SI View The Week in Television

the guide

Saturday 1/26 HBO 9:35 PM

Shane Mosley vs. Vernon Forrest
Sex in the City isn't the only HBO show in which New Yorkers get
it on. In what should be a terrific tussle, Mosley (38-0) takes
on Forrest (33-0) at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Friday 2/1 A&E 9 PM

Investigative Reports: Inside the World of High School Football
A tale of two teams--Stephenville in Texas and Thomas Jefferson
in L.A.--as they tackled the 2001 season.

Sunday 1/27 CBS (AFC) 12:30 PM; Fox (NFC) 4 PM

NFL Conference Championship Games
The Greatest Show on Turf bumps up a notch in St. Louis as the
high-scoring Rams take on the suddenly high-scoring Eagles,
after the Patriots and the Steelers kick grass in Pittsburgh.

sizzling & fizzling
Who Was Hot and Who Was Not

--Looking to branch out beyond the baseline, tennis analyst John
McEnroe hosted ABC's new game show, The Chair, to ratings
success on Jan. 15. It was seen by 12.4 million viewers and
finished second in its time slot.

--Puckheads, rejoice. NBC will provide live coverage of 30 of
the 32 Olympic men's hockey games, mostly on its cable channel
CNBC.

--In the waning moments of the tight Jazz-Spurs game on Jan. 17,
TNT analyst Danny Ainge presciently told viewers that Utah's
Scott Padgett would have difficulty boxing out Tim Duncan if San
Antonio missed the ensuing free throw. Immediately following
Ainge's comments, Duncan beat Padgett to the rebound.

--As perhaps the creepiest game-show host since Richard Dawson
sent Arnold Schwarzenegger on his way in The Running Man,
McEnroe ought to be sentenced to Fox's The Chamber.

--Though ace sideline reporter Jim Gray was in Chicago for
Michael Jordan's homecoming last Saturday against the Bulls,
NBC's postgame interview with MJ was conducted by Jordan's
longtime Boswell, Ahmad Rashad, who offered viewers his usual
fawning Q&A session with His Airness.

--Fox Sports Net's National Sports Report, which debuted in 1996
as a competitor to ESPN's SportsCenter, will disappear on Feb.
10. FSN says it will still offer sports updates at least twice
an hour between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO