SportsCenter and ESPN.com to Present “Fan Feast” – Celebration of Top Sporting Experiences and Events to Attend

SportsCenter and ESPN.com to Present “Fan Feast” – Celebration of Top Sporting Experiences and Events to Attend

Two winners: One to attend event, the other to participate in

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news and information program, and ESPN.com, the leading online sports destination, will combine to present a four-week, fan-based celebration of the top sporting events to experience and to watch. The series, “SportsCenter Fan Feast,” will feature five daily essays each by ESPN television studio host Kenny Mayne on his top five sports events to attend, and Mike Greenberg, co-host of ESPN Radio and ESPN2’s Mike and Mike in the Morning Show, on his top five events to participate in.

On ESPN.com, starting today through Friday, July 10, fans can submit a 50-word essay on www.espn.com/fanfest proposing their favorite sporting event to attend. Fans can also submit essays about their favorite sporting event to participate in. A panel of ESPN.com editorial staff will select the top 10 essays submitted for each category. Greenberg and Mayne will pick the winning essays in each category ten. The two winners will be announced Friday, July 24, on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

“The ’SportsCenter Fan Feast’ is great opportunity to continue our effort to engage fans by giving them a vehicle to share and celebrate their ‘bucket lists’ of sporting events with other fans,” said Mark Gross, senior vice president and managing editor, studio production.

Monday, June 29 – Fri., July 10

SportsCenter: Daily vignettes with key athletes discussing their favorite events (other than their respective sports) to play in or to watch:

· Mon., June 29: Kobe Bryant – play cricket

· Tue., June 30: Joe Mauer – be a quarterback at the Super Bowl

· Wed., July 1: Candace Parker – attend the FIFA World Cup

· Thur., July 2: Jeff Gordon – face Tony Hawk one-on-one in an X Games contest

· Thur., July 2: Carl Crawford on 1:00 a.m. (10 p.m. PT) – to be a quarterback in the NFL

· Fri., July 3: Blake Griffin – play football at the University of Oklahoma

· Mon., July 6: Colt McCoy – attend the Masters

· Tue., July 7: Trevor Hoffman – race in the Indy 500

· Wed., July 8: Lisa Leslie – attend the US Open and watch a Williams sisters final

· Thur., July 9: Dale Earnhardt Jr. – play in the NFL

· Thur., July 9: Dick Vermeil – a front row seat at the Indy 500

· Fri., July 10: Justin Morneau – play and win the Stanley Cup

Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17

SportsCenter: Mike Greenberg’s essays on the top five to-do sports events (one each day) will be aired.

ESPN.com: On Monday, June 13, the site will post the top 10 essays proposing their “must-do” sports events. Users will be polled on the best submissions in this category.

Monday, July 20 – Friday, July 24

SportsCenter: Kenny Mayne’s essays on the top five events sports fans “should see” will be aired.

ESPN.com: On Monday, June 20, the site will post the top 10 essays on “must-see” events. Users will be polled on the best essays.

Friday, July 24

Two winners, selected by Greenberg and Mayne, will be announced on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. One winner will get the chance to participate in their favorite event. The other will attend their favorite event.

“Fan Feast” reflects SportsCenter’s ongoing desire to engage sports fans. Last summer, the program launched an interactive, fan-based search for “TitleTown USA.” For four straight years (2006 – ’09), SportsCenter, in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company and Make-A-Wish Foundation, has granted and chronicled sports-related wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions in the critically acclaimed SportsCenter “My Wish” series.

In September 2004, the program originated live for one week from Camp Arifjan Army base in Kuwait. In the summer of 2005, in its most ambitious initiative to date, SportsCenter took to the road, reporting segments from a combination of mainstream and unique sports events in all U.S. 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 51 days.

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