SI View The Week in TV Sports

DON'T MISS

Sunday 12/6

Stanford vs. Maryland
ABC 1 PM

Biblically speaking, there have been plenty of prophets. None,
however, parted the Red Sea (wasn't that Moses Malone?) or, for
that matter, were hailed by Dick Vitale as a PTPer. Maryland
small forward Laron Profit (right) has never been mentioned in
the Scriptures (for that, you've got to average more than 3.7
rebounds), but if his Terps, ranked No. 2 as of Monday, hope to
upend No. 5 Stanford at Washington, D.C.'s MCI Center, he'll
have to use one of the nation's best vertical leaps to part Red
Sea 1998--namely, the Cardinal frontcourt of 6'9" Mark Madsen,
6'7" Peter Sauer and 7'2" Tim Young. The winner becomes an early
favorite to reach the promised land of the Final Four.

HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday 12/5

UCLA at Miami
ESPN 2 PM

One is led by a blood-spewer with a thrasher bass guitar (Gene
Simmons), the other by a vomit-spewer who's thrown for 2,617
yards (Cade McNown). One has depended on the reemergence of a guy
named Peter (drummer Peter Criss), the other has depended on the
reemergence of a guy named Peter (junior defensive end Pete
Holland). But can we really equate Kiss's shocking revival to the
Bruins' recent surge? Only if UCLA, 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in the
Bowl Championship Series standings, can be the destroyer of 7-3
Miami. Ace Frehley versus Luke Campbell? Detroit Rock City versus
Me So Horny? No contest.

Kansas State vs. Texas A&M
ABC 4:30 pm

If Kansas State is to maintain its national championship
aspirations, its unpredictable, Tarkentonesque quarterback
Michael Bishop (3,150 total yards) must convincingly lead the
Wildcats, 11-0 but No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series
standings, past Texas A&M (10-2 and ranked No. 10) in the Big 12
title game at the TWA Dome in St. Louis. A stomping of the
Aggies, if coupled with a loss by either UCLA or Tennessee, in
the SEC championship game against Mississippi State (ABC, 8
p.m.), could still earn K-State a Fiesta Bowl berth.

Tuesday 12/8

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a
Champion
HBO 10 pm

It's one thing to hear that your boxing hero was rotten to his
wife and kids. It gets even worse when you see him--ugh!--tap
dancing like Vanilla Ice on speed. That's one of the lasting
images from this deft documentary whose dark shadows are vastly
more fascinating than its bright lights. How was Sugar Ray,
holder of six titles, as a father? "Horrible," says Ray Jr. As a
husband? "He [once] came in and nailed my mom with a
combination," Ray recalls. As for Robinson's one-year retirement
to enter show biz, Ron Smith, the older of the Sugarman's two
sons, says it best: "Dad was no Fred Astaire."

Thursday 12/10

Presidents Cup
ESPN 4 pm & 9:30 PM

Monica, the White House is on the phone. The President needs his
cup back. O.K., O.K., no more Lewinsky jokes. But what was Bill
Clinton doing when he tore a tendon in his right knee at Greg
Norman's house, anyway? And can Norman, playing in his native
Australia, lead a band of international pros over a U.S. squad
led by David Duval? Lots of questions (81, perhaps) plague the
U.S. following last year's Ryder Cup debacle, including, What
the hell happened? This could be quite a Tripp.

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN W. MCDONOUGH [Laron Profit dunking basketball]

THE RATING

15.8
Overnight rating for Fox's Cowboys-Vikings Thanksgiving game--8%
higher than that of its 1997 Turkey Day telecast
(Cowboys-Oilers).

THE ZAPPER

Wisely, Fox has decided to deglow the puck during its NHL
telecasts. The motivation is partly financial (a $50,000 per
game savings), and Fox is out of hockey after this season
anyway, but we wonder why it took three agonizing seasons to end
an experiment most viewers found valueless or worse. Here's a
guess: The glowing puck sucked, but the blue trail sent a
subliminal signal: You will watch Tampa Bay-San Jose.... You
will watch Tampa Bay-San Jose....

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. SOURCE: FOX
SPORTS