FOX College Analysts Weigh-In on Notre Dame Conference Move

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

FOX College Football Analysts Weigh-In on Notre Dame Conference Move

Former ND Running Back Darius Walker: “Five ACC Games Are Too Many”

Eddie George: “Notre Dame Makes Their Own Rules”

NFL ON FOX Week 2 Singleheader Features Super Bowl Champion New York Giants

Johnson Heads to Dallas for Sit-Down with Romo, Lee & Ryan on FOX NFL SUNDAY

AL East Postseason Race Highlights MLB on FOX This Saturday at 3:30 PM ET

BEING: LIVERPOOL Premieres Sunday on FOX – Advance Preview Available

SPEED Gets NASCAR Chase Contenders Together for Exclusive Forum Thursday Night

 

NFL ON FOX WEEK 2: GIANTS LOOK TO AVOID DROPPING FIRST TWO AT HOME – The NFL on FOX’s journey to the NFC Championship game continues Sunday, Sept. 16 with singleheader coverage of six games. The 1:00 PM ET window opens when Eli Manning and the Super Bowl Champion Giants aim to rebound from their opening-night home loss when they face Josh Freeman and the Bucs. Lead broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver call the action from MetLife Stadium. In Indianapolis, No. 1 pick Andrew Luck tries to rebound from a rough NFL debut when the Colts play in their home-opener against Adrian Peterson and the Vikings. Looking to notch each their first victories of 2012, NFC South rivals meet as Cam Newton and the Panthers host Drew Brees and the Saints. Last week, Vince Wilfork and the AFC Champion Patriots showed off a strong defense. This week, that group looks to shut down the Cardinals in Foxboro. The 4:00 PM ET window features Tony Romo and the Cowboys traveling to the Pacific Northwest to face Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and on-field analyst Tony Siragusa call the action from Seattle. Fresh off his NFC Offensive Player of the Week showing in New Orleans, Robert Griffin III leads the Redskins into another road encounter, this time, against Sam Bradford and the Rams.

Coverage begins at 12:00 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.  NFL Insider Jay Glazer breaks the latest league news and scoops from the FOX NFL SUNDAY studio while NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira discusses the previous week’s controversial calls. Comedic prognosticator Rob Riggle provides his weekly picks segment. This week, actor Samuel L. Jackson opens the show while FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY pregame analyst Eddie George stops by to discuss the incredible recovery of Adrian Peterson. Also, Jimmy Johnson sits down with Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo, LB Sean Lee and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to discuss last week’s big victory over the Giants and whether this is the year the Cowboys put it all together.

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.

LYNCH: PATRIOTS YOUNG DEFENSE LOOKS LIKE OLD, GRITTY NEW YORK GIANTS DEFENSE

In preparation of calling this weekend’s Cardinals vs. Patriots game, NFL on FOX analyst John Lynch noticed exceptional defensive plays made by New England defenders in the team’s victory last week in which their offense performed just as well.  “The overall film was very impressive by that group of Patriot defenders,” said Lynch.  “It looks like an old New York Giants defense with big physical guys.  They have massive linebackers in Jarod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower.  Hightower looks like a defensive lineman playing linebacker.  Brandon Spikes in the middle of that defense plays like an old Pepper Johnson.  They’ve gone back to these big, physical, dominating guys.  They looked very good in Week 1 with their young defensive guys contributing as well and Bill Belichick has a defensive group that he really likes.”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

GAME                                                                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST/SIDELINE            COV.                      TIME 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants             Joe Buck, Troy Aikman                                    22%                       1:00PM 

                                                                                                & Pam Oliver

MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ

MARKETS INCLUDE: Fort Myers, Hartford, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Orlando, San Diego, Tampa, West Palm Beach

Minnesota Vikings at Indianapolis Colts                      Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick                     17%                       1:00PM

& Laura Okmin

Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, IN

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis

 

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers                  Ron Pitts, Mike Martz                                        13%                       1:00PM

                                                                                                & Kristina Pink

Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Knoxville, New Orleans, Raleigh

Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots                Dick Stockton, John Lynch                              10%                       1:00PM 

                                                                                                & Jennifer Hale

Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, MA 

MARKETS INCLUDE: Boston, Denver, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Salt Lake City

 

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks                         Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston                         26%                       4:05PM 

                                                                                                & on-field analyst Tony Siragusa

CenturyLink Field – Seattle, WA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Oklahoma City, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, Tulsa

Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams                    Chris Myers, Tim Ryan                                     11%                       4:05PM 

                                                                                                & Jaime Maggio

Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis, MO

MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Richmond, St. Louis, Washington

 

PAC-12 AND CALIFORNIA RIVALS MEET AS STANFORD HOSTS USC – FOX Sports heads up north on Interstate 5 to Palo Alto, CA on Saturday, Sept. 15 (7:00 PM ET) as the Stanford Cardinal welcome the No. 2-ranked USC Trojans. College Football on FOX’s lead broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, analyst Charles Davis and reporter Julie Alexandria call the action from Stanford Stadium.

FOX’s coverage begins with FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY, originating live each week from FOX’s brand new state-of-the-art studio in the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles.  Erin Andrews hosts with Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and former Oregon All-American Quarterback Joey Harrington as analyst.  Additionally, the trio handles all halftime and postgame studio coverage.

For instant updates during the week and games from the entire CFB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CFBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

 

FOX SPORTS MEDIA GROUP WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

*All Times Eastern

DATE	TIME	GAME	OUTLET	Play by Play	Analyst	Sideline
Saturday, Sept. 15	7:30 PM	USC at Stanford	FOX	Gus Johnson	Charles Davis	Julie Alexandria
Saturday, Sept. 15	12:00 PM	Western Michigan at Minnesota	BTN	Wayne Larrivee	Justin Cozemius	Stacy Paetz
Saturday, Sept. 15	12:00 PM	Charleston Southern at Illinois	BTN	Matt Shepard	J Leman	Tony Banks
Saturday, Sept. 15	12:00 PM	Eastern Michigan at Purdue	BTN	Kevin Kugler	Chris Martin	Rebecca Haarlow
Saturday, Sept. 15	12:00 PM	Louisiana-Lafayette at Oklahoma St.	FSN (National)	Joel Meyers	Brian Baldinger	Jim Knox
Saturday, Sept. 15	12:00 PM	TCU at Kansas	FX	Justin Kutcher	Eric Crouch	Darius Walker
Saturday, Sept. 15	3:30 PM	Massachusetts at Michigan	BTN	Eric Collins	Derek Rackley	Lisa Byington
Saturday, Sept. 15	3:30 PM	Boston College at Northwestern	BTN	Josh Lewin	Jon Jansen	Evan Fitzgerald
Saturday, Sept. 15	3:30 PM	Northern Iowa at Iowa	BTN	Tom Werme	Danan Hughes	Damon Benning
Saturday, Sept. 15	3:30 PM	Texas A&M at SMU	FSN (National)	Ron Thulin	Shaun King	Desmond Purnell
Saturday, Sept. 15	3:00 PM	Furman at Clemson	FS South	Paul Kennedy	Keith Jones	Jenn Hildreth
Saturday, Sept. 15	4:00 PM	Portland State at Washington (from CenturyLink Field)	FX	Craig Bolerjack	Joel Klatt	Petros Papadakis
Saturday, Sept. 15	7:00 PM	New Mexico at Texas Tech	FCS Pacific	Mike Gleason	Ben Leber	Lesley McCaslin
Saturday, Sept. 15	7:00 PM	Sam Houston St. at Baylor	FCS Central	Steve Physioc	Gary Reasons	Emily Jones
Saturday, Sept. 15	7:00 PM	North Texas at Kansas State	FSN (National)	Mike Morgan	JC Pearson	Laura McKeeman
Saturday, Sept. 15	7:00 PM	UAB at South Carolina	FS South	Bob Rathbun	Tim Couch	Elizabeth Moreau
Saturday, Sept. 15	8:00 PM	Utah State at Wisconsin	BTN	Matt Devlin	Glen Mason	Jay Wilson
Saturday, Sept. 15	8:00 PM	Ball State at Indiana	BTN	Chris Denari	Kelly Stouffer	Antwaan Randle El

 

EDDIE GEORGE ON NOTRE DAME: “THEY FOLLOW THEIR OWN RULES” – FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY analyst Eddie George reacted to today’s news that Notre Dame has accepted an invitation from the ACC to join the conference but remain independent in football, agreeing to schedule five ACC opponents a season. “I wasn’t surprised at all they broke it up like this. They follow their own rules because they’re Notre Dame.  It’s a good idea from the school’s standpoint because of the stability the conference gives them across all the sports they play and fits the academic standard. Notre Dame has not been relevant in college football since 1988. Even in the BCS era, they haven’t done much on the football field but that doesn’t matter because they have a nation-wide appeal.”

EDDIE GEORGE ON HOW AN ANDREW LUCK-LESS STANFORD TEAM WILL FARE AGAINST USC THIS WEEKEND   – George previewed Saturday’s much anticipated Pac-12 showdown between USC and Stanford. “Stanford has beaten USC the last three year. This time there is no Andrew Luck but their brand of football isn’t going to change without Luck. They’re going to have to rely on their running game and trying to force USC’s offense to stay on the sidelines. This is the first real test for USC. The country hasn’t been wowed by them yet. Matt Barkley is the ‘Golden Boy’ and ‘Superman’ so this game is a good showcase for him to get it done. He’s got the offense weapons to do it.”

DARIUS WALKER ON NOTRE DAME: FIVE ACC GAMES ARE TOO MANY — FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL reporter and former Notre Dame running back Darius Walker reacted to Notre Dame’s decision to join the ACC. “As an alum, I know our other sports programs need exposure and this is definitely a step in the right direction. However, I’m not a fan of the five football games in the Conference. Five ACC games are far too many. With the lack of national success from Miami and Florida St in recent years, ACC football hasn’t been dominate. Notre Dame’s strength of schedule needs to go up, not down.”

AL EAST RACE HIGHLIGHTS FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK – With the playoff race in the AL East coming down to the wire, two of three teams battling it out for division supremacy meet on Saturday, Sept. 15 (3:30 PM ET) as Derek Jeter and the Yankees host Evan Longoria and the Rays. Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Yankee Stadium. In Atlanta, the NL East leading Nationals pay a visit to the NL Wild Card-leading Braves. Also, AL Central rivals meet as the Tigers take on the Indians in Cleveland.

Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL 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 Brian Kenny, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Kevin Millar.

 

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.

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

 

GAME                                                                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST                                                                COV.   

Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees                      Joe Buck, Tim McCarver                                                                 63%

                                                                                                & Ken Rosenthal

Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Dallas, Denver, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers:  TBA vs. TBA

 

Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves                     Daron Sutton & Eric Karros                                                            26%

Turner Field– Atlanta, GA

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dayton, Greensboro, Greenville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, St. Louis, Washington

Probable Pitchers:  Edwin Jackson, RHP (9-10, 3.85 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson, RHP (12-8, 4.35 ERA)

 

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians                               Mario Impemba & Tom Verducci                                                   10%

Progressive Field– Cleveland, OH

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit

Probable Pitchers:  TBA vs. Justin Masterson, RHP (11-13, 4.96 ERA)

 

BEING: LIVERPOOL PREMIERES SUNDAY ON FOX – History is made this weekend as FOX Sports Media Group debuts BEING: LIVERPOOL – the groundbreaking new television series that takes viewers inside a Barclays Premiere League locker room to witness never-before-seen footage of one of the world’s most storied teams, Liverpool FC. The six-episode series debuts on FOX this Sunday, Sept. 16 preceding (3:00 PM ET) or following (4:30 PM ET) local NFL on FOX singleheader coverage with future episodes airing in prime time on FOX Soccer and MundoFOX beginning Sunday, Sept. 23 (9:00 PM ET/PT).  The season premiere, narrated by Academy Award nominee and Golden Glove winner Clive Owen, provides an all-access invitation into the personal and professional lives of the superstars that have helped make Liverpool FC synonymous with global success. Now facing a transition under new manager Brendan Rodgers, the first episode shows the intricacies of playing a new style of soccer with proven veterans and hopeful first-year players, while hoping to regain the characteristics of an international soccer power.

To view the debut episode of BEING: LIVERPOOL click here: http://bit.ly/RSlewr, and enter password: BLiverpoolMedia12

 

SPEED AIRS EXCLUSIVE CHASE CONTENDERS SPECIAL FROM CHICAGO THURSDAY NIGHT – Broadcast from the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, NASCAR and SPEED bring all 12 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders together for the first time in a one-hour television special titled NASCAR Contenders Live Sponsored by Toyota & Sprint.  The program airs Thursday, Sept. 13 (7:00 PM ET).  NASCAR on SPEED’s Krista Voda and NASCAR on FOX host Chris Myers lead questioning from the House of Blues, as drivers exchange strategies and insights in preparation for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Live audience participation and an expanded SPEED social media effort enhance the program providing a candid exchange among all 12 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.  “SPEED is the first place fans can see all 12 guys together in one place heading into the Chase,” said SPEED President Scott Ackerson. “A unique exchange in front of a live audience is sure to ratchet up the intensity … gamesmanship certainly came into play last season between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, and NASCAR Contenders Live provides a starting point for all that and more as drivers prepare to battle for this year’s title.”

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER PREMIERES FRIDAY ON FX – THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® on FX returns Friday, Sept. 14 at 9:00 PM ET/PT – 8:00 PM CT/MT with an adrenaline-pumping two-hour season premiere. A new crop of 32 promising welterweights face-off hoping to claim 16 spots in The Ultimate Fighter house. Former UFC heavyweight champion Shane Carwin and TUF Season 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson coach opposing teams of fighters, all competing for one goal: a six-figure UFC contract and the title of The Ultimate Fighter.

 

“UFC TONIGHT” ANALYST FLORIAN BELIEVES BELFORT COULD UPSET UFC CHAMP JONES UFC Vet Vitor Belfort faces Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 152 on Saturday, September 22, and FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” Analyst Kenny Florian believes Belfort has a chance to pull an upset. “They call [Belfort] The Phenom for a reason,” says Florian. “He’s the kind of guy who really could match Jon Jones from the talent department. Not only does he have knockout power, he is a south paw and is a very experienced striker. He’s a little under size, but that’s going to give him speed. Belfort is a part of the [UFC] old guard and was a champion at 19 years old. He has fought in several weight classes and he is truly a legend. He is very, very dangerous.” FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” interviews Jon Jones to get his take on the fight on Tuesday, Sept. 18 (10:00 PM ET).