Pick Of The Week

Monday

Monday

Sky Sports 1 (7.0) - Live Football: Wimbledon v Arsenal (Premiership, kick-off 8.0). Zzzzzzz.

RTE1 (8.0) - True Lives: Women With Balls (8.0), Gaelic Girls (8.30). Women With Balls is a repeat of the Channel Four programme on the Harlequins women's rugby team; Gaelic Girls is a documentary on an Irish women's Gaelic football team in Sydney and their attempt to win the New South Wales Championship.

BBC1 (10.0) - Alex Higgins: Rebel Without a Pause. The cue master himself talks to Jackie Fullerton about his career.

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Tuesday

BBC2 (1.20) - Golf: The Canon Shoot-Out. Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam are among those competing in the Champions' Challenge Shoot Out, a charity pairs event at Wentworth.

TnaG (10.45) - All-Ireland Gold Hurling. This week, the viewers' choice of the best hurling match of the series.

Christmas Eve

Sky Sports 1 (7.0) - Goals and Bloopers. `Sublime skills' and `crazy cock-ups', the latter comprising of Everton's footballing year.

SKY SPORTS 2 (7.30) - Sports Centre Christmas Special. Review of the best of the sporting action from 1997.

Christmas Day

Sky Sports 2 (10.0 a.m. and 6.30) - Salute to the Lions. A two and half hour special on the tour of South Africa.

Sky Sports 1 (2.0) - Cliff Richard Celebrity Tennis. Kevin Keegan, Bobby Davro and Rolf Harris join Cliff on court in this charity tournament. Could you imagine anything worse? Me neither. With a bit of luck, though, Rolf might give us an auld blast of the seminal `Two Little Boys'.

TnaG (7.30) - Christy Ring. A profile of the hurling legend.

Sky Sports 2 (9.0) - How the Ryder Cup Was Won. Three hours of the best of the action from Valderrama in September.

BBC2 (9.0) - Modern Times. Okay, the sporting link is a little tenuous here BUT Spacehoppers, those bouncy round things we all had in our youth, very nearly qualify as a piece of sporting equipment. Tonight's programme features a woman who had a Spacehopper which she brought to bed with her every night, took it with her to university and divorced a husband partly because he deflated it. Quite right too.

UTV (9.45) - Starting Blocks. A look at sporting heroes when they were young and not so famous, using amateur videos and archive film. The stars include Andre Agassi, Tiger Woods, Tim Henman and most of the current Manchester United first team.

BBC1 (11.05) - They Think It's All Over Christmas Special. The special guests are Chelsea fullback Sooty and hand puppet Graeme Le Saux.

St Stephen's Day

Network Two (1.15) - The Big Race. Bank Holiday action from Leopardstown, featuring The Denny's Gold Medal Chase, won last year by Danoli.

Sky Sports 1 (4.0) - Live Football: Aston Villa v Spurs. (Premiership, kick-off 4.30). Unless he's dropped, tonight's match features the season's most expensive turkey - Stanley Collymore.

Saturday

BBC2 (12.40) - Live Horse Racing. Julian Wilson presents his final racing broadcast, after 32 years with the BBC, from Chepstow - featuring the Welsh Grand National at 1.55.

Network Two (1.15) - The Big Race. More action from Leopardstown - today's big race is the Paddy Power Handicap Chase.

UTV (6.05) - Gladiators: Celebrity Special. The Gladiators take on a team of celebrities, including - you won't believe this - Willie Carson. No kidding.

Sunday

UTV (2.20) - Murray and Martin's Look Back. Murray Walker and Martin Brundle present a review of the Formula One season.

Sky Sports 1 (4.0) - Live Football: Newcastle United v Liverpool. Highlights on Match of the Day (BBC1, 10.10).