Cubs, Astros Scheduled For Sept. 11 Edition Of ESPN’s ‘SNB’

Posted on August 31, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN will feature a cross-conference matchup for its September 11^th edition of Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell.

The Cubs and Astros will go under the lights on September 11^th on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell in a game with major playoff implications for at least one team. The Cubs (NL Central) currently sit alone atop the MLB rankings in both conferences at 84 – 47 while Houston (AL West) is 70 – 62, and sits seventh in the National League Standings. That means that Houston right now is struggling to remain in the hunt for the post season. So every single win and loss is big for the Astros.

Every win and loss is just as important for the Cubs as for the Astros, but for a different reason. In the case of Chicago, the team wants to keep its lead over its closest competition, the Texas Rangers. Texas, Houston’s cross-state (and divisional) rival, currently leads the American League with a record of 79 – 54. The Rangers also sit atop the American League West and are second overall in the MLB standings right now. They aren’t too far behind the Cubs. So every win and every loss for the Cubs is just as important for Chicago as for Houston as it works to remain atop the league standings.

No lineups or pitchers have been announced at this time for either team for the game, which will round out the teams’ three-game weekend series.

Dan Shulman will have the call for the game. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Aaron Boone and Jessica Mendoza. The game will be simulcast on TV, on the radio, and online via ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio and WatchESPN.

Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet will precede broadcast of the game beginning at 7pm ET with Karl Ravech at the helm. He will be joined at the desk by analyst Dallas Braden and ESPN MLB Insider Time Kurkjian.

More information on ESPN’s Sept. 11^th edition of Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBTN

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Royals, Red Sox Face Off In Series’ Rubber Match Tonight On ESPN’s ‘SNB’ Broadcast

Posted on August 28, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN rounds out another week of MLB coverage tonight with an American League matchup between the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox.

The conference foes face off tonight on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell in the rubber match between the teams in their three-game weekend series. The Royals took the series’ first game 6 – 3 and the Red Sox took game two 8 – 3. Yordano Ventura is expected to get the start for the Royals while Eduardo Rodriguez will take the mound for the Red Sox.

Ventura (9 – 9) has had a week off, last taking the mound on Aug. 23. He was credited with the win in the game against Miami. He was nearly perfect in his six innings on the mound, too allowing no runs, earned runs, or home runs on just six hits. He allowed just one walk and had six Ks.

Rodriguez (2 – 5) pitched four innings for the Red Sox in the team’s win over the Orioles on Aug.16. He also performed quite well in his short time on the mound, allowing no runs, hits, earned runs, or home runs. He allowed only two walks and had seven Ks in the game.

There is no clear favorite for tonight’s series closer between the Royals and Red Sox. Boston is 39 – 28 at home so far this season while the Royals are 27 – 41 on the road so far this season. However, Boston is 5 – 5 in its last 10 games versus Kansas City’s 8 – 2 record in its last 10 games. It has performed far better at home with a record of 40 – 21 so far. All things considered, tonight’s game can go either way.

Dan Shulman will have the call for tonight’s game on ESPN. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Aaron Boone and Jessica Mendoza for additional commentary. Reporter Buster Olney will be on hand for all of the latest in-game news and interviews. Anyone that won’t be near a TV for tonight’s game can still hear it on their local ESPN Radio affiliate beginning at 7pm ET. Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton will have the call for the broadcast.

Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet will precede tonight’s broadcast beginning at 7pm ET. Adnan Virk will anchor the broadcast. He will be joined at the desk by analysts Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden, and ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kukrjian.

More information on tonight’s game is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:

Website: http://epsn.go.com/mlb

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBTN

Red Sox, Royals Added To ESPN’s ‘SNB’ Broadcast Schedule

Posted on August 11, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

The Royals and Red Sox are going under the lights live on ESPN later this month.

The American League opponents will face off August 28^th on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell. The game will be the closer in the teams’ three-game weekend series. There is currently no word on either team’s rotation or who will take the mound on either side of the ball.

Dan Shulman will have the call for the game. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Aaron Boone and Jessica Mendoza for additional commentary. Reporter Buster Olney will be on hand for all of the game’s latest news and interviews. Coverage is expected to begin at 8pm ET. The inter-divisional matchup will be simulcast on TV, radio, and online via ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, and WatchESPN.

Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet will precede the broadcast, as it does each week, beginning at 7pm ET. Adnan Virk will anchor the broadcast. He will be joined at the desk by analyst Dallas Braden and ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian for additional commentary.

More information on the August 28^th edition of Sunday Nigh Baseball presented by Taco Bell is available online now at:

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBTN

ESPN Announces More On-Air Moves Ahead Of 2016 – ’17 NFL Season

Posted on July 27, 2016 by philspicks

ESPN is making even more moves in its on-air ranks as the 2016 – 2017 NFL season nears.

It was announced this week that NFL Nation’s Giants reporter Dan Graziano has now been named a National NFL Insider for ESPN. This means that he will have more on-air presence including appearances on NFL Insiders, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. Graziano’s first official day in the position was this past Friday, July 22^nd when he broke the story about Steelers’ star running back Le’Veon Bell’s upcoming four-game suspension. The punishment was put in place in reaction to Bell violating the leagues drug policy. Chad Millman, Vice President and Editorial Director of Domestic Digital content noted Graziano’s contributions to ESPN in discussing his new move. “Dan has been a strong reporter for us on so many platforms over the course of five years,” Millman said. “He consistently breaks stories on a national level and has an understanding of what’s happening across the entire league. This new role benefits our NFL team and, most importantly, our readers and viewers.” When he originally started out at ESPN in 2011, he served as an NFL East blogger. In 2013 he turned his focus specifically to the New York Giants as ESPN’s NFL Nation Network grew. He has also served as a contributor to ESPN’s NFL Insiders since its inception in 2013.

As Graziano moves upward in ESPN’s on-air ranks, he will be replaced in his previous position by Jordan Raanan. He was most recently the Giants reporter for NJ Advance Media. He boasts more than a decade of experience as he comes in to his new position. He also has covered the St. Louis Rams for ESPN for three seasons. On a related note, Nick Wagoner has been named the new San Francisco 49ers reporter for ESPN. More information on these and other moves being made by ESPN is available online now at:

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ESPNNFL

ESPN Announces August 14th ‘SNB’ Schedule

Posted on July 25, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN has announced the matchup for its August 14^th edition of Sunday Night Baseball.

The National League Central division will take center stage yet again on the August 14th when the Chicago Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals live in Chicago. The announcement comes as news from Chicago that Aroldis Chapman might be headed to the Windy City. There is no official confirmation on the deal at this time. However if the deal is finalized, the Yankees would receive four players—believed to be Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Adam Warren, and Rashad Crawford—in return for Chapman. The former Reds standout was traded to the Yankees during the offseason. However personal issues followed Chapman to New York leading to a 30-game suspension for the star pitcher at the start of this season. He was alleged to have been involved in a domestic violence incident back in October of 2015.

No pitchers have been named to start for the Cubs or Cardinals in the upcoming game. It is however, known that the game will be the closer in a three-game series between the NL Central opponents. After that both teams will have a chance to rest up before hitting the diamond yet again with the Cubs facing the Brewers in a double-header schedule on August 16^th. The Cardinals will take on the Astros the same day in the first of a short, two-game series. The second game in the series will be Wednesday, August 17^th. The Cubs’ double-header against the Brewers on the 16^th makes up the first two games of a four-game series between the teams.

Dan Shulman will have the call for the August 14^th matchup between the Cubs and Cardinals. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Aaron Boone and Jessica Mendoza for additional commentary. Reporter Buster Olney will also be on hand for all of the latest in-game news and interviews. Coverage of the game is currently scheduled to begin at 8pm ET. It will be preceded by Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet at 7pm ET. Karl Ravech will anchor the broadcast. He will be joined at the desk by analyst Dallas Braden and ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian. The upcoming showdown marks the fifth time this season that the Cardinals have appeared on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell and the fourth time for the Cubs. Those that won’t be near a television for the game can still catch the game on the radio and online. That is because the game will be simulcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, and WatchESPN.

More information on the upcoming NL Central showdown is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBTN

ESPN To Present Special MLB Double-Header On July 4th

Posted on July 3, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

Baseball is the great American past time. So it is just fitting that on America’s birthday, the nation’s leading sports network will help celebrate the nation’s birthday with a special double-header MLB broadcast.

ESPN opens Monday’s double-header schedule at 4pm with a National League West divisional matchup between Colorado and San Francisco. The game will be the opener in a three-game series between the teams. There is no word at this time on who will take the mound for the Giants, who will play host to Colorado for the length of the series. Right now Tyler Anderson is expected to get the start for Colorado. Anderson is winless so far in his starts with Colorado. His last time on the mound was June 29^th against Toronto. Toronto won that game 5- 3 with Anderson taking the loss. He allowed 3 runs on 8 hits over 6.1 innings in that game. He only struck out 6 of the 27 batters that he faced, allowing 2 walks, 2 earned runs, and 1 home run along the way, too. The odds look to be in the Giants’ favor for Monday’s game when one looks at the teams’ numbers. San Francisco currently sits atop the NL West at 51 – 32 so far on the season. Its record also makes it one of the top teams in the league heading into the All-Star Break. Its home record so far this season is 24 – 16 versus Colorado’s current road record of 19 – 23. Dave Flemming will have the call for Monday’s game. He will be joined in the booth by Rick Sutcliffe and Eduardo Perez for additional commentary for the game.

The second game on ESPN’s July 4^th double-header pits the Tigers against the Indians in their own divisional showdown beginning at 7pm ET. The teams Cleveland will play host to the Tigers in the first game of a three-game series between the AL Central opponents. Cleveland currently sits atop the divisional standings while Detroit trails a distant six and a half games back in third. Detroit has struggled on the road so far this season, sitting currently at 20 – 22 in its road record. Cleveland meanwhile is 23 – 12 at home so far this season. On a side note the Indians have been just as successful so far this season on the road, sitting at 26 – 19 so far in that record. The team is 9 – 1 in its last ten games. There is no word on who will take the mound for Cleveland in Monday night’s game. Detroit has Daniel Norris currently listed to take the mound for the series’ opener. The 23 year-old doesn’t have a lot of experience yet this season. He is only 1 – 0 so far on the season. So Monday’s game would be a chance for him to really make a big impact on a national stage. His last time on the mound was June 29^th against Miami. He was credited with the win in that game, having pitched five innings. He had a relatively good game allowed over that time, too, allowing a total of 8 hits but only 2 runs. He also struck out 8 of the 24 batters that he faced while allowing only 2 earned runs, 1 walk and no home runs. By comparison, Miami’s Tom Koehler struggled over the course of his 3 innings on the mound. He allowed 5 runs on 8 hits, 5 earned runs, 1 walk, and only struck out 2 of 19 batters that he faced. Considering that, Norris had an impressive outing, giving him plenty of motivation for Monday night’s game. Adnan Virk will have the call for Monday night’s game. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Dallas Braden and Tim Kurkjian. Monday’s double-header will be followed up by Baseball Tonight at 10pm on ESPN. Those that won’t be near a TV for Monday’s double-header schedule can still catch both games online via WatchESPN.

On a related note, ESPN Radio will carry the Orioles an Dodgers at 8pm in a cross-conference game. Roxy Bernstein and Raul Ibanez will have the call for the game. More information on Monday’s MLB broadcast schedule is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBTN

Craig Sager To Make Special Appearance At ABC’s NBA Finals Game 6 Broadcast

Posted on June 15, 2016 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ABC’s broadcast team is going to have a special guest Thursday night when it broadcasts Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

Turner Sports sideline reporter Craig Sager will join the team of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Doris Burke in Thursday night’s broadcast. The special one-night-only appearance will see Sager join Burke courtside throughout the game’s broadcast on ABC. This is a very special one-night-only appearance for Sager alongside Burke and company, who are normally competition to Turner Sports.

Sager has released a statement noting his honor at being invited to join Breem and company for Thursday night’s broadcast and his intent to add to the broadcast, not distract from it. “I’d like to thank Turner and ESPN for approaching me with this tremendous opportunity to be part of The Finals broadcast team,” he said. “I’ve been watching the series very closely and, while I do not want to distract in any way from the event itself, I look forward to being in the building for what will be an incredibly exciting Game 6. The NBA community is a very special one and this is a great honor.”

John Wildhack is ESPN Executive Vice President of Production and programming. He espoused Sager’s reputation as an NBA broadcaster in bringing him in for the broadcast in his own statement. “Craig is an iconic member of the NBA family who indelibly makes his mark on each and every broadcast. I know our entire team is delighted to work with Craig for Game 6. We all agree his professional reputation is second-to-none, though it’s his personal reputation – that of class, selflessness and respect – which makes this even more special for our team. We hope that this will be a special night for Craig and for NBA fans.” Wildhack was also certain to note Sager’s interest in the opportunity for bringing him on board for the broadcast as well as his [Wildhack’s] respect for those at Turner Sports in arranging Sager’s appearance. “We are grateful for his interest and for the continued collaboration with our friends at Turner.”

Sager has worked with Turner Sports for 34 years. He joined the company in 1982. This summer he will be honored with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at The 2016 ESPYS presented by Capital One on ABC. ESPN’s annual awards broadcast, it is scheduled to air Wednesday, July 13^th on ABC. Sager was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014.

Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals will be available on television on ABC and ESPN Deportes, on radio via ESPN Radio, and online via WatchESPN. Coverage begins at 8:30pm ET with NBA Countdown on ABC. More information on this new announcement is available online now along with all of the latest NBA headlines at:

Website: http://espn.go.om

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/espnnba

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Tag Archives: ESPN Radio

Cubs, Astros Scheduled For Sept. 11 Edition Of ESPN’s ‘SNB’

Royals, Red Sox Face Off In Series’ Rubber Match Tonight On ESPN’s ‘SNB’ Broadcast

Red Sox, Royals Added To ESPN’s ‘SNB’ Broadcast Schedule

ESPN Announces More On-Air Moves Ahead Of 2016 – ’17 NFL Season

ESPN Announces August 14th ‘SNB’ Schedule

ESPN To Present Special MLB Double-Header On July 4th

Craig Sager To Make Special Appearance At ABC’s NBA Finals Game 6 Broadcast