100-yard field is a small world, after all.
ESPN, NOON

Evander Holyfield vs. Vaughn Bean

Vying for, as Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Journal and
Constitution wrote, the home-food-court advantage, heavyweight
champion Evander Holyfield sparred six rounds during lunchtime at
the CNN Center atrium in Atlanta on Sept. 19. That promotional
stunt for this 12-round bout almost didn't come off because CNN
officials sought a waiver absolving them of liability in case of
injury...or indigestion. Holyfield (35-3), fighting before a
hometown Georgia Dome crowd, will probably need no protection,
legal or otherwise, against Vaughn Bean (31-1, far left), a
24-year-old Chicagoan who lost a decision to Michael Moorer last
year. He has won three bouts since against lesser pugs, thereby
becoming the IBF's top heavyweight challenger.
SHOWTIME, 10:10 PM

Mac and Sammy Watch

Get the assembly line working on that limited edition Sosa
Testarossa. At week's end McGwire was stuck on 62 while Sosa
stepped on the gas and tied him for the single-season mark. That
prompted Bud Selig to draw up contingency plans to have Big Mac's
son, Matt, airlifted in to witness Sosa's 70th homer. (That kid's
missing way too much school.) The Cubs can be seen today (4
p.m.), Sunday (2 p.m.), Tuesday (8 p.m.), Wednesday (2 p.m.) and
Friday (8 p.m.) on WGN; the Cardinals can be seen on Saturday
(8:05 p.m.) on FX.

SUNDAY 9/20

Steelers at Dolphins

Miami's new starting wide receiver is a 27-year-old rookie who
never played high school football, was until six weeks ago
playing for the Arena League Portland Forest Dragons, has hands
so big that gloves must be special-ordered (Isotoners, we assume)
and has caught one NFL pass, albeit for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Oronde Gadsden (Oronde is a West African word meaning "the
undrafted one") was made a starter by coach Jimmy Johnson after
his TD grab helped lift the Dolphins over the Colts in Week 1.
Gadsden provides a big lift for quarterback Dan Marino, whose
receiving corps--specifically Yatil Green and Charles Jordan--has
been depleted by injuries. Callow as he may be, Gadsden has
something Marino lacks: a Super Bowl ring, which he got as a
member of the Dallas Cowboys' 1995 practice squad.
CBS, 1 PM

USA vs. Brazil

Someday soon forward Mia Hamm (left), who has 99 goals in
international play, will break the alltime women's soccer scoring
record of 108 goals set by Italy's since retired Elisabetta
Vignotta. When Hamm does, will her postgame interviewer have the
temerity to ask for a McGwiresque hug? At week's end Hamm had
another goal in mind: erasing the memory of last December's 1-0
loss to the Brazilians. Today's final game of the Nike U.S.
Women's Cup brings together two of next year's 16 World Cup
squads.
ESPN2, 3 PM

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

COLOR PHOTO: HOLLY STEIN [Vaughn Bean boxing with opponent]

COLOR PHOTO: BRIAN BAHR/ALLSPORT [Daunte Culpepper in game]

COLOR PHOTO: SIMON BRUTY [Mia Hamm playing soccer]

THE ! ZAPPER

Ask any ESPN anchorman for his ultimate fantasy and he'd most
likely reply, "SportsCenter is based in New York, my female
coworkers are smokin' babes, and the 2 a.m. show's canceled."
That dream comes true on Sports Night (ABC, Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m.),
a half-hour dramedy about an upstart all-sports network. The
on-air tag-team duo of Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dan Rydell
(Josh Charles) could hold its own with Dan Patrick and Kenny
Mayne.... When will ESPN's NFL Countdown trim its studio roster
to the league's 53-man limit?