Archives for August 2015

REMINDER: NASCAR ON NBC MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL PREVIEWING DARLINGTON’S “THROWBACK” COVERAGE TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 1 AT NOON ET

August 31, 2015 By admin

Retro Graphics, Classic Paint Schemes and Legendary Broadcasters Come Together at The Track “Too Tough To Tame” when a NASCAR Tradition Returns to Darlington Raceway over Labor Day Weekend

Conference Call Participants Include NBC Sports NASCAR Analysts Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, VP of NASCAR Production Jeff Behnke, and Legendary NASCAR Broadcaster Ken Squier

Dial 785-830-7989 to Participate

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 31, 2015 – NBC Sports and Darlington Raceway are gearing up to celebrate the look, sound and style of the 1970s over Labor Day Weekend when NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series action returns to its traditional slate with “The Lady in Black.”

Join NBC Sports’ NASCAR analysts and VP of NASCAR production as they preview the upcoming coverage from Darlington and a series of production elements that celebrate NASCAR’s rich traditions. Special features include retro on-air graphics, vintage NBC logos, legendary broadcasters and bell-bottom pants. For a video preview of what’s in store, click here.

Who: NBC Sports NASCAR analysts Steve Letarte, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty, VP of NASCAR Production Jeff Behnke, and legendary NASCAR broadcaster Ken Squier

What: NBC Sports Media Conference Call Previewing Labor Day Weekend NASCAR Coverage from Darlington Raceway

When: Tuesday, September 1^st at Noon ET

Where: Dial 785-830-7989 to participate; conference call ID 6785959

NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing from Darlington airs on NBC in primetime at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 6. This is the first Sprint Cup race on NBC since July’s race at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR XFINITY Series Racing from Darlington Presented by K&N also airs on NBC Saturday, Sept. 5th at 3 pm ET.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CONFERENCE CALL THIS WED., SEPT 2 AT 4 PM ET

August 31, 2015 By admin

Back to Football: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya and Sunday Night Football Coordinating Producer Fred Gaudelli to Preview 2015 NFL Season

Dial 785-424-1666 to Participate

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 31, 2015 – The Sunday Night Football broadcast team of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya join coordinating producer Fred Gaudelli to preview the 2015 NFL season on a media conference call this Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. ET.

Dial 785-424-1666 to participate, conference ID 2623871.

The NFL opens the regular season on Thursday, Sept. 10, with NFL Kickoff 2015 on NBC, as the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coverage begins on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then, on Sunday, Sept. 13, defending NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys host the New York Giants in the opening Sunday Night Football game of the season.

SNF IS NO. 1 PRIMETIME PROGRAM ON TELEVISION: For four consecutive full television seasons, NBC’s Sunday Night Football has finished as the No. 1 show in primetime in household rating, viewership and the coveted Adult 18-49 demographic, based on live plus same day data from The Nielsen Company (September-May). This marks the only four times on record that a sports series has been the highest-rated and most-watched show of the primetime TV season. For the 2014-2015 primetime television season, Sunday Night Football ranked as the highest-rated (12.5 HH rating), most-watched show (21.3 million, viewers 2+), and the No. 1 program in the key Adults 18-49 demographic (7.7 rating).

*2015 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL* SCHEDULE**
Thurs. Sept. 10	NFL Kickoff	Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Sun. Sept. 13	Week 1	New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Sun. Sept. 20	Week 2	Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
Sun. Sept. 27	Week 3	Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions
Sun. Oct. 4	Week 4	Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
*Sun. Oct. 11	Week 5	San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants
*Sun. Oct. 18	Week 6	New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
*Sun. Oct. 25	Week 7	Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers
*Sun. Nov. 1	Week 8	Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos
*Sun. Nov. 8	Week 9	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Nov. 15	Week 10	Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Nov. 22	Week 11	Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
**Thurs. Nov. 26	Week 12	Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Nov. 29	Week 12	New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
*Sun. Dec. 6	Week 13	Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
*Sun. Dec. 13	Week 14	Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens
*Sun. Dec. 20	Week 15	Cincinnati Bengals at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Dec. 27	Week 16	Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
*Sun. Jan. 3	Week 17	TBD

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–

ESPN College Football Coverage Features Top Interscope/Universal Music Group Nashville Artists and Exclusive Songs

August 31, 2015 By admin

Cross-Genre Music, including Luke Bryan, Eminem, Imagine Dragons, Lady Antebellum, OneRepublic, Darius Rucker, U2 and more
ESPN Exclusive Songs from Imagine Dragons and Lauren Alaina

ESPN will showcase the music of more than 25 acclaimed Interscope/Universal Music Group Nashville artists throughout its extensive college football coverage this season, highlighted by the world premiere of the new Imagine Dragons single “Roots” and songs produced exclusively for ESPN by Imagine Dragons and Lauren Alaina.

As part of the agreement with Interscope/Universal Music Group Nashville, a diverse collection of the accomplished and breakthrough artists with the two premier labels will be featured across game and studio telecasts across every ESPN network, including the networks go-to-and-returning from breaks, as well as highlight montages and promotions of upcoming programs.

ESPN’s opening week coverage will continue to feature the new Imagine Dragons song “Roots,” which also debuted on ESPN, during its game and studio coverage across multiple networks.

ESPN Exclusive Songs from Imagine Dragons and Lauren Alaina
ESPN’s season-long on-air marketing campaign promoting the top college football matchups will feature ESPN exclusive music by Imagine Dragons and country star Lauren Alaina.

A Jorgen Odegard remix of the Imagine Dragons single “Dream” and the newly recorded Lauren Alaina song “History” will be a central part of the spots building towards the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve and National Championship on January 11.

“’Dream’ is such an emotional and personal track for us and Jorgen did a great job preserving the essence of the song in his remix while still taking it to a new place,” said Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons lead vocalist.

Alaina added, “For a southern girl, college football is everything. I am so pumped to have my song used for ESPN’s college football coverage. Thank you ESPN for giving me something to make my boyfriend, dad, and brother think I’m that much cooler.”

Friday and Saturday Night Specials
In addition to music used throughout every game, ESPN will showcase seven songs from the Interscope/Universal Music Group Nashville library exclusively on its Friday and Saturday night telecasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Friday coverage will feature an ESPN exclusive “Parade of Lights” remix of the Lady Antebellum single “Friday Night” while Saturdays will include a mix from Lady Antebellum (“All Nighter”), Imagine Dragons (“Friction”), X Ambassadors (“Superpower”), Born (“Seeing Stars”), Arty (“Up All Night”) and David Nail (Good at Tonight”).

Artist	Songs
Arty	Stronger
Luke Bryan	Kick the Dust Up
	Move
Eric Church	The Outsiders
DJ Snake/Aluna George	You Know You Like It
Clare Dunn	Get Out
Eminem	Phenomenal
Sam Hunt	House Party
Imagine Dragons	Roots
	Gold
Jax Jones	Yeah Yeah Yeah
Kendrick Lamar	I
Lil Jon/Tyga/Juicy J	Hand in the Air
OneRepublic	Love Runs Out
Darius Rucker	Down Here
Canaan Smith	American Muscle
The Struts	Could Have Been Me
U2	The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
X Ambassadors	Renegades
Years and Years	Desire
Yelawolf	Till It’s Gone
Young Rising Sons	King of the World
Zedd	Beautiful Now

Saturday Night Games on ABC and ESPN

Artist	Songs
Arty	Up All Night
Born	Seeing Stars
Imagine Dragons	Friction
Lady Antebellum	All Nighter
David Nail	Good at Tonight
X Ambassadors	Superpower

Friday Night Football

Artist	Song
Lady Antebellum – Parade of Lights Remix	Parade of Lights

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Country Music Superstar Brad Paisley to Headline College GameDay Season Opener

August 31, 2015 By admin

Images from College GameDay

Texas Schools Invited to Takeover Ft. Worth’s Sundance Square

ESPN’s College GameDay Built by the Home Depot trucks will roll into Ft. Worth’s Sundance Square this week for the opening weekend of college football. Fans and mascots from Texas schools such as Baylor, North Texas, SMU, TCU and UT, as well as fans of the two teams featured in that night’s ABC Saturday Night Football 8 p.m. ET matchup – Wisconsin and Alabama, are invited to the Square to kick off the season with College GameDay, its on-site fan activities and country music superstar Brad Paisley.

Paisley, who served as a guest picker at GameDay’s West Virginia stop last year, will perform his new single, “Country Nation” for the crowd and viewers at home during the Saturday, Sept. 5, season-opening telecast (9 a.m. – noon ET) hosted by Rece Davis with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack.

Additional programming details will be announced later in the week including planned features, segments and the guest picker.

About Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist and entertainer whose talents have earned him numerous awards, including three GRAMMYs, two American Music Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards and 14 Country Music Association Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), among many others. He has been a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2001. Paisley has written 20 of his 23 #1 singles with the first being his 1999 hit “He Didn’t Have To Be” and his most recent, “Perfect Storm,” from his chart-topping 2014 album Moonshine in the Trunk. Paisley kicked off his Crushin’ It World Tour the middle of May by playing to over 50,000 fans the first weekend and continues through October. Paisley has partnered with Boot Barn® and developed an exclusive line of jeans, hats, T-shirts, jewelry, belts and woven shirts called Moonshine Spirit by Brad Paisley. Fans can look for him and Carrie Underwood to return as hosts of “Country Music’s Biggest Night™” for the eighth consecutive year when “The 49^th Annual CMA Awards” airs live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 4 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network. Connect with Brad at www.BradPaisley.com, www.Facebook.com/BradPaisley, on Twitter @BradPaisley, on Instagram @Brad Paisley, and YouTube at YouTube.com/BradPaisley.

About College GameDay
College football’s longest running and most celebrated pregame show – College GameDay, is hosted by Rece Davis, with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as contributors Samantha Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, George Whitfield and Gene Wojciechowski. The three-hour program of debate and discussion about the week’s most compelling college football stories and previews of the weekend’s biggest games is in its 29^th season.

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Longhorn Network to Debut New Show All-22

August 31, 2015 By admin

New preview show joins full slate of football programming

In anticipation of the Texas football season, Longhorn Network, ESPN’s 24-hour network devoted to the University of Texas, kicks off its 2015 football programming slate this week. The line-up is highlighted with the debut of All-22, a new weekly preview show, airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. CT. Hosted by Lowell Galindo, All-22 features analyst David Thomas breaking down game film to analyze how Texas stacks up against the next opponent.

Thomas will examine film from the same viewpoint as coaches in their game preparation, using the high camera angle that shows “All 22” players on the field. His expertise will give fans an inside look at the X’s and O’s that will help determine the offensive and defensive game plans. All-22 will air on Thursdays before Texas football games throughout the season.

The weekend slate of programming is highlighted with two new locations and sets for the network’s flagship pregame show Texas GameDay. Below is a full wrap-up of LHN’s extensive programming surrounding every aspect of UT football.

Recurring weekday programming will include (all times CT):

Texas Football Press Conference – (Monday, 11 a.m.) Live coverage of head coach Charlie Strong’s weekly press conference

Longhorn Extra: Upon Further Review – (Monday, 6 p.m., debuts Sept. 7) Host Alex Loeb with Dan Neil, Ahmad Brooks and reporter Jane Slater break down all the action from Texas’ latest game

Rewind with Charlie Strong – (Monday, 7 p.m., debuts Sept. 7) Coach Strong joins Lowell Galindo to analyze Texas’ most recent football game, featuring analysis, highlights and interviews

Texas Football Overdrive – (Tuesday, 7 p.m., debuts Sept. 15) All the action of Texas’ latest game in 60 minutes, enhanced with player and coach interviews

Texas Football All Access – (Wednesday, 8p.m.) All Access takes fans behind the scenes and inside the locker room with the Texas Longhorns
All-22 – (Thursday, 8 p.m.) Analyst David Thomas previews the upcoming game using the same style film each head coach utilizes to prepare their team
Longhorn Weekly with Charlie Strong – (Thursday, 7 p.m.) Coach Strong, Craig Way and weekly guests discuss all things Texas Football

Longhorn Extra, LHN’s news and information show, airs weeknights at 10p.m., Wednesday-Friday

Weekend Programming includes:

Texas GameDay, LHN’s pregame show embeds viewers with fans inside and outside the stadium with two new set locations this year. The show offers analysis and reporting every Saturday two-and-a-half hours before home game kickoff and also 2 hours before away games (from the LHN studio)
Texas GameDay Halftime Presented by H-E-B, the Texas GameDay desk of experts returns from the sidelines or outside the stadium to analyze the first half for home games, and from the studio for away games
Texas GameDay Final Powered by Chevy Silverado, rejoin the set of Texas legends immediately following the conclusion of the game for a breakdown of the Longhorns’ performance on the field.

LHN’s weekly programming provides an in-depth lead-in to each Saturday’s game, including the network’s telecast of UT’s home game season opener against Rice on Sept. 12, presented by H-E-B.

For complete details and updated schedules, go to www.longhornnetwork.com.

About Longhorn Network

ESPN has a 20-year agreement to own and operate a year-round, 24-hour network dedicated to Texas athletics in partnership with UT and IMG College. Longhorn Network offers a variety of content, highlighted by more than 175 exclusive events annually, original series and studio shows, historical programming and academic and cultural happenings. The network is also available to subscribers with WatchESPN via participating providers on smartphones, tablets, computers, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

New Midnight SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt Launching Sept. 7

August 31, 2015 By admin

After months of planning, preparation and rehearsal, the new midnight (ET) edition of ESPN SportsCenter, hosted by Scott Van Pelt, will premier Monday, Sept. 7, immediately following ESPN’s telecast of the game between No. 1 Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

The longtime ESPN anchor, who also previously hosted a program on ESPN Radio, will introduce a different version of SportsCenter, presenting the world of sports as seen through his unique perspective.

“Scott and a team of very talented and creative people have been working hard to be ready to launch a new and entertaining midnight SportsCenter,” said Rob King, ESPN senior vice president, SportsCenter and News. “The show will deliver what sports fans are used to from SportsCenter but in a different and fast-paced way, led by the intellect, humor and sports fandom of Scott Van Pelt.”

Much as was done on the previous SVP & Russillo radio show, the program will showcase Van Pelt’s passion for sports, with his self-deprecating wit and disposition toward celebrating stars and storylines.

“It’s still SportsCenter,” said Van Pelt. “It’s still a show that at its core is about whatever has happened that day in sports – highlights and stories – and not a variety show. It’s our interpretation of what SportsCenter would be if you blended it with some room for commentary. The crux is that it’s SportsCenter, just our version of it.”

While presenting the day’s news and highlights with Van Pelt’s own spin, the program also will offer commentary, guests and interviews, with featured elements that set it apart from other editions of SportsCenter, including:

One Big Thing — the trademark essay from Van Pelt’s radio program
Bad Beats — games that had a unique resonance in Las Vegas
Best Available Video — the fun, extraordinary images of the day
Best Thing I Saw Today — Van Pelt’s nightly pick of the signature moment/topic
Oh, No! — a kinder, gentler, and shorter version of the SportsCenter “Not Top 10,” presented with empathy
West Coast Bias — a feature designed to serve fans who watch at 9 p.m. PT, at times including 1 a.m. SportsCenter anchors Neil Everett and Stan Verrett.
Where in the World Isn’t SVP? — Tweets from fans who see lookalikes of Van Pelt at places around the world

“Our thought was ‘how do we create a long list of possible ways to just take a different approach to stories?’” Van Pelt said. “It’s a great group of creative people, and we’re far from done. September 7 is when the show starts, but we don’t have to be done then. Our list of ideas won’t end that day. That’s just the first day we take a stab at it.”

Music will play a large role in distinguishing this edition of SportsCenter from others, with a special new cut of the SportsCenter theme produced by Timbaland in collaboration with Jingle Jared for jingle punks. Also, Van Pelt favorite Trombone Shorty provides music for a regular football season Thursday segment called “Winners,” a carryover from his radio show.

New graphics have been designed especially for the program and the show’s set will have a refined desk, lighting and overall positioning for a differentiated, intimate feel.

Key members of the show’s staff include producer Tom DeCorte, director Rodney Perez and “Stanford Steve” Coughlin, a former producer of Van Pelt’s radio show, who will have both an on- and off-air role, appearing on-camera for segments and also helping to book guests and conceive show ideas.

The program will be found on Twitter with the hashtag #SCSVP, as well as Van Pelt’s @notthefakesvp and @SportsCenter.

The premier of the show coincides with the 36^th anniversary of the launch of ESPN on Sept. 7, 1979.

“That’s an honor,” Van Pelt said. “They tried something different 36 years ago, and we’re trying something just a little bit different here.

“The good news for me is that I have 36 years of what’s been great about ESPN and what’s been great about SportsCenter behind me, so I can stand on the shoulders of all the folks who have built it.”

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Media contact: andy.hall@espn.com

July Marks 17th Straight Month at No 1 for ESPN Digital Media

August 31, 2015 By admin

31 percent share of sports category is more than Nos. 2 and 3 properties combined; New ESPN.com reaches 54.5 million fans in fourth month after launch; espnW, Grantland continue growth trend with third-most and second-most monthly uniques ever, respectively.

ESPN Digital Media reached 71.6 million unique visitors in the U.S. in July, topping in the sports category for the 17th straight month. Fans spent 82 minutes per user with ESPN content across platforms, more time than any of the other top properties in the sports category.

Overall, ESPN accounted for 30.5 percent of all sports category usage on digital platforms, more than the Nos. 2 and 3 properties combined (MLB had 13.1 percent, Yahoo! Sports-NBC Sports Network 11.6 percent).

ESPN.com garnered 54.5 million total unique visitors in the fourth month since launch. 41.1 million people visited the site via smartphones and tablets in July, and 67 percent of ESPN.com users exclusively accessed the site on a mobile device.

More results from the July comScore Multi-Platform report:

espnW continued its run of strong traffic, notching its third-largest monthly unique visitor total ever with 7.4 million, trailing only highs set in April and June of this year.

Grantland scored its second-highest monthly unique visitor count ever with 7.2 million in July. The site’s three highest monthly unique visitor totals have come in the past three months (No. 1 in May, No. 3 in June).

6 million unique users accessed ESPN web and app content on smartphones and tablets, which means more fans accessed ESPN content from mobile devices only than any other sports property attracted across all platforms. ESPN mobile visitors generated 3.3 billion minutes of usage.

67 percent of ESPN’s unique users – 48.2 million people – exclusively accessed content on smartphones and tablets. This is the 16th consecutive month that more than half of ESPN’s digital users came only from mobile devices.

56 percent of all time spent with ESPN digital content was consumed by mobile device users, the 15th consecutive month that smartphones and tablets contributed a larger share of usage to ESPN’s digital total than desktop and laptop computers.

ESPN accounted for the top two sports apps on smartphones and tablets in July. The ESPN app topped the category for unique visitors (16.1 million), with WatchESPN at No. 2 (4.3 million).

ESPN’s portfolio of apps generated 2.0 billion minutes of usage, accounting for 36 percent of all time spent with apps in the Sports Category, 89 percent higher than the No. 2 property (MLB, 19 percent)

ESPN reached 10.6 million people per day via smartphones in July, more than the next two sports properties combined (Bleacher Report-Turner Sports Network, 4.5 million; Yahoo Sports-NBC Sports Network, 4.1 million).

In the average day in July ESPN web and app properties were accessed by 4.4 million millennial males (age 18-34) via smartphones. ESPN ranked ninth among the more than 6,000 mobile entities reported by comScore, ahead of Spotify (3.6 million) and Buzzfeed (1.3 million), among many others.

Additional results from ESPN Research & Analytics:

2 million unique devices streamed WatchESPN and ESPN3 content in July, as viewers spent 1.03 billion minutes with programming across all platforms. ¹

Fans watched 357.3 million ESPN digital video clips in July across all touch points.¹

66 percent of all ESPN platform clips (309.3 million) were viewed on computers, 28 percent on phones and tablets, and 6 percent on connected TVs.¹

Illustrating the appeal of fantasy football, ESPN’s top story in July was a ranking of the top 300 fantasy football players, which received nearly 3 million views. Three of the top 10 stories on ESPN.com in July were fantasy football related. Meanwhile two stories about Ronda Rousey’s UFC 190 knock-out placed in the top ten and garnered nearly 3.4 million views combined. ¹

ESPN networks and ABC sports television content generated 6.9 million tweets in July, accounting for nearly 16 percent of all TV-related activity during the month.²

Two million unique authors wrote tweets about ESPN/ABC Sports content, representing almost one-third of all those tweeting about TV in July.²

¹ Source: Adobe Analytics
² Source: Nielsen SocialGuide

###

Media Contacts:
Kevin Ota, ESPN 860.766.9581 or kevin.r.ota@espn.com
Kristie Chong Adler, ESPN 646.547.5637 or kristie.chong@espn.com

@ESPNTennis & US Open, Day 1: Serena Starts Quest for Slam; Plus Djokovic, Nadal, Venus

August 30, 2015 By admin

Serena – in a Tough Quarter Filled with Americans – Plays in Prime Time, Followed by Nadal-Coric
Intriguing First-Round Matchups: Nadal-Coric, Sharapova-Gavrilova, Venus-Puig, Stevens-Vandeweghe
Tuesday: Federer, Murray-Kyrgios, Wawrinka, Halep, Wozniacki, Kvitova & More
First Ball to Last Ball, Now Exclusive to ESPN – Action First Week Begins at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN3
SportsCenter live from US Open Monday 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET

ESPN’s first exclusive US Open starts Monday, Aug. 31, with a slate full of intriguing first-round matchups from the top half of both the men’s and women’s draws, highlighted by a prime-time doubleheader on Arthur Ashe Stadium at 7 p.m. on ESPN2:

Top seed and three-time defending champion Serena Williams plays Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia in the first step – of seven required – to achieve the sport’s first calendar year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988
Two-time champ and No. 8 Rafael Nadal has a tough first opponent, the highly touted 18-year old Borna Coric of Crotia who defeated Nadal in their only meeting – in Basel a year ago.

The top half of each draw will play Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday; the bottom half plays Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-Labor Day Monday.

Monday’s other top women’s matches:

3 and 2007 winner Maria Sharapova has a tough first-round opponent, 21-year Daria Gavrilova (ranked No. 37). They have split the two matches they have played.
23 and two-time champ Venus Williams, 35, will play 21-year old Monica Puig of Puerto Rico (on Ashe, not before 1 p.m.).
Americans 22-year old Sloane Stephens (No. 29) and 23-year old CoCo Vandeweghe will square off.

Monday’s other top men’s matches:

1 Djokovic, the 2011 US Open champ, plays Joao Souza of Brazil (follows V.Williams-Puig on Ashe).
10 Milos Raonic, the big server from Canada, faces American Tim Smyczek.
The defending champion, No. 9 Marin Cilic, and 2014 finalist, No. 4 Kei Nishikori, are both in action.
25 Fabio Fognini of Italy plays American Steve Johnson.

ESPN3’s 11-court offering – plus a feed in Spanish, one with three windows showing Ashe/Armstrong/Grandstand, and a feed with whip-around coverage of the first two hours of play – starts at 11 a.m. ET. ESPN’s coverage starts at 1 p.m., transitioning to ESPN2 at 6 p.m. ESPN’s extensive daily coverage will continue through the Women’s Championship on Saturday, Sept. 12, and the Men’s Championship on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Serena’s quarter of the draw is not only fraught with potential landmines – No. 8 Karolina Pliskova, No. 12 Belinda Bencic (the 18-year old Swiss who defeated Williams recently in Toronto) and No. 15 Agnieszka Radwanska, it is loaded with Americans: No. 19 Madison Keys, No. 23 Venus Williams and No. 29 Sloane Stephens, plus Madison Brengle, Irini Falconi, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe. The Williams sisters could meet in the quarterfinals.

In addition, the day play begins, SportsCenter on the Road – the 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. edition – will be on site with co-hosts Chris McKendry (a US Open host for ESPN) and Jay Crawford.

ESPN2’s live coverage of the opening Monday night will include the traditional Opening Night ceremony, highlighted by a performance from Arthur Ashe Stadium by multi-platinum singing artist Josh Groban. He will be performing songs off his current album, Stages. Here, Groban and ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe prepare for how the singer can take part in the 2015 US Open: http://www.usopen.org/videos/.

Looking Ahead to Tuesday

The remaining first-round matches will be played Tuesday – including five-time champion No. 2 Roger Federer against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, 2012 champ and No. 3 Andy Murray who faces controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios and No. 5 Stan Wawrinka of Swizterland playing Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain on the men’s side. Women in action those days include No. 2 Simona Halep (vs. Marina Erakovic of New Zealand), No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki (vs. American Jamie Loeb), No. 5 Petra Kvitov (vs. Laura Siegemund), No. 6 Lucie Safarova (vs. Lesia Tsurenko), No. 9 Garbine Muguruza, the Wimbledon finalist (vs. Carina Witthoeft of Germany) and two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka at No. 20 facing Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

ESPN has televised the US Open since 2009. An 11-year agreement with the USTA for exclusivity was announced in May 2013. A complete look at ESPN’s plans for the 2015 US Open including the daily schedule ( http://es.pn/1ECwZws ), a look at new technology ( http://es.pn/1MzW0yM ) and a conference call on programming and production plans ( http://es.pn/1PoHn0D ).

ESPN & the 2015 US Open

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network(s)
Mon Aug 31	10:45 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	6 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN2
Tue Sep 1	10:45 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN3 ESPN
Wed Sep 2	10:45 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open Second Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	6 p.m.	US Open Second Round	ESPN2
Thur Sep 3	10:45 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open Second Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	5 p.m.	US Open Second Round	ESPN2
Fri Sep 4	10:45 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open Third Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	6 p.m.	US Open Third Round	ESPN2
Sat Sep 5	10:45 a.m. 11 a.m.	US Open Third Round	ESPN3 ESPN2
Sun Sep 6	10:45 a.m. 11 a.m.	US Open Round of 16	ESPN3 ESPN2
Mon Sept 7	10:45 a.m. 11 a.m.	US Open Round of 16	ESPN3 ESPN2
Tue Sep 8	10:45 a.m. Noon	US Open Quarterfinals	ESPN3 ESPN
Wed Sep 9	10:45 a.m. 11 a.m.	US Open Quarterfinals	ESPN3 ESPN
	8 p.m.	US Open Men’s Quarterfinals	ESPN2
Thur Sep 10	Noon 7 p.m.	US Open Doubles Matches US Open Women’s Semifinals	ESPN3 ESPN
Fri Sep 11	Noon	US Open Mixed Doubles Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	US Open Men’s Semifinals	ESPN / ESPN3
Sat Sep 12	Noon	US Open Men’s Doubles Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	US Open Women’s Championship	ESPN / ESPN3 ESPN Deportes
Sun Sep 13	Noon	US Open Women’s Doubles Championship	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	US Open Men’s Championship Blue Carpet Special	ESPN
	4 p.m.	US Open Men’s Championship	ESPN

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NOTES AND QUOTES FROM XFINITY SERIES PRE-RACE AND RACE COVERAGE FROM ROAD AMERICA ON NBCSN

August 29, 2015 By admin

Race Winner Paul Menard to Mike Massaro: “I’ve been really fortunate to win at some of the coolest tracks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Road America is right there.”

Runner-up Ryan Blaney to Dave Burns: “We played the right strategy. They just got lucky with the race staying under caution.”

Third place Brian Scott to Kelli Stavast: “I was pretty frustrated with the officiating at the end of the race, just the inability to get the race back under green.”

NBCSN presented NASCAR XFINITY Series racing from Road America in Plymouth, Wis. this afternoon. The 14-turn, four-mile road course race culminated with a home-state win for Wisconsin native Paul Menard. Drivers spent the majority of the race chasing Chase Elliott, who led 23 laps of the 45-lap race. After Elliott lost the lead on lap No. 28, it was anyone’s race. Menard successfully held off Ryan Blaney’s No. 22 car to win on a course which has seen six different XFINITY drivers take the checkered flag over the last six years.

Saturday afternoon’s festivities began with the Countdown to Green pre-race show, followed by green-flag racing from the “Badger State.” Rick Allen called the action from the booth alongside 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Jarrett and former crew chief Frank Stoddard. Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns contributed trackside from “America’s National Park of Speed.”

Position	Driver	Car #
1	Paul Menard	33
2	Ryan Blaney	22
3	Brian Scott	2
4	Chase Elliott	9
5	Darrell Wallace Jr. #	6

The following are highlights from this afternoon’s XFINITY pre-race and race coverage on NBCSN.

Chris Buescher before the race to Burns on his success at road courses: “I am an okay road racer. I love doing it and it is enjoyable. I feel like I can learn something new each and every time. The more we can learn, the better we can be in the end.”

Stoddard on XFINITY championship points leader Buescher: “He doesn’t make mistakes. He is continually on the track and hitting his marks all day long. That is very important and very impressive for a 22 year-old driver.”

Jarrett on the popularity of road course racing: “I think (road courses) have become the new short track. We have taken away a lot of the short tracks and that is really what this sport was built on.”

Jarrett on the road race favorite Boris Said: “He is just outstanding. Even though he hasn’t raced at this track in some time, he is going to be the one to watch today. Whatever the weather conditions, he is going to be the favorite in my mind.”

Jarrett on XFINITY Series championship contenders Chris Buescher, Elliott Sadler and Ty Dillon: “No mistakes are going to be the key today. They need to stay on track and make sure they don’t get off in the grass. A mistake may cost drivers a lap and a lot of spots and points. Speeding on pit road or the crew making a mistake is going to put drivers at the tail end of the longest line, or cost you a lap.”

Stoddard on the backward pitting at Road America: “Normally, we always have the wall on the driver’s side, where they can gauge a lot easier. When you have a car that is eight feet wide, and you are sitting on the left hand side it is very difficult for them to gauge where the wall is. You see drivers often have problems on these road courses where you pit backward.”

Jarrett on Chase Elliott’s inherent talent: “He has been so good on all his road courses. Watching him does remind you of his father. He is just as smooth as Bill was on the road courses.”

Jarrett with 6 laps to go: “The start of the race and the restarts have been rather calm. Now it is going to get exciting, when we go to green. These guys understand that there aren’t many laps to go. They have to give everything they can.”

Jarrett on Mendard’s win at Road America: “What a gamble that paid off by (crew chief) Danny Stockman Jr. They are here to win the race. The driving job that Paul Menard did with Bubba Wallace and the young Ryan Blaney on his bumper was just outstanding.”

Paul Mendard’s crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. on his win: “I still don’t think we had the best car today. We were a little off. We had to do something to get ourselves out front and we did it.”

Fourth place finisher Chase Elliott to Stavast: “Absolutely failed today. Way too many mistakes on my part, and I screwed it up for my guys. It is absolutely unacceptable.”

Third place Brian Scott to Stavast: “I was pretty frustrated with the officiating at the end of the race, just the inability to get the race back under green.”

Runner-up Ryan Blaney to Burns: “We played the right strategy. They just got lucky with the race staying under caution.”

Race Winner Menard to Massaro: “I’ve been really fortunate to win at some of the coolest tracks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Road America is right there. They are all tracks I grew up at.”

***

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–

PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH COMMENTATORS AUGUST 29-30

August 29, 2015 By admin

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