Monthly Archives: August 2011
NBC Sports Group to Debut Daily Sports Studio Shows on Versus
The NBC Sports Group is expanding its sports news coverage to include a nightly studio show as well as a weekly studio program, both on Versus.
The nightly program will be entitled NBC SportsTalk and tap into the talent on the network’s NBCSports.com franchises of ProFootballTalk, HardballTalk, ProBasketballTalk, ProHockeyTalk, CollegeFootballTalk, InsidetheIrish and ProGolfTalk. The program will air weekdays at 6:00p.m ET and be hosted by Comcast SportsNet’s Russ Thaler. Programs on Monday and Friday will be devoted to the NFL with ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio and Peter King of Sports Illustrated.
NBC SportsTalk will debut Thursday, September 8th, just prior to NBC’s NFL Kick-Off coverage of the New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers.
“NBC SportsTalk is the type of nightly, relevant programming that viewers can expect to see as we continue the re-branding process from VERSUS to the NBC Sports Network,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and VERSUS in a press release. ”The live nightly shows also give us the opportunity to tap into our stable of top talent across all of our platforms to provide a unique perspective for sports fans.”
NBC Sports Group will also produce a sports business program each Friday at 7:00p.m. called CNBCSports Biz: Game On hosted by CNBC’s Darren Rovell. This program will debut on September 9th
ESPN Announces Women’s Basketball Big Monday Slate
Not to be outdone by its male counterparts, women’s college basketball will once again have a slate of Big Monday games this season on ESPN2.
For the sixth consecutive season the slate of games will feature some of the best women’s programs in the country.
Here is the schedule, which gets underway January 16th:
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Jan 16 | 7 p.m. | North Carolina at Connecticut | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Jan 23 | 7 p.m. | Tennessee at Notre Dame | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Jan 30 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut at Duke | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Feb 6 | 7 p.m. | North Carolina at Duke | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | Oklahoma at Baylor | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Feb 13 | 7 p.m. | Play 4 Kay: Kentucky at Tennessee | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | Play 4 Kay: Connecticut at Oklahoma | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Feb 20 | 2 p.m. | Notre Dame at Louisville | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | Ohio State at Penn State | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| 9 p.m. | Vanderbilt at Kentucky | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Feb 27 | 7 p.m. | Baylor at Texas A&M | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | Notre Dame at Connecticut | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
MLB Network Plans Labor Day Twin Bill
The MLB Network is planning to provide a live double header this Labor Day, Monday, September 5th.
Coverage begins at 1:00p.m. ET as the Baltimore Orioles visit Yankee Stadium to take on the New York Yankees.
After MLB Tonight provides a wrap of the action from the holiday’s afternoon match-ups, MLB Network will return at 7:00p.m. ET with coverage of the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies from Philadelphia.
The MLB Network will have coverage of the Braves and Phillies again Tuesday, September 6th beginning at 7:00p.m. ET. Viewers in Philadelphia and Atlanta that night will see the scheduled return of Stephen Strasburg as the Nationals host the Los Angeles Dodgers.
ESPN Unveils Big East Basketball Schedule
A minimum of 70 Big East Conference men’s basketball match-ups will air this season on the ESPN family of networks.
The WWL today took the wraps off its 2011-2012 Big East schedule. The telecasts begin on December 27th. Games will be seen on either ESPN, ESPN2. ESPNU, ESPN3.com or ESPN Regional Television.
The conference will also occupy the opening tip on the network’s Big Monday telecasts beginning January 16th.
Here is the complete ESPN Big East Conference schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Tue, Dec 27 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Notre Dame | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Dec 28 | 7 p.m. | Georgetown at Louisville | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Fri, Dec 30 | 9 p.m. | West Virginia at Seton Hall | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Sat, Dec 31 | 2 p.m. | Providence at Georgetown | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Sun, Jan 1 | 1 p.m. | Villanova at Marquette | ESPNU |
| Tue, Jan 3 | 7 p.m. | Louisville at St. John’s | ESPNU |
| Wed, Jan 4 | 7 p.m. | Marquette at Georgetown | ESPNU |
| Thu, Jan 5 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at DePaul | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Sat, Jan 7 | 4 p.m. | Notre Dame at Louisville | ESPNU |
| Mon, Jan 9 | 7 p.m. | West Virginia at Connecticut | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | Cincinnati at Georgetown | ESPNU | |
| Tue, Jan 10 | 7 p.m. | Louisville at Providence | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Jan 11 | 7 p.m. | Syracuse at Villanova | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | St. John’s at Marquette | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Jan 14 | 11 a.m. | Connecticut at Notre Dame | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Marquette | ESPNU | |
| Mon, Jan 16 | 3:30 p.m. | Louisville at Marquette | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 7:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Syracuse | ESPN / ESPN3.com | |
| 9 p.m. | Notre Dame at Rutgers | ESPNU | |
| Tue, Jan 17 | 7 p.m. | Georgetown at DePaul | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Jan 18 | 7 p.m. | Cincinnati at Connecticut | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | Seton Hall at Villanova | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Jan 21 | 1 p.m. | Villanova at St. John’s | ESPNU |
| 3 p.m. | Cincinnati at West Virginia | ESPNU | |
| 6 p.m. | Syracuse at Notre Dame | ESPN / ESPN3.com | |
| 9 p.m. | Louisville at Pittsburgh | ESPN / ESPN3.com | |
| Mon, Jan 23 | 7 p.m. | Syracuse at Cincinnati | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Jan 25 | 7 p.m. | Villanova at Louisville | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | West Virginia at St. John’s | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Jan 28 | Noon | Marquette at Villanova | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 1 p.m. | West Virginia at Syracuse | ESPNU | |
| 4 p.m. | Georgetown at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Mon, Jan 30 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at West Virginia | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Feb 1 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut at Georgetown | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | Rutgers at Providence | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Feb 4 | 11 a.m. | South Florida at Georgetown | ESPNU |
| Noon | Syracuse at St. John’s | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Sun, Feb 5 | 2 p.m. | Villanova at Pittsburgh | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Mon, Feb 6 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut at Louisville | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | Marquette at DePaul | ESPNU | |
| Wed, Feb 8 | 7 p.m. | Georgetown at Syracuse | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | Cincinnati at St. John’s | ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | Seton Hall at Rutgers | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| 9 p.m. | Notre Dame at West Virginia | ESPNU | |
| Sat, Feb 11 | Noon | Louisville at West Virginia | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 3 p.m. | Cincinnati at Marquette | ESPNU | |
| Sun, Feb 12 | 1 p.m. | St. John’s at Georgetown | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Mon, Feb 13 | 7 p.m. | Syracuse at Louisville | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Feb 15 | 7 p.m. | Villanova at South Florida | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | Rutgers at Notre Dame | ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | Providence at Cincinnati | ESPNU | |
| Thu, Feb 16 | 9 p.m. | West Virginia at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Sat, Feb 18 | Noon | Marquette at Connecticut | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 or 9 p.m. | Notre Dame at Villanova | ESPNU | |
| Sun, Feb 19 | 1 p.m. | Syracuse at Rutgers | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | South Florida at Pittsburgh | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com | |
| Mon, Feb 20 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut at Villanova | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 9 p.m. | DePaul at St. John’s | ESPNU | |
| Wed, Feb 22 | 7 p.m. | West Virginia at Notre Dame | ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Thu, Feb 23 | 9 p.m. | Louisville at Cincinnati | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Fri, Feb 24 | 9 p.m. | Marquette at West Virginia | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Sat, Feb 25 | Noon | Notre Dame at St. John’s | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| 5 p.m. | Rutgers at Seton Hall | ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | Syracuse at Connecticut | ESPN / ESPN3.com | |
| Mon, Feb 27 | 7 p.m. | Notre Dame at Georgetown | ESPN / ESPN3.com |
| Wed, Feb 29 | 7 p.m. | Marquette at Cincinnati | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. | St. John’s at Pittsburgh | ESPNU | |
| Thu, Mar 1 | 9 p.m. | Villanova at Rutgers | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| Sat, Mar 3 | Noon | Pittsburgh at Connecticut | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. | Cincinnati at Villanova | ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN3.com |
All NFL Media is Local- New England Patriots
Let’s look at the media group that covers the New England Patriots…
Newspaper- Many newspaper outlets cover the Pats, but the two biggest names are the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. The Globe online is handled through Boston.com. The paper’s sports section includes a page dedicated to the Pats (Twitter). Beat writers Greg A. Bedard (Twitter), Shalise Manza Young (Twitter), and Monique Walker (Twitter) join columnist Chris Gaspar to feed into the paper’s Extra Points blog. Bob Ryan (Twitter) and Dan Shaughnessy (Twitter) will also add their thoughts on the team.
The Herald also has a page dedicated to the Pats. Beat writers Ian Rapoport (Twitter) and Karen Guregian (Twitter) also contribute to the paper’s Rap Sheet blog. Columnist Steve Buckley (Twitter) will also let his thoughts be know on the team from time to time.
Sports Radio- 98.5 The Sports Hub serves as the flagship of the Patriots Radio Network. Gil Santos returns on play-by-play, joined by analyst Gino Cappelletti. Sports radio talk is dominated by The Sports Hub and WEEI.
Television- Some of the television outlets covering the Pats include, WBZ, WCVB, WHDH and WFXT. Boston also has coverage of the team from regional networks Comcast SportsNet New England and NESN. ESPNBoston also follows the team.
Blogs- There are no shortage of independent blogs covering the Pats. Among them are Patriots Locker, Patriots Gab, Pats Pulpit, Patriots Daily, and
We know there are other news organizations covering the Pats. Add your favorites in the comments section.
