Crazy Quilt of Quests With a Certain Quixotic Quality

When the New England Patriots began their current winning streak, Grady Little was just another hopeful Boston Red Sox manager and Pedro Martinez still had only one daddy.

When Notre Dame began its current winning streak against Navy, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris still played for the New York Yankees, who advanced that year to the World Series, where they faced -- and lost to -- the St. Louis Cardinals.

Those are a couple of sizable streaks. The Patriots have won an NFL-record 19 consecutive games, dating back to Oct. 5, 2003. Notre Dame has won 40 consecutive football games against Navy, dating back to 1964.

Those streaks, of course, are nothing compared to the other streak getting big play this weekend -- the Red Sox’s string of 85 years without a World Series championship. Included in that run, as you may have heard: crushing October defeats to the Yankees in 1978, 1999 and 2003.

Is anything likely to change anytime soon?

Fox and CBS would like you to think so. Or at least stoke the curiosity enough so you’ll tune in to watch Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Polanco and Terry Francona tilt at windmills for a while.

Should you bother? A quick consumer’s guide:

PATRIOTS VERSUS THE NFL

Latest challenge: Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium (Channel 11, 10 a.m.)

Outlook: Grasping at straws, some pundits believe Seattle’s blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead at home to St. Louis last Sunday was just the thing the Seahawks needed to prepare for a streak-breaking push. Their reasoning: The Patriots haven’t looked overly impressive in their last three victories -- over Arizona, Buffalo and Miami, owners of a combined 1-13 record -- and the Seahawks should be fired up after throwing away a sure victory to their only challenger in the NFC West.

Then again, the Patriots haven’t lost at home since 2002. And the Seahawks went 2-6 on the road in 2003. And in 2004, Seattle couldn’t hold a 17-point fourth-quarter lead at home against Mike Martz.

NOTRE DAME VERSUS NAVY

Latest challenge: Today’s game in East Rutherford, N.J. (Channel 2, 9 a.m.)

Outlook: Navy last defeated Notre Dame in 1963, when Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy as a Navy junior and Ara Parseghian was finishing his last season as the head coach at Northwestern. Since then, Notre Dame has cranked out a 40-0 run -- although Navy, at 5-0, enters this game with the better record.

Notre Dame, 4-2, had to rally from a 15-point deficit against Stanford to preserve that fourth victory. The Fighting Irish are only 6 1/2 -point favorites and certainly vulnerable. Behind the running abilities of quarterback Polanco, Navy ranks sixth in the nation in rushing offense -- and enters the annual Notre Dame game undefeated for the first time since 1978.

RED SOX VERSUS RED SOX

Latest challenge: The Evil Empire, already up, 2-0, in the American League championship series. Game 3 is scheduled for today at 5 p.m. on Channel 11.

Outlook: Remember that “GO YANKS!” headline the Boston Herald ran during the Red Sox-Angels series? Remember all the chat-room talk about a Boston World Series triumph somehow being devalued if the Red Sox didn’t get to go through the Yankees to get there?

Add 2004 to the Be Careful What You Wish For pile. How do you suppose Red Sox fans would feel today had Games 1 and 2 been played in Minnesota instead of the Bronx? Maybe a little better than their mood now, coming home to Fenway down, 0-2, with Curt Schilling possibly done for the season -- a season that now rests in the hands of Bronson Arroyo?

On the bright side, rain postponed Friday’s game, meaning the Red Sox, despite earlier fears to the contrary, will have a game to play on Sunday.

Also available for viewing this weekend:

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TODAY

* Arizona State at USC

(Channel 7, 12:30 p.m.)

Intriguing Patriot-Trojan overtones at play here. Pete Carroll’s last coaching job before USC: New England. As with the Patriots, the Trojans haven’t overwhelmed in recent games -- barely surviving the challenges of Stanford and Cal -- and enter this weekend confronted by doubters trying to convince themselves that this is the game where it all falls apart.

One hitch, however: The Patriots don’t lose at home, and neither do the Trojans. USC takes a 17-game home winning streak into today’s game at the Coliseum.

* UCLA at California

(TBS, 4 p.m.)

All good streaks must come to an end. Last Saturday, it was Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ NCAA record-tying string of 23 consecutive pass completions. Today, it’s Karl Dorrell’s 4-0 record since the opening-game loss to Oklahoma State.

* St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros

(Channel 11, 1:15 p.m.)

Roger Clemens starts Game 3 for the Astros, which raises a question: Which would be the better World Series story line -- Clemens pitching against the Yankees, or Clemens pitching against the Red Sox?

Most likely story line, of course: Clemens watching Matt Morris pitching against the Yankees.

* NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW-GM Quality 500 (Channel 4, 4 p.m.)

NBC’s NASCAR commentator Allen Bestwick returns behind the mike after being sidelined because of a broken leg sustained while playing hockey. And that, NHL fans, is this week’s TV hockey news.

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SUNDAY

* Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders

(Channel 2, 1:15 p.m.)

Historical footnote: Jerry Rice played his last game as a San Francisco 49er against the Broncos. Now he’s a Raider, the Broncos are in town, Rice has requested a trade and it could be bye-bye Bay Area again.

It has to be tough for Rice. He’s 42, he’s catching heat for hanging around too long and his quarterback, Kerry Collins, has been throwing more passes to defenders than to him.