The Week in Television
THE GUIDE
Saturday 2/2 ABC 3 PM
2002 NHL All-Star Game
Featuring more Olympians than a Bud Greenspan documentary, the
North Americans take on the World in L.A.
Sunday 2/3 Fox 6 PM
Super Bowl XXXVI
Who's got the Edge in the Super Bowl? Rock megaband U2, which
will play at halftime. With Kurt Warner (above) and the Rams
heavy favorites to defeat the Patriots, here's hoping that
someone is still watching by the time the band hits the stage.
Friday 2/8 NBC 8 PM
XIX Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies
A Winter Games record 375.5 hours of coverage kicks off tonight
as NBC welcomes the world to Salt Lake City.
SIZZLING & FIZZLING
Who Was Hot and Who Was Not
--For the bleary-eyed who stayed up late to watch ESPN's coverage
of the women's side of the Australian Open, Pam Shriver provided
her usual trenchant commentary and was superbly prepared as
always. She stands alongside Mary Carillo as the sport's best
analyst.
--Mixing comic relief (on Anthony Mason's free throw technique)
with insightful analysis, Tom Tolbert was outstanding in his
network debut as an analyst for NBC's coverage of the Bucks
versus the Knicks last Saturday.
--By miking players during the Senior Bowl, ESPN gave viewers
entertaining moments, including a hilarious rant by Florida's
Alex Brown--"He's got perfect form"--after he was all but mugged
by an offensive lineman.
--Did ESPN really need two hours on Sunday night to tell us that
Derek Jeter and Anna Kournikova are the world's most beautiful
athletes? Then again, any show featuring Kournikova extolling
inner beauty and supermodel Molly Sims quoting Walt Whitman
deserves its own time slot--on Comedy Central.
--The All-Madden Team used to be a novelty, but with Phil Simms'
All-Iron Team and Howie Long's Tough Guys joining the fray, the
broadcaster awards shows are becoming ubiquitous. Let's hope
Dennis Miller's Proustian Performers isn't on ABC next season.
--Super Bowl XXXVI marks the final telecast for the broadcasting
team of Pat Summerall and John Madden, a partnership that lasted
21 years.
ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
COLOR PHOTO: HEINZ KLUETMEIER
