Bengals Go Prime Time For The First Time This Season In Week 10 Closer

Courtesy:  ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN will feature an AFC match-up Monday night as the worldwide leader in sports closes out week ten in the NFL.

Next week on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Houston Texans. Houston (3 – 5) has struggled this season despite sitting second in the AFC behind the 4 – 5 Indianapolis Colts. Houston has gone 2 – 3 in its last five games but won its last game against the Titans 20 – 6 in week nine. On the other side of the coin, Cincinnati is one of only three undefeated teams left in the league this season, sitting at 8 – 0. However, Cincinnati’s prime time record has been a point of contention for the team in recent years. That means that Monday’s match against Houston will be a big one for Andy Dalton and company. It will be just the first of now four total night games that the team will play this season, which adds even more importance to the game.

Kickoff for Monday night’s game is set for 8:15pm ET. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will be in the booth for the call. Lisa Salters will also be on hand for additional commentary and all of the latest in-game news. Ahead of the game, Chris Berman and Suzy Kolber will co-host the network’s weekly pre-game show Monday Night Countdown. Broadcast begins at 6pm. Kolber will be joined by Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, and Steve Young live on site in Cincinnati. Berman will be live at ESPN’s studios. He will be joined by NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, and Keyshawn Johnson.

Those fans that won’t be near a television Monday night can catch the game live online via WatchESPN. ESPN will also simulcast the game on ESPN Deportes for its Spanish-speaking audiences. More information on next week’s edition of MNF is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

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

Panthers Look To Stay Perfect Monday Night On ESPN’s MNF Broadcast

Courtesy:  ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

Before the 2015 – 2016 NFL season kicked off, very few of the major talking heads out there had much faith in the Carolina Panthers. Many felt that the Panthers would even come close to the playoffs. Now almost halfway through the regular season, Carolina sits undefeated at 6 – 0. Now next Monday, Cam Newton and company will look to stay undefeated as they go under the lights to take on Andrew Luck and the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts.

Next Monday night, ESPN’s Monday Night Football will broadcast live from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte as Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers host Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. The 3 – 4 Colts lead the AFC South and have gone 3-2 in their last five games while the Panthers have not yet been taken down. It is one of five teams that currently sit undefeated this far into the season. This means that it will have plenty to play for Monday Night when the Colts come into Charlotte. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will be in the booth for the call. Lisa Salters will also be on hand for additional commentary and news throughout the game.

Ahead of Monday’s game, Chris Berman and Suzy Kolber will co-host ESPN’s weekly pre-game broadcast of Monday Night Countdown beginning at 6pm ET. Berman will be live in ESPN’s studios alongside NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, and ESPN Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, and Steve Young will join Suzy Kolber live from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.  Those not near a TV Monday night can still catch the game online via WatchESPN.  The game will also be simulcast on ESPN Deportes for the network’s Spanish-speaking audiences.  More information on Monday night’s broadcast of Monday Night Football is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

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

Jon Gruden’s Quarterback Camp Returns This Spring

Courtesy:  ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

Jon Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” will return this Spring.

Gruden’s series of SportsCenter specials will return this spring for its fifth season.  Gruden mentors a handful of college football’s top quarterbacks in the series, as they prepare to take the next step in their careers.  This year’s installment of Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” will see nine of college football’s top quarterback prospects.  Those names include the likes of 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, two-time BCS National Champion A.J. McCarron of Alabama, and Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville.  The complete list of this year’s “QB Camp” participants is noted below.

2014 Gruden’s QB Camp participants:

Quarterback

School

Blake Bortles

Central Florida

Tajh Boyd

Clemson

Teddy Bridgewater

Louisville

Derek Carr

Fresno

Jimmy Garoppolo

Eastern Illinois

Jordan Lynch

Northern Illinois

A.J. McCarron

Alabama

Johnny Manziel

Texas A&M

Aaron Murray

Georgia

 

Gruden prepares a specialized lesson plan of sorts for each of the participants in his “QB Camp.”  Through his specialized plan, he points out to each prospect, a balanced look at both their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to see where they need to improve in order to be successful NFL talent.  Over the past four seasons of his “QB Camp” Gruden has mentored no fewer than twenty-nine quarterbacks from twenty-seven schools.  Fourteen of those QBs went on to be NFL regular season starters.  Among the names that Gruden has mentored through his series are: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and current NFL Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson, of the Seattle Seahawks.

Gruden’s “QB Camp” moves this year to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Arena at Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando.  It replaces Gruden’s Tampa office, where the “QB Camp” was previously held.  The new set will replicate his Tampa office, playfully dubbed the “Fired Football Coaches Association.”  The 220-acre facility also includes athletic fields, which will be used for quarterback workouts.

More information on Jon Gruden’s “Quarterback Camp” and all things NFL is available online now at http://espn.go.com/nfl and http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.