The Week In Tv Sports

Saturday 8/1

Brickyard 400
Gentlemen, start your billboards. Jerry Seinfeld once observed that because pro athletes switch franchises so often, fans are actually cheering for laundry. At last year's invasion of sponsor-splattered Winston Cup cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, folks were cheering not for laundry but for laundry detergent—specifically, winner Ricky Rudd (above), in the number 10 Tide Ford (roll, Tide!). Indy's low-banked turns (12 degrees) make passing chancy, yet the Brickyard 400 is among the most popular NASCAR races. Last year's 160-lap chase drew 330,000 prospective consumers.
?ABC, 1 PM

Steelers vs. Buccaneers Packers vs. Chiefs
"Are you ready for some...?" Hey, yo, it's been six months of nothing but the Frankfurt Galaxies and the Houston Thunderbears of the pigskin netherworld. Time to kick off! The question mark in the opener—the Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio—will be two-time Pro Bowl fullback Mike Alstott (right) of Tampa Bay, who's recovering from a sprained left hip. The nightcap, the American Bowl from Tokyo, pits 1997 league co- MVP Brett Favre against a Kansas City defense that, with newly acquired linemen Chester McGlockton and Leslie O'Neal, may be the NFL's best. An extra point possibly worth staying up late for: Each team expects to use one or both of the Japanese players from its practice squad for this game.
?ABC, 7 PM; ESPN, 10:15 PM

Sunday 8/2

Du Marnier Classic, Final Round
Say you, Se Ri, say it together, naturally! Say what? South Korea native Se Ri Pak has already won two majors this year (the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open) and could become the first woman to win three since Pat Bradley in 1986. The No. 1 player ($768,211) on the LPGA money list, Pak will be making her inaugural visit to the Essex course in Windsor, Ont., for the season's final major. In some ways Pak's stunning success 38th-parallels that of Tiger Woods. Both are Orlando residents of Asian descent. (Woods is part Thai.) Woods became the youngest champ of the Masters last year and Pak the youngest of the ladies' Open last month. However, Pak, 20, did not take up the game until she was 14; Woods, 22, was making trick shots on The Mike Douglas Show at age three.
? ESPN, 2 PM

MLS All-Star Game
The first two Major League Soccer All-Star fests featured an East-versus-West conference setup and midfielder Carlos Valderrama, currently of the Miami Fusion, as the MVP. This year's match, from Orlando's Florida Citrus Bowl, pits the U.S. (we're No. 32!) against the rest of the world, including Valderrama and D.C. United midfielder Marco Etcheverry of Colombia, and goalie Jorge Campos of Mexico and the Chicago Fire. At week's end Etcheverry topped MLS with 15 assists, three of them on tallies by U.S. All-Star Roy Lassiter, his D.C. teammate. Lassiter led the league in goals (15) and, maybe, being slighted: Coach Steve Sampson didn't pick him for the World Cup team, and the fans who voted did not select him as a starter in today's game.
?ABC, 2:30 PM

Friday 8/7

Comets vs. Shock
Detroit's front office claims that Shock is an automotive reference. Really. Then again, who among us wants to root for the Gas? The expansion franchise, 11-10 at week's end, has surprised, even shocked, the WNBA by finding itself in the thick of the playoff hunt two thirds of the way through its inaugural season. Sport-utility-vehicle-sized forward Cindy Brown, the team's best rebounder (9.6 average), is a made-in-the- U.S.A. model surrounded by spiffy imports such as leading scorer Korie Hlede (left) of Croatia (14.6 points average) and assists leader Sandy Brondello of Australia (3.9 average). Defending champion Houston (18-1), winner of 13 straight games, is on cruise control as it anticipates the playoffs. Guard Cynthia Cooper, the 1997 league MVP, was leading the WNBA in scoring (22.8). The first time these two teams met, in Houston on July 9, the Shock absorbed a 96-66 loss.
?LIFETIME, 8 PM

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.