Olympics, NBA All-Stars Are the Main Attractions

Sports fans should be glued to the television set all weekend. Not only does CBS begin its 17 days of coverage of the Winter Olympics on Friday night, but NBC will be presenting the heavily hyped NBA All-Star game on Sunday.

Here’s a look at Olympic and NBA events scheduled for this weekend:

Ann Martin and Michael Tuck host the special “CBS 2 News at the Winter Olympics,” Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 2. Then at 8 p.m. Jim Nantz and Dan Rather host the opening ceremony from Nagano, Japan.

The first day of Winter Olympics competition begins Saturday at 1 p.m. on Channel 2 with a preview of the men’s downhill and women’s ice hockey. TNT presents hockey at 3 p.m. and CBS features prime-time coverage of the men’s downhill, freestyle and cross-country skiing, beginning at 8 p.m.

Sunday’s Olympics coverage commences at noon on Channel 2 with men’s single luge, men’s 5,000-meter speed skating and women’s ice hockey (China vs. USA). On tap for 8 p.m.: the pairs short program in figure skating; combined downhill alpine skiing; snowboarding and cross-country skiing. TNT presents alpine skiing, figure skating, hockey, luge and speed skating, beginning at 4 p.m.

NBC tips off its live coverage of the “NBA All-Star Game” Sunday at 3 p.m. on Channel 4. The 48th annual meeting between the Eastern and Western conferences takes place for the first time since 1968 in Madison Square Garden. Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone are among the players.

Today

NBC’s “Must-See TV” sitcoms kick off February sweeps with some special guest stars. Charlton Heston plays himself on “Friends,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 4. Then it’s a mini-”Cheers” reunion on “Veronica’s Closet,” at 9:30 p.m., when Ted Danson shows up as Kirstie Alley’s high school boyfriend-turned-plumber.

James Brown interviews Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding about the assault on Kerrigan before the 1994 Olympics on Fox’s “Breaking the Ice: The Women of ’94 Revisited,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 11.

Christopher Meloni and Marcia Cross star in ABC’s sci-fi thriller “Target Earth,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 7.

Friday

Ernie Johnson hosts TNT’s “NBA All-Star Friday Night,” at 7 p.m.

Shelley Long appears as a wicked sorceress on ABC’s “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 7.

HBO Boxing After Dark, at 10:30 p.m., presents light heavyweight championship bouts between Lou Del Valle vs. Virgil Hill and William Guthrie vs. Reggie Johnson.

Saturday

Fox unveils its new Saturday morning kids’ lineup, which includes the premiere of the live-action “Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book,” at 7 a.m. on Channel 11; “Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania,” at 8:30 a.m.;, “Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension,” at 10 a.m., a spinoff of “Eerie, Indiana” ; and “Silver Surfer,” at 10:30 a.m., based on the Marvel comic book.

Ahmad Rashad and Willow Bay host NBC’s “1998 NBA TeamUp Celebration,” at 9 a.m. on Channel 4, a special that honors youngsters who are dedicated volunteers.

TNT’s “NBA All-Star Saturday Night,” at 4 p.m., spotlights the Schick Rookie Game, Sony MD Million Dollar Shot and AT&T; Shootout.

E! Entertainment Television offers an in-depth look at the 1998 Grammy Awards on “The Sound of the Grammys ‘98,” at 6 p.m.

Debbie Allen directed “One Day,” at 7 p.m. on the Disney Channel. The special looks at the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. as seen through the eyes of four children as they prepare to participate in a Martin Luther King celebration for their church.

Sunday

Gladys Knight and Robert Guillaume host “The 1998 Trumpet Awards,” at 4 p.m. on TBS. The sixth annual event celebrates African American achievement. ABC’s “Walt Disney Presents” premieres “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” at 7 p.m. on Channel 7. The 1996 made-for-video sequel to the Disney blockbuster “Aladdin” features the voice of Robin Williams as the big blue Genie.

Horror-meister Stephen King co-wrote “The X-Files,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 11, with series creator Chris Carter. The episode finds Scully stumbling across a strange case while on vacation in Maine.

Claire Skinner stars in the “Masterpiece Theatre” presentation of Catherine Cookson’s “The Wingless Bird,” at 9 p.m. on KCET-TV Channel 28.

Dwayne Adway stars in “Bad as I Wanna Be: The Dennis Rodman Story,” ABC’s adaptation of the Chicago Bulls’ star controversial bestseller, at 9 p.m. on Channel 7. Rodman also appears on-screen to offer comment.