Week Ahead
THURSDAY 12/13
High school basketball: No. 3 Oak Hill vs. No. 7 St. Benedict's
Louisville-bound big man Samardo Samuels is averaging 14 points for St. Benedict's (Newark), while Oak Hill (Va.) relies on its outside game: Arizona-bound point guard Brandon Jennings (right) is putting up 17 points per game.
ESPN 9 p.m.
FRIDAY 12/14
Framed
This clever new series asks entertainers to make short films about sports stars. Among the pairings, actress Paz Vega (Spanglish) travels to Thierry Henry's new Barcelona home; Regina King (Ray) tries to handle an uncooperative Vince Young; and rapper Nelly tackles the root of Allen Iverson's scrappiness. A three-minute short might not be able to contain that topic.
IFC 10:35 p.m.
SUNDAY 12/16
Bills at Browns
Buffalo's wild-card aspirations got a boost when Marshawn Lynch (left) returned last week. The rookie running back sprained his left ankle against Miami on Nov. 11 and missed three games—and the Bills lost two of them. He had 107 yards in Sunday's rematch win against Miami, which kept Buffalo a game behind Cleveland in the AFC wild card race.
CBS 1 p.m.
TUESDAY 12/18
Senators at Bruins
After starting the season on an almost magical run (16-3-0), Ottawa hit a wall, going seven games without a win—the team's longest skid in more than 10 years. The losses prompted coach John Paddock to pull goalie Martin Gerber in favor of Ray Emery (below), whose recovery from off-season wrist surgery has taken longer than expected. Emery has won his last two starts, including a 4--2 victory at Dallas last Friday.
Versus 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY 12/19
Suns at Mavericks
Expect fireworks. The teams split their season series last year, when in four matchups they averaged nearly 230 combined points. This year—behind Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, who are both averaging double doubles—Phoenix has the NBA's most potent offense (110.5 points per game).
ESPN 9:30 p.m.
SI PICK OF THE WEEK
THURSDAY 12/13
Target World Challenge
Back from the longest vacation of his career—10 weeks, during which he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame (above)—Tiger Woods will play host to 15 of the world's top players. The field at the ninth annual event, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, includes Masters champ Zach Johnson and British Open winner Padraig Harrington. When it comes to wins, Woods is the host with the most. He's taken his own tournament three times.
Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, NBC 3 p.m.
PHOTO
JOHN MEDINA/WIREIMAGE.COM (WOODS)
PHOTO
LOU CAPOZZOLA (EMERY)
PHOTO
RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES (LYNCH)
PHOTO
GEOFF BURKE/USPRESSWIRE (JENNINGS)