On deck: the week ahead in sports

THIS I GOTTA SEE All times Eastern

SAT 15

The American Century Championship (4 p.m., NBC) also carries the no-more-hip title of Super Bowl of Celebrity Sports, but it does feature an A-list of stars and jocks (even Big Ben!) who will hit the links in Tahoe. Bode Miller will be there playing the 19th hole.

SUN 16

Self-promotion really isn't ESPN's thing, but for one night The Worldwide Leader goes Hollywood on us and rolls out The ESPYs (9 p.m.), sports' answer to the Oscars. Alas, Lance Armstrong is the host, not Jon Stewart.

* The United States plays Japan in the World Cup of Softball (1 p.m., ESPN). It may not be soccer's World Cup or even the World Baseball Classic. But considering the American performance in those events, all I have to say is, "Go, girls!"

TUE 18

Covering T.O. one-on-one is no fun--unless you land a sit-down interview as Bryant Gumbel did for Real Sports (10 p.m., HBO). The guess is Terrell will say something wacky--and Bill Parcells will wish he had stuck with basic cable.

* The opening bell rings for 16 welterweights fighting for a $500,000 purse in Season 2 of The Contender (10 p.m., ESPN). Like any good comeback/ sequel, this one features Sugar Ray Leonard (host) and Sly Stallone (exec producer).

WED 19

Football fix! Relive one of college football's fantastic finishes, as Colorado stuns Michigan (2 p.m., ESPN Classic) on a heave from pre-Slash Kordell Stewart to pre-bust Michael Westbrook.

THU 20

It's Round 1 of the British Open (7 a.m., TNT), and you can bet the focus will be on the mental state of Lefty--though we probably shouldn't worry too, too much about a gazillionaire who has a beautiful family and plays golf for a living.

* After the White Sox-Tigers three-game finale (1 p.m., ESPN), we'll have a little better grasp of who's the baddest in the A.L. Central. Or not.

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