Venus Williams in the hunt for glory Down Under.
VARIETY, THEY say, is the spice of life, and we sure have a healthy blend of sport to consume this week.
Heading it all off, for the armchair sport fan, is the Australian Open tennis final for women at Melbourne Park on Friday night (ESPN2). I hate the following term but ... at the time of writing ... the top seeds appeared to be advancing comfortably with the Belgian Dammes Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, Americans Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport, a rash of Russians and Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo comfortably passing their opening opponents.
I'll stick with Henin-Hardenne but we can all watch it live (well, for at least a couple of hours each night) and make the relevant changes to our picks as action gets tight in the final week Down Under.
Not to be lost in the tennis-fest is the start of the West Indies five-match one-day series in South Africa which starts tomorrow at the reasonable hour of 7:00 a.m. (TVJ); thank heavens for day-night cricket. The second and third games start at the same time on Wednesday and Friday.
While the NFL takes a week's rest as it leads up to the Super Bowl next Sunday in Houston, fans of US sport can be sated by some reasonable NBA games and the final two rounds of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
NBA Western Conference leaders, the Sacramento Kings, feature in the two best televised games this coming week as they take on the Dallas Mavericks (tomorrow, ABC) in a true shootout and then the Houston Rockets (Wednesday, ESPN).
The Classic is one of the few 90-hole professional golf tournaments and is played at four different courses and often tosses up a surprise winner.
For those who like a bit of a stoush, Gianluca Branco and Arturo Gatti will "get it on" tonight in a clash of highly-rated junior welterweights (HBO E).
If you think the following list is hot, wait until next week.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 10
1. TENNIS, Australian Open women's final: Friday, ESPN, 9:30 p.m.
2. CRICKET, First one-day international between the West Indies and South Africa: Tomorrow, 7:00 a.m., TVJ.
3. TENNIS, Australian Open women's semi-finals: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2.
4. TENNIS, Australian Open men's semi-finals: (taped) Thursday (2:00 p.m.) and Friday (2:00 p.m.), ESPN.
5. CRICKET, Second one-day international between the West Indies and South Africa: Wednesday, 7:00 a.m., TVJ.
6. CRICKET, Third one-day international between the West Indies and South Africa: Friday, 7:00 a.m., TVJ.
7. GOLF, Bob Hope Chrysker Classic, final two rounds: Today (2:00 p.m.) and tomorrow (2:30 p.m.), ABC.
8. BASKETBALL, Sacramento Kings at Dallas Mavericks: Tomorrow, noon, ABC.
9. BOXING, Gianluca Branco vs Arturo Gatti, junior welterweight bout: Tonight, 10:00 p.m., HBO E.
10. BASKETBALL, Sacramento Kings vs Houston Rockets: Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., ESPN.
