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| May 5, 2008 |
ESPN PR
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860-766-2000
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NBA
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NBA Playoffs: Six Games, Including Celtics-Cleveland Saturday in Prime Time on ABC <contact: nate.smeltz@espn.com ; mark.d.mandel@espn.com > The NBA playoffs continue on ESPN and ABC with six games this week, highlighted by a Saturday prime-time Game 3 between the Boston Celtics, with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers (8 p.m. ET on ABC). ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs includes unprecedented access, including audio from coaches and players in the locker room, on the sidelines and on the court. All ESPN game telecasts are also available via ESPN HD, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. This week's telecast schedule:
NBA Playoffs Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon on ESPN Radio <contact: dan.quinn@espn.com> Hall-of-Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay and Jim Durham will be in Cleveland Saturday for the Celtics-Cavaliers at 7:35 p.m. On Sunday, Will Perdue and Kevin Calabro will describe all the action of the Lakers-Jazz contest at 3 p.m. Indianapolis 500 Time Trials Live Saturday & Sunday on ABC, ESPN2 <contact: andy.hall@espn.com or george.mcneilly@espn.com> With the recent unification of American open wheel racing, as well as the historic victory by Danica Patrick, interest in the May 25 running of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 is on the rise. One of the most coveted prizes in racing will be on the line Saturday as pole position qualifying for the race is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pole Day presented by GoDaddy.com airs from noon until 2 p.m. on ESPN2, on ABC from 3-6 p.m., and back on ESPN2 from 6-7 p.m.
The second day of time trials airs Sunday from noon until 2 p.m. on ESPN2, and from 5-7 p.m. Marty Reid anchors coverage, joined for analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear and 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch report from the pits. ESPN2’s coverage both days will be simulcast on ESPN360.com. NASCAR Nationwide Series Live in Prime Time from Darlington <contact: andy.hall@espn.com or george.mcneilly@espn.com> Long one of NASCAR’s most treacherous tracks because of its unique, egg-shaped layout, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway will be even more daunting for NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers this weekend as they race under the lights on a new coating of pavement that has turned the track into an ultra-fast circuit. ESPN2 will have live, prime-time coverage presented by The Coleman Company Friday, May 9, beginning at 7 p.m. with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast also airs in high definition on ESPN2 HD and will be simulcast on ESPN360.com.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty in the ESPN pit studio. Matt Kenseth will join the ESPN coverage team as In-Race Reporter, talking to Wallace on the race’s pace laps and during caution periods. E:60: Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres, Barrel Jumping and NASCAR Prodigy <contact: mac.nwulu@espn.com> Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6’s edition of ESPN’s prime-time newsmagazine E:60 at 7 p.m., will feature:
Click http://espnmediazone.com/press_kits/E60 for releases, correspondents and executive production team bios and video clips. For complete E:60 features and expanded versions of the reporter-producer meetings, click http://www.e60.com ESPN360.com: 36 Live Events This Week, Including Italian Cup Semifinals, Indy 500 Time Trials and Rugby Super League This week, ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature live broadband sports network, will feature 36 events – 19 exclusive – in six days, including exclusive coverage of both Italian Cup semifinals, five exclusive Rugby Super League matchups, and more than six hours of coverage from the Indianapolis 500 time trials. Other highlights:
ESPN360.com is available at no additional charge to anyone with a high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. It is available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel (fans accessing ESPN360.com from computers connected to an on-campus educational network with a “.edu” domain or a military network with a “.mil” domain).
Major League Soccer: Rematch of 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals on MLS Primetime Thursday <contact: mac.nwulu@espn.com> This week’s MLS Primetime Thursday will air a rematch of the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals featuring Mexican international star Cuauhtemoc Blanco leading the Chicago Fire to face DC United, historically one of the best teams in the league, Thurs., May 1, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, in high definition on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio. The last meeting between both teams, a 2-2 tie in the second leg of the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals, featured one of the best matches in league history. Both English and Spanish-language versions will be simulcast on ESPN360.com. The telecast will include a 30-minute presentation of ESPNSoccernet.com Pre-game Show with host Rob Stone and analyst Julie Foudy. Play-by-play commentator JP Dellacamera, analyst John Harkes and reporter Pedro Gomez will call the match on ESPN2 with Richard Méndez (pxp) and Giovanni Savarese (analyst) on ESPN Deportes. ESPN Films’ Bud Greenspan: At the Heart of the Games <contact: keri.a.potts@espn.com> Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6, at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, the third of four documentaries in ESPN Films’ spring slate will be televised: Bud Greenspan: At the Heart of the Games. This two-hour film highlights the most defining stories and moments in the life and work of the highly acclaimed and revolutionary Olympic filmmaker, Bud Greenspan. Included are athletes that have stirred the world's imagination, from celebrated winners, such as gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton, to largely forgotten also rans, such as marathoner John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania, who courageously finished a grueling 26-mile marathon on a badly damaged and bandaged leg in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. ESPN, MOBITV Team Up For 3-On-3 Basketball Game Promotion <contact: colleen.s.lynch@espn.com > ESPN and MobiTV, Inc. launched a joint promotion for new MobiTV® service subscribers exclusively on the AT&T Wireless network. New ESPN subscribers will be automatically entered for a chance to experience a 3-on-3 pick-up game with Ron Artest, Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut on June 27. The promotion will run May 5 through June 9. ESPN Heads into Space <contact: dan.quinn@espn.com> NASA Space shuttle pilot Ken Ham will be taking ESPN with him as part of his personal belongings when his flight launches into space May 31. Ham, piloting the crew of STS-124 whose mission to the International Space Station is the second of three flights that will launch components to complete the Japanese “Kibo” laboratory, is a big sports fan. Each astronaut can bring personal items that represent them, and he asked ESPN and ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning for articles that would fit NASA’s limitations. ESPN provided a mic flag from the Mike and Mike set and two CDs (Best of Mike and Mike, with a personal introduction by co-host Mike Greenberg, and Best of SportsCenter). For downloadable photos of Ken Ham, click here
On earth, where ESPN is already on all seven continents and in 194 countries, Greenberg and Mike & Mike co-host Mike Golic will interview Ham during the show (6-10 a.m. M-F) while he is in space. Additionally, Golic and Greenberg will taste food that Ham will eat in-flight when NASA representatives bring space staples to the Mike & Mike studio.
“My wife and I watch Greenie & Golic every morning with a cup of coffee in hand, then listen to them on the way into work -- great laughs and our sports fix at the same time,” Ham said. “As a way to give a little back, we offered to use a personal item slot on Discovery to take something from ESPN into space. I've recently heard that Golic has volunteered to taste some space food. Watch out for that creamed spinach!” “Rage in the Cage” Pits Radio’s Cowherd vs. Barry Zito aka “Pitching Machine” <contact: dan.quinn@espn.com> During April 29’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the host referenced San Francisco starter Barry Zito being relegated to the bullpen because his velocity had dropped to about 80 MPH, and Cowherd noted he could hit an 80 MPH pitch. Producers Amanda Gifford and David Fisch took immediate exception on-air, Colin stood by his boast, and he will attempt to prove it at a local high school against a pitching machine after Thursday’s show. Alternating between an aluminum and wood bat, Cowherd will have 15 swings to hit a ball “past the pitcher’s mound,” constituting a “hit.” A camera crew will cover the event, which can be seen Friday on The Herd’s web page on ESPNRadio.com.
“I'm going to think of how Andruw Jones is batting this year and do the exact opposite,” Cowherd said, referring to the Dodgers outfielder currently hitting .163 with one home run and four RBI in the second year of a two-year, $36.2 million contract.
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