SI View The Week in TV Sports
DON'T MISS
Saturday 4/24
NHL Conference Quarterfinals
SATURDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, ESPN 7:30 PM;
SATURDAY, SUNDAY, TUESDAY-FRIDAY, ESPN2 7:30 PM; SUNDAY, FOX 2 PM
The hottest show on Broadway is a revival of Eugene O'Neill's
masterpiece The Iceman Cometh. Here is a tale of despairing
drunks who spend an evening inside a bar devoid of a big-screen
TV or ultimate nachos--what sports fans would call "surrealistic
drama." Far off Broadway, in polar precincts such as Ottawa and
Edmonton and in surreal Sunbelt climes such as Carolina and San
Jose, the icemen cometh, seeking Lord Stanley's Cup. The
defending champion Detroit Red Wings, with proven players such
as Steve Yzerman (right) and Sergei Fedorov in the cast, are a
good bet to give an encore victorious performance.
HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday 4/24
Southern Cal at Arizona State
FOX SPORTS NET 4 PM
If you're keeping score, have a pencil sharpener handy. Last
June the Trojans and the Sun Devils met in the College World
Series final, and USC won 21-14. This spring the hottest spot in
the desert has been Arizona State's bat rack. Paced by second
baseman Mark Ernster's .446 average, the Devils (32-12) led the
nation in both batting average (.370) and runs per game (12.2)
through last Friday. The defending champion Trojans were hitting
.311. Self-esteem therapists will be available on site for both
starting pitchers.
Saturday 4/24
The Sporting News 100 Greatest Baseball Players
NBC 4:30 PM
Until other magazines broadcast their own millennial programs
(e.g., Popular Mechanics' 100 Most Popular Mechanics), this
countdown will do. Bob Costas interviews the four living legends
who cracked the top 10, and no, Mark McGwire is not among them.
"He's much lower on the list than he should be," says Costas,
who hosts the 90-minute special from the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"But the list was compiled before the end of last season." TSN's
roster includes two non-Hall of Famers (Shoeless Joe Jackson and
Pete Rose) and excludes Sidd Finch.
Sunday 4/25
China at USA
ESPN2 4:30 PM
With the women's World Cup looming this summer, Mia Hamm's cup
runneth over (something folks used to say about Pamela Anderson
Lee's). The striking striker will be within striking distance of
the women's record for career goals in international play when
two of the world's top teams meet at Giants Stadium. At week's
end Hamm had 104 goals, leaving her three shy of the record held
by Italy's Elisabetta Vignotto. The U.S.-China rivalry, which
includes U.S. wins in the 1996 Olympics and 1998 Goodwill Games,
heated up last month in Portugal's Algarve Cup, where China won
2-1 in the title match.
Tuesday 4/27
Magic at Pacers
TNT 8 PM
Magic, David Blaine style: On April 12 Blaine emerged from a
transparent coffin after a week-long "buried alive" stunt in New
York City, where he mostly dozed and waved at gawkers. Magic,
Orlando style: The surprising NBA club has attracted fans this
year with hyperkinetic hustle. Through Sunday the Magic was tops
in turnovers forced per game (18) and had the best record
(28-12) in the Eastern Conference. If Indiana (26-14) is to
overtake Orlando in the race for postseason home-court
advantage, shooting guard Reggie Miller must display his magic
touch from the outside.
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
COLOR PHOTO: DAVID E. KLUTHO
REVENUES
10,000
Dollars bid for a dinner with Dick Vitale and his wife,
Lorraine, at a fund-raising auction for the Boys and Girls Club
of Sarasota, Fla.
THE ZAPPER
There's a Happy Days episode in which Potsie Webber writes in to
a show called You Wanted to See It and requests a human
sacrifice. This Thursday UPN presents its first World Wrestling
Federation event, WWF Smackdown! (8 p.m.), while on Fox (8 p.m.)
Robbie Knievel, still basking in the glow of last month's
successful motorcycle jump between two Las Vegas hotel rooftops,
attempts a 230-foot leap across Arizona's Grand Canyon West. Sit
on it, Nielsens!