Weekend Is a Showcase for Top Women’s Stars

The quaint concept of tradition, which used to be a big deal back in the 20th century, gets dusted off this weekend with the most prestigious tournament in tennis, Wimbledon, and the oldest major tournament in women’s golf, the U.S. Women’s Open, both on the TV schedule.

That might not be enough to excite the young viewers, who want the world in the palms of their hands and they want it now, preferably digital and downloadable, so let’s put it another way.

Would you rather watch Annika or Serena?

Without question, Annika Sorenstam and Serena Williams are the two biggest names in women’s sports. They dominate their respective tours. They transcend their respective sports. They are pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a female golfer and a female tennis player in the year 2003.

NBC is tracking both today, starting at 6 a.m., when the network tosses “Breakfast at Wimbledon” and “All in the Family” into the blender and dispenses its second Serena versus Venus Williams Wimbledon women’s singles final in as many years.

Then at 1 p.m., NBC culture-flashes from London to North Plains, Ore., to follow Sorenstam’s pursuit of her third U.S. Open championship.

When it comes to celebrity and chasing fame, Williams certainly tries harder. On the court, everything about her, from her tabloid-baiting fashion sense to her pulverizing groundstrokes, cries out, “Look at me!”

NBC commentator Mary Carillo had an interesting observation during a midweek conference call as to why Serena and her sister excel as tennis players. “I’ve never known women tennis players who care so much about their looks,” Carillo said, “and they both find losing to be so utterly unattractive that they go out of their way not to lose.”

Off the court, Williams collects commercial deals and acting parts and photo spreads and, apparently, dates with NFL stars. Keyshawn Johnson is the latest name to be linked with Williams, but when he was spotted on the Wimbledon grounds by a BBC reporter this week, Johnson dismissed an interview request with, “I’m not here, man.”

(Right now, fantasy football owners across the land are nodding sadly and muttering to themselves, “Tell us about it.”)

Tennis, which needs all the help it can get, likes to tell itself that Serena Williams is its answer to Tiger Woods.

Tennis, however, tends to forget one key concept: Tennis is tennis and golf is golf.

By playing two rounds of golf with men in Texas in May, the unassuming Sorenstam attracted more media attention than Williams ever did with her catsuits and straight-sets blowouts. This might say more about the media, and sports fans, than the two athletes, but when CNBC is running a bottom-screen crawl updating Sorenstam shot by shot at the Colonial, something is stirring within the zeitgeist.

Lesson to be learned: As a ratings grabber, the battle of the sexes will never go out of style.

Maybe Serena ought to push harder for that match against John McEnroe.

Also available for viewing this weekend:

TODAY

* NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400

(Channel 4, 4:30 p.m.)

NASCAR is on the cover of this week’s TV Guide, which features inside midseason NASCAR statistics and “collectible cutout” race cars. We have become a nation mired in perpetual gridlock, even down to our leisure-time entertainment choices.

During a midweek conference call, NBC racing announcer Allen Bestwick tried to explain this odd obsession:

“Every weekend is an all-star game. This isn’t like basketball or baseball when you are only seeing a few of the select players every time a team comes to town. Every weekend, every time a race comes to town it’s an all-star game and I think that is a huge part of the appeal when the sport goes to these new markets and it’s a huge part of the appeal on television if you’re seeing the best and they’re competing against each other every week.”

Better yet, nobody stops the race if the leaders are tied with five laps to go because the beer concessionaires ran out of pitchers.

* 2001 Stanley Cup finals, Game 7

(ESPN Classic, 6 p.m.)

Ray Bourque goes to Colorado, finally gets his Stanley Cup. To be followed in 2004 by Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne? Buck up, Duck fans. You’ll always have 2003. Beyond that, well, to put it as they did during the 2002 Stanley Cup finals: “Ladies and gentlemen, here are your Carolina Hurricanes!”

SUNDAY

* Men’s Wimbledon singles final

(Channel 4, 6 a.m.)

For NBC’s sake, it could have been better -- Andy Roddick finally broke through to the Wimbledon semifinals, but his crusade to save men’s tennis stopped there, and only the English get really excited when one of their own loses in the semifinals. Instead, NBC gets a final it can live with -- Roger Federer, the Swiss Patrick Rafter, against Mark Philippoussis and his great Australian comeback story. Yes, it could have been worse. Please see last month’s French Open men’s final. Oh right. No one did.

* Tour de France, Stage 1

(Outdoor Life Network, 6 a.m.)

No American won at Roland Garros this spring, which delighted the French to no end. But now it is summer and here comes Lance Armstrong. Memo, France: This might be a good time to book that long, leisurely Spanish vacation.

* Baseball All-Star Selection Show

(ESPN, 4 p.m.)

Edge-of-the-seat, armrest-crushing suspense: Who will be the Detroit Tigers’ “all-star”?

* Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodgers

(ESPN, 5 p.m.)

The Dodgers take their case national: “Wanted: Anyone who can swing a bat and make occasional contact. I mean, just take a look at this! P.S. to Gary Sheffield: Come back soon, all is forgiven.”