To know list: 6 cheers for all the Olympic sailors, canoers and kayakers!

(1) SEPTEMBER 2004

All times Eastern

WED 1

You can pull the cottonballs out of your ears--the mind-numbing baseball trade talk Is, thank heavens, over. Blissful, isn't it?

* The Yankees are the least of Boston's problems. The Sox are in Game 2 of a hellish nine-game wild-card gauntlet against the Angels, Rangers and A's.

SUN 5

Many large, angry men will be unloosed on civilized society as NFL teams make their final roster cuts from 65 players to 53.

MON 6

Are you ready for some football?! A Monday night party! A whole bunch of your rowdy friends will be at the Orange Bowl for Miami vs. Florida State (8 p.m., ABC). Will Bobby Bowden's 'Noles halt their losing streak to the Canes at five? Will anybody be able to halt the pregame brawl?

THU 9

Colts at Pablats (9 p.m., ABC). Manning's arm. Brady's charm. You couldn't ask for a better regular-season opener. And it wouldn't matter if you did because the NFL is a juggernaut that stops for no one.

SAT 11

You won't believe this, but Sorona Williams is 11th in the WTA Tour rankings, with no fewer than five Russian players ahead of her. Will an American reach the U.S. Open women's final (8 p.m., CBS)? Probably, but she might be named Davenport or Capriati.

* Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (7 p.m., TNT). They'll race to the finish--and then the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup will be on. Well, as soon as NASCAR's math whizzes choke down one last Winston and get to figuring out the points standings.

SUN 12

U.S. Open men's final (4 p.m., CBS). We won't get Sampras-Agassi. But, hey, impossible-to-return serves are always a riot!

MON 13

Don't you dare ask anymore if the Rangers are for real. But after 14 games in 18 days--starting today in Oakland--against the A's and Angels, will Texas be toast?

TUE 14

Every hoser and his brother knows tonight is the championship game of the World Cup of Hockey (7 p.m., ESPN2). Care to bet a Loonie that Canada comes out on top?

WED 15

How we'll all pine for September 14--the salad days of hockey--on this ugly drop-dead day for the NHL. If the collective bargaining agreement is allowed to expire, the resulting lockout will stick fans with barnstorming big-leaguers and other lower forms of puck life. Or have you always loved the Quad City Mallards?

FRI 17

On the first of three days of Ryder Cup action (Friday on the USA Network; Saturday and Sunday on NBC), you'll be inundated with such hoity-toity sounding phrases as "all square," "dormie" and "fourball." Don't let it spoil the fun--the Ryder rocks.

SAT 18

LSU at Auburn (3:30 p.m., CBS). How will the defending BCS champs handle their first big test? Is Aubie--our misguided pick for No. 1 a year ago--still comatose?

MON 20

Vikings at Eagles (9 p.m., ABC). Take a T.O. and ask yourself: Is Terrell Owens as good as Randy Moss? Not that tough a call. So why has Owens become the most talked-about wideout in the game? That's what Moss would like to know.

SAT 25

College football has been missing something all these years. Law-abiding citizens? A national playoff? Come on, nobody cares about that stuff. Instant replay will be all over the dial, brought to you by the Big Ten.

MON 27

Cowboys at Redskins (9 p.m., ABC). Even if Vinny Testaverde still is walking by Week 3, he'll be Ray Liotta to Joe Gibbs' and Bill Parcells' DeNiro and Pesci. The only question: Which old coach in this ageless rivalry is Bobby D?--Steve Greenberg

(2) PRIME TIME BRISTOL

Oh, what a night

If you watch only one Nextel Cup race the rest of the year, watch the Sharpie 500 Saturday night. The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's biggest race, but the night race at Bristol--which will be on TNT but ought to be on NBC--is its best. (Lee Spencer's column on race strategy at Bristol begins on page 38.)

Stock car racing is better at night the same way walking on the beach is better at night. It just is. It's the smell of the air, it's the tension, it's the ... that SOB Kurt Busch is leading again?! Run him off the track!

The track is barely a half-mile around and as pitched as a church steeple. The stands loom over the track like an evil shadow, climbing into the night sky, crammed with 160,000 screaming partisans, all there to see one thing: lots and lots of wrecks. Guarantee: They won't leave disappointed.--Matt Crossman

(3) WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY

Don't wait for the medal rounds

A full preview of the World Cup begins on page 24. The really big games are a week or more away, but try to make time for these preliminary matchups:

U.S. vs. Canada, Montreal, Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). It's a rematch of the 1996 World Cup finals (won by the U.S.) and the 2002 Olympic gold medal game (won by Canada). This rivalry has gotten even more intense as the United States has closed the gaps in talent and international success.

Czech Republic vs. Sweden, Stockholm, Wednesday (1 p.m., ESPN). Both lineups are stacked with stars. This will be a big test for Sweden's goalies, the only questions on a talented team looking to bounce back from a disappointing Olympics.