On what was supposed to be 1990’s...

On what was supposed to be 1990’s first weekend of televised Major League Baseball, the owners’ lockout and subsequent exhibition-game cancellation has transformed two big races Sunday into the weekend’s top televised sporting events.

At 8 a.m. Sunday, Channel 13 launches its five-hour telecast of the fifth Los Angeles Marathon. The marathon is Southern California’s largest sporting event, with a field of nearly 20,000 expected for the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

At 4:30 p.m., SportsChannel will broadcast the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, the Western Hemisphere’s richest handicap race. Morning-line favorite Bayakoa is seeking to become the first female winner in the race’s 53-year history.

College basketball fans can get a gauge on how seven of the top 10 teams are playing less than two weeks before the start of the NCAA Tournament. Third-ranked Missouri meets Notre Dame at 11:30 a.m. today on Channels 4, 36 and 39, while No. 2 Nevada-Las Vegas visits Cal State Fullerton for a 7:30 p.m. Prime Ticket broadcast.

On Sunday, No. 7 Georgetown is at No. 10 Syracuse (9 a.m., Channels 2 and 8); No. 5 Duke hosts North Carolina (11 a.m., Channels 4, 36 and 39 and No. 8 Michigan travels to No. 9 Purdue (11 a.m., Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42). Also on Sunday, UCLA, having snapped its longest losing streak in 42 years Thursday, faces Washington for a 1 p.m. telecast on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42.