WORTH NOTING ON TV
This guide is designed to alert readers to the scope and variety of programming coming up. Listing is not meant to represent blanket endorsement. Viewers are urged to be selective. FRIDAY Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Salute (CBS, 9-11 p.m.): With music, dance, and comedy, an impressive roster of stars honors the songwriter about whom Jerome Kern once said, ``He has no place in American music - he he is American music.'' Taped May 11 in Carnegie Hall.
SATURDAY NBA basketball playoffs (CBS, 3:30 -6 p.m., check local listings): Live coverage of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons.
SUNDAY Indianapolis 500 (ABC, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. - check local listings): Nine former Indy 500 champions - a record - are among the field of 33 top drivers in this year's version of the classic auto race. French Open Tennis (NBC, 1-3 p.m.): Same-day tape coverage of the 63rd version of this important championship. NBA playoffs (CBS, 3:30-6 p.m.): Western Conference finals, Game 4, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks is covered live. To Heal a Nation (NBC, 9-11 p.m.): In this drama special, dedicated volunteers fight opposition - bureaucratic and individual - to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
MONDAY Monday Night Baseball (ABC, 8 p.m. to conclusion): Check local listings for the teams playing in this network's season premi`ere of live major-league telecasts. NBA playoffs (CBS, 3-5:30 p.m.): Boston vs. Detroit in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. Ring of Fire (PBS, 8-9 p.m.): Part 3 in the Blair brothers' exploration of the myriad islands of the Indonesian Archipelago. Moyers: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (PBS, 10-11 p.m.): Creation stories are examined in ``Message of Myth,'' Part 2 of this series.
TUESDAY Liza Minnelli: Triple Play (ABC, 10-11 p.m.): Drama, comedy, and music all figure in this special costarring Ryan O'Neal, Lou Gossett Jr., and John Rubinstein. NBA playoffs (CBS, 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. EDT): Yes, those late times are right. But this program is a maybe, airing only if the Western Conference finals are not over. Frontline (PBS, 9-10 p.m.): ``Trouble in Paradise'' deals with American efforts to form a military pact with the island of Palau - and the disastrous results for that tiny South Pacific nation.
THURSDAY NBA playoffs (CBS, 9-11:30 p.m.): Another maybe - to be played if the Western Conference finals are still undecided.
Schedules may vary in some time zones. Please check local listings, especially for PBS, where individual stations often air programs on differing days and times.