The Week In Tv Sports

DON'T MISS

Saturday 11/7
Breeders' Cup
?NBC 1 PM
The $4 million feature race from Churchill Downs, the Classic (post time: 5:05), boasts the most awesome—including Awesome Again, who's 5-0 in 1998—array of future studs since Cruise, Dillon and Swayze made The Outsiders. Among the 11 entries as of Monday were Skip Away (right), vying to become the Classic's first repeat winner, racing's alltime cash cow (a victory would give him $10 million in earnings) and Horse of the Year; 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm; the last two Belmont Stakes victors, Victory Gallop and Touch Gold; Travers Stakes champ Coronado's Quest; and Swain, Europe's top horse. Casual equine racing fans, take note: Ben Johnson and a Corvette aren't entered.

HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday 11/7
Penn State at Michigan
?ABC NOON
Keith Jackson, Hail to the Victors, JoePa, maize and blue, November chill and "heavy-legged backs runnin' behind them big uglies." Do we even need to keep score? Despite their 6-2 record, the Wolverines are undefeated in the Big Ten and hope to stay that way until their Nov. 21 showdown in Columbus. Michigan has a stick of dynamite in freshman rusher Justin Fargas. The Nittany Lions (6-1) counter with the nation's eighth-ranked rushing defense, led by Butkus Award candidates LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short.

Sunday 11/8
Bills at Jets
?CBS 4 PM
Flutie Flakes. How about Flute Loops? We haven't seen a bandwagon bulge this much since the arrival of Flutie & the Blowfish (sorry, it gets addictive). Then again, how can you not love Buffalo's boyish backup quarterback of 36 years and 70 inches? Since stepping in for injured Rob Johnson, Doug Flutie has guided Buffalo (5-3) to four straight victories while acting as a hug-therapy session partner for sackaholic defensive end Bruce Smith. New York (5-3), which has suffered serial losses—six in a row—to its Empire State brethren, will try to keep Flutie Flakes from becoming the Breakfast of AFC East Champions.

Wednesday 11/11
Coyotes at Stars
? ESPN2 8:30 PM
This season the NHL is keeping a "hits" statistic (four years too late for Shane Stant). At week's end Dallas (6-1-2) had the NHL's top hit men in defensemen Derian Hatcher (30) and Richard Matvichuk (28). The Star who has been the biggest hit thus far is Darryl Sydor, who was tied for the scoring lead among NHL defensemen with 11 points.

Friday 11/13
Connecticut vs. Duke
?LIFETIME 9 PM
There's no truth to the rumor that McDonald's new low-cal veggie burger will be called the McBeal. Also marching in the female I'm Not Too Thin parade: the Blue Devils' women's basketball team, which retains all five starters from 1997-98, and the Huskies, who lost crutch-...er, clutch-shooting Nykesha Sales but get back the '96-97 Big East women's rookie of the year, guard Shea Ralph, who missed last season. They have also added two freshmen, forward Tamika Williams, the 1998 national high school player of the year, and forward Swin Cash, who averaged 30.4 points and 16.9 rebounds during her senior prom season. Tonight's twin bill ( Arkansas meets Stanford at 11 p.m.) tips off from San Jose Arena, site of next spring's women's Final Four. Expect at least one of these teams to know its way back here come March.

ALL TIMES EASTERN, SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE SOURCE: NIELSEN SPORTS MARKETING SRRVICE