Timothy Olyphant
Most of television does its civic duty and turns to Washington, D.C. for State of the Union coverage (9/8c), as President Obama presents his first address of his second term. (As a curtain raiser, PBS' Frontline — check tvguide.com listings — relives those fun times when the White House sparred with the opposition over the deficit, taking the nation to the brink of the "fiscal cliff" in an installment appropriately titled "Cliffhanger.")
A different sort of dog-and-pony show — emphasis on dogs as show ponies — unfolds on USA Network...
read more
Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams
Fresh off equaling Bjorn Borg's six French Open titles, Rafael Nadal could match another of the Swede's impressive feats: winning on the French clay and Wimbledon grass back-to-back for the third time. "It's the toughest turnaround in tennis," says NBC analyst Mary Carillo, "but Nadal is something very special indeed." Borg did it from 1978-80, and the Spaniard took home both trophies in 2008 and last year...
read more
Roger Federer
Wimbledon begins bright and early Monday morning (June 21, 6:30 a.m./5:30c, ESPN2) and the top two seeds — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — have pulled off what NBC/ESPN2 analyst Mary Carillo calls "the hardest, trickiest thing to do in tennis." That is, win two ...
read more
Mary Carillo by Steve Freeman/NBC
Cheers to Mary Carillo for doing faultless double duty. Her travelogues were among the highlights of NBC’s Beijing Olympics coverage, especially when she sampled some outlandish local cuisine (scorpions on a stick, anyone?). Now the former tennis pro has returned stateside to provide expert commentary for CBS’ coverage of the U.S. Open, where her levelheadedness is always a perfect counterpoint to John McEnroe’s volatility. In any arena, Carillo’s an ace.• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
read more