Those matchups are among the highlights of a 65-game preseason schedule announced by the NFL that features 11 nationally televised contests.

To NFL coaches, the "highlights" always come on the field.

"The preseason is a chance to really evaluate players," says New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel. "When we step on the field, we play to win. It doesn't matter if it's a regular-season or preseason game."

The San Francisco 49ers will certainly be looking for a win on Monday night, July 31, when they take on the New England Patriots in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game (ABC-TV, 8 p.m. ET). They won't want to disappoint three of their alumni who will be in attendance after being inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 29.

Former 49ers Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana and Dave Wilcox will be joined by Howie Long and Dan Rooney at the Saturday induction ceremonies.

The Hall of Fame and the NFL have invited all Hall members to the biggest reunion of pro football's all-time stars. "Pro Football's Greatest Reunion" is expected to include 138 Hall of Famers.

The 49ers-Patriots meeting will be the second consecutive Hall of Fame Game to be played on a Monday night. Last year's — between Cleveland and Dallas — was the highest-rated (10.1) Hall of Fame Game telecast ever.

Of course, last season's Super Bowl was one of the most memorable ever. So why not play it again? Which is exactly what will happen on Monday night, Aug. 14 (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) when the Tennessee Titans host the St. Louis Rams. St. Louis was a 23-16 victor this past Jan. 30 in a Super Bowl that seemed to have everything — Kurt Warner passing, Isaac Bruce catching, and that last-second stop by Mike Jones of Kevin Dyson that is already a classic football photo.

Photos certainly will be snapped on Aug. 19 — as they were on April 15 — of two of the principals when the Washington Redskins visit the Cleveland Browns.

It will be the first meeting as pros (and the only one of 2000) of the first two choices of the 2000 NFL Draft — defensive end Courtney Brown of the Browns and linebacker LaVar Arrington of the Redskins. The two Penn Staters became only the third set of players from the same school to be chosen first and second overall in the history of the draft. Going against Brown will be the third choice in the draft — tackle Chris Samuels of Alabama.

 

2000 PRESEASON NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ET)
Date	Game	Time	Network
Monday, July 31	Hall of Fame Game - New England vs. San Francisco	8 p.m.	ABC
Saturday, Aug. 5	American Bowl (Tokyo) - Atlanta vs. Dallas	10 p.m.	ESPN
Friday, Aug. 11	New York Giants vs. Jacksonville	8 p.m.	CBS
Saturday, Aug. 12	Buffalo at Detroit	8:35 p.m.	ESPN
Sunday, Aug. 13	Green Bay at Denver	4 p.m.	FOX
Monday, Aug. 14	St. Louis vs. Tennessee	8 p.m.	ABC
Friday, Aug. 18	Arizona at Minnesota	8:35 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Aug. 19	American Bowl (Mexico City) - Indianapolis vs. Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	CBS
Sunday, Aug. 20	Tampa Bay at New England	4 p.m.	FOX
Monday, August 21	Green Bay at Miami	8 p.m.	ABC
Thursday, Aug. 24	St. Louis at Dallas	8:35 p.m.	ESPN

While these games are being played in the states, the NFL will continue its international initiative that has proven to be so successful.

Nearly two million fans (1,988,100) have turned out to watch 34 American Bowls since 1986 for an average of 58,474 per game. Two of the most enthusiastic cities will be re-visited by the NFL this summer.

On Saturday, August 5 (ESPN, 10:00 PM ET), the NFL returns to the Tokyo Dome in Japan when the Atlanta Falcons take on the Dallas Cowboys.

It will be the 10th American Bowl in the Tokyo Dome (1989-96, 1998). Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith just completed a one-week tour of Japan while promoting the game. "We want to bring a grass-roots understanding of football to your culture," Smith told the Japanese.

Two weeks after Tokyo, the NFL returns to a site — Mexico City — that has played a big part in that two-million American Bowl attendance total.

On August 19 (CBS-TV, 8:00 PM ET), the Indianapolis Colts face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. It will be the fourth American Bowl in the city, including in 1994 when the largest crowd to see an NFL game — 112,376 fans — watched Dallas face the Houston Oilers.

The Steelers are seasoned international travelers, having played in four American Bowls. It will be the Colts' first international game.

"It's a great opportunity for us," says Colts owner Jim Irsay. "It's the result of having several high-profile players and a very good football team." The Colts last season produced the biggest victory turnaround in NFL history from one season to the next — 10 games (3-13 to 13-3). That was after a 3-1 preseason record.

As Jim Fassel says, every game — preseason and regular season — is important.

Chicago Bears linebacker Barry Minter agrees. "You play to win," he says, "every time you put on the hat."

Below are all the listings of the remaining preseason games.

 

2000 PRESEASON SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES LOCAL)
Date	Game	Time
Saturday, July 29	Atlanta at Indianapolis	7 p.m.
	New Orleans at N.Y. Jets	8 p.m.
Sunday, July 30	Philadelphia at Cleveland	8 p.m.
	Pittsburgh at Dallas	7 p.m.
Monday, July 31	Hall of Fame Game - New England vs. San Francisco	8 p.m.
	FIRST WEEK (BYE: CLEVELAND)
Friday, August 4	Cincinnati at Buffalo	7:30 p.m.
	Jacksonville at Carolina	8 p.m.
	New England at Detroit	7 p.m.
	New York Jets at Green Bay	7 p.m.
	Washington at Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 5	American Bowl (Tokyo) - Atlanta vs. Dallas	10 p.m.
	Chicago at New York Giants	8 p.m.
	Denver at Arizona	7 p.m.
	Indianapolis at Seattle	5 p.m.
	Kansas City at Tennessee	7 p.m.
	Miami at Pittsburgh	6 p.m.
	New Orleans at Minnesota	7 p.m.
	Oakland at St. Louis	7 p.m.
	Philadelphia at Baltimore	8 p.m.
	San Diego at San Francisco	6 p.m.
	SECOND WEEK (BYE: PHILADELPHIA)
Thursday, August 10	Carolina at Pittsburgh	7:30 p.m.
	Tampa Bay at Miami	7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 11	Cincinnati at Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
	New England at Washington	8 p.m.
	New York Giants at Jacksonville	8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 12	Buffalo at Detroit	8:35 p.m.
	Cleveland at Chicago	7 p.m.
	Minnesota at San Diego	6 p.m.
	New Orleans at Indianapolis	7 p.m.
	New York Jets at Baltimore	8 p.m.
	Seattle at Arizona	7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 13	Green Bay at Denver	2 p.m.
	Oakland at Dallas	7 p.m.
	San Francisco at Kansas City	7:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 14	St. Louis at Tennessee	7 p.m.
	THIRD WEEK (BYE: NEW ORLEANS)
Friday, Aug. 18	Arizona at Minnesota	7:35 p.m.
	Baltimore at Carolina	8 p.m.
	Detroit at Oakland	6 p.m.
	New York Giants at New York Jets	8 p.m.
	San Diego at Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
	Tennessee at Philadelphia	7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 19	American Bowl (Mexico City) - Indianapolis vs. Pittsburgh	8 p.m.
	Buffalo at St. Louis	7 p.m.
	Chicago at Cincinnati	7:30 p.m.
	Dallas at Denver	7 p.m.
	Jacksonville at Kansas City	7:30 p.m.
	San Francisco at Seattle	7:30 p.m.
	Washington at Cleveland	7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 20	Tampa Bay at New England	4 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 21	Green Bay at Miami	8 p.m.
	FOURTH WEEK (BYE: NEW YORK JETS)
Thursday, Aug. 24	Atlanta at Jacksonville	7:30 p.m.
	Buffalo at Philadelphia	8 p.m.
	Carolina at New England	8 p.m.
	Minnesota at Indianapolis	7 p.m.
	St. Louis at Dallas	7:35 p.m.
	Seattle at Oakland	6 p.m.
Friday, August 25	Arizona at San Diego	7 p.m.
	Baltimore at New York Giants	8 p.m.
	Denver at San Francisco	6 p.m.
	Detroit at Cincinnati	7:30 p.m.
	Kansas City at Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
	Miami at New Orleans	7 p.m.
	Pittsburgh at Washington	8 p.m.
	Tennessee at Chicago	7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 26	Cleveland at Green Bay	4 p.m.