Sports

Ryan Sheckler Hosts First-Time Golf Tournament with Brody Jenner, Mia Hamm, Kevin Federline, Bode Miller Among Those Attending

July 22, 2008 -- Together with Wasserman Media Group, pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler will host the debut of the Ryan Sheckler X Games Celebrity Skins Classic to be held Tuesday, July 29, at the Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes, Calif., as part of the mission of Sheckler’s non-profit organization – The Sheckler Foundation. In addition to Sheckler’s foundation, four other charities will be benefiting from the proceeds of the tournament. ESPN has been involved with and supported all four charities over the years. As part of this event, ESPN will be donating its skins to the Athlete Recovery Fund.    » read more »

Philadelphia Soul vs. Defending Champion San Jose SaberCats

July 22, 2008 -- ESPN’s coverage of the 2008 Russell Athletic Arena Football League season will culminate Sunday, July 27, with ArenaBowl XXII between the Philadelphia Soul and defending ArenaBowl Champion San Jose SaberCats from the New Orleans Arena at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ABC HD. ESPN’s AFL commentator team will include Bob Wischusen and analyst Ray Bentley in the booth with Marcellus Wiley and New Orleans native Stan Verrett reporting from the sidelines.

In addition to coverage on ABC in the U.S., the ArenaBowl XXII telecast will be available to more than 98 million households in 186 countries through ESPN International and its syndication clients.    » read more »

Dedicated Coverage of All NFL Divisions and BCS Conferences with 20 Journalists Hired to Launch Network

July 22, 2008 -- ESPN.com has launched the ESPN Football Blog Network, a new content initiative consisting of 15 blogs that offer more in-depth daily coverage of pro and college football. The network includes individual blogs dedicated to all eight National Football League divisions and all six BCS Conferences, as well as a blog focused on independent and non-BCS college programs. Collectively, the best content from each divisional and conference blog will be aggregated daily into national blogs for both pro and college football.    » read more »

Free Fantasy Football Returns; Free Live Scoring, New Auction Draft Option,
Mobile Alerts and Management; Emmy-Winning Live Online Sunday Show Fantasy Football Now; Unprecedented Multimedia Initiative: TV, Radio, Digital Video, Podcasts, Magazine

July 21, 2008 -- ESPN kicks off the 2008 Fantasy Football season with an unprecedented multimedia initiative, highlighted by the return of free ESPN Fantasy Football presented by GEICO and GMC on ESPN.com.    » read more »

ESPN to Televise Second Annual Event in Prime Time

July 17, 2008 -- The second annual Under Armour All-America High School Football Game, an ESPN and Intersport owned-and-operated all-star football competition spotlighting the nation’s top high school seniors, will be played at a new venue – Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009. The announcement was made today by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Rosalyn Durant, vice president and general manager, ESPNU, at a press conference at Orlando’s City Hall.    » read more »

New Section to Cover Both PRCA and PBR Tours

July 17, 2008 -- ESPN.com has launched a new section providing complete coverage of rodeo and professional bull riding. The new section provides news, video, stats, standings, schedules, rider profiles, blogs, and more across all major rodeo and bull-riding events – an industry first.

“Rodeo and Bull Riding have one of the most passionate fan bases of any sport in the country,” said Alexandra Roman, director of ESPN Outdoors & Digital Partnerships, ESPN Digital Media. “It takes a special kind of athlete to willingly climb on top of a two-ton bull or a bucking bronco. This section will capture the excitement and provide a 24/7 one-stop window into two of the country’s fastest growing extreme sports.”    » read more »

Three of Only Four Americans at the Tour Riding for Garmin-Chipotle

Boulder, Colo, June 24, 2008 -- Team Garmin-Chipotle presented by H30 today announced its much-anticipated Tour de France roster, which features three of only four Americans in the entire Tour peloton. The riders that will represent Team Garmin-Chipotle in tackling the world’s toughest sporting event are:

* Magnus Backstedt
* Julian Dean
* Will Frischkorn
* Ryder Hesjedal
* Trent Lowe
* Martijn Maaskant
* David Millar
* Danny Pate
* Christian Vande Velde    » read more »

Hour-long Big Ten Awards Show to air Friday night at 10 PM ET

CHICAGO, June 18, 2008 – The Big Ten Network will honor the conference's top plays, games, performers and performances of 2007-08 during the Big Ten Awards Show. The hour-long program, hosted by Dave Revsine, Mike Hall and Rick Pizzo, debuts at 10 PM ET Friday. Fans can cast their ballots online at BigTenNetwork.com for the Play of the Year, the Big Ten Male Athletic Coach of the Year and the Big Ten Female Athletic Coach of the Year.    » read more »

June 23, 2008 -- For the sixth consecutive year, ESPN will present live coverage of the NBA Draft – this year featuring a talent pool highlighted by Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and Derrick Rose (Memphis) – Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. ET from the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Stuart Scott will host with college basketball analyst and Draft expert Jay Bilas and NBA analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.    » read more »

Initial Expansion to Include Washington D.C., Denver, Cleveland, Milwaukee, West Palm Beach and Enhanced ESPNRadio.com “Superstream Player” Delivers Live Audio and 12 Hours of Daily Live Video

June 23, 2008 -- ESPNRadio.com, the leading online sports radio destination in the U.S., is expanding its network of affiliate web sites. The ESPNRadio.com Online Affiliate Network will further develop the localized reach of ESPN’s fast-growing digital audio unit, serving fans with more daily live and on-demand audio from around the country while enhancing online opportunities for advertisers.    » read more »

June 24 – July 6 Tournament Includes National Cricket Teams from India, Pakistan, UAE, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka

June 23, 2008 -- ESPN has reached an agreement to provide exclusive, live coverage of the 2008 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament on ESPN360.com in the U.S. and its territories. The six-team, 13-match biennial tournament features several of the world’s powerhouse national teams – including one of cricket’s fiercest international rivalries, India and Pakistan - and will be played June 24 through July 6 in Pakistan.    » read more »

June 20, 2008 -- Current SportsCenter anchors Steve Berthiaume, Linda Cohn, Josh Elliott, Robert Flores and Chris McKendry will join the previously announced Hannah Storm as anchors for the live daytime SportsCenters which debut Monday, Aug. 11.

Sage Steele will present the SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes Monday-Friday throughout the 6 a.m.-noon blocks. Steele has been handling the update responsibilities on ESPN2 during the Mike a& Mike in the Morning simulcast and First Take.    » read more »

Comcast customers to receive Big Ten Network HD, Big Ten Network high-speed Internet content through Comcast.net, and condensed game replays and other programs through Comcast On Demand

Philadelphia and Chicago, June 19, 2008 -- Comcast Corporation and the Big Ten Network announced today that they have reached a long-term multimedia agreement for Comcast to carry Big Ten Network programming across television, broadband and video-on-demand in time for the 2008 college football season.    » read more »

June 23, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today issued the following statement to mark the anniversary of the enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972:

“Title IX has unlocked doors and created opportunities for millions of women in America. In the 36 years since Title IX’s enactment, there has been a massive increase in the number of women participating in high school and college sports.    » read more »

June 23, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. And it is fitting that we use the East Garden because, one, this is rarely used; and two, it is an opportunity for me to welcome a lot of people to the -- that are here to see the WNBA champs, Phoenix Mercury. And we're glad you came.

George W. Bush greets WNBA champions: George W. Bush is presented a Phoenix Mercury Championship banner and a personalized team jersey June 23, 2008, during the 2007 WNBA Champions, the Phoenix Mercury, visit to the White House. White House photo by Eric Draper    » read more »