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| January 5, 2009 |
ESPN PR
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860-766-2000
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HOOPS
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
LIL WAYNE ON FIRST TAKE, HOT STOVE ON SPORTSCENTER, & MORE
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NBA and College Basketball Commentators Trade Places; Vitale Back to NBA contact: nate.smeltz@espn.com; mark.d.mandel@espn.com; michael.c.humes@espn.com ESPN's NBA and college basketball commentators will switch roles on Wednesday, Jan. 7, during a special basketball doubleheader on ESPN. NBA regulars Mike Tirico and analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy will call Davidson at Duke at 7 p.m. ET, followed by college voices Dan Shulman and Hall of Famer Dick Vitale (who is in his 30th year with ESPN) providing commentary when the Denver Nuggets host the Miami Heat at 9 p.m. Vitale last called an NBA game on ESPN in 1984, while Jackson was a standout at St. John’s in the mid-1980’s and Van Gundy was an assistant coach at Providence College and Rutgers University in the late 1980’s.
NBA: Celtics/Cavs Face Off Friday on ESPN contact: nate.smeltz@espn.com; mark.d.mandel@espn.com This Week, the NBA on ESPN will feature three games, highlighted by a matchup between the teams with the best records in the Eastern Conference when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Boston Celtics Friday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. Dan Shulman will call the game with analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and reporter Nancy Lieberman. ESPN telecasts are available in high definition on ESPN HD and via ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. Kia NBA Shootaround will preview the Friday telecasts at 7:30 p.m. For additional information on the 2008-09 season, visit our NBA press kit. This week’s schedule:
Men’s College Basketball: #2 Duke Twice and #21 Louisville at #17 Villanova contact: michael.c.humes@espn.com The upcoming men’s college basketball schedule is highlighted by two telecasts of #2 Duke on ESPN: against Davidson, led by standout guard Stephen Curry, Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. and at Florida State in an ACC showdown Saturday, Jan. 10, at 2 p.m. Additional highlights for Saturday:
Date Time (ET) Network Matchup / Commentators
College GameDay From FedEx BCS National Championship Game Thursday, Jan. 8 contact: michael.c.humes@espn.com College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will originate from Miami, site of the FedEx BCS National Championship, #1 Oklahoma vs. #2 Florida, Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. The one-hour College GameDay show will be hosted by Chris Fowler with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.
BCS Game Starts “Sooner” on ESPN Radio contact: dan.quinn@espn.com ESPN Radio will kick-off coverage of Thursday’s Fedex BCS Championship between the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and second-ranked Florida Gators at 7:15 p.m. Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit will describe the action with Lisa Salters on the sidelines. Marc Kestecher will serve as on-site studio host with analyst Trevor Matich.
Lil Wayne on ESPN First Take Tuesday, Jan. 6 contact: alison.lazar@espn.com Lil Wayne, an eight-time Grammy nominee and blogger on espn.com, will appear on the ESPN2 morning show ESPN First Take on Tuesday, January 6. He will sit opposite regular panelist Skip Bayless on the "First & 10" segments debating the sports headlines of the day. ESPN First Take is a live two-hour show on ESPN2 weekday mornings at 10 a.m. that combines interviews, discussion and features in a sometimes light-hearted or humorous manner. The show is hosted by Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson, with SportsCenter updates.
Sunday SportsCenter at 7 p.m. Hosted by Chris Berman Up in Ratings This Fall contact: bill.hofheimer@espn.com The 7 p.m. Sunday SportsCenter during the NFL season had a 13% increase in ratings (0.9 vs. 0.8 in 2007) and a 12% gain in household viewership (849,000 homes vs. 759,000) from a year ago. Two years removed from the 19th and final season of ESPN's popular NFL PrimeTime (1987-2005) highlights show, this year ESPN reunited Chris Berman, Tom Jackson and John Saunders with first-year analyst Trent Dilfer in a new NFL-centric show focused on all the day’s pro football action in addition to the day's top sports stories. SportsCenter also added a new compressed graphical format with statistics, injury reports, fantasy football stats and other relevant NFL news, updating fans on the day's action.
"Chris Berman and our NFL experts delivered on our promise of giving fans immediate and hard-hitting analysis of all the day's games all season long, and the new 7 p.m. Sunday SportsCenter was a big hit," said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production.
"Baseball Tonight Hot Stove" Series on SportsCenter contact: dan.quinn@espn.com SportsCenter is presenting a daily "Baseball Tonight Hot Stove" series analyzing each Major League team. The series started last Friday with Philadelphia followed by Tampa Bay, the Cubs and White Sox (tonight). Host Karl Ravech is joined by a combination of reporters and analysts including Peter Gammons, Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, and Steve Phillips, who examine each team’s key losses, additions and yet-to-be-made moves.
"Baseball Tonight Hot Stove" Team-by-Team Schedule Tue., Jan. 6 - Anaheim (Kurkjian) Tue., Jan. 20 - Washington (Kurkjian) Wed., Jan. 7 - Los Angeles (Olney) Wed., Jan. 21 - Baltimore (Olney) Thu., Jan. 8 - Florida (Gammons) Thu., Jan. 22 - Arizona (Gammons) Fri., Jan. 9 - Detroit (Gammons) Fri., Jan. 23 – Oakland (Gammons) Sat., Jan. 10 - Cincinnati (Kurkjian) Sat., Jan. 24 - Pittsburgh (Olney) Sun., Jan. 11 - Boston (Gammons) Sun., Jan. 25 - Mets (Phillips) Mon., Jan. 12 - Colorado (Phillips) Mon., Jan. 26 - Minnesota (Olney) Tue., Jan. 13 - St Louis (Phillips) Tue., Jan. 27 - Houston (Olney) Wed., Jan. 14 - Cleveland (Kurkjian) Wed., Jan. 28 - Toronto (Phillips) Thu., Jan. 15 - Atlanta (Kurkjian) Thu., Jan. 29 - San Francisco (Kurikjian) Fri., Jan. 16 -San Diego (Olney) Fri., Jan. 30 - Texas (Kurkjian) Sat., Jan. 17 - Seattle (Phillips) Sat., Jan. 31 - Kansas City (Gammons) Sun., Jan. 18 -Yankees (Olney) Mon., Jan. 19 - Milwaukee (Gammons)
ESPN2 Friday Night Fights Kicks Off 11th Season with Bernard Hopkins in Studio contact: doug.grassian@espn.com Kicking off its 11th season, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights will feature undefeated Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa (12-0, 10 KOs) versus Roger Gonzalez (27-2, 18 KOs) on the season-opening telecast, at 9 p.m. on Jan. 9. Gamboa, a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, is a talented offensive force and has produced some entertaining fights. ESPN’s Joe Tessitorre will return with analyst Teddy Atlas in the booth.
Also this week, Bernard Hopkins will join ESPN’s Brian Kenny in the studio with analysis and insight on the matches as well as his recent match with Kelly Pavlik, whom Hopkins knocked from the ranks of the undefeated with a surprising victory.
ESPN.com’s Mayne Street This Week (Tue. & Fri. 9 a.m.): “Golf” and “Very Special” contact: alison.lazar@espn.com or paul.melvin@espn.com This week, ESPN.com’s original scripted series Mayne Street – which debuts every Tuesday and Friday at 9 a.m. staring ESPN personality Kenny Mayne playing himself in a fictionalized version of life at the center of sports television – will feature Kenny’s arrogant boss crashing his golfing foursome. In Friday’s webisode, “Very Special,” Kenny and the crew try to make a young fan's day. Amazingly, things don't go according to plan.
Go to www.mediazone.com for photos and clips.
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