SI View The Week in TV Sports
Highlights
SATURDAY 11/6
Breeders' Cup
NBC 1 PM Jim Gray: "I'm standing here with Pete Rose. Pete, are
you willing to admit that you bet on horses?" Rose: "Hell, yes,
I bet on horses. That dime I put down on Lemon Drop Kid at
Belmont paid for this hairdo. Today, among the 10 races during 4
1/2 hours of coverage here at Gulfstream Park, I like Behrens, a
3-1 favorite and Horse of the Year candidate, in the 1 1/4-mile
Classic, and Silverbulletday in the Distaff. See, that's just
it, Jim--I bet on fillies, not Phillies."
Notre Dame at Tennessee
ESPN 7:30 PM A recent NCAA survey on graduation rates among
football players put the Vols at 11% and the Irish at 87%. No
one, however, is using that report to say that Notre Dame's
players are smarter than Tennessee's. (Maybe the Irish tutors
are smarter.) Simple math: The defending national champion Vols
(6-1 and ranked fourth in the nation) have won 19 straight
November home games since Notre Dame beat them 34-29 on Nov. 10,
1990. This season's quarterback for the 5-3 Irish, Jarious
Jackson, is ninth in the nation in passing efficiency among
quarterbacks with at least 15 attempts per game.
MONDAY 11/8
Cowboys at Vikings
ABC 9 PM Flag football comes to the Metrodome as Dallas's Deion
Sanders, the NFL's best cover cornerback, lines up for the first
time against Minnesota wideout Randy Moss, who burned a
Sanders-less Cowboys secondary for three touchdowns last
Thanksgiving in a 46-36 win. (Defensive linemen must count to
five Mississippi.) Sideline reporter Lesley Visser, tackling her
first indoor MNF assignment this season, should still be in
mid-thaw from the previous Monday night, when she worked
outdoors at Lambeau Field during the Seahawks-Packers game.
FRIDAY 11/12
Jazz at Kings
TNT 8 PM Not since Dick Van Patten bellowed "Nicholas!" on Eight
Is Enough has Sacramento seen a happier brood--and not since
Bradford in-law Merle the Pearl was pitching for the local minor
league affiliate has California's capital boasted such
prime-time athletic talent. On the strength of last season's
most captivating playoff series (reprised here tonight) and the
star power of second-year point guard Jason (White Chocolate)
Williams, the once invisible Kings will appear on national TV 20
times this season. Sacramentans hope for a passel of postseason
dates as well. There's a plate of homemade wishes on the kitchen
window sill....
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN MCDONOUGH
Don't Miss
THURSDAY 11/11
Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
ESPN2 6:30 PM AND 9 PM (SEMIFINALS); FRIDAY ESPN 9 PM (FINAL)
Khalid, drop the chalupa! O.K., so maybe a backboard is not the
only drive-thru window Khalid El-Amin (above) frequents, but
UConn's 5'10", 200-plus-pound point guard has a biggie-size
game. The shortest player on the court for tonight's
season-opening college hoops doubleheader (Duke plays Stanford,
followed by UConn against Iowa), El-Amin is also the most
impressive. Rabid Huskies fans cannot wait to see Ajou Deng, the
6'11" forward from Sudan who sat out last season (when he was
not fully qualified academically) but singed the national
champions' starting five in scrimmages.
the zapper
Paul Azinger has won 11 times on the PGA Tour, but his finest
moment may have been his eulogy at last Friday's televised
memorial service for Payne Stewart. Azinger's oration was the
most memorable of the tributes that were grueling to watch
yet--like the breaking news of Stewart's fatal
crash--riveting.... Chris Fowler, on ESPN's College GameDay last
Saturday, noted that Florida State cornerback Tay Cody "was
suspended for marijuana possession" and that "the Seminole
secondary will take a hit." Sounded as if one member already
had.... The list of century-ending shows grows on Saturday with
The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players (CBS, 2 p.m.).