SURVIVAL INSTINCTS

For months, NBC and American media critics have been playing a lively match of Olympic tennis--and good of them to step up since Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova and Jan-Michael Gambill didn’t.

Approach shot! Critics lambaste NBC for deciding to televise all 441 1/2 hours of its Olympic coverage on a tape-delayed basis, most of it sitting around for more than 12 hours until it can be served up to America during prime time.

Return volley! NBC points to the demographic pie charts and the computer printouts tracking American family viewing habits and smugly declares that it knows precisely what it is doing, people will watch anyway because they are hooked on the Olympic logo, this is the only way to get ratings.

Running defensive lob! Critics: That strategy is way too cynical. It’s an insult to our intelligence.

Overhead winner! NBC: Ratings! Ratings! Ratings!

Or so it seemed until CBS announced plans to toss a rather dangerous floater into the mix. Lining up in the lane next to NBC’s prime-time Olympic coverage will be reruns of CBS’s ratings powerhouse, “Survivor,” augmented by new commentary by participants and yet-unseen outtakes that will run head-to-head against NBC’s canned swimming, track and field and gymnastics.

Suddenly, NBC finds itself in a footrace, and American television viewers have a choice.

Do they watch “Survivor,” where nothing is live, everything is on videotape and everyone watching already knows the winner?

Or do they watch the Olympics, where nothing is live, everything is on videotape and everyone watching already knows the winner?

Do they watch “Survivor,” which was dominated by a pompous, master manipulator named Richard dedicated to protecting his self-interest by forging secret unsavory alliances?

Or do they watch the Olympics, which have been dominated by a pompous, master manipulator named Juan Antonio dedicated to protecting his self-interest by forging secret unsavory alliances?

(And, for that matter, which of the photos published this summer do they find more disturbing? Richard strolling the beach in the buff ? Or Samaranch lifting weights in his underwear? I know where I’d place my vote. I mean, Richard was just trying to get rid of his tan lines. Aren’t there limits to Olympic investigative reporting?)

The ratings showdown between NBC and CBS could be tighter than Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon in the men’s 100. NBC has one advantage: It has the run of the island from now until Oct. 1. But the tribe is restless and impatient and armed with the Internet, and it won’t be long until it has conclusively spoken.

A day-by-day look at the best NBC will have to offer, presented both in real time and NBC time:

DAY 1: Friday, Sept. 15

Opening Ceremony: NBC’s coverage of the opening ceremony will set the tone for the next 16 days. By the time American viewers get to watch the home team march around Olympic Stadium, medals will already have been awarded in the women’s triathlon and the first round of swimming heats will have been completed.

When: 12 a.m. (Los Angeles time)

TV: 7:30 p.m.

Delay: 19 1/2 hours.

DAY 2: Saturday, Sept. 16

Swimming: Men’s 400-meter freestyle final: Australia’s main piece of Olympic artillery, Ian “Thorpedo” Thorpe, bids for his first gold medal--and latest world record. Thorpe, considered a lock for two individual golds in the 200 and 400, owns world records in both events. American Chad Carvin figures to be chasing Thorpe a dozen meters back, but Carvin’s mere appearance at the Olympics is a major story. Carvin’s agonizing odyssey to Sydney includes a life-threatening heart virus, a suicide attempt, a herniated disk in his back and a stirring qualification swim at last month’s U.S. trials.

When: 1 a.m. to 2:50 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. and midnight

Delay: 17 1/2 to 23 hours.

DAY 3: Sunday, Sept. 17

Women’s soccer: United States vs. China: A year after their titanic overtime struggle in the Women’s World Cup final and the Americans’ controversial shootout victory, the world’s two best female soccer teams meet again. No medal or cup is on the line this time, but the action should be no less intense. Neither side can afford a defeat in this one, with only two teams advancing from a loaded first-round group that also includes 1995 World Cup champion Norway and fast-breaking Nigeria.

When: 11:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: 9 a.m.

Delay: 9 1/2 hours.

DAY 4: Monday, Sept. 18

Swimming: Men’s 100-meter backstroke final: Minutes after Thorpe churns out his second gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle, Lenny Krayzelburg returns fire for the United States in the 100 backstroke. Krayzelburg will be a prohibitive favorite for the gold, but he--and his father--won’t be satisfied unless a world record comes attached. If Lenny fails to break his own world record, as he did at the U.S. trials, you can be sure NBC’s cameras will be trained on Papa Krayzelburg for more agony-of-victory poolside dejection.

When: 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 17 to 23 hours.

DAY 5: Tuesday, Sept. 19

Gymnastics: Women’s team final: Young viewers who thrilled to the adventures of Kerri Strug and Shannon Miller and hung posters of the Magnificent Seven above their bedposts might want to seek parental guidance before tuning in to this one. Team USA’s attempted defense of its 1996 team gold medal will not be pretty, not after the Americans tumbled to sixth place at the 1999 World Championships and turned last month’s Olympic trials into a dive-off-the-balance-beam competition. Romania and Russia will vie for the gold this time. Atlanta veterans Amy Chow and Dominique Dawes are on hand for the sake of nostalgia--and maybe a bronze medal, if everything breaks the Americans’ way.

When: 1 a.m.

TV: Some time between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 18 to 23 hours.

DAY 6: Wednesday, Sept. 20

Gymnastics: Men’s all-around final: For the first time in decades, America’s best hope for an individual gymnastics medal is male. Blaine Wilson won his fifth consecutive national championship this summer and finished 0.001 points shy of a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships. Another step forward is expected at Sydney and should Wilson earn a spot on the medals podium, he will be the first American man to win an all-around gymnastics medal in a non-boycotted Olympics.

When: 1 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. to midnight.

Delay: 18 to 23 hours.

DAY 7: Thursday, Sept. 21

Swimming: Women’s 100-meter freestyle final: Jenny Thompson is the most decorated American female swimmer in Olympic history, winner of five gold medals, but none in an individual event. This will be her best chance--she’s also entered in the 100-meter butterfly--but she will step up on the blocks as an underdog to the Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn, the world-record holder at 53.80 seconds. Thompson’s best time is 54.07. Also in the pool: Krayzelburg against the last swimmer to beat him, Irvine teenager Aaron Peirsol, in the men’s 200 backstroke final.

When: 1 a.m. to 2:55 a.m.

TV: Some time between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 16 1/2 to 23 hours.

DAY 8: Friday, Sept. 22

Track and field: Men’s shotput final: Romance, and heavy metal spheres, will be in the air as American C.J. Hunter attempts to win an Olympic shotput gold medal while his wife, Marion Jones, completes two 100-meter qualifying heats. Who can say, or stomach, how treacly NBC will play this episode? (You can almost hear the piano keys delicately tinkling in the background now.) If viewers are lucky, NBC’s coverage might squeeze in, as a footnote, that this U.S. shotput team is among the best ever assembled, with Hunter and teammates Adam Nelson and Andy Bloom all surpassing 70 feet at the U.S. trials.

When: 12 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 19 to 24 hours.

DAY 9: Saturday, Sept. 23

Track and field: 100-meter finals: The Marion and Maurice Show. Two young Americans sprint for their first Olympic gold medals, both of them two-time world champions at this distance. Jones will be a heavy favorite in the women’s final, Greene less so in a men’s field that includes close friend and training partner Ato Boldon, who runs for Trinidad and Tobago.

When: 12 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 15 to 24 hours.

DAY 10: Sunday, Sept. 24

Track and field: Men’s high jump: No jokes about Javier Sotomayor testing positive for cocaine and “high jumping” allowed. A 1992 Olympic gold medalist and the only jumper to have cleared eight feet, he was originally ruled out of the Sydney Games, banned for two years by the International Amateur Athletic Federation after testing positive for cocaine at the 1999 Pan Am Games. He was only cleared to compete in early August when the IAAF, citing “exceptional circumstances” and Sotomayor’s previously clean drug record, cut the suspension in half. Charles Austin, who holds the U.S. record at 7 feet 10 1/2 inches, returns to defend his 1996 Olympic gold medal.

When: 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.

TV: Between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 19 to 24 hours.

DAY 11: Monday, Sept. 25

Track and field: 400-meter finals: There will be no rematch of the Michael Johnson-Maurice Greene 200-meter runoff in Sacramento, due to the double DNF there, so this will be Johnson’s lone opportunity for an individual gold medal. With two months to concentrate on the 400, he says he’s determined to break his own world record of 43.18 seconds, which he set at last year’s World Championships. In the women’s 400 final, Australian and Aboriginal Cathy Freeman is favored to win one for the home crowd--and then take a victory lap carrying the flags of both constituencies.

When: 12 a.m. to 3:45 a.m.

TV: Some time between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 17 1/2 to 22 1/2 hours.

DAY 12: Tuesday, Sept. 26

Softball: Gold-medal game: In all likelihood, it will be the defending Olympic champions, the Americans, against the host Australians. In 1996, the United States went 8-1 en route to the gold medal--the only loss coming against the Aussies in a memorable round-robin game, highlighted (or lowlighted) by American Dani Tyler’s failure to touch home plate after hitting a go-ahead home run. Home run nullified, eventual victory to the Australians. Veterans returning from the ’96 Olympic champions include pitchers Lisa Fernandez and Michele Smith, second baseman Dot Richardson and outfielder Laura Berg.

When: 1:30 a.m.

TV: 10 a.m.

Delay: 8 1/2 hours.

DAY 13: Wednesday, Sept. 27

Cycling: Men’s road race: Lance Armstrong’s comeback from testicular cancer to back-to-back victories at the Tour de France is the sports story of the last two years, Tiger Woods or no Tiger Woods. NBC will get two cracks at retelling it during the Olympics--first this race, then the road time trial on Sept. 30. Should Armstrong win here, he would become the first man to win the Tour de France and the Olympic road race in the same year.

When: 4 p.m.

TV: Some time between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 3 to 8 hours.

DAY 14: Thursday, Sept. 28

Women’s soccer: Gold-medal match: Assuming the United States and China both advance from Group 2--not a sure thing, as any Norwegian will tell you--and then dispatch Brazil and Germany in the semifinals, they could meet again for the gold medal, a replay of the 1996 Olympic championship match. Worth noting: The United States is 2-0 against China in the finals of major international competitions: Also worth noting: The United States has not won a major international competition on foreign soil since 1991. Oh, and one other thing worth noting: The United States has never won an international competition without Michelle Akers, the great forward-turned-midfielder who announced her retirement from the national team last month.

When: 2 a.m.

TV: Some time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Delay: eight to 15 hours.

DAY 15: Friday, Sept. 29

Track and field: Women’s long jump: Or as NBC will story-line it, “Marion Jones at the Crucible.” Two relays still await, but Jones’ drive for five gold medals will survive or expire on the footprints she leaves in the sand here. She is a long jump long shot, to be sure--it is easily her weakest event, she did well to finish third at last year’s World Championships and she will enter this competition as an underdog to, at the very least, Italy’s Fiona May. But if Jones uncorks a winner--she launched one 23 feet 11 3/4 inches in 1998--the NBC trumpets will blare through the next day’s 400- and 1,600-meter relay finals.

When: 12 a.m. to 3:40 a.m.

TV: Some time between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Delay: 18 1/2 to 24 hours.

DAY 16: Saturday, Sept. 30

Basketball: Gold-medal games: A day-night doubleheader for American basketball fans--and, very likely, a repeat of Atlanta’s Olympic hoops sweep. First, the WNBA all-stars finish off the best of the rest of the women’s field, then the men take out either Yugoslavia or Lithuania. Word of caution to television viewers: Ignore any and all references to the U.S. men’s squad as the “Dream Team.” Unless your idea of a dream is a roster that includes Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vin Baker, Ray Allen and Steve Smith--and not Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson.

When: Women’s: 2 a.m. Men’s: 7 p.m.

TV: Women’s: Noon to 6 p.m. Men’s: 7 p.m. to midnight.

Delay: Women’s: 10 to 16 hours. Men’s: one to five hours.

DAY 17: Sunday, Oct. 1

Closing Ceremony: All that commotion about Aussie cross-dressers besmirching the sanctity of the closing ceremony with their tribute to the Australian cult film, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?” A mountain out of a powder puff. An entire Olympic Games captured and canned for tape-delayed consumption on the other side of the Pacific? Now that’s a drag.

When: 12 a.m.

TV: 7 p.m. to midnight.

Delay: 19 to 24 hours.