Derby, NBA Playoffs Top Sports Choices

Though the Lakers’ dreams for the championship evaporated when they lost 102-94 Thursday night to the Houston Rockets, the 1996 NBA playoffs continue on TV this weekend.

NBC’s coverage begins today at 12:30 p.m., with the Rockets at the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series. Sunday’s triple header begins at 10 a.m. with either the Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs or the Atlanta Hawks at Indiana Pacers, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz. The third game will match the New York Knicks against the Chicago Bulls at 3 p.m. on Channels 4 and 36.

Basketball, though, isn’t the only major sporting event this weekend. “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” presents live coverage of the 122nd running of the Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville today at 1:30 p.m. on Channels 7, 3 and 42. Post time is 2:32 p.m.

For nonsports fans, American Movie Classics’ original dramatic series “Remember WENN” returns after a two-month hiatus tonight at 6 and 10. “WENN” will air each consecutive Saturday for 13 weeks.

KCET’s Huell Howser takes his trusty camcorder and visits Cuba in the new one-hour special “Huell in Havana,” today at 6 and Sunday at 7 p.m. on Channel 28.

In one of his last interviews before his death, ex-CIA Director William Colby expresses to Mike Wallace sympathy toward a group of CIA-backed South Vietnamese commandos abandoned by the U.S. government on “60 Minutes,” Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS.

Other weekend programs of note include:

Public Affairs: TODAY: British Labor Party Leader Tony Blair talks about politics in his country on “Evans & Novak,” 2:30 p.m., repeats Sunday, 7 a.m. CNN. . . .

Reps. Bob Livingston (D-La.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) discuss the gas tax on “John McLaughlin’s One on One,” 2:30 p.m. (28). . . .

Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is the guest on “The Capital Gang Saturday,” 4 and 10:30 p.m. CNN. . . .

“The McLaughlin Group” takes up the gas tax and the ongoing Whitewater investigation, 4:30 p.m. (4). . . .

Gov. Pete Wilson and Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan discuss the abortion controversy on “Inside Politics Weekend,” 4:30 p.m. CNN. . . .

Mickey Rooney fields questions on “Larry King Weekend,” 6 and 11 p.m. CNN.

SUNDAY: “Sunday Today” profiles actresses Sharon Stone and Pamela Anderson Lee, visits U.S. Olympic weightlifter Mark Henry and interviews choreographer Elizabeth Streb, 6 a.m. (4) (36). . . .

Laura D’Andrea Tyson, chief of the National Economic Council, and Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas) will be the guests on “Meet the Press,” 7 a.m. (4). . . .

“Sunday Morning” features a profile of saxophone player Jimmy Heath, a visit to the Florida Keys and a trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for a Picasso exhibition, 7:30 a.m. (2). . . .

Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and Massachusetts Gov. William Weld pay a visit to “Fox News Sunday,” 8 a.m. (11). . . .

House Speaker Newt Gingrich talks about presidential politics on “Face the Nation,” 9 a.m. (2). . . .

“Bob Navarro’s Journal” debates the California Civil Rights Initiative, 9:30 a.m. (2). . . .

“Both Sides With Jesse Jackson” delves into the sexual harassment case at Mitsubishi, 9:30 a.m. CNN. . . .

Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin and Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) focus on gas tax politics on “This Week With David Brinkley,” 10 a.m. (7). . . .

“Life & Times” reports on proposals to reform the jury system in California, 10:30 a.m. (28). . . .

“Reliable Sources” debates the media’s use of anonymous sources, 3:30 p.m. CNN. . . .

“Crossfire Sunday” puts consumer advocate Ralph Nader on the hot seat, 4:30 p.m. CNN. . . .

Specials and Movies: Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, John Goodman and Lily Tomlin perform on Comic Relief’s “American Comedy Festival,” tonight at 10 on Channel 7. . . . Magician Rudy Coby stars in the Fox special “Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous,” Sunday at 7 p.m. (11).

Sunday’s movies include ABC’s suspense thriller “An Unfinished Affair,” at 9 p.m. on Channels 7, 3 and 42, starring Jennie Garth and Tim Matheson; and Showtime’s action thriller “Moonshine Highway,” with Kyle MacLachlan and Randy Quaid, at 8 p.m.

Sports: Baseball: Dodgers at Pirates, 4 p.m. today; 10:30 a.m., Sunday (5). . . . Golf: LPGA tournament, 1 p.m. today; 11 a.m., Sunday (2). . . . Hockey: NHL Playoffs, Florida at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. today, ESPN; Chicago at Colorado, 7 p.m., today, ESPN. . . . Soccer: Washington at Galaxy, 1 p.m. Sunday (34).

For a complete list of sports events on TV, see Section C.