FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
Baseball Night In America Presents Five Stellar Matchups In Primetime
Saturday at 7:00 PM ET Anchored by Tigers/Yankees
Rays & Rosenthal Team Up For Good (Bowtie) Cause
NASCAR on FOX Season Finishes Strong From Dover Sunday at 12:30 PM ET
Jeff Hammond: “What is Going on With Jeff Gordon?”
BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – FOX Sports throws out the first pitch on this week’s edition of BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA on Saturday, June 2 at 7:00 PM ET. Two of MLB’s most potent offenses face-off in the Motor City as Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and the Tigers host Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and the Yankees.Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Comerica Park. In Houston, the Astros hostJoey Votto and the NL Central-leading Reds. The Giants’ Melky Cabrera is sporting one of MLB’s hottest bats and the San Francisco slugger needs to continue leading their offense as they take on Matt Garza and the Cubs. Also, the Indians welcome Joe Mauer and the Twins to Cleveland. Lastly, Justin Upton and the D-Backs visit the San Diego Padres.
Coverage begins with the BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Greg Amsinger, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac.
For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.
GAME
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
Comerica Park – Detroit, MI
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (4-6, 3.96 ERA) vs. Doug Fister, RHP (0-3, 3.15 ERA)
Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros
Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX
MARKETS INCLUDE: Austin, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Houston, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, San Antonio, St. Louis
Probable Pitchers: Mat Latos, RHP (4-2, 4.58 ERA) vs. TBA
Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants Dick Stockton & Eric Karros
AT&T Park – San Francisco, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Milwaukee, Sacramento, San Francisco
Probable Pitchers: Matt Garza, RHP (2-3, 4.22 ERA) vs. Matt Cain, RHP (5-2, 2.79 ERA)
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
Progressive Field – Cleveland, OH
MARKETS INCLUDE: Cleveland, Minneapolis
Probable Pitchers: P.J. Walters, RHP (2-1, 2.96 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP (5-4, 5.79 ERA)
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres Daron Sutton & Mark Grant
PETCO Park – San Diego, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Phoenix, San Diego
Probable Pitchers: Daniel Hudson, RHP (1-1, 5.48 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez, RHP (2-5, 3.46 ERA)
RAYS CHANNEL INNER ROSENTHAL ON NERD THEMED ROAD TRIP – The Tampa Bay Rays had a little fun last weekend as they dressed up for a Ken Rosenthal/Nerd themed road trip to Boston. Rosenthal has been wearing bow ties during MLB on FOX broadcasts since the 2011 season to raise awareness for charities, groups and institutions supported by former NFL player Dhani Jones’ philanthropic initiative the BowTie Cause.“Joe Maddon likes doing this because it builds camaraderie, takes players out of their comfort zone and he wants to poke fun at the group that insists on wearing $3,000 suits on chartered airplanes. He never understood how that related to winning,” said Rosenthal. “The Rays actually wore the bow ties from the BowTie Cause, the ones that I wear every week, and they made a donation of $3,000 to be distributed among 18 different charities.”
For video highlights and Rosenthal’s report, click here: http://tinyurl.com/73pb2jj
For more information on the BowTie Cause, visit: http://www.bowtiecause.org/
2012 NASCAR ON FOX SEASON FINALE THIS SUNDAY – Memorial Day weekend provided plenty of action; 11 different leaders and winner Kasey Kahne setting a 155 mph track record. On Sunday, June 3 (12:30 PM ET), NASCAR on FOX heads to Dover International Speedway looking to close its 2012 coverage with just as much excitement.
Coverage starts with FOX NASCAR SUNDAY prerace show hosted by Chris Myers, with up-to-the-minute reports, live interviews with drivers, crewmen and officials shaping the day’s action, and analysis from Darrell Waltrip and Michael Waltrip.
Veteran analyst Jeff Hammond takes his extensive experience as a former championship-winning crew chief to where the action is, in the garages and pit road. Once the green flag drops, race announcer Mike Joy is alongside analysts Waltrip and Larry McReynolds to call all the twists and turns on the track while Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum patrol the pits for reports on teams and pit stops.
HAMMOND: “WHAT’S GOING ON WITH JEFF GORDON?” – 2012 got off to a rough start for the Hendrick Motorsports racing team. However, with Kasey Kahne’s win last week, recent strong racing from Jimmie Johnson combined with the stellar season had by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR on FOX analyst Jeff Hammond sees the Hendrick team embarking on a dominant final stretch this season. “I wonder if the giant has come awake one more time. Johnson, Dale Jr. and Kahne are red hot and are now the three lead horses at Hendrick Motorsports.” Hendrick writes. “The question or the pressure at Hendrick Motorsports has to be on Jeff Gordon. Where is he? He’s our sport’s four-time champion, and it seems like he has picked up all of Kasey’s bad luck from early this season and made it his own. It really has everyone asking the same question — ‘What is going on with Jeff Gordon?’”
To read all of Hammonds’ thoughts on the Hendrick Motorsports team, click here: http://on-msn.com/JQHikW
PIT REPORTER DICK BERGGREN SAYS GOODBYE TO FOX SPORTS – This Sunday, FOX Sports Media Group says so long to one of NASCAR’s most recognizable broadcasters as pit reporter Dick Berggren works his final race for the network. Berggren, who celebrated his 70th birthday by working the Coca-Cola 600 on FOX last Sunday, has been with FOX Sports since its first NASCAR race in 2001. Coincidentally, Berggren made his NASCAR broadcasting debut at Dover in 1981 alongside Mike Joy, his NASCAR on FOX and SPEED colleague, the only NASCAR broadcaster on-air longer than Berggren. In his newfound downtime, Berggren contributes stories and columns to Speedway Illustrated, a publication he founded, and will dedicate his time to building an auto racing museum at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “The Northeast has a rich racing history that deserves to be saved and displayed,” said Berggren. “We’re fund raising and accumulating things to display. Getting the museum up and running is a big job and it’ll take a lot of time.” Of course we’d be remise without saying what Berggren might enjoy doing most with his downtime; checking out local track racing. “After the FOX portion of the year ends, I’ve always traveled to local tracks where I still enjoy sitting in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other, watching the local heroes.”