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Week Ahead

What to watch and watch for

THURSDAY 5/22
Pistons at Celtics
All you need to know about an NBA playoff game this year is who's hosting—that's who's winning. Of the five teams left through Sunday, only Detroit had lost at home in the postseason. The Pistons were 3--2 on the road, which is where they'll be for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight, thanks to guard Richard Hamilton (right), who is averaging 24.2 points away from Detroit.
ESPN 8:30 p.m.

SATURDAY 5/24
NCAA Lacrosse Men's Semifinals
When the Blue Devils (from Duke) and the Blue Jays (Johns Hopkins) meet, it's usually Duke that's left singing the blues: Johns Hopkins beat the Devils in the 2005 and '07 national title games. The top-ranked Devils, led by senior attackman Matt Danowski (left), are trying to win their first NCAA title. Virginia and Syracuse meet in the other semi. ESPN2 Saturday noon (semifinals);
ESPN Monday 1 p.m. (final)

SUNDAY 5/25
Collegiate Nationals
Once the only thing college-aged competitive eaters could win was dorm wagers. That's changing: An eating contest has been added to the Collegiate Nationals, a hodgepodge of offbeat events sponsored by CSTV. Among the contests are Ultimate, beach volleyball and flowboarding, a kind of surfing on a man-made wave.
CBS 2 p.m.

TUESDAY 5/27
Dodgers at Cubs
After a sluggish start—he batted .164 in his first 14 games and was booed by the fans at Wrigley Field—Chicago's Alfonso Soriano has changed the mood since returning on May 1 from a right-calf strain. Soriano is hitting .397 this month and got the once Unfriendly Confines cheering with back-to-back two-homer games last week.
ESPN 7 p.m.

SI PICK OF THE WEEK

SUNDAY 5/25
Indianapolis 500
With the unification of the two major open-wheel racing series—the Indy Racing League absorbed Champ Car in February (SI, May 12)—the 92nd running of the 500 will feature the deepest field in recent Indy history. (The reigning champion will be missing, however; 2007 winner Dario Franchitti is now in NASCAR.) All eyes will be on Danica Patrick, who will start fifth, but initially she and the rest of the field will be chasing pole sitter Scott Dixon (above), the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, who's looking for his first win at the Brickyard.
ABC 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 5/28
U.S. vs. England
Team USA visits Old Blighty for the first time in 14 years for a friendly before World Cup qualifying begins next month. L.A. Galaxy fans have someone to support on both sides. MLS teammates Landon Donovan and David Beckham (left) will oppose each other for the first time since England's Beckham joined L.A. last summer.
ESPN Classic 3 p.m.

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GAVIN LAWRENCE/GETTY IMAGES (CAR)

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GAVIN LAWRENCE/GETTY IMAGES (DIXON)

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ROBERT MORA/MLS/GETTY IMAGES (BECKHAM)

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ROBERT MORA/MLS/GETTY IMAGES (DONOVAN)

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PEYTON WILLIAMS/ICON SMI (DANOWSKI)

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DOUG BENC/GETTY IMAGES (HAMILTON)