Olympics Special

Saturday September 23

BASEBALL: USA VS. CUBA
Seeing as the Cubans managed to get a split in 1999's celebrated two-game matchup against the Baltimore Orioles, you'd figure Fidel's crew would have an easy time against a squad of American minor leaguers. But if anyone can rally the troops, peppy U.S. coach (and former L.A. Dodgers skipper) Tommy Lasorda can.

TRACK & FIELD: MEN'S 100M FINALS
World's fastest man Maurice Greene may have pulled up lame in the 200-meter trials, but the 100-meter record holder will still compete in his bread-and-butter event.

Sunday September 24

MEN'S BEACH VOLLEYBALL: QUARTERFINALS AND SEMIFINALS
Personally, we could sit back and watch those beach volleyball scenes from Top Gun all damn day long. (Take that, Iceman!) But the VCR does deserve a break every once in a while, so we'll check out real players like the U.S.'s Eric Fonoimoana for a spell.

Monday September 25

TRACK & FIELD: WOMEN'S 800M FINALS
The American entries in the 800 meters will be sharing more than the track in Sydney — like, for instance, their name. Family bragging rights are at stake when sisters Hazel Clark and Joetta Clark-Diggs join sister-in-law Jearl Miles-Clark in what could be the first family trifecta in Olympic history. Who knows if any of them will make the finals, much less medal, but we're ready to dust off our old copies of ''We Are Family,'' just in case. Also tonight: Michael Johnson tries to run real fast in the 400 meters.

Tuesday September 26

MEN'S WATER POLO: USA VS. HUNGARY
We get the basic gist of water polo: Swim around like a lunatic and try to throw a ball into a net. But what's with the astronaut-looking headgear? Tony Azevedo and company take one small stroke for man and one big stroke for the ol' U.S. of A.

Wednesday September 27

CYCLING: MEN'S ROAD RACE
Cancer survivor and two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong races for something other than a yellow jersey — his first Olympic medal. But history is not on Armstrong's side: No rider has ever won both the Tour and a medal in the same year. Still, the Texan has made a habit of beating the odds.

Thursday September 28

TENNIS: WOMEN'S DOUBLES GOLD MEDAL MATCH
Sisters Serena and Venus Williams have fame, money, and a really kooky father, but no Olympic hardware — yet. Tonight's doubles competition could change all that. With high-energy gals like these, it's no wonder no one cares about the men's game anymore.

Friday September 29

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: TEAM FINAL
No, it's not as demented as they make it look in Caddyshack, but kicking your legs around underwater in unison is pretty wacky nonetheless. And why do these competitors always look so freakin' happy?

Saturday September 30

TRACK & FIELD: WOMEN'S RELAY FINALS
If all's gone well to this point, Marion Jones could be going for her fourth and fifth gold medals this evening in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. If all's not gone well, we'll probably win anyway.