SI View The Week in TV Sports
DON'T MISS
Saturday 6/26
U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships
SATURDAY ESPN 8 PM; SUNDAY CBS 3 PM
Pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig is also an amateur herpetologist. The
American record holder indoors (19'6 1/4") and out (19'8 1/2"),
Hartwig holds two more, unofficial marks in his sport: 1) most
reptiles housed, with 74 snakes (none venomous), three giant
lizards--including a six-foot iguana--and two tortoises sharing
his Jonesboro, Ark., abode; and 2) most tolerant spouse (Karol).
Other cold-blooded competitors hoping to excel in Eugene, Ore.,
include the top U.S. female high jumper, the slithery Amy Acuff;
streaking Marion Jones (right), who'll compete in the women's
200 meters; and the newly minted fastest human, men's 100-meter
world-record holder Maurice Greene (page 58).
HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday 6/26
Women's World Cup
ESPN NOON AND 2:30 PM
ESPN2 5 PM AND 7:30 PM
While prognosticators foresee a Tom Petty-David Bowie finale
(American Girl versus China Girl), a Norwegian would beg to
differ. Norway, playing Japan in today's fourth match from
Chicago's Soldier Field, is the defending champion and the only
country that has a winning record (11-10-1) against the U.S. As
the Cup reaches the quarterfinal round this week, with 11
matches shown live by ESPN or ESPN2 on Sunday, Wednesday and
Thursday, it won't be a Scandalnavia if Norway, Sweden and/or
Denmark advance to the semis.
Cardinals at Diamondbacks
FX 10 PM
Like nearly all Phoenix residences, Bank One Ballpark has a
fenced-in yard, pool and patio but no basement. As if the
second-year Diamondbacks, who at week's end had the best home
record in the majors (24-10) and were leading the National
League West, have been anywhere near the cellar of late. Second
baseman Jay Bell, lefthander Randy Johnson, third baseman Matt
Williams and centerfielder Steve Finley have earned National
League Player of the Week awards (twice in Williams's case). St.
Louis slugger Mark McGwire hit four homers in eight games
against Arizona in 1998.
Monday 6/28
Power Play
UPN 9 PM
"I built my fortune on hard work and slag," says Duff McArdle
(played by Gordon Pinsent), crotchety owner of the fictional
Hamilton (Ont.) Steelheads, in the pilot of this smart weekly
hourlong hockey drama (with comedic elements) imported from
Canada. "Haven't got a single nose hair left--'cause of the slag,
I mean, not 'cause I been tweezin' 'em like some cakeboy." With
an uproarious quaffing anthem of a theme song and a wonderfully
conflicted lead character (a combination sports agent-Steelheads
general manager played by Michael Riley), Power Play, which began
its 13-episode run on June 14, skates with a swagger no cakeboy
could muster.
Wednesday 6/30
NBA Draft
TNT 7:30 PM
If this year's projected top picks were motor vehicles, then
Duke power forward Elton Brand would be a Range Rover, rugged
and durable; Maryland point guard Steve Francis would be a
Porsche, turbocharged and sporty; Rhode Island's Lamar Odom
would be Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, capable of morphing from point
guard to center; and Miami of Ohio forward Wally Szczerbiak
would be a Lamborghini, hot performer but rarely seen. What
every G.M. at the MCI Center tonight wonders is, Are any lemons?
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. SOURCE:
NIELSEN SPORTS MARKETING SERVICE.
COLOR PHOTO: PETER READ MILLER
THE RATING
7.9
Preliminary rating for NBC's telecast of the final round of the
U.S. Open on Sunday--18% above the number for the same round in
1998.
THE ZAPPER
Hey, you! Sitting behind home plate with the cell phone in your
hand. Waving at the camera. Asking the person on the other end
of the call, "Am I on TV?" Yes, you are, and you look like a
dork. Leave the calls to the umps, pal.... The X Games
(beginning Sunday, 9 p.m., on ESPN and continuing through July 5
on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2) shift to a new location, San Francisco,
and add a new sport, the self-explanatory Freestyle Moto-X.
(Once again, tetherball fails to make the cut.)