SI View The Week in Television

don't miss

Sunday 4/14 CBS 2:30 PM
The Masters, Final Round
Last year Tiger Woods shot a four-under 68 on Sunday to take the
tournament and become the fastest to six majors wins.

Monday 4/15 ESPN2 11:55 AM
Boston Marathon
If you think being a Red Sox fan is heartbreak, check out the
runners as they tackle that hill in Newton.

Wednesday 4/17 ESPN 7 PM;
ESPN2 7:30PM, 10:30 PM
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The battle for supremacy begins with the Red Wings and the
Avalanche (above) as the favorites to sip from the Cup.

Wednesday 4/17 ESPN2 2:30 PM
U.S. at Ireland
It's nail-biting time for American soccer players, as coach Bruce
Arena will submit his World Cup roster after this friendly in
Dublin.

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

sizzling & fizzling

Murray Brothers Hit the Links for Yuks and Zingers

The concept seems like a gimme. Put Bill Murray and three of his
brothers on a swanky golf course, add cameras and alcohol and let
the hilarity begin. That's the premise of The Sweet Spot, a
half-hour, five-episode series airing on Tuesday nights in April
on Comedy Central.

Indeed, golf can be a funny game. The Sweet Spot, unfortunately,
is only intermittently amusing. Bill and actor-brothers Brian
Doyle-Murray, Joel Murray and John Murray visit a different
course in each episode to play 18 holes, with the winner each
week receiving The Braggart's Cup. The result is a mishmash of
golf, put-downs, comedy sketches and fake highlight sequences.
The third episode, which airs this Tuesday, ends with a
two-minute scene at Murray Bros. Caddyshack Restaurant in St.
Augustine, Fla., that careens into infomercial. Some things in
the series are just strange, including the bikini-clad dancing
girls bearing body-painted slogans, such as be the ball, that
serve as non sequitur segues a la Austin Powers. One wonders
whether the Murrays have gotten into that blend of Kentucky
bluegrass, featherbed bent and Northern California sensemilia
that Carl the greenkeeper cooked up in Caddyshack.

There are some funny moments in the series, such as when
Doyle-Murray addresses a female executive charging onto the
green: "Lady, what's with the heels? What is this, the Ryder
Cup?" One wishes Comedy Central had simply followed the brothers
for a round and edited the series to its finest insults. If
editing can make the mopes on Survivor seem remotely interesting,
surely it would work to better effect with the Murrays.

For real invective it's hard to beat the zingers that Johnny
Miller hurls on NBC. During last week's BellSouth Classic, while
third-place finisher Phil Mickelson fired at the pins, Miller
took his shots at Mickelson and the rest of the field. "This new
generation of golfers," Miller moaned late in Sunday's final
round, "they don't talk frankly about their mess-ups, their
misclubs, their mental errors, their yips. It's all Pollyanna
City." Hey, Johnny, if they beat themselves up, what would be
left for you to do?

COLOR PHOTO: LOU CAPOZZOLA

COLOR PHOTO: DANIEL LONGMIRE The Murray Brothers: John, Bill, Brian and Joel