Pro Football Makes Return; ‘Lolita’ Debuts on Showtime

Even though it seems way too hot to even think about pigskins, the pro football season is upon us once again.

ESPN2 offers coverage of the “Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction” from Canton, Ohio, on Saturday at 9 a.m. Safety Paul Krause, wide receiver Tommy McDonald, tackle Anthony Munoz, linebacker Mike Singletary and center Dwight Stephenson will be entering the hallowed hall.

Following at 4 p.m. on Channel 7, ABC will feature the AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. At 7:15 p.m., ESPN will present the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Today

TBS’ coverage of the Goodwill Games, at 5:05 p.m., features beach volleyball and figure skating.

A&E;’s “The New Explorers,” at 6 and 10 p.m., tells the story of a man who is torn between staying in his adopted country and returning to his homeland of Ghana to fulfill his birthright as tribal leader.

ABC’s “Peter Jennings Reporting,” at 9:30 p.m. on Channel 7, examines Little League baseball and follows a team from Hagerstown, Md., as it pursues the championship.

Friday

ABC’s daytime drama “One Life to Live,” at 1 p.m. on Channel 7, celebrates its 30th anniversary with a retrospective of clips spotlighting such favorite characters as Viki Buchanan (Erika Slezak) and Dorian Lord (Robin Strasser).

Beach volleyball and figure skating are highlighted on the Goodwill Games at 5:05 p.m. on TBS.

ABC presents the family special “Ghosts of Fear Street,” at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 7. Inspired by the stories of “Goosebumps” writer R.L. Stine, the thriller stars Christopher Rich and Talia Balsam.

Saturday

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Golden Knights display their aerial acrobatics on “The United States Air Show,” at 10 a.m. on Channel 2.

CBS presents boxing and figure skating on the Goodwill Games at 11 a.m. on Channel 2. TBS will feature beach volleyball and swimming at 5:05 p.m.

Some canines are not only man’s best friend, but also man’s best doctor, according to the Learning Channel documentary “Doctor Dogs,” at 6 and 9 p.m.

“Disney’s Young Musician’s Symphony Orchestra,” at 7 p.m. on the Disney Channel, features young music makers performing at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival with violinist Vanessa-Mae and the Soul Children Choir.

Showtime kicks off two original series, starting at 10 p.m. with “Linc’s,” a comedy set in an African American bar in Washington, D.C. Steven Williams and Pam Grier star.

Following at 11 p.m. is the comedy “Rude Awakening,” starring Sherilyn Fenn as an alcoholic former teen actress who has one too many one-night stands.

Sunday

Beach volleyball and boxing are on tap in CBS’ coverage of the Goodwill Games at 11 a.m. on Channel 2. At 5:05 p.m., TBS features figure skating and swimming.

KCET-TV Channel 28 presents an afternoon of surfing documentaries beginning at 1:30 p.m. At 6 p.m. is the premiere of “Mavericks,” which chronicles a surfing area near Half Moon Bay in Northern California.

A&E; offers a two-hour “Biography” on Steven Spielberg, at 5 and 9 p.m. Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and George Lucas are among those interviewed.

Walter Cronkite narrates the Learning Channel’s “War and Civilization,” at 9 p.m. The eight-part documentary series examines military history. It continues through Wednesday.

Joanna Pacula, Jack Scalia and Joan Collins star in the Family Channel thriller “Sweet Deception,” at 7 p.m.

E! Entertainment Television presents “Gary Busey: The E! True Hollywood Story,” at 8 p.m.

Showtime unveils Adrian Lyne’s “Lolita,” at 9 p.m. Based on Vladimir Nabokov’s 1954 novel, the drama stars Jeremy Irons as a middle-aged professor who falls in love with a teen nymphet (Dominique Swain).

The Discovery Channel’s “A Matter of National Security,” at 9 p.m., looks at the Jennifer Project, a secret operation from 1968 involving Howard Hughes and the recovery of a Soviet sub that sank off the coast of Hawaii.