The Week Ahead WHAT TO WATCH AND WATCH FOR

FRIDAY 24

IN THEATERS TODAY: RADIO > Based on an SI piece, the movie
follows a high school football coach (Ed Harris) who mentors a
mentally challenged man (Cuba Gooding Jr.). * VITAL SCAN
DISCOVERY 10 PM > New series about survivors of near-death
injuries profiles former pro snowboarder Trevor Snowden who broke
his spine and was paralyzed in a botched jump at a competition in
'97.

SATURDAY 25

BREEDERS' CUP AT SANTA ANITA NBC 1 PM > Kentucky Derby and
Preakness winner Funny Cide, with Hall of Famer Julie Krone up,
chases a $4 million purse. * ROCK PAPER SCISSORS WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIPS > At Kool Haus nightclub in Toronto, 250 players
from around the globe put their hands together.

SUNDAY 26

COWBOYS (5-1) AT BUCS (3-3) FOX 1 PM > Jon Gruden holds a 1-0
lead over Bill Parcells. He also leads Parcells 1-0 in being
named to PEOPLE's 50 Most Beautiful list. * WOMEN'S SOCCER UNC
VS. VIRGINIA 2 PM > Top-ranked UNC (14-0) faces No. 2
Virginia (10-1-2), in ACC showdown. UNC sophomore Lindsay Tarpley
leads the ACC with 18 goals.

MONDAY 27

BALL FOUR ESPN CLASSIC NOON > The history of Jim Bouton's
once-shocking diary of the 1969 Yankees includes interviews with
baseball folk such as Nolan Ryan, George Steinbrenner and writers
Roger Angell and Dennis Tuttle, who says of the book, "It was
cussing. It had sex. Plus, it was baseball."

TUESDAY 28

SHAOLIN ULYSSES: KUNG FU MONKS IN AMERICA PBS 10 PM >
Documentary about fighting Buddhist monks of the Shaolin temple
in China who have come to Texas, Las Vegas and New York City "on
a trip of enlightenment" to teach martial arts and Buddhism. It's
loaded with cool kung fu moves by masters and their disciples.

WEDNESDAY 29

JEFF GORDON Racing Back to the Front--my memoir > NASCAR's
wonderboy is promoting an autobiography that drives wide around
details of marital mishaps ("Life is a very long race, one with a
lot of good runs, and a few bad ones") but yields in-depth
descriptions of races and strategies.

THURSDAY 30

CAVS AT SUNS TNT 10:30 PM > LeBron in the desert. * HAPPY
BIRTHDAY! > Charles Atlas (1893-1972). In 1928 he debuted a
mail-order bodybuilding course for 97-pound weaklings who get
sand kicked in their faces. (Clients included boxers Joe Louis
and Rocky Marciano.) His company still peddles the "dynamic
tension" technique.

COLOR PHOTO: HEINZ KLUETMEIER (KRONE)

COLOR PHOTO: IMAGES.COM/CORBIS (PAPERS AND SCISSORS)

COLOR PHOTO: BETTMANN/CORBIS (BOUTON)

COLOR PHOTO: KEREN SU/CORBIS (SHAOLIN MONK)

COLOR PHOTO: ATRIA BOOKS (JEFF GORDON BOOK)

COLOR PHOTOMONTAGE: BETTMANN/CORBIS (ATLAS)/MEL LEVINE (HAT)