Week Ahead
THURSDAY 2/21
WGC Accenture Match Play Championship
Anthony Kim (left) caught two breaks last week—one good, one bad. When Brett Wetterich pulled out of this tournament, Kim, 22, one of the PGA Tour's hottest prospects, was added. He was then yanked when Ernie Els, who planned to skip, decided to play after all. Kim may not miss much. As the 64th seed he would have faced No. 1 Tiger Woods, who has never lost a first-round match in this event.
Thursday, Friday GOLF 2 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday NBC 2 p.m.
SATURDAY 2/23
Sultan Ibragimov vs. Wladimir Klitschko
IBF champ Klitschko's trainer, Emanuel Steward, is the Zelig of heavyweight unification bouts: He was in Lennox Lewis's corner for the last one, against Evander Holyfield in 1999. "Ibragimov is a much bigger threat to Wladimir than I thought Holyfield would be to Lennox Lewis," Steward says. Holyfield took Lewis to 12 rounds, so Ibragimov, the WBO titleholder, should be honored.
HBO 9:30 p.m.
SUNDAY 2/24
Jeep King of the Mountain
Shaun Palmer (right) takes extreme athleticism to, well, extremes. He has six X Games gold medals and has won events in motocross, car racing and skiing. Palmer, 39, will get top billing in this taped broadcast of an event in Squaw Valley, Calif., held earlier this month.
CBS 1 p.m.
Pistons at Suns
How much can Shaquille O'Neal (far right) help Phoenix? This game against the second-best team in the East will be a good test. In his one game against Detroit this season (with the Heat), Shaq had just nine points and seven boards.
ABC 2:30 p.m.
TUESDAY 2/26
Wild at Capitals
Washington has Alex Ovechkin (page 52) to thank for its rise from the Southeast division cellar to the top of the heap. The winger leads the NHL with 48 goals and is trying to become the earliest to 50 in a season since 1996, when Vancouver's Alexander Mogilny scored his 50th on Feb. 29.
Versus 7 p.m.
SI PICK OF THE WEEK
SATURDAY 2/23
No. 4 Tennessee at No. 1 Memphis
Two top five teams, a bitter in-state rivalry, a pair of high-profile coaches—what more could a college hoops fan want? Well, an undefeated season could also be on the line in Memphis. The Tigers are 25--0, and this is the toughest test left on their regular-season schedule. Tennessee's three unrelated Smiths—guards Ramar (above, number 12) and JaJuan (number 2) and forward Tyler (number 1)—run the SEC's top scoring offense (it averages 83.7 points), and the Vols' pressure defense could disrupt Memphis's dribble-drive attack (SI, Feb. 18).
ESPN 9 p.m.
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DAVID WALBERG (KIM)
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JIM BROWN/US PRESSWIRE (SMITHS)
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MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP (SHAQ)
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ERIC ASISTIN PHOTOGRAPHY (PALMER)