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DON'T MISS

Saturday 8/14

Cubs at Cardinals
FOX 1 PM; SUNDAY WGN 2 PM

On his current tour Bruce Springsteen sings If I Should Fall
Behind ("If I should fall behind/Wait for me") each night during
his encore. Now that Mark McGwire (44 home runs through Sunday)
and Sammy Sosa (42) finally appear ready to do a reprise of last
season's dramatic homer chase, they should think about adopting
the Boss's song as their anthem. Since Sosa (right) wrested the
major league lead from Jose Canseco on June 28 with his 29th
home run, he and former Canseco Bash Bro McGwire had passed the
lead back and forth six times. Glory days, yeah, they'll pass
you by, but until Mac and Sammy get blinded by the light of
fans' flashbulbs, baby, they were born to home run.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday 8/15

PGA Championship
CBS 1:30 PM

Woods' stock '99: Tiger bolstered his portfolio last week by
defeating David Duval in their made-for-TV (isn't everything
today?) match. Woods earned $1.1 million for 17 holes of work,
prompting NBC Nightly News to launch a "Fleecing of America"
investigation. In today's final round from Medinah, Ill., Gen
X-ers Duval and Woods, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, respectively,
could get bummed out by the play of Senior tour stalwart Hale
Irwin, who won the U.S. Open on this course nine years ago.
"Never," you say. "Paul Lawrie," we respond.

Fists of Freedom: The Story of The '68 Summer Games
HBO 2:30 PM; WEDNESDAY 7 PM

They had just one pair of black gloves. That's why 200-meter
gold medalist Tommie Smith of the USA raised his right fist
while bronze medalist countryman John Carlos raised his left,
providing the enduring image of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Heroes? Villains? This, the latest in HBO's parade of
outstanding sports documentaries, includes interviews with
Smith; activist Harry Edwards, who advocated a black boycott of
the Games; and many others. The recurring theme: a
black-and-white issue that was anything but for those involved.

Tuesday 8/17

Bang the Drum Slowly
AMC 4 PM

There is crying in baseball. Robert DeNiro is Bruce Pearson, the
New York Mammoths catcher with Hodgkin's disease in this 1973
classic. Michael Moriarty is Henry Wiggen, the pitching ace who
guards his battery mate's secret so that he may have one last
year in the bigs. "I got a s--- deal," says Pearson, referring
to his diagnosis. Yes he did, but what is life except for one
extended hand of TEGWAR (The Exciting Game Without Any Rules)?
The final baseball scene --shot at Yankee Stadium, run in slow
motion and accompanied by Stephen Lawrence's poignant score--is
one of the more touching moments in sports filmdom.

Thursday 8/19

Seahawks at 49ers
ESPN 8:15 PM

Like the Bay Area's heretofore most celebrated orphan, Party of
Five's Bailey Salinger, Lawrence Phillips is a youthful study in
contrasts. Bailey--Bay to his siblings --is the clan's
cornerstone and its resident alcoholic. Phillips--Mud to more
than a few women and NFL coaches--beguiles with his power and
speed, then befuddles with his miscreant off-field activities.
San Francisco, which lost tailback Garrison Hearst to a
career-threatening ankle injury, hopes the former Ram, former
Dolphin Phillips will run as Hearst did a year ago (a
franchise-record 1,570 yards) but not run afoul of the law.

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. SOURCE:
NIELSEN SPORTS MARKETING SERVICE.

COLOR PHOTO: V.J. LOVERO

THE RATING

6.9

Rating for the made-for-prime-time Showdown at Sherwood, showing
up USA's ultrapopular WWF Raw and WWF War Zone by 65%.

THE ZAPPER

Like his UpClose predecessor Chris Myers, ESPN's Gary Miller
found himself interviewing an NFL rushing legend with an alleged
history of spousal abuse. As Myers did with O.J. Simpson, Miller
last Thursday broached the subject with Jim Brown and, like
Myers, backed down when the bully bared his fangs. Next time,
Disney might go for a bit of synergy by calling in an ABC star:
You wanna break some shoes, get Det. Andy Sipowicz to rake the
mopes over the coals.