FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
49ers/Falcons Battle in Atlanta for the NFC Title Sunday on FOX
FOX NFL SUNDAY Pregame Live from the Georgia Dome: Coverage at 2:00 PM ET
Long: Falcons Have to Act Like They’ve Been There, Even If They Haven’t
UFC’s Road to the Octagon Airs Saturday at 5:00 PM ET
NFL ON FOX: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP – A trip to Super Bowl XLVII is on the line Sunday, Jan. 20 (3:00 PM ET), as quarterback Colin Kaepernick, coming off last week’s spectacular performance, leads the 49ers into Atlanta to take on Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and the potent Falcons. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver & Erin Andrews are joined by NFL on FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira on-site to call this matchup for the George Halas trophy and NFC title from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA.
Coverage begins at 2:00 PM ET with America’s No. 1 pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY. Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee co-host the Emmy Award-winning program and are joined by analysts Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson live from the Georgia Dome. NFL Insider Jay Glazer breaks the latest league news and scoops while NFL rules analyst Pereira discusses the previous week’s important impactful calls and points of emphasis in officiating. Comedic prognosticator Rob Riggle provides his Championship Weekend picks segment. In this week’s Championship edition, Long sits down with members of San Francisco’s defense to discuss how they will stop Atlanta’s high-powered offense. In San Francisco, FOX NFL SUNDAY cameras hit the streets to see how Colin Kaepernick’s Saturday night performance won over the city. Throughout the week, FOX NFL SUNDAY cameras followed Tony Gonzalez and his family as he prepared for the biggest game of his 16-year career. In an AFC Championship game feature, NFL on FOX analyst John Lynch sits down with Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco to discuss his unprecedented playoff success this year as he prepares for another showdown with the Patriots.
Prior to the network’s NFC Championship pregame coverage, the network airs NFL CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE (1:00 PM ET), a one-hour program delivering a magnificent recap of all four divisional playoff games and a visually stunning preview of the championship games.
For instant updates during the week and games from the entire NFL on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NFLONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.
Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013
FOX NFL SPECIAL 2:00 PM ET
GAME
San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
Georgia Dome – Atlanta, GA
LONG: HOW FALCONS RESPOND TO PLAYOFF WIN IS KEY FACTOR IN NFC CHAMP GAME – FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst and Hall of Famer Howie Long thinks a major factor in this weekend’s NFC Championship Game between Atlanta and San Francisco is how the Falcons respond to finally getting the playoff win that has eluded them for so many years. “In the Falcons’ postgame footage, you could almost see the relief,” said Long. “It was such a big hurdle for them but now Atlanta can go one of two ways; they could say ‘we’re relieved and anything beyond this is gravy’ or they could say ‘now we’re 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl.’ Atlanta has been there the whole season but each week we asked, ‘how good is Atlanta?’ The 49ers are going to be a major challenge for the Falcons because the offense is so dynamic. Colin Kaepernick is a special quarterback who can make plays all over the field.”
BILLICK: SIMILARITIES EXIST AMONG FINAL FOUR – As the NFL season heads into the penultimate weekend, NFL on FOX analyst Brian Billick dives into the numbers to find a dominant team. The one team that seems to be the most complete are the 49ers. Billick writes: “San Francisco is the closest of all the teams to being truly dominant, and the 49ers are also a living embodiment of the old formula for winning: They play good defense (third in the league in yards allowed), run the ball well (third in the league in yards per rush) and don’t turn it over (tied for second in the league for fewest turnovers).”
To read more from Billick on the NFC & AFC Championship games, click here: http://on-msn.com/U1CjFp
FOX PREMIERE’S UFC’S ROAD TO THE OCTAGON SATURDAY NIGHT – FOX Sports Media Group gets ready with next weekend’s FOX UFC SATURDAY special with UFC’s ROAD TO THE OCTAGON premiering on FOX Saturday, Jan. 19 (5:00 PM ET). The hour-long special is a prelude to the network’s exclusive coverage of a UFC quadruple header of fights airing LIVE and in primetime Saturday, Jan. 26 (8:00 PM ET) on FOX. In this edition of UFC’s ROAD TO THE OCTAGON, the series takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lives and training camps of Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson as he prepares to defend his belt against top contender John Dodson. ROAD TO THE OCTAGON re-airs Tuesday, Jan. 22 (11:00 PM ET) on FUEL TV. Prior to the Johnson vs. Dodson Flyweight title fight, FOX Sports features former UFC champion Rampage Jackson against red hot light heavyweight Glover Teixeira; former WEC champion Anthony Pettis taking on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone the winner of which could get a title shot at lightweight champion Benson Henderson; and Erik Koch returning from injury to face Chicago native Ricardo Lamas in the featherweight division.
WEIGHT CUT COULD CAUSE BELFORT TO GAS OUT AT UFC ON FX 7 SAYS UFC ANALYST FLORIAN – This weekend the UFC returns to Brazil for the UFC ON FX 7: BELFORT VS. BISPING features an intriguing middleweight matchup between former world champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and British superstar Michael “The Count” Bisping. FUEL TV’s UFC TONIGHT analyst Kenny Florian believes the weight cut could be a factor in this fight. “We haven’t seen Belfort fight at 185 since way back in 2011 when he fought Yushin Okami,” says Florian. “Of course, Michael’s stamina is insane. We have seen Vitor gas out a little bit but we won’t see until Saturday night how he holds up after the weight cut.”
FUEL TV kicks-off the weekend with the UFC WEIGH-IN on Friday, Jan. 18 (1:00 PM ET), with host Karyn Bryant, while UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Light Heavyweight No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen offer analysis. The UFC PRELIMS ON FUEL TV begin Saturday, Jan. 19 (6:00 PM ET), with host Bryant and analysts Cruz and Sonnen, while Jon Anik and Kenny Florian call the action live from the Octagon in Brazil. Things move to FX for the main card fights (9:00 PM ET) and the event wraps up on Saturday (11:00 PM ET) with the UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW ON FUEL TV with Bryant hosting, Cruz and Sonnen offering analysis, and Heidi Androl conducting fighter interviews from Brazil.
UFC TV ANALYSTS REVEAL HEROS TO JAY GLAZER – Everyone looks up to someone else, even the top fighters in the UFC. In the FUEL TV original UFC ROUNDTABLE: THE ANALYSTS– PART 2airing Friday, Jan. 18 (10:00 PM ET), current and former UFC fighters including former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans (UFC ON FUEL TV analyst), UFC Light Heavyweight number-one contender Chael Sonnen (UFC ON FUEL TV analyst), Kenny Florian (UFC TONIGHT analyst) and UFC Light Heavyweight Brian Stann (UFC ON FOX/UFC ON FUEL TV analyst) discuss with host Jay Glazer who they looked up to and were inspired most by in their UFC careers. “Chuck Liddell was the one who stood out for me and it was more because of his attitude,” says Stann. “Chuck was that guy who if you called him on three hours’ notice to fight someone, he would say yes before he even knew who it was.”
FOX SOCCER AIRS SECOND INSTALLMENT OF “EPIC SUNDAY” – This Sunday, FOX Soccer is home to a second installment of “Epic Sunday” as four of the Barclays Premier League’s top-six teams are set to battle one another. The live action kicks-off Sunday, Jan. 20 (8:00 AM ET) when third-place Chelsea hosts neighboring Arsenal. With a win, Chelsea and newly signed striker Demba Ba can narrow the gap between them and defending league champion Manchester City. Live action on “Epic Sunday” continues when fourth-place Tottenham hosts the league’s leader, Manchester United, airing at 10:30 AM ET. Unbeaten in their last 10 BPL matches the Red Devils look to extend their lead in the table to as many as 10 points.
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