Week Ahead

What to watch and watch for

THURSDAY 3/20
NCAA Tournament
It's March Madness—unless you're an employer, in which case it's Spring Slowness. Chicago-based consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., estimates that workers' watching the tournament and tracking brackets will result in $1.7 billion in lost productivity. NCAA.com isn't helping: It will stream every game for free—and offer a Boss Button to hide the site behind a spreadsheet if a certain someone walks by your cubicle.
CBS noon

SATURDAY 3/22
ISU World Championships
After two subpar finishes—sixth at the Grand Prix Final and seventh at the U.S. nationals—Kimmie Meissner (left) needed a change. She left her longtime coach, Pam Gregory, to train with Richard Callaghan. "It was a hard decision, but I feel like I made the right one," says Meissner, 18. Two years after winnng the world title, she can prove it in Gothenburg, Sweden.
ABC 3 p.m.

Celtics at Hornets
Four weeks remain in the NBA season, and there's no clear front-runner for MVP. Here's the case for guard Chris Paul (right): Through Sunday he led the league in steals (2.70 per game) and was second in assists (11.3) while averaging a team-high 21.3 points for the Hornets. His candidacy will get a boost if New Orleans can beat the best club in the East.
Check listings 8 p.m.

SUNDAY 3/23
U.S. Open of Snowboarding
Shaun White, the 2006 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist, figures to make the most of the last stop on the snowboarding tour, at Stratton Mountain, Vt. The Flying Tomato, 21, won the Open halfpipe in '07 and has earned medals in the slopestyle the last two years.
NBC 1:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 3/26
McDonald's High School All American Game
Freshman orientation starts early in Milwaukee for point guard Jrue Holiday and shooting guard Malcolm Lee, two of UCLA's top 2008 recruits. The soon to be classmates—Holiday is from North Hollywood, Calif., Lee is from Riverside, Calif.—will share the court with Arizona-bound guard Brandon Jennings of Oak Hill Academy and the as-yet-undecided Tyreke Evans, a guard out of Chester, Pa.
ESPN 9:30 p.m.

SI PICK OF THE WEEK

TUESDAY 3/25
Sharks at Coyotes
As of Sunday the Coyotes were five points shy of a playoff spot with 10 games to play, and five of their final six games will be against the Sharks, Stars or Ducks—three of the top five teams in the Western Conference. So their postseason chances are slim, right? Maybe not. Phoenix is 11--7 against those three teams this season, and it has Ilya Bryzgalov (above) in goal. Since being claimed off waivers from Anaheim in November, the Russian netminder is 13--2 against the rest of the Pacific Division.
Versus 10:30 p.m.

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MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES (MEISSNER)

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RICK SCUTERI/US PRESSWIRE (BRYZGALOV)

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GREG NELSON (PAUL)

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