Week Ahead

FRIDAY 5/18
College Baseball: No. 7 Texas at No. 10 Texas A&M
This Lone Star showdown should be all about pitching. For the weekend series the Longhorns will bring two of the nation's best starters in Adrian Alaniz (12--2, 2.37 ERA) and James Russell (8--3, 3.53 ERA). The Aggies counter with versatile righthander Kyle Nicholson, who, while bouncing between starting and closing this season, is 11--1 with a 1.74 ERA and four saves. Check listings 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY 5/19
Sacramento Monarchs at Detroit Shock
The WNBA kicks off its second decade with the Shock, the 2006 title winners, receiving its rings before a rematch of last year's finals. The Monarchs, the 2005 champions, will face the formidable task of taking on a Ford in Detroit . The Shock's star forward, Cheryl Ford (right), the daughter of former NBA forward Karl Malone , was the league's leading rebounder last season. ABC 3:30 p.m.

White Sox at Cubs
In the fight for city bragging rights, the Cubs have had a solid edge on their South Side brethren. Since interleague play began in 1997, the Cubs have won 12 of the 18 series between the teams and also hold a 29--25 edge in games. The White Sox think closer Bobby Jenks (left), who has the best arm in either bullpen, will help them get even. Fox 3:55 p.m.

Cory Spinks vs. Jermain Taylor
How desperate is Spinks (right), the IBF junior middleweight champion, to fight a marquee name? He's willing to move up a weight class to do it. Spinks (36--3), the son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks , is a serious underdog against WBC and WBO middleweight champion Taylor (26-0-1), who is regarded as the best fighter at 160 pounds. HBO 10:15 p.m.

TUESDAY 5/22
On DVD: American Pastime
Roughly 110,000 Japanese-Americans were confined to internment camps in the 1940s. American Pastime, a gripping drama, tells the fictional tale of one such camp in Utah , where a guard (Gary Cole) and a Japanese family find a common bond in baseball. In the climactic scenes, a team of camp residents challenges Cole's club in a game played for both money and respect.

SI PICK OF THE WEEK

THURSDAY 5/17
Living in Denial
Expect good hockey; just don't expect to see a lot of goals in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Detroit and Anaheim , two of the NHL 's stingiest defensive teams, have a combined nine Norris trophies manning the blue lines. Then there's Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek (above); the Dominator, a six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, has allowed just 24 goals in 14 games and has a 1.62 GAA this postseason. His Anaheim counterpart, Jean-S�bastien Gigu�re , has been just as tough, allowing only 14 goals in nine games for a 1.51 GAA. VERSUS 9 p.m.