Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 34

SUBMISSIONS Send suggested items to Weekend Ticket, co Sports Department, 425 Portland Av, Minneapolis, MN, 55488 or send e-mail to sportsticketstartribune-com. Deadline is noon on Tuesdays. if HI Your guide to the top sporting events. LZ3 PAGE C4 STAR TRIBUNE FRIDAY, JULY 91999 LA 1 I i i I 4 i THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS THUS TO SEE THINGS TOWATCII See page 2 for this weekend's TV listings. Open Championship vi r'-s WORID Today, Saturday and Sunday at Bunker Hills In Coon Rapids Since 1917, this golf tournament has been one of the state's most prestigious golf events.

Admission is free; play starts at 7:30 a.m. today and Saturday and at 9 a.m. for Sunday's final round. Thunder vs. U.S.

Pro Select and San Diego Tonight and Sunday at National Sports Center in Blaine It's a double-dip weekend for zn I 7 Hale Irwin United States vs. China Minnesota A-League soccer team. Tonight at 7:35, the Thunder raj faces U.S. Pro Select, t. a ream oi young rt; players aiming and Bruce Fleisher training for international stardom.

Sunday's game against the San Diego Flash starts at 7:05 p.m. Call 612-785-3668. Associated Press Atlanta's Greg Maddux Boston Red Sox at Atlanta 12:05 p.m. Sunday, TBS Atlanta ace Greg Maddux, snubbed by the All-Star Game for the first time in six years, will take out his aggression in this in-terleague matchup against the Red Sox. 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, ABC The U.S. women's soccer team, going for its second Women's World Cup championship, is hoping for a rerun of its gold-medal victory over China in the 1996 Olympics. But as soon as these teams take the pitch, the slate is wiped clean and the game could turn on the hot hand of a goalkeeper: the U.S. team's Briana Scurry or China's acrobatic Gao Hong. If Gao wasn't able to hide her flaws while participating in U.S.

coach Tony DiCicco's goal-keeping camps, the Americans will know where to shoot and they'll be cheered on by a home crowd of about 90,000. Blue Ox roller hockey Saturday and Sunday at Mariuccl Arena I Pre-skates, free with the of a ticket, will be held both Noon Sunday, TNN IF nights from 5:30 to 6:15, though participants must bring inline skates. The Blue Ox faces Buffalo at 7:05 p.m. Saturday U.S. Senior Open Today, Saturday and Sunday Hale Irwin, going for his second consecutive Open title, will get a strong challenge 'from Bruce Fleisher, who tinkered with his swing a few months ago.

"I've always wanted to make a change," Fleisher said. "But I never had the time or money. I've got to be nuts." Well, he made the change and now he has the money. Fleisher leads the Senior PGA Tour with $1,374,992 in earnings. Coverage is from noon-2 p.m.

and 4-6 p.m. today on ESPN and 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on NBC. Despite having had surgery on his left knee on Wednesday, Mark Martin plans to drive at New Hampshire International Speedway. Without a strong showing, he could lose hold of third place in the Winston Cup points and the St.

Louis Vipers at 7:05 p.m. Sunday. Call 612-941-7446. i THINGS TO DO Briana Scurry, top, and Gao Hong, right, two of the top goalies in this year's World Cup, wiB square off when the U.S. plays China In Saturday's final.

StarTrbune photo illustration Associated Press photos WlBanglOK i r- lj 9 am. Saturday In Robblnsdale If you're after a relatively short run, try this 15th annual race, which starts at the intersection of Theodore Wirth Parkway and Lowry Avenue. There also is a 2-mile fun runwalk. Registration, which starts at 8 a.m., is $12 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. Call 612-550-5558.

if; I Hamel rodeo 5-mile hike Associated Press Al Martin, right, and Brant Brown are two of the Pirates' low-budget players. Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Tonight, Saturday and Sunday at the Metrodome The Pirates, who made cost-cutting moves a few years ago, will give fans a glimpse of how the Twins rookies will grow and learn. Game times are 7:05 tonight and Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

Call612-33-TWlNS. are 7:30 tonight, 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets range from $6 for kids and seniors to $12 for adults, and all tickets for Saturday's 1 p.m. show are $5. Call 612-478-6611 or check out http:www.hamelrodeo.org on the Web. Tonight, Saturday and Sunday at Corcoran Lions Park Four hundred cowboys and cowgirls will compete in this 19th annual rodeo, which benefits several local organizations. Times 2:30 p.m.

at Edison High School The St. Paul Hiking Club sponsors this free trek, which starts at 700 22nd Av. NE in Minneapolis. Call Rachel at 651-644-3770 or Chuck at 651-644-7502. World ommitment proves to be a suecess WHAT WE'RE WATCHING A sampling of Minneapolis and St Paul Nielsen ratings for July 34: SATURDAY ROADCAST SPORTS JuddZulgad NETWORK RAT.

SH. Auto racing: Pepsi 400 (7 pm) CBS 534142 Tennis: Wimbledon (8 am.) NBC 3.48153 Golf: PGA Motorola Western Open (3 pm) ABC 25111.7 Basketball: WNBA: N.Y. at Houston (lpm.) NBC 130 6.4 Baseball: Atlanta at N.Y. Mets (noon) F0X29 0.95 4.5 NETWORK RAT. SH.

CABl MSC 222 63 ESPN 036 IS WGN 029 03 Basebafc Detroit at Twins (6 pm.) Golf: Sr. PGA State Farm Classic (1 pm.) Basebafc Cubs at Philadelphia (6 pm) SUNDAY Nearly three years ago, the United States women's soccer team beat China 2-1 for the Olympic gold medal before 76,481 fans at Georgia's Sanford Stadium. NBC, however, deemed a women's gymnastics exhibition to be more important and showed only a few minutes of the soccer game. ABCESPN wasn't about to repeat that mistake with this year's Women's World Cup. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 have combined to show all 30 games and will conclude their coverage Saturday with the third-place match between Norway and Brazil at noon on ESPN and the championship a rematch between the United States and China at 2:50 p.m.

on ABC (Ch. 5). The network's pregame show will begin at 2:30 p.m. ESPN World Cup executive producer Geoff Mason, who had high expectations entering the tournament, hasn't been disappointed. "By any criteria this event could be considered a gigantic success," Mason said.

"We have had full stadia with tons and tons of excitement and respectable TV ratings." Indeed, a crowd of about 90,000 is expected at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, for the title match. MVP candidate John Paul Dellacamera, who will work Saturday's game with analyst Wendy Gebauer, has been very impressed with the play of Scurry, the U.S. goalie who graduated from Anoka High School in 1990. "I think Scurry might be the most underrated player on this team except in the eyes of her teammates," Delia-camera said. "If I was asked to pick an MVP of the team, I'd be torn between Scurry and Michelle Akers." Flashback ESPN continues its SportsCentury features with its 1970s "SportsCenter of the Decade" at 6:30 tonight.

The two-hour show will walk the delicate line of having fun with the decade Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott will co-anchor the show in multiple wardrobes to fit the era to dealing with the 1 972 tragedy in Munich. Fine-tuning Twins prospects Michael Cuddyer, a third baseman at Class A Fort Myers, and J.C Romero, a reliever at Class AA New Britain, will play in the first All-Star Futures Game at 4 p.m. Sunday on NETWORK RAT. SH. ESPN2 from Boston's Fenway Park.

The game will feature top minor league prospects from the United States against a World team. The major league All-Star Game is Tuesday in Boston. "Twins "99" a program aimed at attracting younger fans will air at 8:30 Saturday morning on KMSP-TV, Channel 9. Although MSC carries the majority of Gophers hockey games, it's not certain the cable network will show Don Lucia's first series as coach, Oct 16-17 at Maine. However, MSC officials are optimistic something can be worked out.

The big problem is Maine's arena is less than ideal for a TV setup. It appears former Gophers coach Doug Woog will appear on MSC's "Sports Connection" before Gophers hockey games this season. Suzy Kolber, an original ESPN2 studio anchor who has been working for Fox Sports since November 1996, will return to ESPN in August. If you're used to tuning into the second hour of Dan (Common Man) Cole's show Monday through Thursday on KFAN Radio (1130 AM) to hear Mark Rosen, you're out of luck until July 26. The WCCO-TV, Channel 4, anchor and KFAN co-host is on vaca-: tion from both jobs until then.

I It will be the second game of the tournament on ABC. The network also aired the U.S. team's opening match against Denmark on lune 19, drawing a 1.7 rating. But with fans having grown more familiar with players such as Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Briana Scurry and the stakes much higher, ABC officials are expecting that number to improve dramatically. The ratings for the U.S.

team's first three games on ESPNESPN2 averaged a 2.0, but Sunday's telecast of the U.S. team's 2-0 victory over Brazil had a 3.78 rating and was seen in 2.88 million households, making it the most watched soccer game ever on ESPN. It exceeded the 2.7 million households that watched the U.S.-Columbia men's World Cup game in June 1994. Mason admits he doesn't deal much in ratings but said: "From what I gather, the programming people who look at these things all day are thrilled I think the ratings have surpassed expectations." Anthology: Out and About (1030 pm) CBS 5.67 173 Anthology: Minnesota Bound (11pm.) NBC 436 150 Tennis: Wimbledon finals (8 am.) NBC 424175 Golf: PGA Motorola Western Open (2 pm.) ABC 33913.4 Anthology: Sports Wrap (1030 pm) ABC 2.91 91 Golf: Celebrity Championship (2 pm) NBC 0.78 3J. NETWORK RAT.

SH. CABLE MSC 159 65 ESPN 101 28 ESPN 0.69 25 Baseball: Detroit at Twins (1 pm) Baseball: Atlanta at N.Y. Mets (7 pm.) Soccer World Cup semifinal(330 pm.) Key: RAT. rating SH Share Notes: Rating and share figures are based on 344 reporting households in the MinneapolisSt Paul demographic area. Ratings measure the percentage of all households with televisions watching the event while share is the percentage of households with the TVs turned on watching One rating point represents 14500 homes..