Week Ahead
SUNDAY 2/3
Mavericks at Pistons
For Dirk Nowitzki (right), '08 has been great. The 7-footer has led the Mavs on a 9--2 run since New Year's Day and hasn't scored fewer than 20 points in a game since Dec. 27. The hot streak hasn't been enough to put Dallas on top of the Southwest Division, however. The Hornets, winners of eight straight through Sunday, led the Mavs by 1 1/2 games.
ABC 2:30 p.m.
Super Bowl XLII
There will be Something in the Air in Glendale, Ariz., where the Patriots and Giants will be Runnin' Down a Dream. New York, which opened as a 13 1/2-point underdog, promises it Won't Back Down and will hand undefeated New England its first Breakdown of the season. No matter the outcome, Even the Losers can enjoy the performance of halftime show headliners Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Fox 6 p.m.
MONDAY 2/4
Penguins at Devils
Sidney Crosby is out for at least a month with a right high ankle sprain, so what's a team to do without its captain? The Penguins can turn to another preternatural talent: 21-year-old center Evgeni Malkin (left), who has four goals in three games since Crosby was injured on Jan. 18. Malkin helped third-place Pittsburgh pick up three points in those games and stay close to New Jersey, which is second in the Atlantic Division.
Versus 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY 2/6
Generation Next: National Signing Day
CSTV's coverage of college football's meat market will feature two former coaches who know it well: Lloyd Carr (Michigan) and Ed Orgeron (Mississippi). There will be some drama. The best prospects rarely stay uncommitted through January, but this year's top three—QB Terrelle Pryor (Jeannette, Pa.), running back Darrell Scott (St. Bonaventure High in Ventura, Calif.) and receiver Julio Jones (Foley, Ala.)—are undecided.
CSTV 2 p.m.
Mexico vs. U.S.
Landon Donovan (left) scored his 35th career international goal against Sweden on Jan. 19, becoming the U.S.'s alltime leading scorer. Or is he? One of those goals may not count because it came in a disputed 2007 match against Denmark. While FIFA considers the matter, Donovan can pad his total in this friendly border war at Houston's Reliant Park.
ESPN2 9 p.m.
SI PICK OF THE WEEK
WEDNESDAY 2/6
Duke at North Carolina
The Tobacco Road rivalry has a long and heated past, but this year's drama promises to be as intense as any. The first meeting between the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels this season will also be the first time Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough (left) and Duke guard Gerald Henderson (right) share the court since Henderson broke Hansbrough's nose with a flagrant foul last March. As if these teams needed more reason to get physical with one another. In their last four meetings they have committed a combined 160 fouls.
ESPN 9 p.m.
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MATT SLOCUM/AP (NOWITZKI)
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PEYTON WILLIAMS/ICON SMI (HANSBROUGH)
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JIM BOUNDS/US PRESSWIRE (HANSBROUGH BLOODIED)
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TWIG/CAL SPORT MEDIA (HENDERSON)
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MICHAEL JANOSZ/ISIPHOTOS.COM (DONOVAN)
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JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES (MALKIN)