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ESPN, ESPN2 & Longhorn Network To Air Little Legue World Series Regional Games; Wait, Longhorn Network?

Three ESPN networks will air 34 Little League World Series Regional games starting on Friday. The networks utilized will be ESPN, ESPN2 and the Longhorn Network.

One can argue about ESPN exploiting children by airing the Little League World Series tournament, but the games seem to do well for the Family of Networks.

Longhorn Network which is hardly seen in Texas will have 12 Southwest Region games. ESPN and ESPN2 will have the 22 other games spread across the country.

We have the schedule plus the announcing assignments for all 34 regional games. Check it out.

ESPN, ESPN2 & Longhorn Network Combine to Televise 34 Little League World Series Regional Games

ESPN, ESPN2 and Longhorn Network will combine to televise 34 regional games of the 2012 Little League World Series. The regional games will lead into ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of the Little League World Series from Williamsport, Pa. Aug 16-26. ESPN’s total Little League World Series commitment is 75 Little League World Series games, including 32 from Williamsport and nine additional Little League World Series games across several divisions.

ESPN’s regional coverage will begin with 12 Southwest region games on Longhorn Network Aug. 3-6. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the remaining 22 regional games Aug. 7-12. All ESPN and ESPN2 games will also be available via ESPN3 and WatchESPN with most games available on ESPN Mobile TV.

Commentators
Former Major League pitcher Danny Graves will serve as a guest analyst for all Longhorn Network telecasts, working alongside play-by-play commentator Tommie Hart. In addition, former Major League catcher Paul Lo Duca will return for his second year of Little League coverage, working as an analyst for ESPN’s Bristol-based regional games with Karl Ravech. Here is the full list of commentator pairings (play-by-play/analyst): Tommie Hart/Danny Graves; Carter Blackburn/Kyle Peterson; Clay Matvick/Chris Singleton; Mark Neely/Aaron Boone; Karl Ravech/Paul Lo Duca.

Additional Little League World Series Games
In addition to the 34 regional games and the 32 Williamsport games, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise nine more World Series games – featuring seven championship games – across several divisions, including Big League Baseball, Big League Softball, Senior League Softball, Junior League Softball, Senior League Baseball, Junior League Baseball and Little League Softball.

Little League World Series in Williamsport
ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to present all 32 Little League World Series games from Williamsport, Pa., beginning Thursday, Aug. 16, and concluding with the World Series Championship game on ABC Sunday, Aug. 26. Full coverage details will be announced soon.

Little League World Series Regions/Locations
Great Lakes (Indianapolis, Ind.); Mid-Atlantic (Bristol, Conn.); Midwest (Indianapolis, Ind.); New England (Bristol, Conn); Northwest (San Bernardino, Calif.); Southeast (Warner Robins, Ga.); Southwest (Waco, Texas); West (San Bernardino, Calif.). For a list of all teams per region, visit LittleLeague.org.

ESPN’s Little League World Series Regional Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Game / Commentators	Network(s)
Fri, Aug. 3	2 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Mississippi vs. Arkansas Tommie Hart, Danny Graves	Longhorn Network
	6 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Louisiana vs. New Mexico Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	9:30 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Oklahoma vs. Texas East Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
Sat, Aug. 4	2 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Arkansas vs. New Mexico Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	6 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Mississippi vs. Louisiana Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	9:30 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Colorado vs. Texas West Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
Sun, Aug. 5	2 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Oklahoma vs. Colorado Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	6 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Texas East vs. Texas West Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	9:30 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Mississippi vs. New Mexico Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
Mon, Aug. 6	2 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Oklahoma vs. Texas West Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	6 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool B: Colorado vs. Texas East Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
	9:30 p.m.	Southwest Region Pool A: Arkansas vs. Louisiana Hart, Graves	Longhorn Network
Tues, Aug. 7	5 p.m.	Southwest Regional Semifinal # 1 First Place Pool A vs. Second Place Pool B Hart, Graves	ESPN2, ESPN3, Watch ESPN
	8 p.m.	Southwest Regional Semifinal # 2 First Place Pool B vs. Second Place Pool A Hart, Graves	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
Wed, Aug. 8	11 a.m.	Great Lakes Regional Semifinal # 1 Carter Blackburn, Kyle Peterson	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	1 p.m.	Southeast Regional Semifinal #1 Clay Matvick, Chris Singleton	ESPN, ESPN3, WatchESPN
	2 p.m.	Great Lakes Regional Semifinal # 2 Blackburn, Peterson	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	6 p.m.	Southeast Regional Semifinal # 2 Matvick, Singleton	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
Thurs, Aug. 9	2 p.m.	Midwest Regional Semifinal # 1 Blackburn, Peterson	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	5 p.m.	Northwest Regional Semifinal # 1 Mark Neely, Aaron Boone	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	7 p.m.	Midwest Regional Semifinal # 2 Blackburn, Peterson	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	9 p.m.	Southwest Regional Final Hart, Graves	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	11 p.m.	Northwest Regional Semifinal # 2 Neely, Boone	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
Fri, Aug. 10	11 a.m.	Mid-Atlantic Regional Semifinal # 1 Karl Ravech, Paul Lo Duca	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	1 p.m.	Great Lakes Regional Final Blackburn, Peterson	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	3 p.m.	Mid-Atlantic Regional Semifinal # 2 Ravech, Lo Duca	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	5 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal # 1 Neely, Boone	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	7 p.m.	Southeast Regional Final Matvick, Singleton	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	9 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal # 2 Neely, Boone	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
Sat, Aug. 11	2 p.m.	Midwest Regional Final Blackburn, Peterson	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	4 p.m.	Northwest Regional Final Neely, Boone	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	6 p.m.	New England Regional Final Ravech, Lo Duca	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
	8 p.m.	West Regional Final Neely, Boone	ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN
Sun, Aug. 12	5 p.m.	Mid-Atlantic Regional Final Ravech, Lo Duca	ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV, WatchESPN

Additional Little League World Series Coverage Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Game / Commentators	Network(s)
Wed, Aug. 1	8 p.m.	Big League Baseball Final Matvick, Doug Glanville	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
Wed, Aug. 8	4 p.m.	Big League Softball Final Cara Capuano, Michele Smith	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
Sat, Aug. 11	12 p.m.	Sr. League Softball Final Pam Ward, Smith	ESPN, ESPN3, WatchESPN
Tues, Aug. 14	7 p.m.	Little League Softball Semifinal # 1 Ward, Smith, Holly Rowe	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
	9:30 p.m.	Little League Softball Semifinal # 2 Ward, Smith, Rowe	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
Wed, Aug. 15	10 p.m.	Little League Softball Final Ward, Smith, Rowe	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
Sat, Aug. 18	11 a.m.	Junior League Baseball Final Blackburn, Ben McDonald	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN
	2 p.m.	Senior League Baseball Final Matvick, Glanville	ESPNU, ESPN3, WatchESPN
	5 p.m.	Junior League Softball Final Ward, Cheri Kempf	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN

That’s all.

ESPN Family To Air Nine Exhibition Soccer Games This Summer

Starting tonight, the ESPN Family of Networks will air a total of nine exhibition soccer games featuring European and MLS teams. The series starts tonight in Seattle as the MLS’ Sounders host the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup Champions Chelsea from the English Premier League. In addition, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur from the EPL, Real Madrid from Spain’s La Liga, Celtic from the Scottish Premier League, Milan and Roma from Italy’s Serie A plus Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will be involved in the series.

Eight of the nine games will air on ESPN2. One will be exclusive to ESPN3.

We have the press release from ESPN.

2012 ESPN Summer Soccer Series

The 2012 ESPN Summer Soccer Series – nine international club matches over three weeks featuring legendary European and Major League Soccer clubs on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes – will kick off tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET with the 2012 European club champions Chelsea FC visiting the Seattle Sounders. The series will conclude Saturday, Aug. 11, at 1:55 p.m. with Spain’s La Liga champions Real Madrid FC vs. Scottish Premier League title holders Celtic FC. Eight of the nine matches will be aired live across ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes, with one on ESPN3.

The schedule (subject to change):

Date	Time (ET)	Match	Networks
Wed, July 18	9:30 p.m.	Seattle Sounders vs. Chelsea FC Adrian Healey, Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas Ricardo Ortiz and Andres Agulla (ESPN Deportes)	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Tue, July 24	10:30 p.m.	Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Tottenham Hotspur	ESPN3
Wed, July 25	6:30 p.m.	Liverpool FC vs. AS Roma Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe Richard Mendez and Tato Noriega	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Sat, July 28	1 p.m.	Liverpool FC vs. Tottenham Hotspur Rae and Mustoe Ciro Procuna and Mario Kempes	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
	6:30 p.m.	Chelsea FC vs. AC Milan Healey and Twellman Jorges Ramos and Hernan Pereyra	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Tue, July 31	7 p.m.	New York Red Bulls vs. Tottenham Hotspur Healey, Twellman and Lalas Mendez and Giovanni Savarese	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Thu, August 2	10:30 p.m.	Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Madrid Healey, Twellman, Lalas and reporter Monica Gonzalez Ortiz and Kempes	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Wed, August 8	8 p.m.	Real Madrid vs. AC Milan Healey and Twellman Procuna and Kempes	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes
Sat, August 11	1:55 p.m.	Real Madrid vs. Celtic FC Healey and Mustoe Procuna and Kempes	ESPN2 / ESPN3 / ESPN Deportes

All matches and times subject to change

The ESPN Summer Soccer Series includes three teams each from the English Premier League, Major League Soccer, two from Italy’s Serie A, and one from Spain’s La Liga and the Scottish Premier League. Highlights:

• AC Milan:  With seven European cup titles and 18 Italian Serie A championships, AC Milan is one of the legendary football clubs in Europe.  Its roster consists of some of the top international players, such as Alexandre Pato, Robinho (Brazil), Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari (Ghana), and Ignazio Abate, a key defender in Italy’s UEFA EURO 2012 team.
• A.S. Roma: Three-time Serie A winners and new professional home for U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley, who completed a transfer to Roma after signing a four-year contract on Sunday.
• Celtic FC: Reigning Scottish Premier League champions with 43 Scottish titles, Celtic FC is one of the two clubs that have dominated Scottish football over the years.  The club is led by Greece’s Giorgos Samaras, who scored against Germany in the EURO 2012 quarterfinals.
• Chelsea FC: Current UEFA Champions League and England’s FA Cup winners, Chelsea FC is one of the premier clubs in English football.  The roster includes many of the players who participated in the UEFA EURO 2012 – John Terry, Ashley Cole (England), Juan Mata, EURO 2012 Golden Boot winner Fernando Torres (Spain), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Raul Meireles (Portugal), and Florent Malouda (France).
• Liverpool FC: With 18 English titles, second most all-time in English football, and five European Cup titles, Liverpool FC is one of the legendary clubs in European football.  Its roster includes six players who represented England in the just-concluded UEFA European football Championship 2012 in Poland-Ukraine – captain Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Martin Kelly.
• Los Angeles Galaxy: Currently MLS Cup champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy are one of the Major League Soccer’s preeminent clubs with three of professional soccer’s accomplished players – former England captain David Beckham, U.S. Men’s national Team star Landon Donovan, and current Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane.

• New York Red Bulls: One of Major League Soccer’s founding clubs, the New York Red Bulls feature 1998 FIFA World Cup champion Thierry Henry and captain of Mexico’s national team Rafa Marquez.
• Real Madrid: The reigning La Liga champions, Real Madrid has won 32 La Liga titles and nine European Cups.  On its roster are 10 players who represented four different nations in the UEFA EURO 2012 – Iker Casillas, Xavi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe (Spain), Mezut Ozil and Sami Khedira (Germany), and Karim Benzema (France).
• Seattle Sounders: After playing its first match in Major League Soccer in March 2009, the Seattle Sounders have won three straight U.S. Open Cup titles. The team features U.S. Men’s National team player Eddie Johnson and Argentine playmaker Mauro Rosales.
• Tottenham Hotspur:  With American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who has started Premier League-record 304 straight matches, the team has finished among the top-five for three straight seasons in the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur added new manager Andre Villas-Boas and had three players who competed in the UEFA EURO 2012 – Jermain Defoe, Scott Parker (England), and Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands).

That is all.

Preliminary 2012 SEC Football TV Schedule

This comes from the SEC’s website via CBSSports.com. This is the TV schedule for the SEC football season to date. We know the games through September 15 and a few other selections after that. But as we go further into the season, CBS and ESPN will make their selections and then the rest of the games will fall to the SEC Network, Fox Sports Net, CSS and other partners.

That will do it.

ESPN Announces SEC Football Selections For 1st 3 Weeks of the 2012 Season

The SEC Football schedule is out and for the South, this is like Christmas Day when you get to finally open the presents. Fans of the 14 member schools have been looking forward to this since the end of the last college football season. ESPN has selected its games for the first three weeks of the 2012 season and the network has selected 33 games to air on its various networks and platforms including the Mothership, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and the SEC Network.

In addition, those games not selected either by CBS and ESPN have gone to the other conference partners, Fox Sports Net, CSS and local pay per view. Matt’s College Sports has that schedule through September 15.

For ESPN, it begins its SEC schedule on August 30 with South Carolina at Vanderbilt in primetime. On September 8, ESPN will have an SEC conference tripleheader starting at noon with Auburn at Mississippi State, then at 3:30 p.m. the network airs Florida at Texas A&M (that being the Aggies’ first SEC Conference game) and at 7 p.m., it will be Washington taking on LSU in the Bayou.

We have the SEC on ESPN schedule through September 15 below.

ESPN Outlets Cover 33 SEC College Football Games in First Three Weeks of Season

ESPN has selected the Southeastern Conference college football games for coverage across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and the SEC Network during the first three weeks of the 2012 season. Overall, 33 games involving SEC teams will be carried from the season opener on Thursday, Aug. 30 (South Carolina at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN) to Saturday, Sept. 15. Additional selections will be determined as the season progresses. Highlights:

• The first three weeks will include multiple games involving all six of the SEC teams ranked in the College Football Live preseason top 25 poll, highlighted by five of the top nine.
• On Saturday, Sept. 8, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the first conference games of new members Texas A&M and Missouri: No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and No. 6 Georgia at Missouri at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN2.
• Additional conference showdowns in the first three weeks include No. 8 South Carolina at Vanderbilt (Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. on ESPN); Auburn at Mississippi State (Saturday, Sept. 8, at noon on ESPN); and No. 25 Florida at Tennessee (Saturday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. on ESPN).
• ESPN will offer an SEC tripleheader on Saturday, Sept. 8 beginning with Auburn at Mississippi State at noon followed by No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. and Washington at No. 2 LSU at 7 p.m.
• The first three games for No. 2 LSU and first two for No. 3 Alabama, the competing teams in last season’s BCS National Championship Game, won by Alabama 21-0:
• No. 2 LSU against North Texas (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. on ESPNU), against Washington (Saturday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m. on ESPN) and against Idaho (Saturday, Sept. 15 on ESPN3).
• No. 3 Alabama against No. 10 Michigan in the Cowboys Classic from Arlington (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. on ABC) and against Western Kentucky (Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3 and the SEC Network).

2012 SEC Schedule for August 30 through September 15
(additional selections will be announced):

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Aug 30	7 p.m.	No. 8 South Carolina at Vanderbilt *	ESPN
	7:30 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech (Shreveport, La.) *	ESPNU
Fri, Aug 31	7:30 p.m.	Kickoff Game: NC State vs. Tennessee (Atlanta) *	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 1	Noon	Buffalo at No. 6 Georgia	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	3:30 p.m.	Bowling Green at No. 25 Florida	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Kickoff Game: No. 18 Clemson vs. Auburn (Atlanta) *	ESPN
	7 p.m.	North Texas at No. 2 LSU	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Jackson State at Mississippi State	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7 p.m.	Central Arkansas at Mississippi	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	8 p.m.	Cowboys Classic: No. 10 Michigan vs. No. 3 Alabama (Arlington) *	ABC
	TBA	Jacksonville State at No. 9 Arkansas	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	TBA	Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri	ESPN3 *** & PPV
Sun, Sep 2	3:30 p.m.	Kentucky at Louisville *	ESPN
Sat, Sep 8	Noon	Auburn at Mississippi State	ESPN
	Noon	East Carolina at No. 8 South Carolina	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	3:30 p.m.	No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M	ESPN
	3:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky at No. 3 Alabama	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	4 p.m.	Georgia State at Tennessee	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	7 p.m.	Washington at No. 2 LSU	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe at No. 9 Arkansas (Little Rock, Ark.)	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	UTEP at Mississippi	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:30 p.m.	Kent State at Kentucky	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:45 p.m.	No. 6 Georgia at Missouri	ESPN2
Sat, Sep 15	Noon	Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	12:30 p.m.	Presbyterian at Vanderbilt	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	6 p.m.	No. 25 Florida at Tennessee	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Arizona State at Missouri	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	Western Kentucky at Kentucky	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Mississippi State at Troy *	ESPN3 **
	7 p.m.	UAB at No. 8 South Carolina	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic at No. 6 Georgia	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	8 p.m.	Idaho at No. 2 LSU	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	9:15 p.m.	No. 22 Texas at Mississippi	ESPN

* Previously announced
** ESPN3 Exclusive
*** Local blackout may apply

More throughout the day. Keep it here.

ESPN Airs USA Basketball’s Pre-Olympic Exhibition Games

If you want to see the U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s basketball teams in action before the London Olympics, then then ESPN Family of Networks will provide you with seven opportunities including one tonight. ESPN will air seven exhibition games, five for the men and two for the women, as the teams get ready to play in the Olympic Basketball Tournament in London.

ESPN will air one game tonight (USA men vs. Dominican Republic), ESPN2 will take five and ESPN3 has one game all to itself next Wednesday as the USA women take on Great Britain.

Mark Jones and Fran Fraschilla will call the games.

We have a look at the schedule for you.

ESPN to Show Seven USA Basketball Men’s & Women’s National Team Exhibition Games

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 will combine to air seven USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Team exhibition games  – five men’s and two women’s – beginning with the USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. the Dominican Republic on Thursday, July 12, at 9 p.m. ET. All games will be available on WatchESPN and generally carried on ESPN Mobile TV.

Mark Jones will provide play-by-play for all ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts with International basketball expert and analyst Fran Fraschilla. In addition, ESPN will provide extensive coverage of USA Basketball on SportsCenter, espnW.com, ESPN.com’s NBA section and ESPN’s NBA Facebook page.

USA Basketball National Team rosters: men’s; women’s.

USA Basketball Men’s & Women’s National Team Exhibition Game Schedule (Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Networks	Location
Thurs, July 12	9 p.m.	USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. Dominican Republic Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN, ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV	Las Vegas
Mon, July 16	5:30 p.m.	USA Basketball Women’s National Team vs. Brazil Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN,ESPN Mobile TV	Washington, D.C.
Mon, July 16	8 p.m.	USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. Brazil Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN	Washington, D.C.
Wed, July 18	2 p.m.	USA Basketball Women’s National Team vs. Great Britain TBD	ESPN3	Manchester, England
Thurs, July 19	2 p.m.	USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. Great Britain Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV	Manchester, England
Mon, July 23	Midnight^ (Sun, July 22)	USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. Argentina Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV	Barcelona, Spain
Tues, July 24	4:30 p.m.	USA Basketball Men’s National Team vs. Spain Jones, Fraschilla	ESPN2, ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV	Barcelona, Spain

^ – Tape delay

There you have it.

Grinding Out Some Tuesday Links For You

Let’s do some links. Couldn’t get to them yesterday. Time to grind some out today.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN won’t be an oasis away from political advertising this fall.

Michael also has the ratings on Wimbledon and NASCAR.

Bill King of Sports Business Journal looks at NBC bringing back boxing to network television.

Sports Business Daily Global notes that the Wimbledon men’s final drew well in both the US and the UK.

SBD says the International Olympic Committee is under fire for renewing sponsorship deals with McDonald’s and Coke in the midst of an increasing obesity crisis.

And Eric Fisher of SBD notes that MLB will allow players to Tweet during tonight’s All-Star Game.

Jason Fry of the ESPN Ombudsman’s Poynter Review Project notes that the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s reporting has changed thanks to Twitter.

Alicia Jessop at Forbes writes that Kansas City expects a big financial windfall from the MLB All-Star Game.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at Fox’s ever-changing production of tonight’s All-Star Game.

Chris Ariens of TVNewser has a clip of Erin Andrews’ interview with Fox News’ Shepard Smith in Kansas City.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid notes that one cover of ESPN the Magazine’s Body issue will feature a nekkid Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.

A rare link to Grantland finds a 15,612 word oral history of WFAN written by Alex French and Howie Kahn. It’s really good, but read it at your own pace and not all at once.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable says the Gentlemen’s Final at Wimbledon drew ESPN’s best tennis ratings ever.

Tim says NBA TV is all over Summer League games in the next two weeks.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News notes that the combined TNT/truTV effort for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race brought the highest ratings for the Daytona 400 in four years.

Ann Killion of Adweek says Olympic athletes are trying to get their piece of marketing gold in the midst of companies getting all of the sponsorship money.

Also from Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that NBC and Turner Sports appear to be fighting for the main cable rights to MLB.

Lifestyle Mirror has a fantastic photo shoot with Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson.

To The Sherman Report where Ed Sherman has Part 1 of a two part series with Fox Sports MLB analyst Tim McCarver. And here’s Part 2.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times is amused that SNY, the home of the Mets, has erected a billboard at the Yankee Stadium subway train stop.

Richard says Jerry Seinfeld, a big baseball fan, will break down the iconic Abbot & Costello comedy skit, “Who’s on First?” on MLB Network.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says a local TV station has hired a new sportscaster.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says WFAN and ESPN Radio NY will split Dial Global Radio’s Olympic coverage later this month.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that new DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III was asked on local sports radio if he’s already more popular than the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Dan says DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff has worked so long on the game broadcasts that the network feels he can call his own shots now.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times writes that a local TV station has signed to air NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football Bucs-Vikings game.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says MLB Network airs a documentary on the life and death of former Astros pitcher Darryl Kile.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPNU will re-air four games involving Sooner State schools in its top college football games of the season.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that despite the U.S. Women’s Open being played locally, there wasn’t much interest either on ESPN2 or on NBC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Fox Sports Florida sideline reporter Laura McKeeman was crowned Miss Florida over the weekend.

SportsRantz also profiles Ms. McKeeman.

Sports Media Watch says last night’s MLB Home Run Derby had a slight ratings decline from last year.

SMW says Fox’s Baseball Night in America ended its 8 week run on a high note thanks to Yanks-Red Sox.

ESPN Crows About Wimbledon Viewership

We have this from ESPN discussing the viewership both on TV and online for The Championships, Wimbledon. ESPN says the combined viewership for ESPN/ESPN2 is up 24% from when the cable portion of last year’s tournament on solely on ESPN2. And the rating is up this year averaging 0.6 from 0.5 last year.

ESPN says the younger male demographic is up from the time NBC/ESPN2 aired the fortnight in 2011. In addition, online viewership has jumped a whopping 86% from last year.

So ESPN is happy taking over the entire rights to Wimbledon from NBC. And I’m sure the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is pleased that it’s not hearing complaints about tape delayed shenanigans.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

The New Wimbledon a Winner for ESPN and Fans

ESPN Sets Wimbledon Records, Young Male Audience Grows, Digital Usage Soars
Live Championships This Weekend Have History Calling

The all-new, all-ESPN, all live Wimbledon is reaching more people, has brought ESPN its largest audiences in 10 years at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and a much younger audience to the television while driving a surge in consumption across digital platforms.

• Through Wednesday, July 4, the audience for this year’s ESPN/ESPN2 presentation was 24 percent larger than ESPN2’s audience in 2011, 727,000 viewers (P2+), up from 588,000. The average rating is up 20 percent, from 0.5 to 0.6 (U.S. ratings), according to Nielsen.
• The ESPN/ESPN2 rating is equal to last year’s NBC/ESPN2 coverage, but the key male demographic groups are enjoying strong double-digit increases in impressions: Men 18-34 up 28 percent, Men 18-49 up 30 percent, and Men 25-54 up 21 percent.
• Two ESPN telecasts during the fortnight stand as ESPN’s most-watched ever from Wimbledon – 979,000 homes on Saturday, June 30 and 978,000 on Wednesday, July 4.  Each earned a 1.0 coverage rating, tying ESPN’s best ever at Wimbledon.  Two of the three previous 1.0 ratings also came on a July 4:  ESPN2 on July 4, 2007, for the Ladies’ Quarterfinals; ESPN on July 4, 2003, for a Gentlemen’s Semifinal; and ESPN on July 1, 2004, for a Ladies’ Semifinal.  Saturday’s 10-hour, 10-minute ESPN telecast (the third longest Wimbledon telecast ever, behind only an ESPN2 telecast in 2010 and Day One this year) – earned a 0.9 U.S. rating, the best for the “middle Saturday” since 2007 (1.0).
• Through Saturday, June 30, 19.2 million people had watched Wimbledon on ESPN or ESPN2, an increase of 32 percent compared to the same point a year ago (14.5 million).
• On Wednesday, July 4, the value of the ESPN / ESPN2 “Cross Court Coverage” was on display as both networks aired live matches, with ESPN2 airing nine hours and ESPN on the air for seven of those hours. The ESPN/ESPN2 combined rating was 1.0, up 43 percent from 0.7 for ESPN2/NBC last year. The audience was up 51 percent, to 1,354,000 viewers from 895,000.  The key male demographic groups all more than doubled:  Men 18-34 up 134 percent, Men 18-49 up 123 percent, and Men 25-54 up 122 percent.

Digital Usage Nearly Doubled

• Through July 4, ESPN3/WatchESPN has registered 72.1 million live minutes of viewing across all platforms, up 86 percent compared to the same point in 2011.

The Championships Conclude with History Beckoning

ESPN’s exclusive presentation of Wimbledon will culminate with a live national telecast of the Ladies’ Championship on Saturday, July 7, and the Gentlemen’s Championship on Sunday, July 8, both at 9 a.m. ET.  Both will be preceded at 8 a.m. by the one-hour Breakfast at Wimbledon, hosted by Hannah Storm. ABC will reair the finals on the day they take place at 3 p.m.

All the action on ESPN is also available through WatchESPN online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. ESPN3 and ESPN 3D will televise both Championships live. In addition, ESPN3 will stream all matches on Centre Court (starting at 9 a.m.) and No. 1 Court (starting at 8 a.m.), including the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Doubles Championships live and in their entirety following the Ladies’ Championship.

Both matches will offer potential historic outcomes:

• In the Ladies Championship, either a tennis legend will further elevate her legacy, or an emerging star will win her first Major and will become the top-ranked woman in the world. Serena Williams, the No. 6 seed, will be vying for her 14^th Major title and fifth at Wimbledon, but her first since Wimbledon two years ago. Since then, a series of health issues derailed her career. On the other side of the net, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska is playing in her first Major final but will be the top-ranked player in the world with a win. She is the first Pole to play for the Wimbledon Championship since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska in 1937.
• In the Gentlemen’s Championship, either Roger Federer will gain his record-tying seventh crown at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, or a kingdom will celebrate the end of a 76-year drought. Andy Murray of Scotland carries the athletic hopes and dreams of Great Britain on his shoulders in his quest to be the first man from Great Britain to win the local tennis Major since Fred Perry in 1936. It has been almost as long since a British man has played in the final – Bunny Austin in 1938.

And ESPN previews Saturday’s Ladies’ Final between Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Serena Can Complete Comeback with Wimbledon Title Live Saturday on ESPN

Radwanska in First Major Final; Serena Gunning for 14^th Major but First in Two Years

When ESPN televises live the Wimbledon Ladies Championship on Saturday, July 7, at 9 a.m. ET, either a tennis legend will further elevate her legacy, or an emerging star will win her first Major and will become the top-ranked woman in the world.

Serena Williams, the No. 6 seed, will be vying for her 14^th Major title and fifth at Wimbledon, but her first since Wimbledon two years ago.  Since then, a series of health issues derailed her career.  On the other side of the net, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska is playing in her first Major final but will be the top-ranked player in the world with a win.  She is the first Pole to play for the Wimbledon Championship since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska in 1937.

Chris Evert on the Matchup, and Serena

“The Championship is Serena’s to win or lose. She controls every point with her power, be it her serve or her return. It will be interesting to see Radwanska’s game plan. She can’t try to overpower Serena. She will have to mix it up and get Serena off her rhythm. 

“Since Serena has been back, look at her results in Majors. She was understandably rusty here last year, got tight in the US Open final, and had bad losses in Australia and Paris. But it’s a different Serena we see now. We haven’t seen Serena play as well as she has these last two matches since before she hurt her foot. She has great power and movement and the confidence she needs to go with that.”

ESPN and Wimbledon

The new schedule for ESPN’s 10^th Wimbledon – exclusive and all-live – is the result of a 12-year agreement between ESPN and the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced just after the conclusion of the 2011 Championships.  The remaining schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network
Sat, July 7	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Ladies’ Championship No. 3 Radwanska vs. No. 6 Williams	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Ladies’ Championship	ABC	Tape
Sun, July 8	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Championship	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Championship	ABC	Tape

That does it.

NBC Airs The U.S. Women’s Open This Weekend

This from the NBC Sports Group. The U.S. Women’s Open has begun and both ESPN2 and NBC will share coverage under their contracts with the US Golf Association. NBC will have weekend coverage from Blackwolf Run in Kohler, WI. Dan Hicks will be at the tower on the 18th green with Dottie Pepper. Joining them will be Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam who makes her NBC debut. Assisting NBC in the coverage will be tower reporter Gary Koch, on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter.

Golf Channel will provide studio coverage for the event, but there will be no live golf action from the U.S. Women’s Open on the network.

Here’s the NBC Sports press release.

NBC SPORTS GROUP TO AIR MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN PROGRAMMING

Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam to Join Tournament and News Coverage
Six Hours of Weekend Tournament Coverage on NBC
Golf Central Team to Broadcast On-Site
Golf Central to Air on NBC Saturday and Sunday
“It will be a test of patience and perseverance.” – Annika Sorenstam
“Highlight of my season to cover the greatest championship in women’s golf.” – Dottie Pepper

ORLANDO, Fla., / NEW YORK – July 3, 2012 – NBC Sports Group will present more than 30 hours of combined, live tournament and wraparound news coverage of this week’s 2012 U.S. Women’s Open Championship – the third major championship on the women’s schedule this year – on both Golf Channel and NBC

“Golf Channel on NBC’s” weekend coverage on NBC will include three hours of live tournament action each day, which, for the first time, will be complemented by Golf Channel’s Golf Central pre-game show. Golf Channel’s wraparound coverage will originate from the tournament site throughout the week, featuring news, talk and instructional programming. GolfChannel.com also will provide comprehensive online coverage of the championship.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM TO MAKE NBC DEBUT – Hall-of-Famer and three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Annika Sorenstam will make her NBC on-air debut, joining analyst Dottie Pepper and play-by-play host Dan Hicks for a portion of the weekend tournament coverage. Sorenstam also will contribute to Golf Channel’s news shows throughout the week, including Golf Central, Golf Central Pre Game and Morning Drive.

TOURNAMENT BROADCAST TEAM – Host Dan Hicks and lead analyst Dottie Pepper will anchor coverage from the 18^th tower. They will be joined by tower reporter Gary Koch and on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Kay Cockerill and Jane Crafter. Sorenstam will join Hicks and Pepper in the booth for a portion of the coverage each day.

ON-SITE NEWS COVERAGE – Golf Channel will provide the most extensive news coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open in its history, featuring live news reports, inside analysis, player interviews, special guest appearances and compelling features from the women’s third major championship of 2012.

Golf Central will broadcast live and on-site from Blackwolf Run throughout the week and will originate from a dedicated set near the 13th green – delivering news coverage before and after tournament play. Morning Drive, the network’s live, weekday morning show, will feature daily special guests from the tournament site. The Grey Goose 19^th Hole (Thursday night at midnight ET and Friday night at 2 a.m. ET) will feature news, highlights and interviews from the U.S. Women’s Open. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will anchor Golf Central and will be joined by contributors Annika Sorenstam, GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell and other NBC analysts throughout the week.

GOLF CENTRAL ON NBC – For the first time at the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel will prep NBC’s weekend tournament action with a 30-minute Golf Central on NBCpre-game show, airing exclusively on NBC from 2:30-3 p.m. ET. Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Tom Abbott will host the shows, and will be joined by NBC analysts and contributors.

U.S. Women’s Open Programming

Show	Network	Airtime (all times ET)
Thursday, July 5
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-Midnight
Grey Goose 19th Hole	Golf Channel	Midnight-12:30 a.m.
Friday, July 6
Morning Drive	Golf Channel	6:30-8:30 a.m.
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	ESPN2	4-8 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	7-7:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	1:30-2 a.m.
Saturday, July 7
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30 p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-6:30 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m. – Midnight
Sunday, July 8
Golf Central Pre Game	Golf Channel	1-2:30p.m.
Golf Central on NBC	NBC	2:30-3 p.m.
U.S. Women’s Open	NBC	3-6 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	6-7 p.m.
Golf Central	Golf Channel	11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

DIGITAL COVERAGE – GolfChannel.com senior writer Randall Mell will contribute daily columns, news articles, features and breaking news from the U.S. Women’s Open throughout the week.

That does it.

The Thursday Linkage

So weird to have the 4th of July in the middle of the week. You get the holiday after two work days and then have two work days afterwards. Some of you have the entire week off which is good, but for me, there’s no such thing as a vacation. In fact, I haven’t had a vacation since August 2001. That’s true. Anyway, you don’t care about that. Let’s get to the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today lists which sports media personality has donated money to which politician.

Michael says ESPN NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little will work her last race for a few months this weekend.

The BBC reports that a single yellow cable that will carry the Olympics from London to Europe was almost cut in Belgium.

Trefis Team at Forbes says ESPN contributes heavily to Disney’s stock price, but that could be reduced over time.

Keach Hagey of the Wall Street Journal looks at the new NBC Sports/Sports Illustrated partnership.

Mike Barnes of the Hollywood Reporter says former mustachioed Oakland Raiders defensive lineman turned pitchman Ben Davidson has died at the age of 72.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that ESPN set a viewership record for the EURO 2012 final.

Bill Cromwell of Media Life reports that NBC is close to selling out its Olympic ad inventory.

The Associated Press says the ACC has signed a 12 year deal with the Orange Bowl.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo about his two decade long partnership with WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing writes that ESPN’s Chris Fowler gave John McEnroe a lesson about Twitter parody accounts at Wimbledon this week.

Joe tells us about reporter-on-reporter Twitter crime between ESPN’s Buster Olney and CBS’ Jon Heyman.

Melissa Jacobs at the Football Girl agrees with Erin Andrews’ assessment that sideline reporters are a necessity when used correctly.

Speaking of Erin, she speaks with Adam Silverstein of the Only Gators blog about moving to Fox.

Dave Nagle in ESPN’s Front Row public relations blog notes the network’s new broadcast position at Wimbledon.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Barclays’ recent troubles are trickling down to the Brooklyn Nets as they prepare to occupy their new home.

Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reports that The Whistle, a sports media company geared towards kids, will have a programming block on NBC Sports Network starting in September.

Dan Steinberg in the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff will work a reduced schedule this season.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman says the U.S. Olympic Trials topped the local ratings this past weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that Annika Sorenstam joins the NBC golf team this weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch urges the White Sox to calm down in asking people to do last-minute voting for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network will be a success in Utah knowing the failings of the mtn.

Bill Mooney of the Thoroughbred Times says Fox Sports Net will air the West Virginia Derby next month.

Media Rantz notes that the NBC President who was responsible for the “Heidi Game” and forever changed how sports was aired on TV has passed away.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says CTV will bring back a few features for this year’s Olympics that were used in 2010 for Vancouver.

EPL Talk has a partial list of English Premier League games that will be aired in the States on ESPN2 and Fox Soccer.

Sports Media Watch says TNT took a ratings hit for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest notes that the US Olympic Committee will pass on bidding for the 2022 Games dashing hopes for a couple of cities. It means the earliest an Olympics will be held in the United States will be 2024.

And those are the links that I could manage to squeeze out of the internet today.

Some 4th of July Sports Media Thoughts

On this 4th of July holiday, let’s do some All-American sports media thoughts. They’re in bullet form as always.

• The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir gave us some food for thought in his latest column this week on the MLB rights negotiations. Richard raised the possibility of MLB awarding the entire broadcast contract to one network, having the company air all five jewels, the All-Star Game, Wild Card Playoffs, League Divisional Playoffs, League Championship Series and the World Series. However, that is highly unlikely. MLB has had one broadcaster in the past to air all of its showcases, NBC from 1965 through 1975 and CBS from 1990 to 1994.

  In this current contract, ESPN and Fox share All-Star Game Week, TBS has the Wild Card Playoffs, TBS and MLB Network have the League Division Series, Fox and TBS split the League Championship Series and Fox carries the World Series.

  With NBC extremely interested in getting back into baseball needing programming for NBC Sports Network, ESPN hoping to regain a piece of the postseason, TBS and Fox wanting to keep their present packages or even expand them (Fox does have plans to launch its own cable sports network) and MLB looking for more inventory for MLB Network, this negotiation looks to be a big battleground among the networks. Someone is going to leave the bargaining table very disappointed when all is said and done.

  No matter what, Major League Baseball is bound to get very rich from the networks. As Sandomir reports, MLB currently receives $711 million per year from ESPN, Fox and TBS. Expect that to possibly reach or even surpass $1 billion when the dust settles.

• On Tuesday, Erin Andrews did what many ex-ESPN’ers do, make her first national appearance as an ex-ESPN’er on the Dan Patrick Show. While Erin didn’t trash her former employer, she did make some news by stating that she’ll be roaming the sidelines for NFL games in addition to hosting Fox’s college football studio and having a role on Fox’s MLB Postseason coverage.

  Some have speculated that Erin might replace Pam Oliver on Fox’s NFL “A” team with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. That is not going to happen. Can you imagine what would happen to the Fox executive who had to tell Pam that she was booted from the NFL on Fox? Pam takes crap from no one and is willing to fight anyone at any time. That executive’s limbs would be ripped from his/her joints, so no, Pam Oliver is not going anywhere.

  And let’s think about this realistically. Erin will host the College Football studio from Los Angeles. It would not be conducive to have Erin travel cross country especially when the Fox college football game will most likely end after 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday and then be on the sidelines for a potential 1 p.m. game on Sunday. Yes, she’ll work some NFL games, but if she does a back-to-back, it’ll be on the West Coast.

  It will be nice to have Erin on the NFL.

• Is there any way for Fox Soccer Plus to sublicense some Australian Rules Football games to ESPN2? It doesn’t seem right not to have some Aussie Footy on basic cable.
• Some of you have asked and there is still no US TV for Canadian Football League games. The 2012 season started last week and the only US outlet was ESPN3 online. NFL Network had picked up CFL games in the past, but never went beyond the regular season and never aired the Grey Cup. Unless a cable network steps up, it appears the only way to see the CFL in the US is ESPN3. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.

Enjoy your 4th.

ESPN’s Wimbledon Ratings On Par With 2011

This being the first year of a 12 year contract with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ESPN’s expanded all-cable coverage of Wimbledon is even with last year. ESPN says its combined ratings with ESPN2 for the first six days of the two week tournament are 0.5, even with last year when NBC and ESPN2 aired the entire proceedings. ESPN points out that its audience is younger especially in male demographics.

The Alleged Worldwide Leader points out that the online audience through ESPN3 and WatchESPN has gone up dramatically from last year.

So let’s take a look at the ESPN press release on its Wimbledon coverage.

One Week at Wimbledon:  ESPN TV Audience Grows, Gets Younger; Digital Usage Soars

ESPN’s 10^th Wimbledon – exclusive and all live – enjoyed an eight percent increase over its household audience last year through the first six days of marathon telecasts, highlighted by its biggest household audience ever in 10 years, for Saturday’s latest-ever finish at Wimbledon.

After six days, the ESPN/ESPN2 presentation is up eight percent in household impressions to 569,000 homes compared to ESPN2’s telecasts last year (based on a 0.5 US rating both years), according to Nielsen.

ESPN/ESPN2 are even with last year’s ESPN2/NBC rating of 0.5 (US rtg) to date.  Nevertheless, the audiences for the key male demos are all seeing an advantage over last year — M18-34 is up 13 percent, M18-49 is up 20 percent, and M25-54 is up 11 percent.

On Saturday, the ten-hour, ten-minute ESPN telecast (the third longest Wimbledon telecast ever, behind only an ESPN2 telecast in 2010 and Day One this year) – earned a 0.9 US rating, the best for the “middle Saturday” since 2007 (1.0).  The ESPN coverage rating of 1.0 ties the ESPN Wimbledon record (two previous 1.0 ratings:  ESPN2 on July 4, 2007 for the Ladies’ Quarterfinals, and ESPN on July 4, 200 for a Gentlemen’s Semifinal).  The telecast ended with Andy Murray’s victory over Marcos Baghdatis in the latest-ever finish at Wimbledon (11:02 p.m. in London).

Digital consumption of Wimbledon action on ESPN3 and WatchESPN through six days has soared over the usage a year ago.  Through the first week of Wimbledon, there was a total of 46.6 million live minutes consumed across all platforms (computer, smartphone, tablet and Xbox), up 67 percent from 2011 through the same point.

Looking Forward
The ESPN/ESPN2 “Cross Court Coverage” – an unprecedented approach whereby ESPN focuses on Centre Court matches while ESPN2 offers fans a “grounds pass” with action from Court 1 and other courts – will continue with all-day marathons on both networks today, Tuesday, and Wednesday, July 4.

ESPN will present the semifinals and finals live Thursday – Sunday.  All four days will commence with the one-hour Breakfast at Wimbledon, hosted by Hannah Storm.  ABC will reair the finals on the day they take place, July 7 and 8, at 3 p.m. ET.

All the action on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available through WatchESPN online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app.  ESPN 3D will televise live the final five days of action from Centre Court beginning with the men’s quarterfinals Wednesday, July 4.

The new schedule is the result of a 12-year agreement between ESPN and the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced just after the conclusion of the 2011 Championships.  The remaining schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network
Wed, July 4	7 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals	ESPN2 / ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals, Centre Court	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
Thur, July 5	7 – 8 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Ladies’ Semifinals	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
Fri, July 6	7 – 8 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Semifinals	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
Sat, July 7	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Ladies’ Final	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Ladies’ Final	ABC	Tape
Sun, July 8	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN / ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Final	ESPN / ESPN3D / ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Final	ABC	Tape

We’re done here.

Jonesing For Tuesday Linkage

Ok, maybe you’re not jonesing for the linkage, but at least you can read them at your leisure. Sometimes I think way too long about the title of the post and this is the case today. Anyway, let’s get to the links.

Joel Schectman of the Wall Street Journal reports that NBC and Google are preparing for possible hacking or denial of service attacks of online Olympic streams next month.

Lindsay Rubino at Broadcasting & Cable writes that NBC with U.S. Olympic Trials coverage in Track & Field, Swimming and Gymnastics won primetime on Sunday.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says ESPN and ESPN2 are seeing huge ratings gains from Wimbledon.

Mike writes that NBC Sports Group has expanded its commitment to its Fight Night.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek says Fox Sports has sold out its ad inventory for the MLB All-Star Game.

Crupi says NBC scored with the U.S. Olympic Trials over the last week and a half.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost says if Sunday is any indication, NBC should do really well with the Olympics later this month.

George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter notes that BBC’s sports broadcasts of EURO 2012 and Wimbledon are leaving rival ITV in the ratings dust.

Nat Ives from Advertising Age notes that NBC and Sports Illustrated are teaming up for a monthly show.

Sam Marmudi of Marketwatch.com says NBC is getting ready for an Olympic takeover.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! writes that MLB’s antiquated blackout policy is hurting the sport.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com says the media could be allowed to see the college football playoff selection process.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans from the Tampa Bay Times writes that Erin Andrews is another example of ESPN losing another big name star.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks about why it’s important for Fox to have Erin Andrews make her debut next week at the MLB All-Star Game.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says ESPN plans to change its production model of the X Games as it expands globally.

Darren Rovell bids farewell to CNBC.

At the ESPN PR Front Row blog, Mike Humes says the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest brings back memories for college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Timothy Burke of Deadspin notes that Texas Rangers TV voice Dave Barnett who had a strange on-air moment last month, will be taking a medical leave for the rest of the season.

Andy Smith of the Providence Journal writes that almost a million people watched the America’s Cup World Series races on NBC over the weekend.

To Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, who looks at the on-going MLB TV rights negotiations. Some interesting news from Richard in the article.

Newsday’s Neil Best discusses MLB All-Star voting with Commissioner Bud Selig and Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Bob’s Blitz has video of some of the WFAN gang with CBS Radio bigwigs ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange last week.

The Albany Times-Union’s Pete Dougherty says the PGA’s AT&T National on CBS set a six year ratings high.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record reports that NESN National is available to local Verizon Fios subscribers.

Ken says NBA TV is gearing up for Summer League games.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Bog has ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian predicting good things for the Nationals.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports television.

Shannon Owens of the Orlando Sentinel recaps Erin Andrews’ appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says Samantha Steele of the Longhorn Network could be the beneficiary of Erin Andrews’ departure from ESPN.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman talks about Dave Barnett’s decision to take a medical leave from calling the Texas Rangers.

Gregg Tunnicliff of the Flint (MI) Journal talks with a long-time racing commentator.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has MLB Commissioner Bud Selig not having a problem with the sudden surge of fan voting from the Bay Area for the All-Star Game.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says the Pac-12 Network is set to launch in 40 million homes next month.

Michael Gehiken of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the eased NFL blackout rules probably won’t affect the Chargers this coming season.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news on the U.S. Olympic Trials and Baseball Night in America.

SMW notes that Wimbledon as an all-cable event is performing on par with last year.

Jason Lisk at The Big Lead is happy to note that ESPN blowhard Skip Bayless is wrong about racial profiling American white players in the NBA Draft.

Matt Yoder has some thoughts on ESPN’s EURO 2012 coverage.

Joe Favorito wonders if brands can make their Olympic sponsorship gambles pay off despite not having a name athlete to cling to.

And we’ll wrap up with Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth who looks back at WFAN’s 25 years in operation.

And we’re done.

ESPN and Wimbledon: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

I don’t know why I made a Casablanca reference in the headline, but it seemed to be right. Starting this year, ESPN begins the first of a 12 year partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to televise the Championships Wimbledon from start to finish. It marks the first time that all of the action will be seen on one network from beginning to end.

ESPN will start its coverage of the first four days of the Fortnight on ESPN2, Monday, June 25. Then the ESPN Mothership will air its first-ever action from SW19 starting on Friday, June 25.

What makes ESPN’s coverage unique will be that both ESPN and ESPN2 will carry matches simultaneously starting with the Round of 16 on Monday, July 2 through the Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 4.

From Thursday, July 5 through Sunday, July 8, ESPN will be the network of record for Wimbledon ending with the Gentlemen’s Finals.

I already told you about the “Breakfast at Wimbledon” pre-match program that premieres on the middle Saturday of action on June 29 and will air consecutively from July 5 – 8.

For those of you who don’t have cable, ESPN throws scraps to ABC with a highlight program on the middle Sunday, June 30 from 3 – 6 p.m. ET and again the following weekend by showing the Ladies and Gentlemen’s Finals on tape delay. If both matches end under three hours, then they’ll be shown in their entirety.

Altogether, ESPN and ESPN2 will air a total of 140 hours of tennis action. ESPN 3D which 73 people across the country will carry the Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals through to the Final. And ESPN3 will have a lot of matches that won’t be seen on TV. Got it? Good.

And I buried the lede. The most important thing in all this? No more NBC tape delayed shenanigans! Everything will be live!

Here’s ESPN’s press release on the whole Wimbledon enchilada.

New Era of Wimbledon on TV:  First Ball to Finals in ESPN’s 10^th Championships

140 Live Hours on ESPN & ESPN2 including “Cross Court Coverage,” Highlights on ABC, Nine Screens on ESPN3
John McEnroe Makes ESPN/Wimbledon Debut, “Breakfast at Wimbledon” Returns as ESPN Preview Show

A new era of television coverage for one of sport’s most prestigious and historic events will begin when ESPN presents The Championships, Wimbledon complete, live and exclusively across its networks from first ball Monday, June 25, with day-long marathon telecasts through to the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Finals, Saturday, July 7, and Sunday, July 8, respectively.  ESPN’s 10^th Wimbledon will expand to 140 live hours in high definition on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD – including three days when the two networks offer all-day “cross court coverage” (airing matches simultaneously) – plus highlights and reairs of both Finals on ABC.  All the action on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available through WatchESPN online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app.

In addition, ESPN3 will also increase its schedule to more than 800 hours of a multi-screen offering – all available TV courts (up to nine) presented from first ball to last ball each day – which will be available along with ESPN and ESPN2’s action via the WatchESPN app.  The service will also offer matches on demand after they occur.

The new schedule is the result of a 12-year agreement between ESPN and the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced just after the conclusion of the 2011 Championships.

As previously announced, ESPN 3D, which presented its first tennis at Wimbledon a year ago with one live match and others on delay, will televise five days of action live from Centre Court.  ESPN 3D’s coverage will begin with the Gentlemen’s quarterfinals Wednesday, July 4, and continue through the Finals. Each day’s telecast will be reaired that night at 9 p.m.

“This Wimbledon is the culmination of a dream we at ESPN have had for more than 10 years, to deliver every match and every key moment live as it happens to fans wherever they are,” said John Skipper, ESPN president. “The Club entrusted the care of their wonderful event to us and we intend to fulfill their trust and present a Wimbledon that uses modern technology to serve fans across all devices while being mindful of the great history and traditions of the fortnight.”

As previously announced, Hall of Famer John McEnroe is adding Wimbledon to his ESPN repertoire, having worked the US Open since 2009.  He will be joined by returnees Darren Cahill, Cliff Drysdale, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver.  Chris Fowler will call matches and serve as studio host, sharing that role with Hannah Storm and Mike Tirico.  The voice of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Tirico has worked the US Open for ESPN as a host and calling matches and will fill those roles in his Wimbledon debut. Tom Rinaldi will provide essays and features.

Surveying the Fields

Three players dominate the top of the men’s game with 28 of the last 29 Major championships – No. 1-ranked and defending  champion, Novak Djokovic, two-time champ and No. 2 Rafael Nadal who recently defeated Djokovic for the French Open crown, and No. 3 Roger Federer, who counts six Wimbledon crowns in his tally of 16 Grand Slam titles.  Everyone else – starting with British hopeful No. 4 Andy Murray seeking his first Grand Slam title and hoping to end Great Britain’s 76-year Wimbledon drought (Fred Perry, 1936) – is hoping for a slot in the semifinals.

Among the women, it’s a very different story.  Six different women have won the last six Majors, but having regained the No. 1 ranking with the French Open championship, 2004 Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova is the favorite in a crowded field.  Serena Williams has four Wimbledon trophies, and looks to rebound from her first-round ouster in Paris and her No. 6 ranking.  No. 2 Victoria Azarenka won this year’s Australian Open, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska has never reached a Major semifinal, No. 4 Petra Kvitova is the defending champ, No. 5 Sam Stosur won the 2011 US Open and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is ranked No. 7.  The field also includes two big names with a combined 11 Major titles – Venus Williams has five Wimbledon victories among her seven Major wins, and Kim Clijsters would love to add a Wimbledon crown to her collection of four Major victories in what is likely her final Wimbledon, having announced she will retire this year.

Scheduling Highlights: All Live, ESPN & ESPN2’s “Cross Court Coverage” for “Greatest Day in Tennis”

For the first time in the U.S., ESPN networks will show all of Wimbledon live, from first ball through the finals, including up to nine courts simultaneously on ESPN3 and an unprecedented ESPN/ESPN2 dual network “cross court coverage” approach for July 2-4:

• ESPN2 HD will begin daylong live weekday programming Monday, June 25, at 6:30 a.m. and continuing each weekday through Wednesday, July 4, at 7 a.m. (except Friday, June 29)
• ESPN HD will first be live on Friday, June 29, from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. and then on Saturday, June 30, starting at 7 a.m. with Breakfast at Wimbledon, a one-hour preview of the day’s matches that marks the return of the iconic branding after that being featured on air for many years. Breakfast at Wimbledon will also precede the network’s live, national telecasts of the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Semifinals and Finals, Thursday, July 5 – Sunday, July 8.

• On the “middle Sunday,” a scheduled day off as is Wimbledon tradition, ABC will broadcast a three-hour review of the first week at 3 p.m.  ABC will also reair the finals on the day they take place, July 7 and 8 at 3 p.m.
• For the second Monday – Wednesday (July 2-4), ESPN will be live alongside ESPN2 to allow for live coverage of each and every match from the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals.  In this unprecedented “Cross Court Coverage,” ESPN will focus on Centre Court matches while ESPN2 offers fans a “grounds pass” with action from Court 1 and other courts.  The first of these three days, Monday, July 2 – when all 32 players are on the court in eight Gentlemen’s and eight Ladies’ Round of 16 matches, something that is unique to Wimbledon – is commonly referred to as “the greatest day in tennis.”
• ESPN 3D will pick up coverage with live Centre Court action Wednesday, July 4 through the Finals.
• ESPN3 will provide a multi-court offering of live play, including a simulcast of ESPN and ESPN2, with all-day coverage from all nine TV courts plus press conferences totaling more than 800 hours.  In addition, the service – which reaches more than 73 million U.S. homes – will offer replays on demand.

ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold level members. It is currently available to 73 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

The WatchESPN App – for fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription via Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV or Comcast Xfinity – will provide access to for ESPN2’s live coverage online at WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets, in addition to ESPN3’s multi-screen offering.

ESPN On Demand (TV/Mobile) will offer historic matches and  highlights of the 2012 Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ finals.

ESPN Mobile will provide point-by-point coverage of every Wimbledon match with live scores on the ESPN mobile Web and ScoreCenter app.  Additionally, ESPN will offer video highlights of Wimbledon via the ScoreCenter app for iPhone.  ESPN Alerts will also notify fans who opt in to receive alerts of developing stories, match results and highlights.

ESPN Mobile TV will simulcast 105 hours of live ESPN/ESPN2 coverage throughout the tournament.

ESPN Interactive TV, now in its fifth year at Wimbledon, will provide multi-screen coverage of five  matches in addition to the match airing on ESPN2 or ESPN through the second Monday of the tournament on ESPN3 and through DirecTV. Fans will also receive interviews, features, press conferences and, new for 2012, a studio wrap-around presence hosted by SportsCenter anchor Ryan Burr with a roster of guest analysts. In addition to the video offerings, DirecTV viewers can access results, schedules, draws and other interactive features through the remote control “Red Button.”  In total, ESPN will provide more than 350 hours of coverage through this unique application.

ESPN Classic will air four great Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Finals from the past, each upon a significant anniversary – matches won by Bjorn Borg (1977), Jimmy Connors (1982), Andre Agassi (1992) and Roger Federer (2007). Each match will air twice on the day of the anniversary (except Federer’s 2007 victory, which took place on July 8).

Date	Times (ET)	Event
Mon, July 2	1 a.m. & 10 p.m.	1977 Gentlemen’s Final: 35th Anniversary of Bjorn Borg defeating Jimmy Connors for the second of five consecutive Wimbledon titles
Wed, July 4	1 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.	1982 Gentlemen’s Final: 30th Anniversary of Jimmy Connors defeating John McEnroe in five sets
Thur, July 5	1 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.	1992 Gentlemen’s Final:  20th Anniversary of 22-year old Andre Agassi defeating Goran Ivanisevic
Mon, July 9	2 a.m. & 11 a.m.	2007 Gentlemen’s Final: 5th Anniversary of Roger Federer’s Fifth Wimbledon title, defeating Rafael Nadal

More Wimbledon from ESPN, Inc.

ESPN.com will have previews, reviews, the latest news and videos and more:

• Courtcast: A multi-tool application with live events via the ESPN3 syndicated player, all-court scoring, match stats, Cover It Live conversations, poll questions, rolling Twitter feeds and scrolling bottom line;
• Slam Central: A daily destination for all Wimbledon fixtures;
• Five Things We Learned: Video series reviewing the top news of the day;
• Grass Stains: A daily notebook wrapping up the best and worst of the day;
• Digital Serve: Daily original videos previewing the next day;
• Star Watch: Daily blog focusing on one of the game’s elite.

espnW

espnW.com will offer daily columns, blog posts and video, with an emphasis on the women’s side of the tournament.

ESPNDeportes.com will provide live scores and draws, in depth news and coverage of Latin American players, columns, blogs, live chats, video, highlights and news, including ESPiando Wimbledon that will recap the day’s play.

ESPN International will reach 33 million homes in Spanish speaking Latin America and the Caribbean with over 90 live hours of television across ESPN Latin America and ESPN Caribbean.  In addition to daily primetime highlight programs on ESPN Latin America, ESPN+ in the Southern Cone and ESPN Dos in the Northern Cone will supplement the coverage on ESPN Latin America with an additional 50+ live hours.  Also, ESPN’s broadband service, ESPN Play, will offer over 700 hours of live coverage throughout both regions with over 10 simultaneous early round windows available.

ESPN & WIMBLEDON 2012

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network
Mon, June 25	6:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Early Round Action	ESPN2/ESPN3	Live
Tue, June 16 – Thur, June 28	7 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Early Round Action	ESPN2/ESPN3 (begins at 6:30 a.m.)	Live
Fri, June 29	7 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Early Round Action	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
Sat, June 30	7 – 8 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Quarterfinals	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
Sun, July 1	3 – 6 p.m.	Highlights of Week One	ABC	Tape
Mon, July 2	7 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Round of 16	ESPN2/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Round of 16, Centre Court	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
Tue, July 3	7 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Ladies’ Quarterfinals	ESPN2/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Ladies’ Quarterfinals, Centre Court	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
Wed, July 4	7 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals	ESPN2/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals, Centre Court	ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3	Live
Thur, July 5	7 – 8 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Ladies’ Semifinals	ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3	Live
Fri, July 6	7 – 8 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
	8 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Semifinals	ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3	Live
Sat, July 7	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Ladies’ Final	ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Ladies’ Final	ABC	Tape
Sun, July 8	8 a.m. – 9 a.m.	Breakfast at Wimbledon	ESPN/ESPN3	Live
	9 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Final	ESPN/ESPN3D/ESPN3	Live
	3 – 6 p.m.	Gentlemen’s Final	ABC	Tape

And that is the end of a very lengthy press release.

ESPN Announces Preliminary Pac-12 Football Schedule

Last week, Fox and ESPN held their first-ever Pac-12 “Draft”, picking games among the two networks that they wanted to air this season. This being the first year of a long-term agreement, ESPN chose 12 games that will air on its various networks.

Many of these games will be shown in the late Saturday or Thursday night window, either at 9 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. ET.

More games will be added later. We have the first Big Dozen of Pac-12 games that the ESPN Family of Networks will provide in the 2012 season. You’ll notice the annual late November Notre Dame at USC game is already slated for either ABC or ESPN

We have the schedule below. You can read it and plan your football viewing.

Twelve Pac-12 College Football Games Added to ESPN 2012 Schedule

ESPN – entering the first year of a new 12-year agreement with the Pac-12 Conference – has selected 12 Pac-12 college football games for telecasts across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Combined with previously announced games, 10 of the 12 Pac-12 institutions are now represented in the schedule to date. Additional games will be announced as the season progresses. Highlights:

• The early selections include multiple games involving USC and Oregon, the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in a preseason College Football Live preseason top 25 poll, respectively:

• No. 1 USC twice: at Utah (Thursday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m. on ESPN) and against No. 24 Notre Dame (Saturday, Nov. 24, on ABC or ESPN).

• No. 4 Oregon three times:  against Arkansas State (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN), against Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 22, on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) and at Arizona State (Thursday, Oct. 18, at 9 p.m. on ESPN).

• ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise six weeknight Pac-12 games:

• Four consecutive Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime telecasts, highlighted by three games involving a preseason ranked team and Arizona State making consecutive appearances.

• ESPN and ESPN2 will each air a Friday night telecast in November.

• The newly announced games include the debut of three head coaches on Saturday, Sept. 1:

• Arkansas State’s Gus Malzahn will open his coaching tenure with the Red Wolves, the defending Sun Belt Conference champions, at defending Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champion Oregon at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN. Malzahn was the offensive coordinator of the Auburn team that defeated Oregon in the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship.

• ESPNU will televise a showdown of new head coaches when Arizona and new head coach Rich Rodriguez hosts Toledo, now led by Matt Campbell, at 10:30 p.m.

• ABC or ESPN will televise Notre Dame at USC, one of sports’ greatest rivalries that started in 1926, on Saturday, Nov. 24. Other traditional rivalry games include the Holy War between BYU and Utah (Saturday, Sept. 15, at 10 p.m. on ESPN2) and the Territorial Cup matching Arizona State against Arizona (Friday, Nov. 23, at 10 p.m. on ESPN).

As part of the new 12-year agreement between ESPN and the Pac-12, ESPN will deliver more football games than the previous agreement, including more games in the late Saturday night window, plus the Pac-12 Football Championship Game every other year starting in 2013; the addition of an extensive schedule of men’s regular-season basketball games, as well as select Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament matchups and the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship every other year starting with the 2012-13 season; and for the first time rights to women’s college basketball and other sports content.

The 2012 Pac-12 schedule (additional selections to be announced):

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, Sep 1	10:30 p.m.	Arkansas State at No. 4 Oregon	ESPN
Sat, Sep 1	10:30 p.m.	Toledo at Arizona	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 8	10:30 p.m.	Illinois at Arizona State	ESPN
Sat, Sep 15	10 p.m.	BYU at Utah	ESPN2
Sat, Sep 22	TBD	Arizona at No. 4 Oregon	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Thu, Sep 27	9 p.m.	No. 15 Stanford at Washington	ESPN
Thu, Oct 4	9 p.m.	No. 1 USC at Utah	ESPN
Thu, Oct 11	9 p.m.	Arizona State at Colorado	ESPN
Thu, Oct 18	9 p.m.	No. 4 Oregon at Arizona State	ESPN
Fri, Nov 2	9 p.m.	Washington at California	ESPN2
Fri, Nov 23	10 p.m.	Arizona State at Arizona	ESPN
Sat, Nov 24	TBD	No. 24 Notre Dame at No. 1 USC	ABC or ESPN

That will be it.

Pac-12 Announces Early Football Schedule

Announced today by the Pac-12 Conference, we have the early football schedule for all of the league’s network partners. Let’s push this out as I’ve been busy with lots of stuff on Thursday. My apologies for not updating the site at all.

Overall, the Pac-12 Networks will carry a total of 35 games from the league’s home sites. ESPN and Fox will combine for a total of 45 and that includes the Pac-12 Championship Game on Fox this year.

And with the Pac-12 Networks launching on August 15, the first live action it will carry will occur on August 30 with two non-conference games. In the first three weeks of the season, Pac-12 Networks will carry the bulk of the league’s home games including every team appearance at least twice.

While DirecTV has announced it will take the main network, the other six networks are an issue. This is also the case with other cable and satellite providers. We’ll see where this goes as we get closer to the launch later this summer.

In the meantime, here’s the official press release from the Pac-12 and the schedule.

PAC-12 EARLY FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED ALL 80 HOME GAMES TO BE TELEVISED

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.–The Pac-12 Networks, along with Pac-12 Conference television partners ESPN and FOX will provide complete coverage of the entire Pac-12 home football schedule during the 2012 season. The Pac-12 Networks will air 35 Pac-12 home games, while ESPN and FOX will combine to televise 45 games from Pac-12 sites, including the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The Pac-12 Networks coverage of Pac-12 football gets underway on Thursday, August 30, with a pair of non-conference games that feature Northern Colorado at UTAH, and Northern Arizona at ARIZONA STATE.

Pac-12 Networks will air 15 of the 25 Pac-12 home games during the first three weeks of the season. And over the course of the first four weeks of the season, each Pac-12 team will appear at least once on the Pac-12 Networks.

“This is a monumental day for Pac-12 fans and unprecedented exposure for Pac-12 football,” said Commissioner Larry Scott. “Through the Pac-12 Networks, and our partners ESPN and FOX, Pac-12 fans nationally will now be afforded a tremendous opportunity to watch their team in action each week.”

The new television arrangement with ESPN and FOX calls for Pac-12 football to receive full national distribution of each game for the first time in conference history.

ESPN and FOX each will air a pair of games on the opening weekend. In its first year of the new partnership, FOX picked the COLORADO vs. Colorado State game on Saturday, September 1, for its first full national broadcast on FX, and will follow up with Hawai’i at USC on FOX. ESPN will air Arkansas State taking on defending Pac-12 champion OREGON, while ESPNU will carry Toledo at ARIZONA in Wildcat coach Rich Rodriguez’s debut in Tucson.

While television selections for the first three weeks of the 2012 season have been made, all remaining television game selections and start times, starting with week four (Saturday, September 22) and running through the final week of the regular season (Saturday, November 24) will be made 12- or six-days in advance.

Additional road games will be televised as part of other conference television packages. Those conferences will release their 2012 television schedule in the coming weeks. In all, every Pac-12 football game is expected to be televised this season.

And after this jump break, the schedule for the Pac-12 as it stands now. As they say in the business, this is subject to change.

(continue reading…)

ESPN Adds A Whole Slew of Games To Its 2012 College Football Schedule

This came into the Fang’s Bites inbox last week, but due to my family commitments, I couldn’t post it until now. This is from ESPN regarding its 2012 college football schedule. This adds 68 games to an already extensive schedule. These include contests from the Big East, Big Ten, Mid-American, SEC, Sun Belt and WAC.

Some of the contests include Texas A&M’s first-ever game as a member of the Southeastern Conference. There will also be 8 Big Ten home games in the first three weeks of the 2012 season.

In addition, ESPN will air Penn State at Ohio marking the debut of new Nittany Lion coach Bill O’Brien, marking the first time that Joe Paterno will not be overseeing the PSU program dating back to 1966.

Here’s what ESPN is saying about its schedule.

Sixty-Eight College Football Games Added to ESPN’s 2012 Schedule

ESPN continues to build its extensive 2012 college football schedule, adding 68 games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The matchups involve home games from the SEC, Big Ten, BIG EAST, Mid-American, Sun Belt and Western Athletic conferences. The announcement also includes the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and six ESPNU Thursday night telecasts from the two prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues.

In the first three weeks, ESPN will televise games from all 11 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences plus BYU, Notre Dame and Navy. Additional selections, including home games from the SEC, Pac-12 and Big 12, will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Every game will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.

Highlights:

• Five additional season-kickoff games on Thursday, Aug. 30: the opening night will be highlighted by an ESPN doubleheader beginning with South Carolina at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. ET followed by the previously announced Washington State at BYU game at 10:15 p.m. ESPNU will televise Texas A&M’s first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference when the Aggies visit defending Western Athletic Conference champion Louisiana Tech at 7:30 p.m.
• Eight home Big Ten Conference games in the first three weeks of the season, highlighted by a 3:30 p.m. game on ABC and ESPN2 each Saturday: Southern Mississippi at Nebraska (Sept. 1), Air Force at Michigan (Sept. 8) and Navy at Penn State (Sept. 15).
• Including two previously announced games, ESPN networks will cover the debut of eight head coaches with their new team in the first weekend: Tim Beckman (Illinois), Terry Bowden (Akron), Paul Chryst (Pittsburgh), Ellis Johnson (Southern Miss), Bill O’Brien (Penn State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M); previously announced games include Larry Fedora (North Carolina against Elon Saturday, Sept. 1, at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN3) and Mike Leach (Washington State at BYU Thursday, Aug. 30, at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN).
• ESPN’s telecast of Penn State against Ohio (Saturday, Sept. 1, at noon) will mark the debut of Nittany Lions head coach Bill O’Brien, the school’s first new head coach in 46 years.
• Three defending conference champions in the opening weekend: Louisiana Tech (WAC), Northern Illinois (MAC) and Southern Mississippi (Conference USA).
• ESPNU will televise three games involving Big Ten teams on the first two Saturdays of the season, including a doubleheader from the state of Illinois on September 1: Western Michigan at Illinois at noon followed by Iowa vs. Northern Illinois from Chicago’s Soldier Field at 3:30 p.m. ESPNU will also televise Michigan State at Central Michigan on September 8 at 3:30 p.m.
• Multiple games involving teams ranked in a preseason College Football Live preseason top 25 poll.

ESPN will provide the most extensive multiplatform college football coverage with more than 450 regular-season and postseason games, concluding with the Discover BCS National Championship, across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Radio, ESPN 3D, ESPN Mobile, ESPN GamePlan and ESPN Goal Line. In addition to game action, ESPN will deliver news, analysis, features and highlights across College GameDay, College Football Live and multiple other television shows as well as ESPN.com, ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine.

Newly Announced ESPN 2012 College Football Telecasts (additional selections will be announced later):

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Aug 30	7 p.m.	South Carolina at Vanderbilt	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Central Florida at Akron	ESPN3*
	7 p.m.	Eastern Michigan at Ball State	ESPN3*
	7:30 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech (from Independence Stadium – Shreveport, LA)	ESPNU
	7:30 p.m.	Massachusetts at Connecticut	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Local Package
Fri, Aug 31	TBD	Villanova at Temple	ESPN3*
Sat, Sep 1	Noon	Ohio at Penn State	ESPN
	Noon	Northwestern at Syracuse	ESPN2
	Noon	Western Michigan at Illinois	ESPNU
	3:30 p.m.	Southern Mississippi at No. 17 Nebraska	ABC & ESPN2**
	3:30 p.m.	Iowa vs. Northern Illinois (from Solider Field – Chicago)	ESPNU
	6 p.m.	Youngstown State at Pittsburgh	ESPN3*
	7 p.m.	Tennessee-Chattanooga at South Florida	ESPN3*
Sun, Sep 2	Noon	MEAC/SWAC Challenge Presented by Disney: Bethune-Cookman vs. Alabama State (from Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium – Orlando)	ESPN
Sat, Sep 8	Noon	Central Florida at No. 20 Ohio State	ESPN2
	Noon	Maryland at Temple	ESPNU
	Noon	NC State at Connecticut	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Network
	3:30 p.m.	Air Force at No. 10 Michigan	ABC & ESPN2**
	3:30 p.m.	No. 12 Michigan State at Central Michigan	ESPNU
	3:30 p.m.	Indiana at Massachusetts	ESPN3*
	3:30 p.m.	Howard at Rutgers	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Local Package
	7 p.m.	Memphis at Arkansas State	ESPN3*
	7 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette at Troy	ESPN3*
	TBD	Texas Tech at Texas State	TBD
Thu, Sep 13	7:30 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State at Southern	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 15	Noon	California at No. 20 Ohio State	ABC
	Noon	Arkansas State at No. 17 Nebraska	ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
	Noon	No. 19 Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh	ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
	3:30 p.m.	Navy at Penn State	ABC & ESPN2**
	3:30 p.m.	North Carolina at Louisville	ABC & ESPN2**
	7 p.m.	Rice at Louisiana Tech	ESPN3*
	7 p.m.	Delaware State at Cincinnati	ESPN3*
	7 p.m.	Mississippi State at Troy	ESPN3*
	8 p.m.	Colorado State at San Jose State	ESPN3*
Wed, Sep 19	7 p.m.	Kent State at Buffalo	ESPNU
Thu, Sep 20	7:30 p.m.	Arkansas Pine Bluff at Alabama State	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 22	Noon	Massachusetts at Miami (OH)	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
	2 p.m.	Connecticut at Western Michigan	ESPN3*
	3:30 p.m.	Gardner-Webb at Pittsburgh	ESPN3*
	4:30 pm	South Florida at Ball State	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Louisville at Florida International	ESPNU or ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Southern Mississippi at Western Kentucky	ESPN3*
	8 p.m.	New Mexico at New Mexico State	ESPN3*
	TBD	Kansas at Northern Illinois	ESPNU or ESPN3
Thu, Sep 27	7:30 p.m.	Morgan State at North Carolina A&T	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 29	Noon	Buffalo at Connecticut	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Network
	Noon	Ball State at Kent State	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
	8 p.m.	UNLV at Utah State	ESPN3*
	TBD	Nevada at Texas State	TBD
Sat, Oct 6	Noon	Buffalo at Ohio	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
	7 p.m.	UNLV at Louisiana Tech	ESPN3 & WAC Syndication
Sat, Oct 13	4 p.m.	Utah State at San Jose State	ESPN3 & WAC Syndication
Thu, Oct 18	7:30 p.m.	Hampton at NC Central	ESPNU
Sat, Oct 20	Noon	Northern Illinois at Akron	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
	1 p.m.	Army at Eastern Michigan	ESPN3*
	3:30 pm	Pittsburgh at Buffalo	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Idaho at Louisiana Tech	ESPN3 & WAC Syndication
	TBD	Cincinnati at Toledo	ESPNU or ESPN3
Thu, Oct 25	7:30 p.m.	Delaware State at Morgan State	ESPNU
Sat, Oct 27	Noon	Northern Illinois at Western Michigan	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
	3:30 pm	Kent State at Rutgers	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Local Package
Sat, Nov 3	4 p.m.	Texas-San Antonio at Louisiana Tech	ESPN3 & WAC Syndication
	TBD	Western Michigan at Central Michigan	ESPN3*
Sat, Nov 10	3:30 p.m.	Navy at Troy	ESPN3*
Sat, Nov 17	Noon	Rutgers at Cincinnati	ESPN3 & BIG EAST Network
	Noon	Kent State at Bowling Green	ESPN3 & MAC Game of the Week
Thu, Nov 22	4 p.m.	Tuskegee at Alabama State	ESPNU
Sat, Nov 24	3 p.m.	Idaho at Utah State	ESPN3 & WAC Syndication

* ESPN3 exclusive game
** Reverse mirror in which ESPN2 will regionalize two games on ABC to markets not receiving the telecasts

More college football stuff coming up.

ESPN Provides Announcing Assignments For EURO 2012

The press release speaks for itself. Take a look as you scroll and see what announcing teams will call the games in one of the most exciting soccer tournaments in the world.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes Commentator Assignments for UEFA EURO 2012

ESPN’s comprehensive coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship (June 8-July 1) will feature all 31 matches televised live and in high definition in English on ESPN and ESPN2, as well as 27 matches live with four tape-delayed in Spanish on ESPN Deportes. Additional coverage includes ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN Deportes Radio. Today, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer Jed Drake announced the ESPN commentator assignments for the group stage of the tournament. Highlights:

Key matchups in the group stage:

• On Saturday, June 9, at 2:45 p.m., Derek Rae and Kasey Keller (ESPN), and Jorge Ramos and Hernan Pereyra (ESPN Deportes) will call Germany vs. Portugal. Germany has beaten Portugal in their last two matches – at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2008. Each team will need a result in the first of their three Group B matches.
• Spain vs. Italy (Sun, June 10 at 12 p.m. on ESPN) – a matchup between the last two FIFA World Cup champions in their first Group C match, where both teams are favored to advance – will feature Ian Darke and Steve McManaman (English), and Fernando Palomo and Rafa Puente (Spanish).
• Traditional powers in European soccer – France vs. England – are entering the tournament with a recent history of underachieving in marquee tournaments. Monday, June 11, telecast on ESPN will feature Darke and McManaman at 12 p.m. Ramos and Pereyra will call the match on ESPN Deportes.
• Darke and McManaman (ESPN) and Palomo and Puente (ESPN Deportes) will call Netherlands vs. Germany on Wed., June 13, at 2:45 p.m. ET – the matchup of traditional European rivals and two of the top teams in the world playing in the second of three matches in Group B, the tournament’s “group of death.”
• Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe (ESPN2), and Ramos and Pereyra (ESPN Deportes) will call the Italy vs. Republic of Ireland match on Monday, June 18 – a rematch of the 1994 FIFA World Cup when Ireland upset Italy at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

UEFA EURO 2012 will mark most comprehensive coverage of the three-week competition by any media company in the United States. In 2008, ESPN2, ESPN, ESPN Classic and ABC combined to present live all 31 matches of the UEFA European Football Championship.  ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language home of the championship, also televised all 31 matches – four on tape-delay.

Match schedule (Subject to change):

Date	Time (ET)	Match	Networks
Friday, June 8	12 p.m.	Poland vs. Greece Ian Darke and Steve McManaman Fernando Palomo and Rafa Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Russia vs. Czech Republic Derek Rae and Kasey Keller Ricardo Ortiz and Tato Noriega	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Saturday, June 9	12 p.m.	Netherlands vs. Denmark Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe Palomo and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Germany vs. Portugal Rae and Keller Jorge Ramos and Hernan Pereyra	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Sunday, June 10	12 p.m.	Spain vs. Italy Darke and McManaman Palomo and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Republic of Ireland vs. Croatia Healey and Mustoe Ortiz and Noriega	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Monday, June 11	12 p.m.	France vs. England Darke and McManaman Ramos and Pereyra	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Ukraine vs. Sweden Rae and Keller Palomo and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Tuesday, June 12	12 p.m.	Greece vs. Czech Republic Healey and Mustoe Jose Hernandez and Noriega	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Poland vs. Russia Rae and Keller Richard Mendez and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Wednesday, June 13	12 p.m.	Denmark vs. Portugal Healey and Mustoe Ramos and Pereyra	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Netherlands vs. Germany Darke and McManaman Palomo and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Thursday, June 14	12 p.m.	Italy vs. Croatia Rae and Taylor Twellman Ortiz and Noriega	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Spain vs. Republic of Ireland Darke and McManaman Palomo and Puente	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Friday, June 15	12 p.m.	Ukraine vs. France Rae and Twellman Palomo and Puente	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Sweden vs. England Healey and Mustoe Ramos and Pereyra	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
Saturday, June 16	2:45 p.m.	Czech Republic vs. Poland Rae and Twellman Mendez and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Greece vs. Russia Healey and Mustoe Ortiz and Barak Fever	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes at 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 17	2:45 p.m.	Portugal vs. Netherlands TBD*** Ramos and Pereyra	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Denmark vs. Germany TBD*** Hernandez and Puente	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes at 5 p.m.
Monday, June 18	2:45 p.m.	Croatia vs. Spain Rae and Twellman Palomo and Puente	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Italy vs. Republic of Ireland Healey and Mustoe Ramos and Pereyra	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes at 5 p.m.
Tuesday, June 19	2:45 p.m.	England vs. Ukraine Darke and McManaman Hernandez and Noriega	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes
	2:45 p.m.	Sweden vs. France Rae and Twellman Ortiz and Fever	ESPN2/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes at 5 p.m.

* ESPN Deportes match coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
* ESPN and ESPN match coverage begins at 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
* Each of the two commentator teams – Darke and McManaman, and Healey and Mustoe – will call the matches

That’s all.

ESPN2′s SportsNation Bids Farewell To Michelle Beadle; Welcomes Charissa Thompson

In a span of just four days, it’ll be out with the old and in with the new at SportsNation. Michelle Beadle will say goodbye on her last official show which will air on Friday. From what the press blurb says, Michelle will go out with a bang. I heard it will involve a cannon. I’m not joking.

And on Monday, Charissa Thompson, the host of ESPN2′s Numbers Never Lie will take Michelle’s place as official co-host of SportsNation taking the side of ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd.

It’s all here in black and white for you.

SportsNation Bids a Fond Farewell to Michelle Beadle on June 1, Welcomes Charissa Thompson as the New Co-Host on June 4

SportsNation’s new co-host Charissa Thompson will make her debut on Monday, June 4, opposite co-host Colin Cowherd. The pair will continue the off-beat SportsNation tradition of discussing the day’s hottest and weirdest sports topics weekdays at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. ESPYS host Rob Riggle recently attempted to congratulate Thompson on her new gig, though there was clearly some confusion on his part: http://bit.ly/CharissaT

Thompson, a familiar face to the SportsNation audience thanks to her guest appearances, joined ESPN in September of 2011 and has served as host of ESPN2’s Numbers Never* Lie. Prior to joining ESPN, Thompson appeared on multiple sports networks including The Big Ten Network, Versus (now NBC Sports), NFL Network, Speed Network and Yahoo! Sports. Thompson was also a co-host of Fox Sports Network’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

On Friday, June 1, SportsNation will bid a fond farewell to Michelle Beadle with a “Beadle Bash” celebrating her last appearance on the show. The episode will highlight unforgettable Beadle moments and memories, and will feature a special surprise goodbye to send Beadle off with a “bang.”

Fans can follow the show on Twitter at @SportsNation and Charissa Thompson at @CharissaT.

There you have it.

Networks of ESPN To Air 83 Games of NCAA Division I Baseball Championship

Starting this weekend, the ESPN Family of Networks will begin airing the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. In total, 83 games will be aired over ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. It begins with the regionals this weekend, then the Super Regionals the following weekend and one of college sports’ greatest events, the College World Series in Omaha, NE to be played for the second time at TD Ameritrade Park.

This is a very long press release that will require a page break so get ready to scroll if you want to take a look at the entire NCAA Baseball Championship schedule.

We’ll begin with the text of the announcement, then do the jump break.

Record-Setting 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Games Scheduled

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to provide a record schedule of up to 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship games from June 1 to June 26, culminating with the College World Series. The addition of up to 14 games from two more Regional series surpasses the previous high of a maximum 69 games set last year.

The schedule includes complete coverage of six Regionals (up to 42 games from June 1-4), two more than the previous two championships; all eight Super Regionals sites (up to 24 games from June 8-11); and every College World Series game (up to 17 games from June 15-26) from the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

ESPN3 will double its exclusive coverage from last year – its first for exclusive games – offering a possible 28 contests from five Regionals sites. ESPNU will televise up to 20 games from the Regionals and Super Regionals while ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to cover a maximum 35 games from all three rounds, including the entire NCAA Men’s College World Series for the 10th straight year.

Every game will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.

Seven of the analysts have played in the College World Series: Chris Burke (Tennessee), Randy Flores (USC), Jay Payton (Georgia Tech), Kyle Peterson (Stanford), Nomar Garciaparra (Georgia Tech), Ben McDonald (LSU) and Paul Lo Duca (Arizona State).

Studio Coverage
Mike Rooney and Ben McDonald will provide analysis from the studio for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series. Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano will serve as an ESPNU guest analyst during the Regionals on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June. 2. In addition to providing pre- and post-game analysis, they will contribute on ESPNU’s SportsCenterU programs June 1 to June 3 at 3 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

ESPNU will also provide extensive pre- and post-game studio reports during the College World Series as well as telecasts of the teams’ press conferences Thursday, June 14 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, June 23, at noon.

Regionals (June 1-4): ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will offer complete and exclusive coverage of six Regionals sites.

• Each site will feature four teams competing in a double-elimination format and each site winner (a total of 16 sites) will advance to the Super Regionals. 
• Adam Amin, Joe Davis, Justin Kutcher, Clay Matvick, Mark Neely and Ducis Rodgers are scheduled to provide play-by-play while Nick Belmonte, Chris Burke, Randy Flores, Danny Kanell, Jay Payton and Kyle Peterson will provide analysis.

And the jump break here. Then the schedules for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series.
(continue reading…)

ESPN & ESPN2 To Air NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship

It seems like Memorial Day Weekend has crept up on us. Maybe it’s the cooler than normal temperatures in the Northeast this Spring. Maybe it’s due to the fact that days are running together for me. Maybe it’s me. Who knows?

Anyway, ESPN and ESPN2 will air the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship live from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Saturday and Monday. The event has grown in leaps and bounds every year and whether the Championship is played in Baltimore or Foxboro, the Lacrosse Semis and Championship draw good crowds.

The semifinals will be aired on ESPN2 this Saturday and in the first game, Notre Dame will take on the top seed, Loyola (MD) at 2:30 p.m. ET with ACC rivals Maryland and Duke squaring off in the second game at 5 p.m.

On Monday, the Championship Game will be played at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Calling the games will be Eamon McAnaney and Quint Kessenich with Paul Carcaterra on the sidelines.

Here’s the ESPN announcement for you.

2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Semifinals Set

National Championship Game to be Played Monday, May 28, at 1 p.m. on ESPN & ESPN3

The last four teams remain as the field is set for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship  championship weekend – Saturday, May 26 and Monday, May 28, from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The semifinals commence Saturday on ESPN2 and ESPN3 with No. 4 Notre Dame facing top-seeded Loyola (Md.) at 2:30 p.m. ET and Maryland against No. 3 Duke at 5 p.m. The 2012 season will culminate with the National Championship Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.

ESPN has covered 29 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships since 1980 and 2012 marks the 18^th consecutive year of televising the National Semifinals and Championship Game.

Commentators

• Eamon McAnaney will be calling his first-ever championship weekend games as the play-by-play announcer
• Quint Kessenich will join McAnaney in the booth and sideline analyst Paul Carcaterra is a newcomer on the field for the biggest weekend of the season

Studio

• Host Anish Shroff and analyst Mark Dixon will cover the National Semifinals from ESPNU’s Charlotte, N.C. headquarters
• The duo will be on site in Foxborough for the National Championship on Memorial Day with pregame and halftime reports
• In addition,  Shroff and Dixon will anchor  the NCAA Lacrosse Championship Post Game Show on ESPNU and ESPN3, immediately following the title game, which will include game reaction, postgame celebration, trophy presentation and net cutting
• Bill Tierney, head coach at Denver and six-time NCAA Championship coach at Princeton, will join Shroff and Dixon in studio for the coverage of the semifinals

Game Features

• A series of bumps and full-length teases that combine Native American narrative with current day life from the Onondaga Nation in upstate New York
• Microphones will be worn by all three game officials during the semifinals and championship, providing on-field dialogue throughout the telecast with periodic switches to each official
• The telecast will use nine cameras, plus the SkyCam and Super Slo Motion camera,  which will allow viewers to experience a visually enhanced presentation

ESPN Digital

• All three games from Gillette Stadium simulcast on ESPN3
• Full coverage of the postgame celebration, trophy presentation and the net cutting on Monday on ESPN3
• Fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription via Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV or Comcast Xfinity will also have access to WatchESPN for live coverage online at WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets, in addition to ESPN3’s multi-screen offering

ESPN.com

• ESPNBoston.com will cover all the weekend’s action from Gillette Stadium

Sports Science Lab

Former Johns Hopkins All-American and current Boston Cannon star Paul Rabil put his skills to the test at the ESPN Sport Science lab, demonstrating why some call him the world’s greatest lacrosse player. Using state of the art technology, John Brenkus and his team analyze Rabil’s immensely powerful shot, which can exceed 100 miles per hour, plus record his speed, power and accuracy. The team also breaks down the art of the lacrosse shot with one of the game’s finest players ever.

ESPN International

• The semifinal games will be shown live on ESPN PacRim, ESPN2 Australia and ESPN2 Caribbean, and next day delay on ESPN America
• The title game will air live on ESPN America, ESPN PacRim and ESPN2 Caribbean
• Same day/next day airs for the championship game will be available on ESPN Africa, ESPN2 Australia, ESPN Israel, ESPN Middle East, ESPN Brazil HD and ESPN Latin America

ESPN’s Coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship
(Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Network(s)
Sat, May 26	2:30 p.m.	Semifinal #1: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Loyola (Md.) (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Semifinal #2: Maryland vs. No. 3 Duke (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
Mon, May 28	1 p.m.	National Championship: Semifinal winners (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	NCAA Lacrosse Championship Post Game Show Anish Shroff & Mark Dixon	ESPNU

That will do us.

ESPN2 Announces French Open Coverage Plans; New Start Time

Starting Sunday, the second Grand Slam tournament on the Tennis calendar begins in Paris. Officially known as “Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros”, the French Open will go for two weeks. ESPN2 will have live tennis action for the first 6 days of the tournament starting at 5 a.m. ET and will last until 10 a.m. ET. During the second week, ESPN2′s start time will differ as the network has live coverage of the Round of 16 through to the Women’s Semifinals. For the previous four years, ESPN2 had begun its coverage at noon ET and went until 5 p.m. or until the conclusion of its matches.

Now as ESPN2 and Tennis Channel enter a new phase of joint Grand Slam coverage, ESPN2 which is the secondary rightsholder for this tournament will kick off the day with Tennis Channel picking things up from 10 a.m. ET until the conclusion.

Chris Fowler and Chris McKendry will share host duties. Fowler will be the main announcer as well. Chris Evert, Patrick McEnroe, Darren “Killer” Cahill, Brad Gilbert, Mary Joe Fernandez and Pam Shriver will all be on hand for ESPN2. Cliff Drysdale will skip Roland Garros and will be back for Wimbledon.

We have ESPN’s schedule of coverage.

ESPN at the French Open: New TV Schedule Live Every Day; Evert’s ESPN/Paris Debut

Djoker-Slam for Novak? Are Azarenka, Serena & Maria a New Big Three?
Action on ESPN2 HD & ESPN3 Starts Sunday, May 27; Women’s Semis Live June 7

The best tennis players in the world are headed for a collision on the red clay of Paris:  Roland Garros, the 2012 French Open starting on ESPN2 HD and ESPN3 on Sunday, May 27.  ESPN2’s new schedule of live action every day – starting at 5 a.m. ET most days – continues weekdays through Thursday, June 7, culminating with the women’s semifinals. ESPN3 will provide up to seven screens of action on the days ESPN2 is on the air, totaling 320 hours.

Chris Evert, who won the French Open a record seven times among her 18 Major singles championships, will work the event for ESPN for the first time. She joined the ESPN tennis team at last year’s Wimbledon.

The Storylines

Both sides of the draw present intriguing storylines, as challengers to the “trivalry” of Djokovic/Federer/Nadal (winners of 27 of the last 28 Majors) seem to be closing and the previously wide-open women’s field seems to be coalescing around a new “Big Three.”

Defending and six-time champ Rafael Nadal is ranked No. 2, after beating top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the finals in Rome on May 21.  The Serb has won the last three Majors and is seeking a historic “Djoker Slam,” but has never reached the final in Paris.  Roger Federer, a finalist a year ago, has the best record on the tour since the US Open.  After that, No. 4 Andy Murray had a career-best semifinal appearance last year and a slew of contenders are threatening to break up the Fab Four – local favorites Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Janko Tipsarevic, Juan Martin Del Potro and 6-9 American John Isner who recently cracked the Top 10 in rankings for the first time.

On the women’s side, Victoria Azarenka, who recently ascended to the world’s top ranking, enters Paris off a tremendous early season including an Australian Open title but also recent losses to Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.  The trio seems to have separated themselves from the field in creating a new triumvirate at the top of the women’s game.  No. 2  Sharapova, the Aussie runnerup and winner last week in Rome, would love a French title to complete a career Grand Slam, and Williams, the 2002 champion, is playing far better than her No. 5 ranking.  In addition, the field includes four other former champions (Ana Ivanovic, Li Na, Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova) plus Venus Williams continues her comeback and enters her first Major since her sudden withdrawal from the US Open.

TV Coverage

After the opening day, ESPN2’s schedule will continue with an all-live telecast starting at 5 a.m. each day through Friday, June 1 and again on Monday, June 4.  The network will air live quarterfinal action Tuesday, June 5, at 1 p.m. and Wednesday, June 6 at 8 a.m.  ESPN2 will air the women’s semifinals live Thursday, June 7 at 8 a.m.  All the action on ESPN2 is also available through WatchESPN online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app.

Chris Fowler and Chris McKendry will again share host duties on ESPN2, with Fowler also calling matches. They will be joined by Evert, along with returnees Darren Cahill, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver. Cliff Drysdale will rejoin the team next month for ESPN’s first-ever exclusive start-to-finish coverage of Wimbledon.

For the sixth consecutive year, ESPN2 is working with Tennis Channel to bring viewers an almost around-the-clock tournament experience, with each channel cross-promoting the other’s schedule. Tennis Channel will produce all coverage for both channels, with each making use of its own on-air team.

ESPN3

ESPN3’s French Open schedule totals 328 hours with a multi-screen offering of up to seven courts and ESPN2’s coverage and is available on the days the network is televising.  ESPN3 will begin each day early in the morning with the first ball in the air and continue to the last shot of the day.  Matches will also be available after they take place via replay. Additionally, ESPNPlay in Latin America and the Caribbean will provide customers with extensive live coverage with multiple windows totaling over 500 hours in both English and Spanish on broadband platforms in addition to televised coverage throughout the regions.

ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold level members.  It is currently available to 73 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

Other ESPN Platforms

Fans will have a variety of ways to follow the French Open with live action and updates on an array of ESPN platforms wherever they are and regardless of whether there is live television offered.

ESPN.com will provide comprehensive coverage before, during and after the French Open, highlighted by an enhanced Courtcast section that – for the first time – will feature all the live action from ESPN3. As always, it will also include real-time scoring from all courts, plus continuous live polling with results revealed immediately in ESPN2’s telecasts. In addition to all the results, news, analysis, schedules and more, ESPN.com will provide live blogging throughout the tournament so fans can follow the action even when there is no live television coverage. Also, fans can watch Digital Serve daily with ESPN2 commentators discussing the latest action and previewing key matches. Other highlights include:

• The Latest Dirt – a daily notebook roundup of all the day’s action;
• Center Court – a tennis video show featured each week on all the major news from Roland Garros;
• Quest for the Quad – a daily look at Novak Djokovic via previews, match reactions, blogs and more as he attempts to complete the “Djoker Slam” for winning four straight majors;
• Slam Central – comprehensive coverage of everything that transpired each day;
• What We Learned – ESPN.com senior writer Greg Garber and others will highlight the day’s news and notes with quick video snippets on the overlooked storylines.

The WatchESPN App – for fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription via Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV or Comcast Xfinity – will provide access to for ESPN2’s live coverage online at WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets, in addition to ESPN3’s multi-screen offering.

ESPN Mobile TV will have 51 hours of live coverage, simulcasting all of ESPN2’s live programming, highlighted by the women’s semifinals Thursday, June 7.

ESPN Interactive TV, exclusive to DIRECTV, will present the French Open showing ESPN2 or Tennis Channel’s live coverage along with five other courts available with commentary.  Other features include interactive data, the tournament draw, up-to-date scores, and daily order of play.

ESPN International will present up to 130 hours of the French Open to more than 60 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean on a variety of regional networks.  Matches will be chosen based on local interest and commentary will be offered in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

ESPN – All Four Slams, All In One Place

Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air and provided many memorable moments, but it has never been as important as today, with the US Open joining the lineup in 2009, giving ESPN all four Grand Slam events, something no other U.S. network has ever done, let alone in one year. ESPN has presented the Australian Open since 1984, the French Open since 2002 (plus 1986 – 1993), and Wimbledon since 2003, with exclusivity for live television with all other rights extended added in a 12-year agreement starting in 2012.

ESPN debuted September 7, 1979, and the first tennis telecast was exactly one week later, September 14, a Davis Cup tie, Argentina at U.S. from Memphis with Cliff Drysdale on the call and John McEnroe playing.

In addition, broadband network ESPN3, now in nearly 72 million homes, carries thousands of hours of tennis annually, including all four Grand Slam events, plus ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments and WTA Premier Events, and season-ending championships for both tours. Also, ESPN Classic shows great matches from the past and the sport receives extensive coverage on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, Spanish-language ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine.  ESPN 3D aired its first tennis at Wimbledon in 2011.

2012 French Open on ESPN2 & ESPN2 HD

Date	Time (ET)	Event
Sun, May 27 – Fri, June 1	5 – 10 a.m.	Early Round Action	Live
Mon, June 4	5 – 10 a.m.	Round of 16	Live
Tue, June 5	1 – 7 p.m.	Quarterfinals	Live & Same-day action
Wed, June 6	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Quarterfinals	Live
Thur, June 7	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Women’s Semifinals	Live

2012 French Open on ESPN3

Date	Time (ET)	Event
Sun, May 27 – Fri, June 1	5 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Early Round Action	Live
Mon, June 4	8 a.m. – 7 p.m.	Round of 16	Live
Tue, June 5	8 a.m. – 7 p.m.	Quarterfinals	Live
Wed, June 6	5 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Quarterfinals	Live
Thur, June 7	5 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Men’s Doubles Semis Women’s Semifinals	Live

That will do it.

A Busy Week in Motorsports on ESPN/ABC

The Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Nationwide Race in Charlotte, NC headline ESPN/ABC’s motorsports coverage this week.

Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

Indianapolis 500 Airing for 48^th Year on ABC

ABC will air the 96^th running of the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, continuing one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a TV network with the race on ABC for the 48^th straight year. A one-hour pre-race show airs at 11 a.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 12:12 p.m. For the first time, viewers will be able to watch streaming views from onboard cameras on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen, live sports event network.

Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid; analysts Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever.

Host: Brent Musburger

Pit reporters: Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch

NASCAR Nationwide Series at Charlotte on ABC

The NASCAR Nationwide Series races this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the History 300 airs live on ABC on Saturday, May 26. NASCAR Countdown airs at 2:30 p.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 3:01 p.m.  Also from Charlotte, ESPN2 airs NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Announcers:

Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick; analysts Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree.

Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake.

NASCAR Now Schedule

The one-hour weekend edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will air on Sunday, May 27, at 10 a.m. ET with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Michael Yam will host, joined by analyst Ricky Craven with reporters Mike Massaro and Ryan McGee at the track. NASCAR Now will review the race at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 28.

Date	Time	Show	Host	Network
Tue., May 22	3 p.m.	NASCAR Now	Jonathan Coachman	ESPN2, WatchESPN
Wed., May 23	3 p.m.	NASCAR Now	Jonathan Coachman	ESPN2, WatchESPN
Fri., May 25	3 p.m.	NASCAR Now	Michael Yam	ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sun., May 27	10 a.m.	NASCAR Now	Michael Yam	ESPN2, WatchESPN
Mon., May 21	3 p.m.	NASCAR Now	Allen Bestwick	ESPN2, WatchESPN

Global Rallycross Charlotte Action Airs on ESPN2

The high-octane world of Global Rallycross, which mixes the energy of motorsports with the attitude of action sports, is kicking off its 2012 season with an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the famous track’s NASCAR weekend. The event, which will be contested on a 0.750-mile Rallycross course built along the frontstretch and pit road of the 1.5-mile superspeedway, will air on ESPN2 on Saturday, May 26, at 8 p.m. ET.

In addition, the event will air on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen live sports network, starting at 7 p.m.

NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series on ESPN2

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series has the weekend off, but NHRA fans can watch action from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series on Saturday, May 26, at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The telecast will feature highlights from the recent event in Topeka, Kansas.

Motorsports on Other ESPN Platforms

ESPN.com — RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Sunday, May 27, RacingLive! Charlotte will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/. ESPN.com motorsports writer David Newton will be on hand at Charlotte.

ESPN Radio — Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from the site of that weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.

That’s it.

Some Wednesday Night Linkage

I’ll do some more linkage for you this evening. You’re owed it. Why not?

Thomas O’Toole from USA Today reports that Laurie Fine, the wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, is suing ESPN for libel saying a report ruined her reputation.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin goes inside the lawsuit and notes that Fine is accusing ESPN of circling the wagons against her.

John Koblin from Deadspin says Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson will replace the outgoing Michelle Beadle on ESPN2′s SportsNation.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with ESPN’s Prince of Darkness John Skipper who fires some shots at NBC Sports Network.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today has NBC’s response to Skipper.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw a G*d D*mned reference at Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. That’s a lot of ESPN references in one sentence.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Pat O’Brien is back on the Olympic stage.

Mike Ozanian from Forbes says while sports TV advertising spending is up, the return of investment is not necessarily that good.

Andy Fixmer and Edmund Lee of Bloomberg Businessweek report that the networks are putting more sports programming in primetime to avoid DVR timeshifting.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable looks at NBCUniversal announcing Olympic coverage plans for three cable networks.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reports that NBC Sports Network will air a cable TV record amount of Olympic coverage this summer.

Mike notes that ESPN is hoping to double its subscriber numbers for its WatchESPN app.

Meanwhile, Josh Lowensohn of CNET says hold the WatchESPN to Apple TV talk.

Billy Steele of Engadget reviews the new ESPN Radio iPad app.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that Fox Sports West had an interesting “Key to the Game”.

Jim Williams of the Bleacher Report talks with Fox Soccer analysts on this Saturday’s Champions League Final.

Clare Atkinson from the New York Post reports that the networks are jacking up ad rates for the NFL including CBS for Super Bowl XLVII.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that NBC Sports Network will cover the Indy 500 Time Trials this weekend.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at the amount of Olympic coverage on three NBCUniversal cable networks.

Pete says NBC Sports golf reporter Dottie Pepper has co-authored a series of books bringing golf to kids.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local cable TV sports reporter is fast becoming a regular on the high school scene.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says a sports radio producer put Icy Hot on his manjunk.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is not a fan of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter stance.

Kent Youngblood at the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild comes with some controversy.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News says the national media is beginning to take notice of the Kings’ playoff run.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times writes that ESPN has moved the coaching debut of Mike Leach with Washington State to a Thursday night primetime game.

Jeff Morrow of the Tri-City (WA) Herald notes that ESPN Radio has returned to the local area.

Annie Fowler of the Herald says NHL Network will air the Memorial Cup in its entirety.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing is still buzzing over Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter rant from this week.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC could be moved on Saturday if Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final goes into triple overtime.

Steve says the ratings Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Final were down from last year.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at various local radio ratings for baseball.

And that will be do it for tonight.

English Premier League “Survival” Sunday Registers A Total of 1.3 Million Viewers

Combined with ESPN2, Fox Sports English and Spanish-language platforms, a total of 1.3 million people watched the final day of the English Premier League on Sunday.

According to Fox Sports, ESPN2 had the most viewers with 600,000 for the dramatic Manchester City-Queens Park Rangers game which saw ManCity eke out a win with two goals in stoppage time to win the EPL title.

On Fox Sports platforms which utilized Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports Net, Fuel, FX and Speed, the audience registered at 392,000 viewers. The most viewers were on FX which carried Sunderland-Manchester United (161,000).

For Fox Deportes, the channel saw 167,000 viewers while ESPN Deportes which also carried the ManCity-QPR match, it had 189,000.

Overall, the viewership was 72% from the games a year ago.

We have the Fox Sports statement on this.

SURVIVAL SUNDAY IS SMASHING SUCCESS

English & Spanish Language Viewership Tops 1.3 Million; Up 72% vs. 2011

New York — This Mother’s Day edition of Survival Sunday produced the mother of all days for the Barclays Premier League and world-class European soccer in the United States, as nine of the day’s ten games were carried by a FOX Sports Media Group network or platform, a first in U.S. television history.

Manchester City’s dramatic, come-from-behind victory on the season’s final day in extra-time had the feeling of a Hollywood script and delivered the team its first Premier League championship in 44 years.  At the same time, their shocking win snatched what looked like a cinch 20^th Premier League crown away from perennial powerhouse, Manchester United.  The shift in emotion for team supporters was seismic.

Led by FX, FSMG networks SPEED, FSN, FUEL TV, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes, along with digital platforms FOXSoccer.com and FOX Soccer 2Go, carried nine matches live at 10:00 AM ET (5/13).  The tenth game was televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

According to audience figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research, the English language (FX, SPEED, FOX Soccer, FSN, FUEL TV & ESPN2) and Spanish language (FOX Deportes & ESPN Deportes) viewership in the United States for Survival Sunday came in at 1,348,000, up +72% over the combined viewing on FOX Soccer, FOX Deportes, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes on Survival Sunday 2011 (728,000).

Here are additional highlights from Survival Sunday 2012:

• The English language audience on the FOX-outlets (392,000) and ESPN2 (600,000) combined for 992,000 viewers, up +80% over the combined viewing on ESPN2 and FOX Soccer a year ago (550,000).
• English-language viewership on FOX outlets (392,000) was +160% vs. 2011 (151,000).  The breakdown is as follows: FX – 161,000; FOX Soccer – 77,000; SPEED – 53,000; FSN – 59,000; FUEL TV – 42,000.
• FOX Deportes recorded 167,000 viewers Sunday, +120% over a year ago (76,000);  ESPN Deportes drew 189,000 viewers.
• *Unique visitors to FOXSoccer.com on Sunday were 420,000, +278% from last Survival Sunday (111,000) and +143% compared to the usual Sunday average during the Barclays Premier League season (173,000).

*Source: Unica NetInsight

• +FOXSoccer.com and FOX Soccer 2Go combined for 41,522 live video streams.

+Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst

That’s all.

ESPN Networks All Over The NCAA Division I Softball Championship

In its increased commitment to the NCAA, the ESPN Family of Networks will have extensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship including every game of the Women’s College World Series.

There will be coverage of up to 62 games from the regionals to the Super Regional games, all the way to the Women’s College World Series held again at Oklahoma City, OK. This will be the 12th year that the ESPN Family will carry all of the games of the WCWS.

Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza will be the main team for the Softball Championship and they’ll be assigned to the Louisville, KY Super Regional and then go to the Women’s College World Series.

The whole enchilada begins this Friday with coverage of eight games on ESPN2, ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network (that’s right) and continuing throughout the weekend.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

ESPN Provides Extensive Coverage of NCAA Division I Softball Championship

Every Women’s College World Series Contest for 12^th Straight Year

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine as the coverage home to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship with up to 62 games Friday, May 18 to Wednesday, June 6. The lineup will include telecasts of every Women’s College World Series (WCWS) contest for the 12^th straight event and every game from all eight Super Regional sites for the fifth straight year. Coverage begins with games from three Regional sites.

As mentioned on ESPNU’s 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show, action begins Friday, May 18 with six telecasts from three sites -– Louisville, Ky.; College Station, Texas; Tucson, Ariz. ESPN3 will simulcast every Regional, Super Regional and WCWS game aired on ESPN networks.

SEC teams earned the most bids this year by conference with nine, followed closely by the Pac-12 with eight. The Pac-12 has won 23 of 29 NCAA Division I Softball Championships. The last non-Pac-12 school to win a title was Michigan in 2005. This year’s No. 1 seed, California, has the most consecutive championship appearances with 26, behind only Fresno State with 30.

2012 ESPN Highlights:

• More than 125 hours of NCAA Division I Softball Championship game action as well as studio hours surrounding the games with highlights, expert analysis and press conferences after Super Regionals.
• For the first time, the Longhorn Network will also offer exclusive games from a Regionals series, televising all games involving No. 8 Texas from the Austin, Texas Regional site, beginning Friday, May 19 at 5:30 ET.
• Super Regionals and WCWS games will include the expert opinion and experience from six U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists, one of which was a three-time NCAA Champion. All 11 analysts are former All-Americans and six played for teams that were seeded in this year’s Championship:
  • ESPN Softball Analysts at Super Regionals: Leah Amico (Arizona), Garland Cooper (Northwestern), Jennie Finch (Arizona), Amanda Freed (UCLA), Cheri Kemp (Missouri Western), Jessica Mendoza (Stanford), Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) and Michele Smith (Oklahoma State)
  • ESPN Softball Analysts in Studio: Charlotte Morgan (Alabama) and Stacey Nuveman (UCLA)
  • As part of ESPN’s celebration of 40 years of Title IX, espnW.com will give fans inside access on a team’s road to the WCWS with features, photos and player blogs from six of the top-25 programs.
  • ESPN International will provide the WCWS in 178 countries and territories on ESPN Australia, ESPN Africa, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Europe, ESPN Israel, ESPN Latin America, ESPN Middle East, ESPN Pacific Rim and ESPN Brazil.
  • In 2012, the ESPN networks will air over 400 hours of NCAA Spring Championships coverage, increasing more than 30 hours from 2011. As part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA, spring championship programming highlights seven sports over eight weeks: Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. For the first time, ESPN networks will also air the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Women’s Lacrosse Championships.

NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Regionals
(Schedule subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup (location)	Regional Game	Network
Friday, May 18	4:30 p.m.	Kentucky vs. Michigan (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Texas State vs. LSU (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 1	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Northwestern vs. No. 6 Texas (Austin, TX) TBD	Game 2	Longhorn Network
	5:30 p.m.	Notre Dame vs. Hawaii (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Valparaiso vs. No. 15 Louisville (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 8 Texas A&M (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 2	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	North Dakota State vs. No. 13 Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
Saturday, May 19	1 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (College Station, TX)	Game 3	ESPN3
	3:30  p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game  2 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 4	ESPN/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 4	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 5	ESPN/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (College Station, TX)	Game 5	ESPN3
	8:30 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 4	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 5	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sunday, May 20	1 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 6	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 6	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Louisville, KY)* Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 7	ESPN2/ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (College Station, TX)* Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 7	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 6	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Tucson, AZ) * Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 7	ESPNU/ESPN3

NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Super Regionals

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup (Location)	Game	Network
Thu, May 24	8 p.m.	TBD (Site 1)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
Fri, May 25	2 p.m.	TBD (Site 5)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	TBD (Site 1)	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 1) *	Game 3	ESPN or ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 3)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)	Game 2	ESPN or ESPNU/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	TBD (Site 4)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)*	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 26	noon	TBD (Site 5)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	noon	TBD (Site 6)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	2:30 PM	TBD (Site 5) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	2:30 PM	TBD (Site 3)	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	TBD (Site 4)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	TBD (Site 3) *	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 PM	TBD (Site 4) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	7:30 PM	TBD (Site 7)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	10 p.m.	TBD (Site 8)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sun, May 27	1 p.m.	TBD (Site 6)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 PM	TBD (Site 6) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 PM	TBD (Site 7)	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	TBD (Site 7) *	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 8)	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 PM	TBD (Site 8) *	Game 3	ESPN2/ESPN3

NCAA Women’s College World Series, (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

Date	Time	Game	Network
Wed, May 30	2 p.m.	WCWS Press Conferences	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	WCWS Press Conferences	ESPNU
Thu, May 31	Noon	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 3	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 4	ESPN2/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Fri, June 1	7 p.m.	Game 5	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 6	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sat, June 2	noon	Game 7	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Game 8	ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 9	ESPN/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 10	ESPN/ESPN3
Sun, June 3	1 p.m.	Game 11	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 12	ESPN/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 13*	ESPNU/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 14*	ESPNU/ESPN3
Mon, June 4	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Tue, June 5	7:30 p.m.	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Wed, June 6	7:30 p.m.	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 3*	ESPN/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU

ESPN3 will carry every game; direct links to exclusive games included
* denotes “if necessary” game

That’s going to do it.

A Trio of Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

Happy Mother’s Day.

It’s been quite the day in sports already. A few thoughts in bullet form.

• Fox promised us unprecedented coverage on the last day of the English Premier League season and it delivered. Using FX, Fox Sports Net, Fuel and Speed in addition to its Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus on online platforms, it provided full coverage of the final day of the EPL season as teams were scrambling for the Title, Champions and Europa League spots and avoiding relegation. With ESPN2 allowed to air the Manchester City-Queens Park Rangers match, Fox focused on the other 9 games of the day. Using FX as its main hub, there were real time updates on the Fox Box as well as cut-ins by Rob Stone showing scores from other games.

  If Fox retains the US rights for the English Premier League, I would love to see more of this coverage not only for what was dubbed “Survival Sunday” by Fox, but for the Opening Weekend of the season as well.

  I admit I wasn’t a fan of Rob Stone when he was at ESPN, but he’s grown on me as host of the Premier and Champions League on Fox Soccer. And the way Fox utilized its platforms today was excellent. One could argue they should have been doing this all along.

  If Fox is going to do this next year, then open up the pay platforms of Fox Soccer Plus, Foxsoccer.com and Fox Soccer2Go for the weekend. Those of us who don’t subscribe to those platforms were shutout today.

• One pet peeve I have about Fox is that it won’t allow online streaming of its sports properties. Whether it be MLB, NASCAR, college football or NFL, the network makes us watch its product on television. If we can’t be in front of a TV, then we’re pure out of luck. Some the online rights are locked with the league as with the case of MLB and the NFL, but ESPN, NBC and CBS have been diligent in getting online rights. Fox remains steadfast in not streaming its events. I hope that changes as the network goes forward with the NFL and any other sports properties it obtains from here on out.
• And Friday’s development that Michelle Beadle is leaving ESPN is not a surprise. While there has been no firm confirmation from neither ESPN, NBC where she’s reportedly heading nor from Michelle herself, she’s about good as gone.

  I told you in the past that sports is not what Michelle wants to do full-time. By keeping a hand in special events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl should be enough for her. And by co-hosting Access Hollywood, it gives NBCUniversal a versatile personality.

  She’ll do well for NBC.

That’s going to do it for now.

ESPN Networks Will Really Be Into Softball This Weekend

Starting today and going into the Women’s College World Series, the ESPN Family will air extensive coverage of college softball. Today, ESPN and ESPNU will carry the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals from Tuscaloosa, AL.

In addition, the ACC, Big East and Big South Championships will be seen on TV. ESPN3 will have other conference championships online.

It all leads to the NCAA Softball Selection Show will ESPNU will air on Sunday night. Check out the announcement from ESPN below.

ESPN Increases Softball Coverage with Ten Conference Championship Matchups

NCAA Softball heads into a week of more championship coverage than ever before across ESPN networks with the addition of the two Conference Championships to ESPNU – the ACC and Big South – and five exclusively live on ESPN3 with the Atlantic Sun, Missouri Valley, Southern, SWAC and Sun Belt.

In addition to simulcasting the entire SEC Softball Tournament and the five Conference Championship games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, ESPN3 will also show the ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinals and six championships exclusively. ESPN networks will air a combined 25 total softball tournament games over four days beginning Thursday, May 10.

ESPNU will close out the record week of championship coverage with the fifth annual NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show on Sunday. May 13, at 10 p.m. and unveil the 64-team field for this season’s final matchups.

Date	Time	Championship	Network
Thu, May 10	Noon	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: LSU vs. Florida Cara Capuano and Michele Smith	ESPNU
	Noon	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Virginia vs. Georgia Tech	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Auburn vs. Tennessee Cara Capuano and Michele Smith	ESPNU
	2:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: North Carolina vs. Florida State	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Kentucky vs. Georgia Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Boston College vs. North Carolina	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Mississippi State vs. Alabama Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPN
	8 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN3
Fri, May 11	3 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
Sat, May 12	Noon	Atlantic Sun Softball Championship	ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	Southern Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Missouri Valley Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Southland Softball Championship	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Cara Capuano and Cheri Kemp	ESPN
	4 p.m.	Sun Belt Softball Championship	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	BIG EAST Softball Championship Pam Ward and Jennie Finch	ESPN2
	8 p.m.	SEC Softball Championship Beth Mowins and Michele Smith	ESPN
Sun, May 13	Noon	Big South Softball Championship Holly Rowe and Garland Cooper	ESPNU
	2 p.m.	SWAC Softball Championship Adam Amin and Amanda Scarborough	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show	ESPNU

*All games listed will also air on ESPN3; viewing links attached to game designation

There you have it.

ESPN2 To Air Rare English Premier League/MLS Doubleheader on Sunday

On Sunday, ESPN2 airs the rare EPL/MLS Daily Double. Sunday is Relegation Sunday in the English Premier League and with first place on the line, ESPN2 will air the Manchester City-Queens Park Rangers game. If Manchester City wins, it will give the Citizens a rare EPL title. If Queens Park pulls the upset, then it opens the door for Manchester United to win its 13th Premier League Championship and 20th English Football title overall. That game will air at 9:30 a.m. ET with Ian Darke and Steve McManaman on the call.

Then at 12:15 p.m., it’ll be MLS action with the Philadelphia Union hosting the New York Red Bulls with Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman at PPL Park.

Your ESPN press blurb.

Soccer Doubleheader Sunday – English Premier League Championship on the Line; MLS Eastern Conference Rivalry

ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes will combine to present a live soccer doubleheader on Sunday, May 13, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the English Premier League’s Manchester City vs. Queen Park Rangers match live on ESPN2 and ESPN3. The match could decide the Premier League championship.  With a win at home in Etihad Stadium, Manchester City will capture its third top-flight league title in English football and its first since 1968. A QPR victory would open the door to a Manchester United title, if it wins Sunday. Ian Darke and Steve McManaman, a Liverpool FC legend who spent his last two seasons in professional football playing for Manchester City, will provide commentary. Tato Noriega and Jose Hernandez will call the match in Spanish. Additional coverage of the match will include post-match segments and the trophy presentation if Manchester City wins.

Immediately following at 12:15 p.m., the three networks will also present Major League Soccer Eastern Conference rivalry match between Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls. Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman will call the match. Max Bretos and analyst Alexi Lalas will host the studio segments bridging the Premier League match and kickoff of the MLS telecast.

There you have it.

ESPN Networks All Over NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships

Starting this Saturday, the ESPN Family of Networks will air all 15 games of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships. It starts with a quadrupleheader each on Saturday and Sunday including six games on ESPNU. It all culminates with the National Semifinals and Championship Game on Memorial Day Weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.

Eamon McAnaney moves from the sidelines in previous years to the broadcast booth to become part of the main announcing team along with Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra.

We have the full press release from ESPN looking at the field and also providing the announcing teams for the entire 15 game NCAA Lacrosse Championships.

Coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Begins Saturday with First-Round Action

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to air all 15 tournament games

The 16-team bracket for the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship was unveiled exclusively Sunday on ESPNU with Loyola (Md.) earning the top seed in the field. Tournament play begins with first-round action Saturday, May 12, featuring Syracuse at No. 3 Duke at noon ET on ESPN and ESPN3. The defending national champion, No. 5 Virginia will host Princeton in Sunday’s opening first-round game at 1 p.m., also on ESPN and ESPN3. The remaining first-round games will be shown on ESPNU and ESPN3, highlighted by a match-up between perennial contenders Denver and No. 8 North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.

ESPN networks will provide exclusive coverage of all 15 games of the NCAA Championship for the sixth straight year. Coverage will be in high definition across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 beginning Saturday, May 12, and concluding with the national title game on Monday, May 28.

ESPN has assembled some of the top lacrosse commentating teams for this year’s coverage of the NCAA Championship. ESPNU host Anish Shroff will be joined in studio throughout the Championship by analyst Quint Kessenich or Mark Dixon. Paul Rabil, former Johns Hopkins All-American who is widely known as one of the top players in the world, will be joining Shroff and Kessenich in studio on Sunday, May 13.

Early round announce teams include former Tewaaraton Award winner and Virginia attackman Matt Ward, former Brown All-American Jamie Munro, Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon and legendary former Army head coach Jack Emmer. ESPN newcomer this season, three-time Princeton All-American Ryan Boyle will also be part of the game action.

Veteran play-by-play voice Eamon McAnaney will be in the booth for his first championship weekend after spending several years as the sideline reporter. He will be joined by analysts Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra. Carcaterra will provide his analysis from the sidelines.

In 2012 the ESPN networks will air over 400 hours of NCAA Spring Championships coverage, increasing more than 30 hours from 2011. As part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA, spring championship programming highlights seven sports over eight weeks: Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. For the first time, ESPN networks will also air the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Women’s Lacrosse Championships.

ESPN’s Coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship
(Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Network(s)
Sat, May 12	Noon	First Round (Koskinen Stadium, Durham, N.C.) Syracuse at No. 3 Duke Eamon McAnaney and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	First Round (Garber Field, Amherst, Mass.) Colgate at No. 6 Massachusetts Joe Beninati and Jack Emmer	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	First Round (Ridley Athletic Complex, Baltimore, Md.)Canisius at No. 1 Loyola Mike Corey and Mark Dixon	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	First Round (Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.) Denver at No. 8 North Carolina Eamon McAnaney and Matt Ward	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sun, May 13	1 p.m.	First Round (Klockner Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.) Princeton at No. 5 Virginia Eamon McAnaney and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	3 p.m.	First Round (Homewood Field, Baltimore, Md.) Stony Brook at No. 2 Johns Hopkins Mike Corey and Mark Dixon	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5:15 p.m.	First Round (Arlotta Stadium, Notre Dame, Ind.) Yale at No. 4 Notre Dame John Brickley and Jamie Munro	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	First Round (Ulrich Sports Complex, Bethlehem, Pa.) Maryland at No. 7 Lehigh Joe Beninati and Ryan Boyle	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 19	Noon	Quarterfinal Game #1(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Quarterfinal Game #2(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) Eamon McAnaney. Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sun, May 20	Noon	Quarterfinal Game #3(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Quarterfinal Game #4(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) Eamon McAnaney,Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 26	2:30 p.m.	Semifinal Game #1 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Semifinal Game #2(Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
Mon, May 28	1 p.m.	National Championship (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	NCAA Lacrosse Championship Post Game Show Anish Shroff & Mark Dixon	ESPNU

That’s it for this post.

ESPN Returns to the Mountain West Conference

After being shut out of the Mountain West between 2005 and 2011, ESPN returns to airing Mountain West Conference football games this year. With the mtn., going by the wayside after this month, the conference expanded its national rights agreement with CBS Sports Network for the upcoming season. Then CBS sublicensed games to other networks including ESPN and NBC Sports Network.

As a result, ESPN will distribute the games either on the Mothership, ESPN2 or ABC. Overall, four games will be seen on the Family of Networks.

Here’s the ESPN press release outlining what will be seen on the networks for the 2012 college football season.

ESPN to Televise Mountain West Conference Regular-Season College Football

 ESPN’s 2012 college football coverage will include telecasts of four regular-season Mountain West Conference home games. Through a one-year agreement with CBS Sports Network, ESPN will televise two Friday, one Thursday and one Saturday contest hosted by a member of the Mountain West Conference. It will mark the first time ESPN has televised Mountain West Conference games from a member institution’s home venue since 2005. ESPN had a regular schedule of conference member home games from 1999 to 2005 and televised BYU vs. TCU at Cowboys Stadium on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011.

With this deal, ESPN will now televise home games from all 11 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences.

The first of the four games will pit Washington State of the Pac-12 at UNLV on Friday, Sept. 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN will also televise independent BYU at Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 20 on ESPN. Kick time is to be determined.

ESPN2 will televise Hawaii at Air Force on Friday, Nov. 16, at 9:30 p.m. while the Boise State at Nevada game on Saturday, Dec. 1 will be aired on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The time is to be determined.

The 2012 season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Regional Television will include more than 400 regular-and post-season games, concluding with all five games of the Bowl Championship Series.

That will do it.