The Week In Tv Sports

Highlights

SATURDAY 6/10

?French Open Women's Final
NBC 3 PM (TAPE DELAY); MEN'S FINAL, SUNDAY 9 AM (LIVE)
Hey, Venus Williams, while in Paris you should meet Venus de Milo. Besides having a first name in common, you both possess statuesque physiques. Despite severe limb-itations, the marble Venus attracts many an admirer at the Louvre. Can Williams (who on Sunday advanced to the quarterfinals) garner gawkers of her own by winning her first Grand Slam singles title, one week before her 20th birthday? NBC commits a fault by not airing the women's match live and giving the live Venus, should she be a finalist, the chance to be a morning star.

? Belmont Stakes
ABC 4:30 PM
The bad news: Preakness winner Red Bullet will bypass the third leg of the Triple Crown, as will Derby dandy Fusaichi Pegasus. The latter injured himself in his stable. How, you ask? Horseplay. The good news: The Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York and political opportunist Rick Lazio is running—as a dark horse. The likely favorite in today's depleted bridle party will be Derby runner-up Aptitude.

?Red Sox at Braves
FX 7 PM; TBS 7:05 PM
The Steely Dan tune Hey, Nineteen is 20 years old, or one year older than Atlanta shortstop Rafael Furcal. The youngest player in the majors and the first big leaguer born in the 1980s, Furcal has impressed his elders with his arm (two Braves insist that his throws to first attain a sizzling 93 mph), his bat (.303 through Sunday) and his baserunning (11 steals in 14 attempts). Having added the fleet Furcal, Atlanta (36-19), baseball's best club, appears to be far from reeling in the years of its National League dynasty.

MONDAY 6/12
?Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
HBO 10 PM
Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.) has introduced a bill that would outlaw gambling on intercollegiate athletics. Please, stop laughing. Asked by Real Sports correspondent Larry Merchant whether betting on 19-and 20-year-olds is ethical, Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman wagers the opinion, "I'd bet on a cockroach and not have any compunction against it." Also, correspondent Armen Keteyian profiles Spencer Haywood, progenitor of the NBA's early entrant rule. As the segment poignantly shows, Haywood's pathbreaking 1971 decision to enter pro ball with two years of college eligibility remaining is unknown to most of today's stars, many of whom benefit handsomely from his precedent.

Don't Miss

SUNDAY 6/11

? NBA Finals: Lakers at Pacers
NBC 7:30 PM; WEDNESDAY AND (IF NECESSARY) FRIDAY 9 PM
Back home in Indiana, as the Pacers are for tonight's Game 3. Indiana guard Reggie Miller (above), a native Southern Californian and UCLA alumnus, is at home in both of this series' venues. Playing in his first Finals, Miller, a 13-year NBA veteran and five-time All-Star, has earned the right to bask in the spotlight. Should the Lakers win the title on the road, it would mark the second time in three months that a major basketball championship concluded in Indianapolis and the losing side's go-to player was named Miller. (The other: Mike, Florida, vanquished in the NCAA final by Michigan State.)

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.