After the Flood Curt Flood may not have been baseball's greatest centerfielder, but he was certainly one of the most influential, opening wide the door for free agency even at the cost of his own career. "The Curious Case of Curt Flood" (8 p.m., HBO) is a remarkable and often heartbreaking account of the St. Louis Cardinals' star with commentary from relatives, former teammate Joe Torre and journalist Richard Reeves.
The dying flames It's the beginning of the end for one of the finest shows in TV history with the last of nine episodes of "Rescue Me" (9 p.m., FX). Former Dudley Riggs regular Peter Tolan directs this first episode in which life takes a sharp turn for Denis Leary's Tommy. Again. Misery has never been so funny or so poignant.
Back in session "Damages" (9 p.m., DirecTV) manages to attract heavyweight guest stars. They've done it again -- in more ways than one. John Goodman plays a military contractor who could be the scorn of Glenn Close's wrath, which should make for another juicy season. It's getting increasingly harder to believe Close and Rose Byrne's character would stay in the same city, let alone sit down for coffee together, but as long as the sparks and biting dialogue fly, we'll be tuning in.
NEAL JUSTIN
