ESPN Announces Details For 2015, 2016 Armed Forces Classic

Courtesy: ESPN

The NCAA has officially released the details for the 2015 and 2016 Armed Forces Classic.

The NCAA announced the teams, locations and dates for the 2015 and 2016 Armed Forces Classic today.  Today’s announcement revealed that next year’s Armed Forces Classic–a matchup of two NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball teams that is held on a rotating list of military bases around the world each year—will see powerhouses Gonzaga and Pittsburgh face off against each other aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Snedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan.  That game is scheduled to be played on Friday, November 13^th, 2015.  The teams’ matchup will mark the first time that the powerhouses have faced each other in the Armed Forces Classic.

In 2016, the game will move to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, HI.  The game is scheduled to be played Friday, November 11^th, 2016.  That year, four teams will face off against each other.  Indiana will take on Kansas in one of that year’s games.  The last time that the Hoosiers and Jayhawks faced each other in the series was in 1995.  Currently, Kansas leads Indiana 7 – 6 in the teams’ previous AFC series matchups.  The other game scheduled for the 2016 AFC is a matchup of Arizona and Michigan State.  The Wildcats lead the Spartans 4 – 2 over the course of their meetings in the AFC.  The last time that the two teams met was in 2005.  All four programs together have combined for a total of eleven NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball titles.  They have collectively advanced to the Men’s Final Four thirty-four times.

The 2016 installment of the Armed Forces Classic will be an especially significant game.  That is because not only of its location, but for its date.  It will be played on Veterans Day in 2016.  November 11^th, 2016 is also just one month shy of the 75^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Each of the games announced for the Armed Forces Classic will air on ESPN.  They will run as part of the network’s America’s Heroes initiative.  The America’s Heroes initiative honors America’s men and women in uniform around the world.

This year’s AFC will come live from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Puerto Rico.  It will feature #8 Louisville taking on Minnesota.

More information on ESPN’s coverage of the Armed Forces Classic is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball

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

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Cyrus, Sorum To Appear On HLN TV Today With Marine Songwriter

Courtesy: MSO PR

Country music veteran Billy Ray Cyrus and drummer Matt Sorum will appear live on HLN TV this morning.

The duo will appear alongside retired SSGT. Mark Plummer on HLN TV’s Morning Express With Robin Meade to  discuss the new song ‘Do What I Do.’ The trio’s appearance is part of the network’s Veteran’s Day coverage. The performance is scheduled for 9:45am ET.

‘Do What I Do’ is an original song written by Plummer. It highlights the impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on veterans. The song was released Monday, November 10^th in honor of Veterans Day. The video for the song, which also features Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), can be viewed online now via YouTube. Plummer originally wrote the song about his own personal ongoing battle with PTSD after serving three tours of duty in Iraq. Plummer discussed the song in a recent interview noting how the song came to life and his hopes of it serving as an aid to other veterans suffering from PTSD. “Music therapy helped me find a way to express myself when nothing else worked,” he said. “It helped me give a ‘VOICE’ to a message that many of our veterans share and cannot speak of. I can now share this message with others thanks to the healing power of music. Music has always been a part of my life, but I never knew it would be one of my biggest weapons to fight and win my own personal battles with PTSD.”

Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) expanded on Plummer’s thoughts. He explained how his experience working with veterans suffering from PTSD played a role in his willingness to help record the song. “PTSD is a serious issue among our veterans–it takes 22 lives a day due to suicide,” he said. “I have seen first-hand how healing music can be to the men and women suffering from this disorder, and hope to bring this program to many more vets around the country.” Sorum’s own work with veterans started after he partnered with the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA. That partnership led Sorum to found the Global Sound Lodge. The Global Sound Lodge is a charity that provides a music for healing program. It donates instruments to orphanages, shelters, and veterans’ programs around the world. More information on the Global Sound Lodge is available online at:

Website: http://www.globalsoundlodge.org

Cyrus and Sorum’s fans can keep up with their latest news and more online at:

Billy Ray Cyrus

Website: http://www.billyraycyrus.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BillyRayCyrus

Matt Sorum

Website: http://www.mattsorum.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mattwsorum

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Timeless Media To Re-Issue Classic Crime Drama Next Month

Courtesy: Timeless MEdia Group/Shout! Factory

Timeless Media will release one of television’s most beloved classic crime dramas next month.

Timeless Media, in partnership with Shout! Factory, will release M Squad: The Complete Series on Tuesday, November 4^th. The series stars famed actor Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Shout at the Devil). It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1957 to 1960. Over the course of those three seasons, the series produced a total of 117 episodes. Marvin starred as the series’ lead character Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger, a rather straight forward type of figure among the force’s officers. Marvin’s background made him a perfect choice for the role of Ballinger. Marvin was a highly decorated Marine veteran who served in the South Pacific during WWII. He earned the Purple Heart after the Battle of Saipan.

While Marvin was the star of the show, he was joined over the course of the show’s run by a handful of actors that would go on to be just as well-known in their own right. Dick Wilson and John Hoyt both make appearances in a handful of episodes. Both would go on to star in the hit WWII-based sitcom Hogan’s Heroes after starring in M Squad. And Star Trek co-stars Leonard Nimoy and DeForrest Kelley also made appearances in M Squad. They’re just some of the big names that made appearances throughout M Squad’s run on NBC. There are many others that audiences familiar with classic television and movies will recognize throughout the series’ episodes in its latest re-issue.

The upcoming release of M Squad: The Complete Television Series (Special Edition) is not the first time that the series has been released. Shout! Factory also released the series in a complete series box set in 2008. This latest re-issue includes a bonus disc featuring episodes of Wagon Train, Checkmate, The Virginian, and Lawbreaker. Marvin guest starred in the first three series and served as host of the latter. M Squad: The Complete Television Series (Special Edition) will be available on DVD box set Tuesday, November 4^th. It can be pre-ordered now via Timeless Media Group’s online store at https://www.shoutfactory.com/tv/crime/m-squad-the-complete-series-special-edition. More information on this and other releases from Timeless Media Group is available online at:

Website: https://www.shoutfactory.com/tentpoles/timeless-media-group

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Timeless-Media-Group/358391474233364

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Pop Evil Debuts New Video, Honors Marines On Stage

 

Courtesy: Entertainment One

Pop Evil debuted a brand new music video Friday.

The band debuted the video for the re-mix of its hit single ‘Trenches.’ The re-mix features a guest appearance from veteran rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run D.M.C. fame. The pairing was not limited to a soundstage. McDaniels also joined Pop Evil for a performance of the re-mix during the band’s performance at this year’s Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio. And along with his appearance, Pop Evil also brought on stage thirteen marines to present the “Lima Company of Eyes Freedom Memorial.” The memorial featured portraits of twenty-three marines from the USMC’s Lima Company, 3^rd Batallion, 25^th Marines.

Staff Sergeant-USMC Tony Storey shared his thoughts on being on stage with the band, taking in the audience’s cheers and gratitude for their service. “The crowd seemed to be a rolling mass of people, jumping in unison, fueled by the energy of the band,” he said. “In my mind, I thought, ‘People thank us for serving, so they can enjoy times like this, but it’s because they enjoy times like this that we willingly fight for them.’ I see the rowdy crowd rocking out with Pop Evil, with DMC, being watched over by the United States Marines, it personified this idea.”

Photo Credit: eOne/John Payne

Audiences and fans can check out both the band’s live performance of the re-mix and the new music video online now at http://loudwire.com/pop-evil-dmc-trenches-remix-exclusive-video-premiere/. Pop Evil is currently on tour with Entertainment One label mates Avatar. The bands will be joined today by Escape the Fate and Glamour The Kill today at the Sunshine Theatre in Albuquerque, NM. Pop Evil is also scheduled to perform at the Rock The Yard Festival at the Bucked Up Super Saloon in Kernersville, North Carolina on June 22^nd. More information on that festival is available via the Venue’s website at http://www.buckedupsupersaloon.com/. Tickets for the festival are available online at https://www.etix.com/ticket/online/venueSearch.jsp?venue_id=7674&cobrand=buckedupsupersaloon.  Audiences can get Pop Evil’s most current tour schedule online now at http://www.facebook.com/popevil and http://www.PopEvil.com. 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.