The Weekend Programming Press Releases

My grand plans to post press releases during the early morning hours fell by the wayside when I fell asleep with the computer on. I woke up around 4 this morning to shut everything off. Not a good way to fall asleep with the computer and glasses on.

Anyway, here are the releases I was supposed to post this morning.

First, ESPN will air the All-America High School Football Game today.

ESPN to Televise Third Annual All-America High School Football Game at Tropicana Field on Jan. 2

The third annual All-America High School Football Game, organized by ESPN and Intersport, will be played on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. The annual all-star competition, featuring 89 of the top high school football seniors in the nation, will air on ESPN at 11 a.m. ET. The telecast will also be available in high definition on ESPN HD and on ESPN’s broadband sports network, ESPN360.com. Justin Kutcher (play-by-play announcer), Tom Luginbill (National Recruiting Director for ESPN Scouts, Inc.) and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter) will call the action from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.  

ESPN’s telecast will also include a special halftime performance by CTE/Def Jam and double-platinum recording artist Young Jeezy.

In addition, several players are expected to announce their college decisions during the game: No. 9 Darius White, WR (Dunbar HS, Ft. Worth, Texas); No. 12 Chris Dunkley, WR (Pahokee HS, Pahokee, Fla.); No. 42 John Fulton, CB (Manning HS, Manning, S.C.); No. 93 Kenny Shaw, WR (Dr. Phillips HS, Orlando, Fla.); and No. 120 Toney Hurd, Jr., CB (Thurgood Marshall HS, Missouri City, Texas).  White is considering Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Florida and LSU; Dunkley – Georgia, Florida and Alabama; Fulton – Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and LSU; Shaw – Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina; Hurd – Oregon, California, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Of the 89 players selected by ESPN Scouts, Inc. to participate in the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game, 60 are ranked in the ESPNU 150 player rankings.  Team Blur (white jersey) will include St. Thomas Aquinas School (Miami, Fla.) cornerback No. 5 Lamarcus Joyner; Treasure Coast’s (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) No. 6 Jeff Luc, ILB; No. 7 Michael Dyer, RB of Little Rock Christian (Little Rocky, Ark.); Tulsa Central’s (Tulsa, Okla.) No. 18 Demarco Cobbs, ATH; Booker T. Washington’s (Atlanta, Ga.); No. 24 Antonio Goodwin, ATH; No. 49 Corey Miller, DE of James Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.); and Bishop Carroll’s (Wichita, Kan.) No. 64 Blake Bell, QB.  Team Nitro (black jersey) will feature No. 2 Jordan Hicks, OLB of Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio); No. 8 Jonathan Dowling, S of Southeast (Bradenton, Fla.); Dunbar Senior’s (Ft. Worth, Texas) No. 9 Darius White, WR; No. 11 Demar Dorsey, S of Boyd Anderson ( Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); John H. Guyer’s (Denton, Texas) No. 14 Taylor Bible, DT; No. 17 Mack Brown, RB of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Lithonia, Ga.); and No. 21 Storm Johnson, RB of Loganville HS (Loganville, Ga.). Florida leads with the most players (19), followed by Texas (15), Georgia (13), California (7) and Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama with four. There will be 26 states represented in the game. Complete rosters for Team Blur and Team Nitro.

  

Former NFL head coaches Ted Marchibroda and Sam Wyche will serve as the head coaches. Marchibroda will coach of Team Blur, while Wyche will coach Team Nitro. Both coaching staffs, selected by ESPN Scouts, Inc., will consist of former NFL coaches acting as offensive and defensive coordinators, with support from 19 high school coaches who have players participating in the game.

And NBC has your weekend stuff including figure skating.

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST KRISTI YAMAGUCHI HOSTS SMUCKER’S STARS ON ICE THIS SUNDAY ON NBC

World’s Greatest Figure Skaters Share History of the
Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour and Take A Sneak Peek At the 2010 Cast

NEW YORK - December 30, 2009- Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi will host the Smucker’s Stars on Ice 2010 Tour special this Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.  The Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour, founded by skating icon and Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton, boasts an illustrious 24-year history featuring the biggest names in the sport. Viewers will receive a special behind the scenes look at this world-famous Tour, including a review of its history, a collection of performances by star skaters and, most importantly, a sneak peek at the 2010 stellar cast.

The two-hour broadcast will provide first-hand commentary from skating greats Scott Hamilton, Rosalynn Sumners, Brian Orser, Kurt Browning, Paul Wylie plus prospective 2010 Vancouver Olympians Evan Lysacek, Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto, and more.

LUCAS OIL OFF-ROAD RACING, SATURDAY, 2:30 PM ET
NBC Sports presents taped coverage of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series is the evolution of the long-standing support of short course racing by Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil. This weekend’s coverage features all-star off -road truck racing from Lake Elsinore, Calif. for the most prize money in any off-road racing competition in history.

Coverage highlights a very unique competition comprised of two races. The format of this event will be dramatically different for many drivers, as there will be two shootout races held, the first between the Unlimited 2s and the Unlimited 4s, and the second between the Unlimited Lites and the Unlim ited Buggies. It has been years since Unlimited Lites and Buggies have competed in the same race.

Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, and Robert Stout will call the action.

And that’s it.