The Week Ahead
FRIDAY 8
College hockey, North Dakota at Maine CSTV 8 p.m. | The No. 3 Fighting Sioux are led by forward Brady Murray, who is coming off a 46-point season. Trying to stop him will be the No. 4 Black Bears' goalie, Jimmy Howard, who had an NCAA-record 1.19 GAA last year.
SATURDAY 9
Oklahoma vs. Texas ABC Noon | The Sooners did the shooting in last year's Red River Shootout, winning 65--13. World Cyber Games The penultimate day of the video Olympics (games include soccer and car racing) in San Francisco. On the line: $400,000.
SUNDAY 10
Lions at Falcons FOX 1 p.m. | QB Michael Vick has been ho-hum in the new West Coast offense, but the Falcons are still 4--0. When We Were Kings ESPN Classic 8 p.m. | The documentary about the '74 rumble between Ali and Foreman was No. 10 on SI's sports movie list.
MONDAY 11
Tennis Insiders: The Russian Revolution Tennis Channel 9 p.m. | Journalists and coaches discuss the take-ova of women's tennis by Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova and U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova. (And Anastasia Myskina, who won the French.)
TUESDAY 12
1992 NFC Championship: Cowboys at 49ers ESPN Classic 9 p.m. With the Bills awaiting the winner in Super Bowl XXVII, this one, for all intents and purposes, was for all the marbles. Troy Aikman (322 yards and two TDs) directed three long second-half drives.
WEDNESDAY 13
World Cup Qualifying, U.S. vs. Panama ESPN2 7:30 p.m. | Last month in Panama City the U.S. needed a late goal from Cobi Jones to salvage a tie against the No. 106 team in the world. A loss in D.C. would jeopardize the Yanks' chances of making it to Germany in 2006.
THURSDAY 14
Rockets vs. Kings ESPN2 7:30 p.m. | Yao Ming brings his Houston teammates to China for the first NBA games behind the Great Wall. Though Shanghai Stadium holds just 11,500, two Chinese TV networks will broadcast the preseason matchup to 314 million households.
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SCOTT GANDINI/UND (MURRAY)
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AP (ALI)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (AIKMAN)
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DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP (YAO)
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SIMON BRUTY (JONES)
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (SHARAPOVA)
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JEFFREY HADERTHAUER/ICON SMI (OKLAHOMA)