SI View The Week In TV Sports
Highlights
SATURDAY 4/21
NFL Draft
SATURDAY ESPN NOON, ESPN2 7 PM; SUNDAY ESPN 11 AM, ESPN2 1PM For
those whose football cravings haven't been sated by the XFL
(which plays its title game tonight on NBC at 8 p.m.), ESPN
brings you 17 hours of NFL draft coverage hosted by Chris Berman
and Mel (Don't Call Me Duane) Kiper Jr. Hybrid quarterback
Michael Vick (page 48) is expected to go first (to the Chargers),
but the rest of the first round is anybody's guess.
Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman
HBO 10 PM Zulu dancers, a lion cub and a limousine awaited on the
tarmac when heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis arrived in
Johannesburg on April 10. It was an entrance befitting Ali, but
the Thunder in Africa, as promoters are billing this bout, is no
Rumble in the Jungle. Baltimore native and heavy underdog Rahman
(nickname: the Rock) should go down quickly. The combatants will
have to cope with the altitude (5,748 feet) and a 5 a.m. start
time (to accommodate the U.S. TV audience). For the
ever-improving Lewis, the fight is a tune-up for a potential
showdown against a more Foreman-esque foe, Mike Tyson.
WEDNESDAY 4/25
Costa Rica at U.S.
ESPN2 7:30 PM Fans from 46 states have already bought tickets for
the red-hot red-white-and-blue's second home-turf World Cup
soccer qualifying match, at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.
After victories over Mexico and Honduras, the U.S. has the
maximum of six points, good for a two-point lead over Costa Rica,
second among the region's six teams. The Americans may also have
1994 Cup hero (and 2000 MLS MVP) Tony Meola back in the net if
keeper Kasey Keller doesn't get the start and Brad Friedel stays
in England to play for his club.
Don't Miss
SATURDAY 4/21
NBA Playoffs
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY NBC 12:30 PM, 3 PM, 5:30 PM; TNT 8:30 PM Tilt
back your La-Z-Boy, April Anarchy is here: two days, eight games
and nearly 21 hours of coverage that mark the NBA's best
approximation of the NCAA tournament's frenetic first weekend.
Watch the conference quarterfinals to see if Kevin Garnett
(above) and the upset-minded Timberwolves play like (Gonzaga)
Bulldogs, if the Lakers' Fab Three (Shaq, Kobe and Kobe's Ego)
can coexist successfully, and if Trail Blazers coach Mike
Dunleavy can fare as well as did Duke forward Mike Dunleavy. One
carryover from March Madness: NBC's Bill Walton is just as
hyperbolic as CBS's Bill Walton.
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
COLOR PHOTO: DAVID SHERMAN/NBA ENTERTAINMENT
THE ZAPPER
The webcast of the Kings-Mavericks game last Friday night on
nba.com was clearly aimed at computer owners in China who wanted
a glimpse of their country's recent export, 7'1" Dallas center
Wang Zhizhi. The show, which came off smoothly (though the video
couldn't quite keep up with point guards Steve Nash of Dallas and
Jason Williams of Sacramento), was available with Mandarin
play-by-play, included a halftime interview with Wang and put an
iso-camera on him as he warmed up. Alas, Wang never got into the
game.