The Week In Tv Spots

Highlights

SATURDAY 4/1
?World Figure Skating Championships
ABC 9 PM (TAPE DELAY)
Shortly before becoming the first Russian woman to win figure skating's premier non-Olympic event last year, Maria Butyrskaya posed for the Russian edition of Playboy. Her provocative photos generated a national thaw, and Dick Button wasn't the only man using the words "Butyrskaya" and "nail that landing" in the same sentence. Butyrskaya will be a compulsory figure to watch in the women's free skate from Nice.

MONDAY 4/3
? Major League Baseball Opening Day
ESPN AND ESPN2 1 PM; TBS 4 PM; ESPN2 10:30 PM
Last week police, after an exhaustive search that included a two-hour frisk of Erin Brockovich, arrested a man for the theft of 55 Oscar statuettes. Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg's 1990 nod for Ghost remains unsolved. Today Oscar season officially yields to baseball season, starting on ESPN with the Cincinnati homecoming of Ken Griffey Jr. , as the Reds host the Brewers (1 p.m.). ESPN also has a Mac-Sammy meeting as the Cubs play the Cardinals (4 p.m.), the same time the Rockies go against the Braves on ESPN2 and TBS. At night on ESPN2 the Yankees visit the Angels.

TUESDAY 4/4
?On the Ropes
TLC 9 PM
This Hoop Dreams of the ring has characters equal to any Hollywood introduced last year. In the Outstanding Depiction of an Imprisoned Pugilist category, Tyrene Manson earns a draw with Denzel Washington of The Hurricane. In Ropes, Manson misses her Golden Gloves championship bout to stand trial for cocaine possession. Best Portrayal of a Disaffected Middle-aged Male goes to—stand back, Kevin Spacey—trainer Harry Keitt, who loses his top prospect to a shady manager. At one point Keitt finds himself on a treadmill adjacent to the interloper. "Harry, you're running, I'm walking," he says. "I'm still beating you."

THURSDAY 4/6
?The Masters, Opening Round
USA 4 PM (HIGHLIGHTS CBS 11:35 PM)
A new Web site with the URL www.TigerWoodsisGod.com sees eerie parallels between the infant Messiah, who was visited by three kings, and the infant Woods, who appeared on The Mike Douglas Show with Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart . If Mike's guests had been Alan King , Carole King and Don King , they'd have enough evidence to launch Vatican III. For more on the year's first major, turn the page.

Don't Miss

SATURDAY 4/1
? NCAA Men's Final Four
CBS 5:30 PM
"Mom, Dad, since I've already beaten a top seed, I'd really appreciate it if you just declared me the winner." "Ha! What do you think this is, a Holiday Inn ?" There'll be no holiday in Indianapolis for Florida or North Carolina , who battle in today's second semifinal. Both humbled a regional top seed but most likely will have to topple another, Michigan State , to win the national title. The Spartans, who have beaten Big Ten rival Wisconsin thrice this season (including a 55-46 whipping in the conference tournament, above), hope to make it a very final fourth loss for the Badgers, another conqueror of a top seed, in the opener. The survivors meet on Monday for the title ( CBS , 9 p.m.).

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.