MidWeek — March 17, 2010
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
- NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament Tips Off Saturday
- NCAA Women’s Tournament Media Conference Call Thursday
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT & HOCKEY, MLB & MORE...
- Men’s College Basketball: Katz Talks to All 65 Coaches
- NCAA Hockey Selection Show Starts Countdown to NCAA Div. I Championship
- Spring Training Telecasts Begin Monday
- ESPN’s John Buccigross Honored at 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards
- LaJoie, Wallace, McGee on NASCAR Now Roundtable
- IBF Eliminator Bout with Latimore Headlines ESPN Friday Night Fights
- PBA “Bracket Battle”: Go RVing Match Play Championship Finals Sunday
For the eighth consecutive year, the ESPN networks will televise all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. The action begins Saturday, March 20, at noon ET with first-round matchups on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com from Durham, N.C.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Louisville, Ky. Fans will receive updates and highlights of the games on College Basketball Scoreboard throughout the first and second rounds, regional semifinals March 27-28, and the Women’s Final Four, April 4-6, on ESPN and ESPN2. Complete release/schedule.
2010 NCAA Div. I Women’s Tournament, First Round (Times subject to change)
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Network |
| Sat, Mar 20 | Noon | First Round#10 Harford vs. #7 LSU (Durham, N.C.) #11 Princeton vs. #6 St. John’s (Tallahassee, Fla.) #16 Austin Peay vs. #1 Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) #12 Bowling Green vs. #5 Michigan St. (Louisville, Ky.) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com |
| Approx 30 minutes after noon games | #15 Hampton vs. #2 Duke (Durham) #14 Louisiana Tech vs. #3 Florida State (Tallahassee) #9 TCU vs. #8 Dayton (Knoxville) #13 Liberty vs. #4 Kentucky (Louisville) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com | |
| 8 p.m. | #13 Chattanooga vs. #4 Oklahoma State (Tempe, Ariz.) #9 Rutgers vs. #8 Iowa (Stanford, Calif.) #12 Marist vs. #5 Georgetown (Berkeley, Calif.) #15 Portland State vs. #2 Texas A&M (Seattle) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com | |
| Approx 30 minutes after 8 p.m. games | #12 Tulane vs. #5 Georgia (Tempe) #16 UC Riverside vs. #1 Stanford (Stanford) #13 Fresno State vs. #4 Baylor (Berkeley) #10 North Carolina vs. #7 Gonzaga (Seattle) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com | |
| Sun, Mar 21 | Noon | #11 DePaul vs. #6 Vanderbilt (Cincinnati) #16 Southern vs. #1 Connecticut (Norfolk, Va.) #10 Vermont vs. #7 Wisconsin (Notre Dame, Ind.) #15 St. Francis (Pa.) vs. #2 Ohio State (Pittsburgh) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com |
| 2:30 p.m. | #14 East Tennessee State vs. #3 Xavier (Cincinnati) #9 James Madison vs. #8 Temple (Norfolk) #15 Cleveland State vs. #2 Notre Dame (Notre Dame) #10 Middle Tenn. State vs. #7 Mississippi St. (Pittsburgh) |
ESPN / ESPN360.com | |
| 7 p.m. | #16 Northern Iowa vs. #1 Nebraska (Minneapolis) #12 Green Bay vs. #5 Virginia (Ames, Iowa) #11 San Diego State vs. #6 Texas (Austin, Texas) #11 Ark.-Little Rock vs. #6 Georgia Tech (Norman, Okla.) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com | |
| Approx 30 minutes after 7 p.m. games | #9 North Carolina State vs. #8 UCLA (Minneapolis) #13 Lehigh vs. #4 Iowa State (Ames) #14 Lamar vs. #3 West Virginia (Austin) #14 South Dakota State vs. #3 Oklahoma (Norman) |
ESPN2 / ESPN360.com |
NCAA Women’s Tournament Media Conference Call Thursday
contact: jenny.zimmerman@espn.com
In anticipation of the ESPN networks’ exclusive presentation of all 63 games in the NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Tournament, basketball analysts Doris Burke and Carolyn Peck, along with Carol Stiff, senior director, programming, will join the media Thursday, March 18, at 1 p.m. for a Q&A. To participate: 1-888-208-1625. Call name: ESPN, NCAA Women’s Tournament; passcode: 9906034.
Men’s College Basketball: Katz Talks to All 65 Coaches
contact: michael.c.humes@espn.com
In a four-hour special Monday, March 15, on ESPNU, ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz out did his 2009 effort by talking to all 65 NCAA Men’s Tournament coaches. Last year, in his first attempt, he spoke to 63 head coaches and one assistant. Nuggets from the Coaches Spotlight: Katz Marathon program:
- Katz spent an average of three minutes and 10 seconds with each coach.
- Katz and show producers made approximately 137 calls in tracking down the coaches.
- Four coaches missed their original time slot and had to be rescheduled.
- Two coaches were interviewed during their team practice.
- Katz talked to coaches in four different time zones.
NCAA Hockey Selection Show Starts Countdown to NCAA Div. I Championship
contact: jenny.zimmerman@espn.com
ESPNU, ESPN2, ESPN and ESPN360.com will combine for exclusive coverage of the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, starting with the NCAA Hockey Selection Show on Sunday, March 21, at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2 HD. John Buccigross will host the show with analysts Barry Melrose and former University of Michigan hockey standout Sean Ritchlin. ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPNU HD and ESPN360.com will provide complete live coverage of the Frozen Four, April 8-10, from Ford Field in Detroit. Photos
For two consecutive weeks, ESPN will televise MLB Spring Training games weekdays at 1 p.m. beginning Monday, March 22, with a rematch of the 2009 World Series -- the defending champion New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies -- from Clearwater, Fla. Karl Ravech will call the action with analysts John Kruk and Rick Sutcliffe.
ESPN’s opening week Spring Training schedule will include the debut of the new Sunday Night Baseball booth -- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Orel Hershiser -- for Braves/Mets on Tuesday, March 23. Additionally, Beth Mowins and John Kruk, who have previously called Women’s College World Series games for ESPN, will call the Mets/Cardinals matchup on Thursday, March 25. Schedule (all games airing on ESPN, at 1 p.m.):
| Date | Teams/Commentators |
| Mon, Mar 22 | N.Y. Yankees vs. Philadelphia from Clearwater, Fla. |
| Karl Ravech, John Kruk, Rick Sutcliffe | |
| Tues, Mar 23 | Atlanta vs. N.Y. Mets from Port St. Lucie, Fla. |
| Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Orel Hershiser | |
| Wed, Mar 24 | Philadelphia vs. Atlanta from Orlando, Fla. |
| Ravech, Kruk, Bobby Valentine | |
| Thu, Mar 25 | N.Y. Mets vs. St. Louis from Jupiter, Fla. |
| Beth Mowins, John Kruk | |
| Fri, Mar 26 | Detroit vs. Atlanta from Orlando, Fla. |
| Ravech, Sutcliffe, Valentine |
ESPN’s John Buccigross Honored at 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards
contact: kristie.chong@espn.com
Last Saturday, ESPN’s John Buccigross was recognized at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article for his story on Brendan Burke titled “We Love You, This Won’t Change a Thing.” This is the second straight honor for ESPN.com in the category, following LZ Granderson’s piece last year titled “Gay Athletes Are Making Their Mark.”
Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, was an openly gay athlete and an advocate for tolerance in professional sports. After coming out to his father two years earlier, in 2009 he spoke publicly about the positive personal impact of the support he received from his father, family, hockey coach and teammates at Miami University. Burke tragically died in a car accident in February 2010 at the age of 21.
The GLAAD Media Awards are held annually in recognition and honor of media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.
LaJoie, Wallace, McGee on NASCAR Now Roundtable
contacts: andy.hall@espn.com or george.mcneilly@espn.com
Analyst Randy LaJoie and ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee will join NASCAR driver Mike Wallace as panelists on ESPN2’s NASCAR Now weekly roundtable discussion Monday, March 22, at 5 p.m. with host Allen Bestwick. The one-hour weekend edition, hosted by Nicole Briscoe, will air Sunday, March 21, at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Mike Massaro and Marty Smith will report from the speedway.
IBF Eliminator Bout with Latimore Headlines ESPN Friday Night Fights
contact: doug.grassian@espn.com
The March 19 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights will determine the IBF No. 1 ranking in the junior middleweight division. Rising prospect DeAndre Latimore of St. Louis, will face Sechew Powell of Brooklyn, N.Y. ESPN2 will televise the 12-round bout from Durant, Okla., starting at 10 p.m. Joe Tessitore will be ringside with analyst Teddy Atlas offering his popular “Fight Plan.” During breaks in action, host Brian Kenny will be in the studio to provide insight and analysis.
PBA “Bracket Battle”: Go RVing Match Play Championship Finals Sunday
contact: kimberly.jessup@espn.com
March Madness will take over a different type of hardwood this week as the PBA launches its first “PBA Bracket Battle,” giving fans the opportunity to seed and pick the winners of the Go RVing Match Play Championship at www.pba.com. The tournament gets underway today at the Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center in Norwich, Conn., with the finals live Sunday, March 22, at 1 p.m. on ESPN. Like the NCAA basketball playoff format, the Go RVing Match Play Championship pits 64 of the world’s top bowlers in a single elimination bracket competition, best four out of seven games. The final match will be three games for total pins. Rob Stone will call the action with analyst Randy Pederson.
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