Two Hockey Press Releases

I am in entertaining mode with the family as relatives are over, but I’ve sneaked away long enough to post a couple of press releases here. Tomorrow, I’ll continue last Sunday’s Videos of the Week which focused on Best Sports TV Themes. Right now, two more releases, this time on the NHL and the upcoming Conference Finals which both begin on Sunday.

First, NBC kicks off our Sunday with coverage of the Western Conference Finals live from San Jose, the network’s first broadcast west of Chicago in two years.

NO. 1 MEETS NO. 2 WHEN SAN JOSE HOSTS CHICAGO IN GAME 1 OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL SUNDAY ON NBC SPORTS

  
“It’s going to be a spectacular watch. There’s some serious firepower on both sides.” – NBC Sports’ Pierre McGuire

NEW YORK – May, 14, 2010 – The No. 1 seed San Jose Sharks will host the No. 2 seed Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports.

Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action . McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC’s studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury.

The Sharks finished the regular season first in the Western Conference with 113 points, but Chicago was only one point behind with 112 and registered more wins (52) than San Jose (51). The Blackhawks won the season series, 3-1. The teams have never met in the playoffs.

MC GUIRE: “There is so much skill and speed involved in this series. It’s going to be a spectacular watch. There’s some serious firepower on both sides. It’s going to be like a come-to-the-skills party. But most of these skills players also play physical. It’s really going to be something special to watch.”

This is San Jose’s first appearance on NBC Sports this season. Chicago is 2-2, including three games that went into overtime.

NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com’s “Star-cam” continues in the playoffs. “Star-cam” tracks a player(s) from both teams throughout each of their shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present bonus material, including “Star-cam” and “Net-cam” and bonus analysis from NBC Sports commentators. 

And we have a Versus press release after the break.

NHL PLAYOFFS EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL BEGINS ON VERSUS SUNDAY, MAY 16, WITH EXCLUSIVE GAME 1 COVERAGE OF THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS/MONTREAL CANADIENS SERIES AT 7 PM ET

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 15, 2010)-VERSUS, the fastest growing sports cable network in the country, continues its coverage of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Conference Finals begin on Sunday, May 16.  VERSUS begins it exclusive third-round coverage with Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Final between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET.  The network's coverage continues on Tuesday, May 18, with a double header featuring Game 2 in the Flyers/Canadiens series at 7 p.m. ET followed by the second game in the Blackhawks/Sharks series at 10 p.m. ET.   

VERSUS' coverage of the Conference Finals is exclusive and not subject to any local blackouts.  Joe Beninati, Daryl Reaugh and Bob Harwood will serve as the in-arena announce team for the Eastern Conference Final games and Mike 'Doc' Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Charissa Thompson call the action for all the Western Conference Final games.  

During each NHL season, VERSUS always seeks to institute new production enhancements to provide an even better viewing experience for fans. At the start of this year's Playoffs, VERSUS debuted Liberovision technology-a cutting-edge analysis tool that creates unique perspectives and the ability to rotate the image 360 degrees to get a better view of how the play developed. To further enhance the viewer experience in the third round, VERSUS will add extra HD cameras in the arenas to provide additional viewing angles and will also unveil a hi-motion super slow motion camera to allow for greater in-game analysis. VERSUS' third-round coverage will also feature in-depth player profiles so that viewers can learn more about the on- and off-ice personalities of the Conference Final competitors.  

VERSUS.com is the online destination for extensive information about the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Throughout the remainder of the postseason, fans will continue to have access to editorial coverage from some of the most knowledgeable hockey sources; exclusive videos and interviews as well as daily highlights from all of VERSUS' games; polls and quizzes; an interactive community section where fans can post videos and photos and join or start message boards; AccuScore game projections; and live gamecasts and scoreboards for every game.  The network's recently launched hockey application on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry Storm is the ideal way for viewers to access up-to-date statistical information, expert editorial analysis and videos on the go for the Playoffs. 

VERSUS' Conference Final schedule follows (All times ET, subject to change): 

Sunday, May 16 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Philadelphia, Game 1, Eastern

Tuesday, May 18 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Philadelphia, Game 2, Eastern

Tuesday, May 18 - 10 p.m., Chicago at San Jose, Game 2, Western

Thursday, May 20 - 7 p.m., Philadelphia at Montreal, Game 3, Eastern

Friday, May 21 - 8 p.m., San Jose at Chicago, Game 3, Western
Monday, May 24 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Philadelphia, Game 5*, Eastern

Tuesday, May 25 - 9 p.m., Chicago at San Jose, Game 5*, Western

Wednesday, May 26 - 7 p.m., Philadelphia at Montreal, Game 6*, Eastern

Thursday, May 27 - 8 p.m., San Jose at Chicago, Game 6*, Western

Friday, May 28 - 7 p.m., Montreal at Philadelphia, Game 7*, Eastern

Saturday, May 29 - 8 p.m., Chicago at San Jose, Game 7*, Western

Games with (*) are if necessary as best of seven series may be over