The Week Ahead
FRIDAY 8
Mets at Braves 7:30 p.m. | Centerfielders will be center stage when two of the NL's best--Andruw Jones and new Met Carlos Beltran--take the field. For the 13th year in a row the Braves will raise a division championship flag at their home opener.
SATURDAY 9
The Ultimate Fighter Spike TV 9 p.m. | A mismatch? The World's Most Dangerous Man, Ken Shamrock, takes on high school math teacher Rich Franklin. Frozen Four championship ESPN 7 p.m. | No East Coast bias here. All four finalists are from the WCHA.
SUNDAY 10
Philadelphia Soul at Colorado Crush NBC 1 p.m. | Rock vs. Jock III. Owner John Elway's Crush has beaten Jon Bon Jovi's Soul in their first two arena encounters. Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel HBO 8 p.m. | The show's 10th-anniversary special.
MONDAY 11
Yankees at Red Sox 3 p.m. | For the Red Sox the only thing sweeter than getting their rings before today's home opener will be having the Yankees look on from the visitors' dugout. Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC 12:05 a.m. | Kimmel favorite Karl Malone drops by.
TUESDAY 12
Fearless: Dave Mirra OLN 8 p.m. | Mirra burst onto the pro BMX scene at 18 but suffered a fractured skull and dislocated shoulder a year later when he was hit by a drunken driver. Though doctors said he would never ride again, Mirra has since won 18 X Games medals.
WEDNESDAY 13
Magic at Pistons 7:30 p.m. | Finally healthy, Grant Hill will play at the Palace for only the second time since being traded from Detroit in 2000. Super Bowl III ESPN Classic 7:30 p.m. | Joe Namath makes guarantee, leads Jets over Colts, legitimizes AFL.
THURSDAY 14
On this date | In 1910 William Howard Taft became the first president to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game, at the Washington Senators' home opener. Ninety-five years later President Bush will continue the tradition when the Nationals host the Diamondbacks.
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TOM DIPACE (BELTRAN)
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UFC (SHAMROCK)
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KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE.COM (BON JOVI
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STEVEN SENNE/AP (RED SOX FAN
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JASON MERRITT/WIREIMAGE.COM (MIRRA
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GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL/ABACA (HILL)
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NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY, COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (TAFT)