SI View The Week in TV Sports

Highlights

SATURDAY 11/18

Miami at Syracuse
Florida at Florida State
ESPN 6:30 PM; ABC 8 PM The battle between the Seminoles and the
Hurricanes for second place in the Bowl Championship Series
standings--and a berth in the national title game--has been the
tightest, most confusing race contested in Florida since, well,
you know. Miami, which barely leads Florida State in the BCS
computations, has a much easier opponent today, but the
Seminoles have one advantage: By halftime of their game they
should know how the Hurricanes did, meaning they'll know how
much they'll have to win by if they want to impress the pollsters.

TUESDAY 11/21

PGA Grand Slam of Golf
TNT 8 PM In a perfect world Tiger Woods, who in 2000 became the
first man in 47 years to win three Grand Slam events, would be
the victor in this tournament and Ernie Els, who became the first
man to finish second in three consecutive majors, would be
runner-up. Alas, Els, citing a scheduling conflict, declined an
invitation to compete. Paul Azinger and Tom Lehman join Woods and
2000 Masters champion Vijay Singh in this made-for-TV event from
Kauai that concludes at the same time on Wednesday.

THURSDAY 11/23

Raptors at Pacers
TNT 8 PM This turkey-night tilt serves up plenty to be thankful
for. There's the presence of Pacers point guard Travis Best, an
emerging star, and the probable absence of obnoxious,
high-profile, visiting-team fans for Indiana shooting guard
Reggie Miller to jaw with. We won't be giving thanks for lame
wordplays combining stuffing and Vince Carter.

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Don't Miss

SUNDAY 11/19

Jets at Dolphins
CBS 4 PM It's going to be awfully hard for the Jets to surprise
the Dolphins and quarterback Jay Fiedler (above) today. When the
teams last met, on Oct. 23, Vinny Testaverde became the third
quarterback to throw four touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a
game, allowing New York to overcome a 23-point deficit and win
40-37 in overtime. Three of the touchdowns were caught by
players who had never scored, including 305-pound tackle Jumbo
Elliott. Having spent their arsenal of secret weapons, the Jets
probably will rely more on conventional threats, such as running
back Curtis Martin, as they look to get back into the race for
the AFC East top spot.

COLOR PHOTO: DAMIAN STROHMEYER

THE ZAPPER

Nothing follows a hearty meal like a long nap, so there's no
excuse for not being well-rested for Thursday night's
opening-round Great Alaska Shootout game between DePaul and
Syracuse (ESPN, midnight).... The best blows during last
Saturday's Lennox Lewis-David Tua pay-per-view bout (page 48)
came verbally from George Foreman, who got sick of fellow
commentators Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant making excuses for
Tua late in the fight after having touted him early. "Don't be
afraid to eat crow," Foreman admonished. (But cook it first on a
Lean, Mean Grilling Machine--right, champ?)