I think I can fit five releases here for you. All are miscellaneous press releases and don’t relate to one particular sport. Let’s get to them.
Starting with the Late Show with David Letterman, tennis star Andre Agassi makes an appearance on Wednesday to talk about his tell-all autobiography which has certainly been making waves.
TENNIS STAR ANDRE AGASSI TO VISIT CBS’ “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” WEDNESDAY, NOV. 11
Agassi’s Much Buzzed-About Autobiography, Open, Hits Stores Today
NEW YORK, Nov. 9 – Tennis star Andre Agassi will visit the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Wednesday, Nov. 11 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Agassi is promoting his much talked-about autobiography, Open, in stores today, in which he discloses major revelations about his personal and professional life, including his drug use during his playing career. The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Jude Brennan, Maria Pope and Rob Burnett are the executive producers.
Official CBS Web site: http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/
Next, ESPN announces that it and ESPNews will go all out to cover this Saturday’s Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight. It used to be a regular occurrence for ESPN to cover the big boxing bouts, but lately, it’s just been lip service. Nice to see the network giving some credence to this fight.
ESPNEWS & SportsCenter Coverage of Pacquiao – CottoESPNEWS and SportsCenter will provide weeklong coverage leading up to the much-anticipated welterweight title bout between Manny Pacquaio – the junior welterweight champ and the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to The Ring Magazine (49-3-2) – and WBO welterweight champ Miquel Cotto (34-1). Dan Rafael and Brian Kenny will share reporting duties with Jaime Motto appearing on ESPN Deportes’ SportsCenter. The coverage will culminate with extensive post-fight reporting late Saturday, Nov. 14.
- Coverage will commence tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 10, when both fighters arrive in Las Vegas.
- On Wednesday, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes will air live both fighter’s press conference at approximately 3 p.m. ET. Also, legendary boxing journalist/historian Bert Sugar will be interviewed on ESPNEWS at 6 p.m.
- On Thursday afternoon, each fighter will conduct a satellite interview tour with segments live on ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes.
- The weigh-in will air live Friday at 6:10 p.m. on SportsCenter, as well as the other two networks.
- Kenny and Rafael will report throughout Saturday, Nov. 14, the day of the fight, on SportsCenter and ESPNEWS, with Motto on ESPN Deportes’SportsCenter. Rafael will score the bout round by round on ESPNEWS, followed by 30-45 minutes of post-fight interviews, analysis, highlights and press conferences.
The 30-year-old southpaw Pacquiao, is tied with Oscar De La Hoya with titles at six different weight classes. He has won his last 10 fights as he continues to move up in weight class. He now challenges Cotto, 29, who began his career 32-0 before losing a controversial TKO to Antonio Magarito in July 2008.
The ESPN family of network tells us what’s on tap for motorsports this week.
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABCNASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Phoenix on ABC
Only two races remain in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and this weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 15. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage
of the race airs on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m.Also from Phoenix, ESPN2 airs coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m., as well as practice earlier that day at 2 p.m. In addition, coverage of final practice airs Saturday at 3 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
NHRA Championships to be Decided in Season Finale at Pomona
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series concludes its Countdown to 1 playoffs and season this weekend as the series visits Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., for the NHRA Finals. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action, with qualifying airing Saturday, Nov. 14, at 10:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations action airs Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.
The season concludes where it began with an event traditionally laced with drama. The historic racetrack typically enjoys seasonably cool temperatures that translate into perfect racing conditions and a spectacular, no-holds-barred battle for the prestigious NHRA Full Throttl
e Drag Racing Series world championships. Final standings in the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle world titles will be determined in the season’s final day.Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Phoenix on ESPN2ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Phoenix International Raceway. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 4:45 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham
in the ESPN pit studio.Evernham, Craven, Said on NASCAR Now RoundtableNASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Ricky Craven and Boris Said will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Friday of this week at 5 p.m. Massaro will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceeway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Angelique Chengelis will report from the speedway for both programs. .
NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
Golf Channel announces that the famous TPC Sawgrass course, the one with the island green on the 17th hole will be part of its Amateur Tour National Championships in 2010.
TPC Sawgrass to Headline 2010 GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour National Championships
ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 9, 2009 – The PGA TOUR’s famed TPC Sawgrass – home to the iconic “17th Island Green” and THE PLAYERS Championship each year on the PGA TOUR – will headline the roster of courses hosting the 2010 GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour National Championships, Sept. 21-29, 2010, in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Fla.
THE PLAYERS Stadium Course and neighboring Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, in addition to St. Johns Country Club and World Golf Village’s Slammer & Squire Course, will welcome the more than 1,200 expected participants for the concluding event for the 2010 GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour season. The Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa will serve as host resort and tournament headquarters.
“With the Florida coastline, historic St. Augustine and the World Golf Hall of Fame serving as backdrops, we look forward to providing a first-class experience for our Amateur Tour members and their families at the 2010 National Championships,” said Gene Pizzolato, GOLF CHANNEL chief revenue and marketing officer and COO, GOLF CHANNEL New Media Ventures.
THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most recognized courses in the world, featuring its signature 17th hole, a 132-yard par-3 with water surrounding the green. Dye’s Valley Course also will be the site of the recently announced Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open on the Nationwide Tour, scheduled for October, 2010. Located just north of St. Augustine, St. Johns Country Club is one of the top-rated courses in the area and hosted the first stage of the 2009 PG
A TOUR Qualifying Tournament in October. World Golf Village’s Slammer & Squire Course, designed by Hall of Fame members Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen, offers views of the World Golf Hall of Fame from several holes and is distinguished by memorable par-3’s, preserved woodlands and wetlands.“TPC Sawgrass is delighted that many of the top amateur golfers in the U.S. will have the unique opportunity to test their skills at the home of THE PLAYERS Championship,” said John Hugghins, the PGA TOUR’s senior vice president of TPC Operations. “We are privileged to serve as one of the host sites of this prestigious GOLF CHANNEL event, and look forward to providing competitors and their families with a truly memorable experience, on and off the course.”
The 2010 GOLF CHANNEL Amateur Tour season is underway at courses nationwide, with local tournaments currently taking place throughout the country. For complete information, visit www.GolfChannel.com/amateurtour.
And lastly, this comes from Friend of Fang’s Bites, Joe Favorito. I linked to a story from Richard Sandomir in the New York Times about this over the weekend. Here’s the official announcement that a Broadway play is in the works about the late Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.
TONY PONTURO AND FRAN KIRMSER ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION TO BRING THE LIFE OF LEGENDARY COACH VINCE LOMBARDI TO BROADWAY
“Lombardi,” based on the bestseller “When Pride Still Mattered” by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss, to tell the life story of Vince Lombardi, one of America’s Most Quoted and Legendary Personalities
New York, November 9, 2009 – Tony Ponturo, one of the most influential figures in sports and entertainment in the last 20 years and current head of Ponturo Management Group LLC., the New York based sports and entertainment management, investment and marketing company and the current producer of Broadway’s Memphis, and Fran Kirmser, a fixture in the arts and producer of the Tony Award Winning Musical Hair, today announced they have joined forces to bring the life story of Vince Lombardi to the stage in a dramatic production.
Lombardi, a new play written by playwright and Oscar winner (for the creation of the life story of radio legend Norman Corwin and member of the noted Steppenwolf Theater Company of Chicago) Eric Simonson, is based on the best-selling biography When Pride Still Mattered by Pulitzer Prize winning author (currently at work on the biography of President Barak Obama) David Maraniss. This original work will bring the audience into the life and times of one of America’s most inspirational and mercurial personalities, Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi.
“Sometimes we need to go back in our history, to learn lessons for today. Vince Lombardi’s name is on the Super Bowl trophy, but many young people do not know the story of this man.” Ponturo said. “In a time where people continue to look for the shortcuts to success, Vince Lombardi’s story teaches that hard work, discipline, respect and time are the elements needed to succeed. “’Lombardi’ expects to entertain those who love the stage with the classic tale of triumph by a very diverse and sometimes misunderstood soul, while also bringing in those who enjoy sports but never thought that such drama could be played out on the stage.”
Ponturo will team up with Kirmser, who backs projects in both non-profit and commercial realms, such as the work of great American playwright August Wilson. “Vince Lombardi — his inspiration, passion and ability to get people to achieve what they thought they couldn’t achieve — is more relevant now, in these challenged times, than ever before,” Kirmser said. “Sport produces great human drama, and there is no better dramatic character from sport to bring to life in theater than a man who overcame great obstacles to become a success and is always identified as one of America’s most inspirational leaders.”
Ponturo and Kirmser met while collaborating on the production of Hair, Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical.
“Vince Lombardi was not just a great coach, he was one of the most compelling individuals in American popular culture in the 20th Century. I am very pleased to bring the essence of my work and his life to Broadway in this play,” Maraniss added.
The play, with a multi-character cast, is scheduled in debut on Broadway in the fall of 2010. For more information on Lombardi log onto www.lombardibroadway.com
And that will do it for tonight.
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