Week Ahead

What to watch and watch for

THURSDAY 3/6
Dodgers at Red Sox
Joe Torre (right) switched leagues and coasts, but he still can't get away from the Sox. The Dodgers' new skipper faced Boston 212 times in his 12 seasons managing New York (he went 115--97), and he'll see them five times this month. Then he can finally bid them adieu for a spell—L.A. and Boston don't meet in interleague play this year.
ESPN 1 p.m.

PODS Championship
With Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson expected to skip the Tampa event, everybody else is rushing to the tees at Innisbrook. Ernie Els, David Toms, Stewart Cink and Geoff Ogilvy have all committed to the tournament.
Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel 3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, NBC 3 p.m.

Rockets at Mavericks
Dallas got a boost in the tighter-than-a-wetsuit Southwest Division race by acquiring point guard Jason Kidd last month, while Houston suffered a massive blow last week when center Yao Ming was lost for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. The Rockets must lean on creaky 16-year veteran Dikembe Mutombo, who hasn't averaged double digits in points or rebounds since 2001--02.
TNT 9:30 p.m.

SUNDAY 3/9
Penguins at Capitals
Pittsburgh added some firepower by picking up Marian Hossa (left), who had scored 26 goals for Atlanta, at last week's trade deadline—then promptly lost him when he sprained his MCL in his debut. (He's expected to miss about a week.) The news isn't all bad for Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby, who went down with a high-ankle sprain six weeks ago, is due back any day.
NBC 12:30 p.m.

MONDAY 3/10
NetJets Showdown
Between them, Pete Sampras (near left) and Roger Federer (far left) have won 117 titles, including 26 grand slam events. Of course, Sampras did most of his damage in the 1990s, but he's hardly past his prime. The 36-year-old retiree knocked off the 26-year-old Federer last year in the third of their three exhibition matches in Asia. This time around the venue will be Madison Square Garden, which is hosting its first tennis match since 2000 and where Federer has never played.
Tennis Channel 7:30 p.m.

SI PICK OF THE WEEK

SATURDAY 3/8
Louisville at Georgetown
Just a hunch: Rick Pitino will be wearing a dark suit. When the teams last met, on Feb. 9, the Cardinals' coach broke out a white suit—and Louisville went into halftime trailing 31--23. His Colonel Sanders getup drenched with sweat, Pitino switched to a more conventional black number at the half, and the Cards outscored the Hoyas 36--20 the rest of the way to pick up the win. (Another factor was a stifling D that held Georgetown without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch.) The winner of this rematch takes the Big East regular-season title.
CBS noon

TWO PHOTOS

JOHN SOMMERS II/ICON SMI (PITINO)

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VINCENT THIAN/AP (SAMPRAS AND FEDERER)

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BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (HOSSA)

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CLIFF WELCH/ICON SMI (TORRE)