Six Big Ten Games Scheduled For Prime Time On ESPN Family Of Networks

Posted on April 30, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

The upcoming college football season is still months away. But that doesn’t mean things have slowed down from the world of NCAA football. ESPN has announced that it will run six Big Ten Conference games in prime time during the upcoming season. The games will be run on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC over the course of the season. Each of the six scheduled games includes at least one ranked team in an early ESPN.com preseason Top 25 Poll. No. 1 Ohio State will play three times across the ESPN family of networks. No. 9 Michigan will have two televised games in the schedule. No. 24 and 25, Northwestern and Wisconsin will each have one game aired. Two of the six games on the schedule will see a Big Ten member team hosting independent Notre Dame, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the ESPN.com preseason Top 25 poll. More games will be announced in the coming months. The current slate of scheduled games is available below.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, Sep 7	8p.m.	No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 9 Michigan *	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Sep 14	8 p.m.	No. 10 Notre Dame at Purdue	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Sep 28	8p.m.	No. 25 Wisconsin at No. 1 Ohio State	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 5	8p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State at No. 24 Northwestern	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 12	5p.m.	No. 9 Michigan at Penn State	ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Oct 26	8p.m.	Penn State at No. 1 Ohio State	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

* Previously Announced

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ESPN Releases 2013 NFL Draft Coverage Details

Posted on April 12, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

It’s that time of year again. Universities across the country are showing off their teams’ talents for the upcoming season of college football later in the year with Spring games. Just as the new crop of college players are on display, the next crop of future NFL stars is preparing to make a splash at the annual NFL Draft. The draft kicks off Thursday, April 25^th and runs through Saturday, April 27^th. And ESPN will be on hand for all the coverage of this year’s draft. The first two nights of the draft will air in primetime. And for the second consecutive year, Round One’s first hour of coverage will air with limited commercial interruption.

Chris Berman will be on hand for the 2013 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light. This year marks the thirty-third year of coverage for Berman. He will host ESPN’s draft coverage live from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. He will be joined by analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. and Monday Night Football analyst and Superbowl-winning coach Jon Gruden on set. This year’s draft marks the thirtieth year of covering the draft for Mel Kiper, Jr. Senior NFL Insider Chris Mortensen and NFL Insider Adam Schefter will be on hand at another set live at Radio City Music Hall. And NFL32 host Suzy Kolber will be on hand providing interviews with draft prospects.

Trey Wingo takes over as main his on Day 2 & 3 of the NFL Draft. He will be joined by Trent Dilfer, Mel Kiper, Jr., and ESPN Scouts, Inc. director of scouting Todd McShay. Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen will also both be back. They will be joined by Six-time NFL Executive of the Year Bill Polian. Suzy Kolber will be back broadcasting live on Saturday from Bristol, Connecticut, hosting ten hours of coverage. She will be joined by analysts Tedy Bruschi, Herm Edwards, and Ron Jaworski. It all begins Saturday, April 26^th with SportsCenter Special: On The Clock at 10am/9am CT.

ESPN will have reporters and correspondents coming to audiences live from team sites and more throughout the weekend, including on the radio on ESPN Radio affiliates across the country. Josina Anderson will report live from the St. Louis Rams’ team site. Colleen Dominguez will have reports from the San Francisco 49ers team site. Sal Paolantonio will be on hand in Philadelphia with reports from the Eagles. And Ed Werder will be live from Kansas City with reports on the latest from the Chiefs.

Mike Hill and three-time Superbowl Champion Mark Schlereth—co-hosts of ESPN’s Hill and Schlereth—will host ESPN Radio’s NFL Draft 2013 presented by Bud Light on Thursday and Friday, April 25^th and 26^th. ESPN.com Senior NFL writer John Clayton will join Hill and Schlereth for their broadcast. ESPN Radio’s coverage begins Thursday, April 25^th at 7pm and Friday, April 26^th at 6pm.

Leading up to this year’s NFL Draft, ESPN will air SportsCenter Special: On The Clock shows, hosted by a number of ESPN’s top studio analysts. Among those analysts joining fans for this year’s SportsCenter Special: On The Clock will be: Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Tom Jackson, Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson, Bill Polian, and Steve Young from Bristol. Trey Wingo will host SportsCenter Special: On The Clock on Thursday, April 25^th at 5pm. Wendi Nix will host the special on Friday, April 26^th. And Suzy Kolber will have hosting duties on Saturday, April 27^th.

A full schedule of this year’s NFL Draft coverage on ESPN and the ESPN family of networks is available below.

ESPN NFL Draft TV schedule (Apr. 25-27):

Date	Time (ET)	Show	Network
Thurs., April 25	3-4 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: On the Clock	ESPN
	4-5 p.m.	NFL Live Presented by HTC One	ESPN
	5-7:30 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: On the Clock	ESPN
	7:30-8 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown Presented by iShares by Black Rock	ESPN
	8-11:30 p.m.	*NFL Draft Presented by Bud Light* (Round 1)**	ESPN
Fri., April 26	3-4 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: On the Clock	ESPN
	4-5 p.m.	NFL Live Presented by HTC One	ESPN
	5-5:30 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: On the Clock
	5:30-6:30 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown Presented by iShares by Black Rock	ESPN
	6:30-10:30 p.m.	*NFL Draft Presented by Bud Light* (Rounds 2-3)**	ESPN/ESPN2
Sat., April 27	10-11:30 a.m.	SportsCenter Special: On the Clock	ESPN
	11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown Presented by iShares by Black Rock	ESPN
	12-8 p.m.	*NFL Draft Presented by Bud Light* (Rounds 4-7)**	ESPN
Sun., April 28	1-3 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: NFL Draft Grades	ESPN

Undefeated A Championship Contender Among Sports Documentaries

Posted on March 5, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: The Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay Entertainment

With a name like Undefeated, one would think that The Weinstein Company’s new sports documentary would be like so many other tear-jerker sports documentaries and sports-centric big screen dramas that have been created throughout Hollywood’s modern era. But the reality of Undefeated is that while it does bare some semblance to other fictitious football dramas and sports documentaries, this documentary stand out in that it is actually less about football than it is about the struggle of a group of young men to overcome the challenges of their surroundings and escape those environs. It just so happens that the main means of escaping all of that is through football.

What is most impressive about Undefeated is that while it is a documentary film, the progression of the story makes it feel just like it was a scripted work. That’s thanks to equally solid editing and cinematography. Rather than simply being another par for course documentary, what audiences get in this program is more of a fly on the wall point of view. There is no interaction with the camera throughout the story. And the first person testimonials of sorts are kept to an extreme minimum. Yes, there are times when audiences are offered Courtney’s personal thoughts on his journey with his players. But those “testimonials” are more along the lines of voice-overs than someone sitting in front of the camera, talking to viewers. That angle gives the story an extra amount of emotional depth. That depth will pull viewers in even more and keep them engaged throughout the course of the story’s near two-hour run time. And in being so emotionally invested in the story, no viewer will be left dry-eyed by its final moments. Even the strongest of male audiences will be moved by the story’s final closure and its epilogue included in the end credits. And that’s okay. That emotional openness just shows character, which as coach Courtney notes is revealed through football.

The shooting and the editing go a long way toward making Undefeated a moving story for all audiences. But what would the shooting be without the story itself? Yes, it bears some semblance to so many big budget sports based dramas. But as audiences will see in this story, it is its own original story. For starters, Coach Courtney (who looks a little bit like comedian Louie Anderson) isn’t one of Hollywood’s beautiful people. He is an ordinary person who leads this group of roughnecks for absolutely no pay. He is a volunteer coach. How often have audiences ever seen such a story on the big screen? And he shows his love and respect for the young men he leads not by some script loaded with flourishing soliloquies and moments of epiphany. Rather, he shows them a mix of tough love and respect. That mix is used as many of these young men have no male role model in their lives. This is very much a reality in everyday life. Courtney himself admits to having grown up without a father. That makes his determination to make these young men into respectable individuals and athletes that much stronger. And it’s because of this that audiences will easily find themselves rooting both for Courtney and for the group of young men whom he leads into battle every Friday night on the high school gridiron.

Those on-field battles help key players O.C., Money, and Chavis become better. They also help the whole team become a stronger unit and become one of the best teams that Manassas has ever had. Of course it all leads up to a rather unexpected ending, which won’t be revealed here. But even with that ending, it is the personal wins of O.C., Money, and Chavis and the entire team that makes the title of this documentary so fitting. It’s that understanding that leaves Undefeated a rare touchdown of a sports documentary that audiences will want to watch over and over again.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN Announces New Signing Day Details

Posted on February 4, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPNU has announced that it will now offer more than eleven hours of coverage this Wednesday for National Signing Day. The coverage will include a record number of on-air commitments including that of the nation’s top recruit, Robert Nkemdiche. The coverage begins at 7:30am on ESPNU. It will include the announcement of seventeen total players from the ESPN 150 to the college of their choice. The network will be embedded with thirteen of the nation’s best college football teams getting interviews with each team’s coaching staff and providing the most up-to-the-minute news on each incoming freshman class. Along with the already extensive programming set to run Wednesday, ESPN’s RecruitingNation.com will have reporters set up at fourteen different high schools across the country providing all the latest news from those locations.

The day’s coverage will be hosted live by Rece Davis and Dari Nowkah at ESPN’s Charlotte, North Carolina studio. ESPN’s national recruiting director Tom Luginbill and recruiting analyst Craig Haubert will also join the in-studio discussions alongside football analysts Mike Bellotti and Rod Gilmore. As an added bonus for ESPNU viewers former Auburn coach Gene Chizik and former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley will also be on hand as special guests. Audiences can get even more details on National signing day online through ESPN at http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2013/01/espnu-expands-national-signing-day-presence-for-the-eighth-consecutive-year/.

Below is a list of the players on the ESPN 150 list set to announce their college decision Wednesday. Announcement times are all EST and are subject to change.

Time (ET)	Player	Final Schools
7:30 a.m.	No. 1 Robert Nkemdiche (DE)	Florida, LSU, Ole Miss
9 a.m.	No. 6 Matthew Thomas (OLB)	Alabama, FSU, Georgia, Miami, USC
	No. 144 Denver Kirkland (OT)	Arkansas, FSU
	No. 5 Laremy Tunsil (OT)	Alabama, FSU, Georgia, Ole Miss
	No. 13 Montravius Adams (DT)	Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia
10 a.m.	No. 50 Vonn Bell (Safety)	Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee
	No. 107 Jordan Cunningham (WR)	Miami, Stanford, Vanderbilt
	No. 24 Antonio Conner (Safety)	Alabama, Ole Miss
11 a.m.	No. 47 Stacy Coley (WR)	FSU, Miami, Ole Miss, South Florida
	No. 4 Mackensie Alexander (CB)	Auburn, Clemson, Mississippi State, Texas A&M
Noon	No. 26 Dee Liner (DT)	Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU
	No. 99 Quinton Powell (OLB)	Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, USC
	No. 143 Asiantii Woulard (QB-DT)	Kentucky, NC State, UCLA, South Florida
1 p.m.	No. 135 Keith Bryant	FSU, Miami, South Carolina
2 p.m.	No. 138 Jermaine Grace	Louisville, Miami, Tennessee
3 p.m.	No 32 Alvin Kamara (RB)	Alabama, Georgia
4 p.m.	No. 125 Tyrone Crowder (OG)	Clemson, Georgia

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN Winding Down Latest Group Of 30 For 30 Films

Posted on October 29, 2012 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN is wrapping up its latest group of films in its 30 for 30 series. The network will air the penultimate episode from this installment of the series tomorrow night, October 30^th. Ghosts of Ole Miss will air tomorrow night at 8pm EST on ESPN/ESPN HD. The film focuses on the racial tensions on the campus of Ole Miss as James Meredith was set to become the university’s first ever African American student in the fall of 1962. The impact of Meredith’s acceptance into the university reverberated all the way to the nation’s capital and then president John F. Kennedy.

Along with becoming the university’s first African American student, Meredith also joined the university’s football team. The team would go on to one of its best seasons in team history. That success would play directly into the overall racial tensions at the university. Meredith himself is interviewed for tomorrow night’s feature, along with a number of others. The interviews culled for this feature put everything into perspective and lead Ghost of Ole Miss to really hit home.

As with ESPN’s previous 30 for 30 features, this one will also be accompanied by a short in the 30 for 30 Shorts collection. This time, the bonus short–presented by ESPN and grantland.com—focuses on author Alfred Slote’s book, Jake. Jake is a children’s book about a young African American boy with the dream of one day being a big league baseball star. Slote himself is interviewed in the new 30 for 30 short. A bonus article written by Bill Simmons joins the feature. Simmons and friend Jonathan Hock worked together for the complete feature. Audiences can check out that feature now online at http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8538119/jake.

For all updates on ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, audiences can go online to espn.com/30for30, http://www.facebook.com/espn30for30, or http://twitter.com/30for30. The final installment in this group of films in ESPN’s 30 for 30 series is titled, You Don’t Know Bo. It will air on ESPN/ESPN HD on Saturday, December 8th at 9pm.

ESPNU Airing New “Storied” Special Next Week

Posted on September 20, 2012 by philspicks

ESPNU is presenting a very special presentation next Tuesday, September 25^thas part of ESPN’s “Storied” series. The network will premiere the special, “Croom” next Tuesday night at 7pm EST.

“Croom” focuses on famed Mississippi State University coach Sylvester Croom. He’s seen some very high and some low points. Croom was part of three SEC Championship teams as a student athlete at the University of Alabama. He was also the first ever African American Center on the football team. Croom moved on to the NFL after his college career, where he served as an assistant coach for seventeen years before being considered for the head football coach of his alma mater. Ultimately, he would be beaten out by Mike Shula. It would be a year later when Croom took the helm of the embattled Mississippi State football program. Three straight winning seasons and back to back wins against the Crimson Tide in ’06 and ’07 along with a Liberty Bowl win and Coach of The Year honors would seemingly secure his place at Mississippi State. But that wouldn’t be the case, as he was surprisingly asked to step down from his post after the season that followed.

Croom showed that despite being asked to step down from his coaching position, he wouldn’t let that adversity keep him down. He returned to the NFL and now serves as part of the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff.

This powerful story of success over great odds and adversity is perfect for any college football fan. It airs on ESPNU next Tuesday night at 7pm EST.

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Tag Archives: college football

Six Big Ten Games Scheduled For Prime Time On ESPN Family Of Networks

ESPN Releases 2013 NFL Draft Coverage Details

Undefeated A Championship Contender Among Sports Documentaries

ESPN Announces New Signing Day Details

ESPN Winding Down Latest Group Of 30 For 30 Films

ESPNU Airing New “Storied” Special Next Week

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