Si View The Week in TV Sports
DON'T MISS
Tuesday 3/2
Knicks at Heat
--TNT 8 PM
Is that Brian Dennehy or Patrick Ewing portraying Willy Loman in
the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman? As an aging,
hulking patriarch of a disappointing brood of Biffs and Happys,
Ewing, 36, was keeping the Knicks family together at week's end
by averaging 16.3 points and a team-high 9.3 rebounds. These
Atlantic Division rivals have a history of great theater,
whether the Heat's P.J. Brown is dwarf-tossing Knicks guard
Charlie Ward or New York coach Jeff Van Gundy is latching on to
Heat center Alonzo Mourning's tibia. Mourning (right, battling
Ewing) and the Heat are off to an impressive start despite the
injury-induced absences of starters Voshon Lenard and Jamal
Mashburn.
HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday 2/27
U.S. Indoor Track & Field Championships
--NBC 5 PM
Potential race of the evening: sideline reporter Jim Gray, 38,
chasing after middle-distance runner Johnny Gray, also 38, after
the latter runs the 800. Johnny, a bronze medalist in the 1992
Olympics and the American record holder at this distance,
outdoors (1:42.60) and in (1:45.00), showed no signs of aging in
winning the 800 at the Millrose Games three weeks ago. On the
field portion of the menu, Melissa Mueller, who set the American
mark in the women's pole vault (14'8 3/4") at the Millrose, may
just raise the roof of the Georgia Dome.
Arizona at Stanford
--FX 10:30 PM
Let's pay less attention to swing dancing, Jesse Ventura and the
Y2K problem and more to Arizona basketball star Jason Terry.
Through Sunday the hep-Cat senior guard, a sixth man until this
season, led the Pac-10 in points (22.0 average) and assists
(5.6) and had helped Arizona to a No. 8 ranking. Terry's
twisting shot with 3.4 seconds remaining provided the winning
margin in the Wildcats' 78-76 defeat of the No. 7 Cardinal
(22-5) in Tucson last month. Tonight's winner takes the Pac-10
crown and in the NCAA tournament will probably be seeded
ghlkuyt.... All right, maybe we should pay attention to Y2K.
Sunday 2/28
Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship
--ABC 2 PM
Thinking outside the box, the PGA Tour invited the world's 64
top-ranked golfers for a six-day, match play championship in
Carlsbad, Calif. The value proposition for today's 36-hole
championship between the two remaining players: a $1 million
purse. Duel that would add leverage: Tiger Woods against Tour
money leader David Duval. Then again, the single-elimination
format may give us four hours of Shigeki Maruyama and Frankie
Minoza.
SEC Women's Tournament Final
--ESPN2 5 PM
Can a pair beat three of a kind? The likely conference finale
from Chattanooga would pit Georgia (21-5 through Sunday), led by
the backcourt of identical twins Coco and Kelly Miller, against
top-ranked Tennessee (25-2) and the three Meeks: two-time player
of the year Chamique Holdsclaw and sophomores Tamika Catchings
and Semeka Randall. While Holdsclaw is the conference's leading
scorer (22.9-point average), the Millers have combined for 37.5
a game.
COLOR PHOTO: MANNY MILLAN
THE RATING
9.6
Smash rating for CBS's Daytona 500 telecast on Feb. 14--the
event's best mark in five years. The final round of the Buick
Invitational (won by Tiger Woods), which followed the race, got
a 6.3, making it 1999's highest-rated golf tournament to date.
THE ZAPPER
Auburn's men's basketball team was ranked No. 2 at week's end
and Michigan State was No. 3. Each boasts a dazzling star: Chris
Porter and Mateen Cleaves, respectively. So why were the Tigers
scheduled for only one national TV appearance this season, while
the Spartans were slated for 12? A similar technical foul is
being committed in the NBA, where the upstart Kings, with rookie
sensation Jason Williams, aren't on the bill for any of NBC's,
TBS's or TNT's 89 games.
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. SOURCE:
NIELSEN SPORTS MARKETING SERVICE
