Keeping Up With All The Industry Press Releases
ESPN’s MLB London Series Exclusive: Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals on June 25. Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay will provide commentary in the booth with Tim Kurkjian serving as reporter.
The post ESPN’s MLB London Series Exclusive: Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals on June 25 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
The Professional Fighters League, the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced the card for the second 2023 PFL Regular Season event, taking place on Friday, April 7 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton. PFL 2 begins at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) with the action continuing at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+.
The post Professional Fighters League Announces Full Card For PFL 2: Heavyweights And Women’s Featherweights appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
“What did the 2022 season teach us about pro football? You need a quarterback to reach the promised land, and you need defenders who can stop the quarterback.” – Peter King on the most sought-after players in this year’s NFL Draft
“Five of them, I think, are gonna end up being starters. But they all have flaws. There’s not a Trevor Lawrence. But while there’s risk involved, I think these guys have really, really high upside across the board.” – NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on this year’s QB class
“He’s not afraid to make any throw, and unlike some quarterbacks who can’t justify such quiet bravado, Stroud has, consistently.” – King on Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
“If I’m the Ravens, and if (Lamar) Jackson is going to insist on a contract with major guarantees at or near the top of the current QB market — and if another team will give him that, and give Baltimore two high-round picks — I’d probably wish him well and let him walk.” – King on the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson
STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 27, 2023 – Peter King previews the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft with NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Lamar Jackson’s contract situation in Baltimore, Russell Wilson and Sean Payton’s future in Denver, and more.
For more NFL coverage, Peacock offers daily programming on the NBC Sports channel for free, including Pro Football Talk at 7 a.m. ET (which will be live from the Combine in Indianapolis this week), The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, Brother from Another at 3 p.m. ET, plus Chris Simms Unbuttoned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the weekly The Peter King Podcast. To learn more about the NBC Sports on Peacock channel and how to sign up, click here.
The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe.
The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
NFL DRAFT & NFL SCOUTING COMBINE
Peter King on the most sought-after players in this year’s NFL Draft: “What did the 2022 season teach us about pro football? You need a quarterback to reach the promised land, and you need defenders who can stop the quarterback.”
King on the quarterback demand in this year’s draft: “There are four quarterbacks likely to go in the first half of the first round, and four teams with major quarterback needs in the top nine: Houston (two), Indianapolis (four), Las Vegas (seven) and Carolina (nine). I hear — though it might be smoke — that none of the four wants to scotch-tape a veteran like 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers and probably not Derek Carr.”
NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah to King on popular targets in the draft: “This has been in talking to some GMs in their draft meetings, literally the questions are: ‘Is this guy gonna help us get off the field against Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen?’ You’ve got to build your team towards trying to deal with this next generation of star quarterbacks, particularly in the AFC.”
Jeremiah on the top-end players in the draft: “It doesn’t have maybe what we’ve had in years past, in terms of the elite, high-end players. I love (Georgia DT) Jalen Carter. I love (Alabama edge) Will Anderson. Those are my top two players. After that, I think there’s holes and questions on just about everybody.”
Jeremiah on the QB class in this year’s draft: “Five of them, I think, are gonna end up being starters. But they all have flaws. They all have holes. There’s not a Trevor Lawrence. There’s not a Joe Burrow. There’s not an Andrew Luck. But while there’s risk involved, I think these guys have really, really high upside across the board.”
Jeremiah on Alabama QB Bryce Young: “In terms of what do you like about him, it’s almost like, what do you not like about him? He’s got poise, he’s got excellent accuracy, he’s a really good decision-maker.”
King on Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud: “What’s impressive is how he throws downfield and across the field; he’s not afraid to make any throw, and unlike some quarterbacks who can’t justify such quiet bravado, Stroud has, consistently.”
Jeremiah on Kentucky QB Will Levis: “When you watch him, you still see every type of throw you can make. He can do it. He’s got a really strong arm. You know when he’s healthy he’s a good athlete. The two things that you gotta navigate around are the turnovers, the combination of fumbles and interceptions, and then taking a ton of sacks.”
Jeremiah on Florida QB Anthony Richardson: “If you’re on an alien spaceship and you land and you only watch Richardson’s Utah game (17-of-24 with 106 yards rushing and three rushing TDs), you think he’s the best football player on the planet. But the consistency is just not there. It’s a roller coaster ride that you go on. But there’s a ton of talent in there.”
Jeremiah on Texas RB Bijan Robinson: “The grade I gave him is the same grade I gave to (49ers RB) Christian McCaffrey. It’s the same grade that I gave to (Giants RB) Saquon Barkley.”
Jeremiah on this year’s tight end class: “The best tight end group I’ve seen in the last 10 years.”
NEWS & NOTES
King on Giants QB Daniel Jones: “I think if I’m Giants GM Joe Schoen, and Daniel Jones is asking for $45 million a year — and I truly don’t know if he is — I’m shaking his hand, wishing him good luck finding it somewhere and franchising him.”
King on Broncos head coach Sean Payton hiring recently retired QB Davis Webb as Denver’s QB coach: “Payton will not only be coaching Russell Wilson this year in a crucial year for them both — he’ll be putting a first-year position coach in charge of coaching Wilson. Not that (Davis) Webb won’t be a good coach. But throwing him into a raging inferno in year one is an interesting move by Payton, to say the least.”
King on the advice he would give to Russell Wilson: “Put your head down, say little, don’t try to justify anything from the past, and do whatever Sean Payton tells you.”
King on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s injury history: “How is the injury status of a guy who makes a good part of his living with his legs — Jackson might be the best combo running/passing quarterback in NFL history — a mild concern, considering he has started and finished one December/January game in the past two years?”
King: “If I’m the Ravens, and if Jackson is going to insist on a contract with major guarantees at or near the top of the current QB market — and if another team will give him that, and give Baltimore two high-round picks — I’d probably wish him well and let him walk.”
King on the Rams’ future: “Imagine next year (the Rams) having a first-round pick for the first time in eight years, and imagine that pick being pretty high in the first round, and imagine Caleb Williams of USC coming out of the draft. This will be Matthew Stafford’s age-35 season, his 15th year in the league. Next year is very far away, but it’s an intriguing time to think about the future of Sean McVay and the Rams.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
—NBC SPORTS—
This March, millions of college basketball fans from casuals to hardcore, will turn to ESPN and their No. 1 Tournament Challenge game to carefully curate men’s and women’s brackets.
The post ESPN Debuts Tournament Challenge Campaign “Go With Your Gut” appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm® will travel to Greenville, S.C., for its final women’s college basketball stop of the season on Sunday, March 5 at noon ET (ESPN2).
The post ESPN’s <i> College GameDay Covered by State Farm </i> Makes Final Women’s Stop of the Season with Full Conference Championship Sunday Coverage on March 5 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
Ahead of the HSBC LA Sevens, USA Rugby and HSBC will launch the final instalment of ‘The Pioneers’, the documentary following the men’s and women’s USA team as they head to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
LOS ANGELES, Cal. – Feb. 24, 2023 – USA Rugby and HSBC, title partner of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, have announced the upcoming release of the final instalment of the three-part award-winning documentary ‘The Pioneers’. The feature-length documentary follows both the USA Men’s and Women’s Rugby Sevens teams as they strive to make their stamp on the American sports community through rugby and become Olympic gold medal winners in Tokyo. Both episodes of the Pioneers Part III can be seen on the NBC Sports YouTube channel, premiering Friday, February 24 at 6:00pm PT.
Rugby in the United States is entering an exciting and vital phase, with the Summer Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2028, along with the Men’s and Women’s Rugby World Cup to follow in 2031 and 2033. While every moment is a building block towards those events, the Tokyo Olympic games were a unique experience for athletes and fans alike where The Pioneers Part III gives a special behind the scenes look into the USA Rugby Sevens preparation.
USA Rugby CEO, Ross Young said on The Pioneers: “It’s incredibly exciting to see another chapter of The Pioneers come to life and for the Women’s program to be featured in the upcoming edition. The legacy for each team transcends medals, as we look to inspire our communities to be brave, ignite a love for rugby and unite the country – even if just 14 minutes at a time. As an organization, we hope that through being featured in ‘The Pioneers’, people can gain insight into our sport’s purpose, our players and our values.”
HSBC, a fierce champion of using internationalism to drive opportunity and innovation, has been a vocal cheerleader for this approach, and is an enabler of projects that help the sport grow in this diverse and internationally minded way across the globe.
HSBC, USA Rugby and NBC Sports released ‘The Pioneers’ (Parts one and two), which follows the USA men’s team as they attempt to win the Rugby World Cup Sevens on home soil in San Francisco.
The final instalment, Part Three will pick up the story at a moment of incredible opportunity for the men’s and women’s teams as they set flight to the Tokyo Olympics to chase a lifelong dream and break new ground for the sport. Part Three is two, 20-minute episodes, one dedicated to the men’s team (The DAWGS) and the other to the women’s team (The BRAVE).
The move to incorporate both teams with the final episode is reflective of HSBC’s global commitment to gender equality. HSBC has been an active part of working with World Rugby to ensure rugby sevens continues to lead the way in this area, including the expansion of the women’s series. In the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 we saw a new combined round for the men’s and women’s series in both Vancouver and Hong Kong for the first time, bringing the total number of combined tournaments up to 7.
Sven Gloor, Global Senior Brand Partnerships Manager at HSBC said: “We are delighted to once again bring the story of ‘The Pioneers’ to fans around the world, featuring two incredibly talented teams with players from a diverse range of backgrounds. It is vital that both young boys and young girls have sevens heroes to inspire them, and we are therefore delighted that we will be following the USA Women’s Sevens journey in part three of ‘The Pioneers’. This is an important moment for the women’s game and HSBC is proud to continue to drive progress in this area.”
An exclusive private screening of The Pioneers Part III will take place on Friday 24th February in the HSBC Suite of the stadium and will be a chance to celebrate the end of the remarkable series. There will be access to players and HSBC Ambassadors, including Abby Gustaitis, Jordan Matyas, Brett Thompson for a Q&A after the viewing. With past and future stars of the USA team also being present.
English Premier League’s No. 3 Manchester United takes on No. 5 Newcastle United in Sunday’s highly anticipated Carabao Cup Final at 11:30 p.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+ in English (Jon Champion and Stewart Robson) and Spanish (German Sosa and Marcelo Espina).
The post Carabao Cup Final, FA Cup Fifth Round, LaLiga’s Madrid Derby, Bundesliga and Eredivisie on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, Feb. 24- Mar. 1 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
UFC action continues this weekend with UFC Fight Night: Krylov vs. Spann, live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas this Saturday, February 25, exclusively on ESPN+ (English and Spanish), with the main card at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, preceded by the Prelims at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.
The post <i>UFC Fight Night: Krylov vs. Spann</i> Live from Las Vegas: Saturday, February 25, Exclusively on ESPN+ appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..
Partnership will Combine Tech Platforms to Improve Team Management, Communications, Payment Systems, and Player Development
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Feb. 23, 2023) – NBC Sports Next’s SportsEngine, the sports industry leader in team and club management technology, today announced an exclusive technology partnership with Diamond Allegiance, which will provide solutions to accelerate Diamond Allegiance’s mission to help its member clubs create a more accessible and affordable travel baseball ecosystem.
The agreement makes SportsEngine the exclusive member management, registration and online payments provider for Diamond Allegiance, which is dedicated to helping elite travel baseball organizations run better businesses, augment player development capabilities, provide more career opportunities for coaches, reduce costs for players and families, and increase participation within underrepresented communities. Formed in 2022, Diamond Allegiance currently partners with 28 of the top travel baseball clubs in the U.S., with Canes Baseball, Power Baseball, Team Elite Baseball, Indiana Bulls Baseball, Garciaparra Baseball Group, and California Academy of Baseball included among its six founding clubs.
“We’re excited to partner with Diamond Allegiance and its member clubs to reimagine the travel baseball experience,” said John Weinerth, NBC Sports Next Vice President of Sport & Enterprise, Youth & Recreational Sports. “SportsEngine technology is about breaking down barriers to improve accessibility, provide efficiencies and create better experiences for athletes and their families. Our partnership with Diamond Allegiance is 100 percent reflective of our shared values and mission.”
“We are thrilled to partner with NBC Sports Next to bring more value and innovative technology to the travel baseball community,” said Sandy Ogg, Founder, Diamond Allegiance. “Our goal at the Diamond Allegiance has always been to make the sport more accessible and affordable for all players, and this partnership will allow us to do just that. By combining our platforms, we will be able to provide teams with the tools they need to improve their management, communication, and payment systems. Additionally, our custom player-development app and baseball-focused content will help players take their skills to the next level. We look forward to working with NBC Sports Next to make a positive impact on the sport and help players achieve their dreams.”
Through SportsEngine technology, Diamond Allegiance will provide its travel baseball clubs with a one-stop solution for member management, which includes website development, club registration and online payments, team communications, and a robust digital membership and membership payment system. Additionally, SportsEngine will integrate its technology within Diamond Allegiance’s CURVE player development app to create a more customized, seamless journey for players and families as they navigate their club experience.
Former National Coach of the Year and current University of Michigan Head Baseball Coach Tracy Smith leads the Diamond Allegiance coaching advisory staff as Chairman of the Board. The organization’s advisory team is comprised of other marquee names in the college coaching ranks, including Clemson University Head Baseball Coach Erik Bakich, former Head Coach at Oregon State University and three-time National Champion Pat Casey, and University of Florida Head Baseball Coach Kevin O’Sullivan. The team also draws expertise from former power players in travel baseball, including Matt Gerber, former owner of the Orlando Scorpions; and Eric Lassiter, co-founder of Power Baseball. Two-time Olympic gold medalist in softball, Michele Smith, also is part of the advisory team.
— NBC SPORTS NEXT —
Winter Cup Kicks Off USA Gymnastics’ 2023 Premier Event Season; Live Coverage from Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.
Commentators: Terry Gannon, Sam Peszek, John Roethlisberger
STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 23, 2023 – NBC Sports presents live gymnastics coverage of the 2023 Winter Cup from Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky., beginning Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. This is the first event of the 2023 premier event season.
The women’s field is headlined by 2022 world team gold medalist and 2024 Paris Olympic hopeful Skye Blakely. Joining Blakely in competition are fellow Senior National Team members Addison Fatta, Katelyn Jong, Lexi Zeiss and Levi Jung-Ruivivar. Fifteen-year-old Tiana Sumanasekera, who won four gold medals at the 2022 Junior Pan American Championships, is expected to make her senior competitive debut.
The Winter Cup serves as a qualifying event to the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, California. Performances this weekend will also help determine men’s and women’s international assignments for winter and spring events, including the 2023 World Junior Championships in Antalya, Turkey, DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, and City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy.
NBC Sports’ Terry Gannon will call the event, joined by 2008 Beijing Olympic team silver medalist Sam Peszek. Three-time U.S. Olympic gymnast John Roethlisberger will serve as reporter.
How to Watch – Saturday. February 25 (all times ET):
| Date | Time (ET) | Platform |
| Sat., Feb. 25 | 1-3 p.m. | NBC, Peacock (LIVE) |
–NBC SPORTS–