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3 de abril de 2012

                              This is SportsCenter presenta el primer comercial en español

El bateador de los Yanquees, Robinson Cano, protagonizará la versión en inglés y español de “Handshakes” (“Apretón de manos”)

(Bristol, Conn) – ESPN presentará el miércoles por primera vez un comercial en español de su icónica franquicia This is SportsCenter. Justo a tiempo para el día de apertura de las Grandes Ligas del Béisbol, “Handshakes” está protagonizado por el segunda base de los Yanquees, Robinson Cano, en una parodia de su popular rutina de apretón de manos previa a los partidos.

“Handshakes” será difundido tanto en inglés como en español en Estados Unidos y en América Latina. El debut del comercial en español será el 4 de abril a las 9 am (hora del Este) en ESPN Deportes. La versión en español también saldrá al aire durante el show Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable en ESPN2. La versión en inglés será estrenada el mismo día a las 6 pm (hora del Este) en ESPN durante el show Baseball Tonight.

“Así como el apretón de manos es un saludo universal, los deportes son una experiencia universal”, dijo Cano. “Como atleta bilingüe, es un honor dar vida a This is SportsCenter para los fanáticos de habla hispana”.

Esta es la primera vez que ESPN realiza su campaña publicitaria más antigua y exitosa para televidentes en otro idioma. ESPN mantiene un activo compromiso en iniciativas de fusión como compartir talentos bilingües entre sus cadenas, integrar esfuerzos editoriales y aprovechar oportunidades publicitarias a través de sus distintas plataformas con el fin de atender mejor a la creciente audiencia hispana de Estados Unidos a través de ESPN y ESPN Deportes. 

“Esto es un momento histórico para la franquicia This is SportsCenter”, dijo Carol Kruse, vicepresidente senior de Marketing de ESPN. “Llegar a los fanáticos hispanos continua siendo una prioridad para la marca ESPN, y este es sólo otro ejemplo de nuestro compromiso y nuestros múltiples esfuerzos para atraer a esta creciente audiencia”.

“Handshakes” muestra cómo los amistosos y creativos apretones de mano de Cano con los empleados de ESPN facilitan la propagación rápida del resfriado en toda la sede de ESPN en Bristol, Conn. El comercial fue creado por la agencia Wieden + Kennedy de Nueva York y grabada en la sede de Bristol en febrero pasado.  

Los presentadores de ESPN Karl Ravech, John Anderson, Sage Steele, Kevin Negandhi, John Buccigross, Linda Cohn y Robert Flores protagonizan la versión en inglés del comercial mientras que los presentadores de ESPN Deportes Tony Cherchi, Carolina Guillén, Jorge Eduardo Sánchez, Ricardo Puig, Enrique Rojas y Fernando Alvarez aparecen en la versión en español.

Por 17 años, This is SportsCenter le ha dado a los fanáticos y televidentes una mirada por dentro de la sede de Bristol con un toque de humor sobre el día a día en ESPN. La cadena ha producido casi 400 comerciales bajo esta tradicional franquicia en colaboración con Wieden + Kennedy.

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Sunday night’s Connecticut, Notre Dame NCAA women’s basketball National Semifinal game delivered a 1.8 overnight rating, up six percent from last year’s first semifinal tilt between eventual national champion Texas A&M and Baylor (1.7).

On a market-by-market basis, Hartford was the highest-rated market for both semifinal games, delivering a 17.8 metered market rating for the UConn-N.D. matchup and a 7.5 for the Stanford-Baylor game. Other notable markets for the first semifinal game (UConn-ND) were Knoxville (5.1) and Nashville (4.0).

The second National Semifinal game between Stanford and Baylor registered a 2.2 overnight rating, which is equal to last year’s UConn-Notre Dame semifinal.  Notable local market ratings are Knoxville (6.5), Nashville (5.0) and San Antonio (4.5).

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La cadena presentará por televisión 26 partidos de la temporada regular y el ‘Home Run Derby’; ESPN Deportes Radio transmitirá juegos semanales, juegos de la post-temporada y el Juego de las Estrellas 

El miércoles 4 de abril, ESPN Deportes comienza su cobertura de la temporada 2012 de las Grandes Ligas de Béisbol (Major League Baseball, MLB) con el partido inaugural entre Miami Marlins vs. St. Louis Cardinals a las 8 p.m. hora del este desde el nuevo estadio de los Miami Marlins.

Comenzando el 4 de abril, ESPN Deportes transmitirá por televisión 26 partidos de la temporada regular todos los domingos en Sunday Night Baseball a las 7:00 p.m. hora del este.  Las transmisiones serán encabezadas por los reconocidos comentaristas y expertos del béisbol de la cadena, Ernesto Jerez (jugada-a-jugada), Luis Alfredo Álvarez (analista) y Guillermo Celis (reportero de campo). Además, la cadena transmitirá el ‘Home Run Derby’, donde los mejores peloteros de las ligas compiten antes del Juego de las Estrellas para determinar quien es el máximo jonronero de la MLB.

Béisbol Esta Noche, el programa de noticias y  análisis del béisbol, ofrecerá antesalas a cada partido. La experta de béisbol Carolina Guillen, junto a Candy Maldonado, líder de jonrones y ex-jugador de las grandes ligas, y Fernando Alvarez presentarán las ediciones especiales del programa cada domingo de la temporada de la MLB a las 7:30 p.m. hora del este. El primer show de la temporada será grabado desde Miami con el nuevo estadio de los Miami Marlins como escenario. 

ESPN Deportes Radio, la única cadena nacional deportiva de la radio en español que transmite las 24 horas en Estados Unidos, ofrecerá partidos de la temporada 2012 todos los domingos en ‘El Juego de la Semana de la MLB’ a partir del 4 de abril a las 8:00 p.m. hora del este. Renato Bermúdez y José Francisco Rivera  estarán a cargo de la narración y comentarios para la transmisión por radio. Además, la cobertura de ESPN Deportes Radio incluye el programa especial el lunes 9 de julio “Conozca las Estrellas” con los protagonistas hispanos de la liga, el Juego de las Estrellas transmitido  el martes 10 de julio, y juegos de la post-temporada a cargo de Juan Marichal y Eduardo Ortega (jugada-a-jugada).

ESPNdeportes.com ofrecerá contenido exclusivo de la MLB incluyendo reportajes especiales del experto en Grandes Ligas Enrique Rojas con pronósticos, Power Rankings por equipo y por jugadores latinos.

• Previas y Crónicas de los partidos
• Entrevistas y reportajes especiales en video
• Chats en vivo con el equipo de expertos de ESPN Deportes
• Podcasts: Entrevistas con Enrique Rojas y Fantasía con Carolina Guillén
• Juego de Fantasía: Desafío en Béisbol 2011
• GameCast y marcador durante cada partido
• Webisodio “Dos en Base” con Guillermo Celis y Fernando Álvarez
• Webisodio “La Esquina de Candy”
• Jugadores de la MLB de Países Latinos
• Jugador Más Valioso (MVP) y Jugador Menos Valioso (LVP): Jorge Morejón selecciona a los jugadores latinos más y menos valiosos de la semana de cada liga.
• Power Rankings de los fanáticos
• Blog: "Off the top of Rojas' head" de Enrique Rojas

Durante el Juego de las Estrellas y los Playoffs, los fanáticos tendrán la oportunidad de interactuar en un panel digital con el equipo de expertos y analistas de ESPN Deportes a través de “Cover it Live" (CiL).

* ESPNDeportes.com colaborara con ESPN.com para llegar a los aficionados en EE.UU. Reportaje contara con cobertura especial, análisis y las características de los periodistas y el talento, incluyendo entrevistas con los jugadores. Las redes sociales colaborarán directamente con ESPN Deportes y emisión incluirá clips de video, encuestas, enlaces a contenido y todo los puntos culminantes de la temporada 2012 MLB.

ESPN Deportes: Sunday Night Baseball

The Women’s Final Four is set as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the championship weekend in Denver. The games tipoff with the semifinals Sunday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and concludes with the national title game Tuesday, April 3, at 8:30 p.m.  All games will be televised on ESPN and simulcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.  Highlights:

• BIG EAST rivals Notre Dame and Connecticut meet for the second straight year in a national semifinal at 6:30 p.m.
• The top overall seed, Baylor, returns to the Final Four after a one-year absence, and faces Stanford, making its fifth straight Final Four appearance, at 8:30 p.m.
• Trey Wingo, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck will have all the studio coverage from a set in the Pepsi Center.
• Dave O’Brien will call play-by-play, joined by veteran analyst Doris Burke
• Rebecca Lobo returns this year with added responsibilities: working as an on-court analyst reporting on special aspects of each game, as well as conducting on-court interviews with players and coaches and joining the studio coverage with Wingo, Lawson and Peck.
• Holly Rowe returns as a sideline reporter and Bob Holtzman will provide updates for SportsCenter and ESPNEWS live from Denver.

More Final Four Facts  

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ESPN2 and ESPN3 will present live two U.S. Women’s National Team matches this week: vs. 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan on Sunday, April 1, at 6:30 a.m. ET, and vs. Brazil on Tuesday, April 3, at 7 a.m. from Japan.  The matches are part of the inaugural Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup, which features three of the top four teams on FIFA Women’s World Rankings.  Both contests are rematch of elimination round games that ended in penalty shootouts during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011.

Japan Women’s National Team won the Women’s World Cup via shootout after a thrilling 2-2 tie in the title match vs. the U.S. Women, the most-watched soccer event on cable television.  In the quarterfinal stage, the U.S. won in a shootout over Brazil following a 2-2 tie.  ESPN’s presentation of the USA–Brazil World Cup match earned a nomination for the 2012 Sports Emmy Awards. The three teams will face each other in a round-robin pre-Olympic series at the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup.

Play-by-play commentator Adrian Healey and analyst Julie Foudy will call the matches.

International Friendlies schedule:

All matches and times subject to change

# – FIFA Women’s World Ranking

More Soccer on ESPN Platforms: 15 Additional Matches Saturday through Monday

In addition to the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup, ESPN media platforms (ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes) will carry 15 matches live beginning Saturday at 9:55 a.m. through Monday.  Highlights:

• Premier League:  The top two teams in league standings – Manchester City vs. Sunderland on Saturday at 9:55 a.m. and Blackburn Rovers vs. Manchester United on Monday at 2:55 p.m. – will be on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes
• La Liga:  Osasuna will host La Liga giant Real Madrid on Saturday at 2 p.m., one of three league matches on ESPN platforms this weekend
• Serie A:  ESPN3 will carry six Serie A matches highlighted by Catania hosting league-leading AC Milan on Saturday at 11:55 a.m. and No. 2 Juventus vs. No. 4 Napoli on Sunday at 2:40 p.m.

Schedule:

All matches and times subject to change

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College basketball fans in more than 200 countries around the world will be able to watch the NCAA Men’s Final Four on Saturday, March 31, and Monday, April 2, through exclusive coverage on ESPN International. Mark Brown and Fran Fraschilla will call the National Semifinal doubleheader from New Orleans, beginning with Kentucky vs. Louisville at 6 p.m. ET followed by Ohio State vs. Kansas. They will also work the National Championship on Monday, April 2, at 9 p.m.

In addition to being a season-long game and studio analyst on ESPN’s men’s and women’s basketball coverage, Fraschilla serves as ESPN’s NBA Draft expert on International players and calls the network’s FIBA World Championship events.

“Both of these semifinals are rematches of games played earlier in the season,” said Fraschilla. “But the four teams are drastically different than they were in December. Kentucky is the team to beat, but Louisville, Ohio State and Kansas have handled the adversity of a long season and are each positioned to give the Wildcats a difficult matchup when and if they meet.”

Fraschilla added, “From my time in the international basketball community, I can attest that there are basketball fans all over the world now and it is a thrill to present the Men’s Final Four to them as the analyst.”

ESPN International will produce and distribute the action to more than 200 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.

ESPN has exclusive multi-media rights outside the United States, its territories and Bermuda for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as part of a multiyear agreement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) through 2023-24.

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ESPN hosted a media conference call today with the network’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame commentator Dick Vitale to discuss men’s college basketball, Kentucky coach John Calipari and the NCAA Final Four matchups. Vitale, a big Major League Baseball fan, closed with some comments on the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees.

The conference call replay is available on ESPN Media Zone. The transcript is below:

On the 2012 Final Four:
Dick Vitale: I think we really have all the Goliaths here. It's almost like an Ali, Tyson, Frazier, Holyfield. Unbelievable. I think that many of us projected before the tournament started that this would be the year of the Goliaths, that eventually the Davids would be put away because the talent level, there was a separation. And who knows what we'd have seen.

And my heart goes out to the beautiful fans and the players and the coaches from North Carolina losing the likes of Kendall Marshall and another No. 1 seed when you think of certainly – you think of Syracuse losing Fab Melo and you go one step further, Michigan State losing the kid Dawson. Those were major losses at a time of the year when it's so difficult to be able to get a rhythm and timing and get back into that flow.

But saying all that, you look at Kansas and Ohio State, they took advantage of that, and certainly Louisville has been on a run. I mean, Kentucky has been a team from day one, everybody has projected as the team to be here, and the one beauty of college basketball ‑‑ most people you talk to right now, Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky, including Yours Truly. But the one beauty of college basketball, it's not four out of seven, à la the NBA. It's a one‑time shot. 

And we have seen miracles before. Just reflect back to '85 in Lexington when Villanova pitched the perfect game to beat Georgetown. Think about Jimmy V, my buddy, running around the court looking for somebody to hug and cutting the nets down after beating a great Houston team via Slamma‑Jamma.

Saying all that, we really don't know, but I'll tell you this: Bourbon Street will be rocking. You'd better believe bluegrass Bourbon Street will be in big numbers, and it's going to be a phenomenal time. They do a great job in that city, NOLA, hosting that tournament, and I'm excited. I can't wait to get there this afternoon and be part of this incredible weekend. 

Thoughts on the Ohio State‑Kansas match‑up
Dick Vitale: When you look at that matchup they played earlier, there's no Sullinger, and that's really a difference maker. You've got two – talk about marquee teams and players, you've got all of it. You've got marquee coaches, you've got Robinson, Sullinger, these are two of the premier college players all year, and then you've got teams that really have found a way to win. 

Kansas should have been put away by Purdue. They won. Should have been put away by North Carolina State, they won. They were up 68‑67 late in the game with North Carolina, they find a way to make the big shot, Johnson, a big three, and they rip off 12 in a row, find a way to win.

Ohio State we haven't heard a lot of people talking about. They got beat by Michigan State at the end and were a little up and down, but they're a team, very, very dangerous, and they can win it all. No doubt about it, they have a great defense, they have a leader in Kraft. Sullinger gives them post presence.  I think the key for them is Buford has got to help out and get a little bit more scoring.

I would give a slight edge to the Buckeyes and give a slight edge to Kentucky over Louisville.

Pick for the championship game
Dick Vitale: It's Kentucky. I'm not going to change my mind. I think Kentucky stands tall and reigns supreme as the national champ.

I think John Calipari will join the likes of Adolph Rupp and certainly Joe B. Hall and Tommy Smith, Rick Pitino winning a national title, be the fifth one.  I really feel that way.  I think the team is so good and so much on with a purpose that they've played all year in unselfish fashion, I just don't think they're going to be stopped.

Q.  I wanted to get your opinion on Iowa under Fran McCaffery.  This year they made the NIT, first time in six years for the Hawkeyes.  What are your thoughts on the way he's building the program?
Dick Vitale: I think Fran is doing things in a positive way. I think you have to be patient. They've got fans that can be very passionate, but they've had some great wins this year. I think building off of – I did a speaking engagement out there, and they were all raving about a youngster, a seven‑footer who I have not seen coming in and a great guard from the same area, one area of Iowa, and they signed those two, and everybody thinks they're going to be instant impact players.

Q.  Obviously so much talk about Kentucky.  What's their biggest risk then on Saturday?
Dick Vitale: I think the biggest risk, that's a good question, really a great question. I would think if you're Kentucky and you're John Calipari, and I got a text message from him today, and I won't tell you what I texted him, but let me just tell you this:  I think when you look at Kentucky you've got to be concerned if Davis were to get two fouls. Now, they've played, they've practiced without him. They did all of it to simulate if that happens. They've worked in that area. 

But it's a difference maker. Psychologically it affects people around him. That would be a question.

Another one I would be concerned about is the play of the point guard, which is so vital in tournament play. When you get into this stage, that point guard has to be effective in getting you with your offensive sets and doing a great job starting your defense starts there, and I think when you look at Teague, it'll be interesting to see how he reacts on this big stage as a young kid because he's going to be challenged. 

I think one of the great match‑ups in that game is going to be Siva and Teague. Siva has to win that match‑up. He has to not only win it, he has to dominate it for Louisville to have a chance to win. By that I mean he's got to penetrate, beat him off the bounce, create opportunities for Kuric to shoot a three, Russell Smith who can be up or down has to be able to put points on the board. They really need Siva to be so effective and not turn the ball over. 

On the other side Teague has got to be just good. If he can get them in their offense and he can not turn the ball over, and he's had some magical moments and he's had some down moments, but the bottom line is I think that's the key. 

Q.  I wonder how much pressure do you think John Calipari is under right now having come close so many times, and do you see any similarity between him and now and when Rick Pitino came in in '96 with that great team and everybody thought he was going to win one sometime and is this the time?
Dick Vitale: He can say anything he wants about there's no pressure, they had a phenomenal year, it's not all about winning the national title. He can say about the fact that John Chaney never won one, Keady never won one and they're great coaches, and that's all valid. John Calipari is still to me going to be labeled as a great coach.  When he can take three different teams in three consecutive years and have them on the cusp of possibly being a national champ, to me that is special.  That means you're motivating, that means you're recruiting, that means you're teaching, that means you're getting players to play unselfishly. 

I'm going to tell you, any way you cut it, the pressure is on, and it's doubly now. Why is it doubly? You've got an incredible rivalry, which we all know exists.

Now, that rivalry is compounded big time because the coach at Louisville was a former coach at Kentucky and won a national title at Kentucky and did such a marvelous job, and the fact that a lot of people didn't expect them to be where they're sitting right now, possibly the obstacle, possibly the obstacle in front right now of Kentucky. So there has got to be pressure, and he knows it.

But I'll tell you this: He's the kind of guy that just has a special way of preparing and getting people ready to play.  They make free throws last year, and they win, I think, the National Championship. I really believe that. They were 4 of 12, if I think I'm correct, my memory, against Connecticut.

But I want to tell you one of the keys to the game, as well. It just blew my mind in preparing ready to go down there with all my guys at ESPN for the pre‑ and post‑game stuff, I believe it's 81 trips to the free‑throw line in two games.  Think about that number. That's unbelievable. Eighty-one trips made 65 of 81 in two games. That means two things are happening: They're getting you in foul trouble, number one. Number two, they're stopping the clock and giving their players – they don't have a keep rotation, they're giving their players a chance to recover physically, emotionally get ready to play, going to that line, and number three, those are charity points. 

So a key for Louisville, they'd better keep them off the line.  I mean, you're not going to keep them all the time because they attack so much, but that is certainly big, and I couldn't agree more.  I think the pressure has to be directed, without a doubt, with John, because there is the perception ‑‑ I mean, let's face reality.  Any way you cut it, there's a perception, and a lot of people say, well, he can get close.  But look what happened at the end of the game in Kansas in that championship game.

Look, a scenario against Connecticut. My friend, I don't buy that. I think John Calipari got two raw deals. I really do.  Nobody is going to believe me in this, but I do because I happen to like him and I happen to respect his coaching ability and his generosity what he's done for us at the V Foundation, as well. 

But saying all this, let me tell you this. This thing should have never been vacated –you talk about vacate‑schmacate. They can call it anything they want. They should be ashamed of themselves. They walked in on Memphis and sat there on three occasions and told the administrators flat up and down you can play Derrick Rose.  Derrick Rose is eligible. We studied his numbers. 

Then they come back when he wins them 30 plus games, goes to the final game, and now they say you've got to vacate it? Why don't they take the burden and the blame for maybe not doing their effectively at the right time.

I thought maybe if you want to fine them and take dollars, but to take away those wins I thought was unfair. The first one, Marcus Camby, what coach in America –you can't control your players 24/7 who they're dealing with. Kid's got no money and here comes a guy, don't tell your coach, I'll take care of you, I'll represent you down the stretch, here's a few extra bucks. Come on now. The bottom line is they went out and won those games, and to me I don't buy that vacate nonsense. I don't buy it. 

John Calipari, he can win at Massachusetts, I knew it was just unbelievable what he'd achieve at Kentucky with the resources that they have. I can go on and on because you can't believe because I think the guy gets unfairly ripped by a lot of people. There's a pro and there's a con. If you want to be anti John he will be some ammunition to be anti, and if you want to be pro John, he'll give you a lot of ammunition to praise him.

But I sometimes don't think he gets his due as a guy that can do more than recruit. That man can coach. You can't take three different teams like he has and do what he has done in three years, and you can't win five consecutive years 30 games and not – like 30 games in terms of a season when he was at Memphis and all and not know how to coach. He can coach, but the guy across the way can coach, too. 

Q.  Once upon a time Bill Self was a guy who did a good coaching job on both ends of Tulsa. Now he's in his second Final Four and not many people expected him to get to this Final Four. Where do you think Bill ranks in the current scene of college basketball coaches?
Dick Vitale: You know, Bill is starting to put on résumé numbers that he's going to build on, getting to Hall of Fame status. I will never forget talking to him when the job came open, when the job came open down at Kansas ten years ago maybe, nine, ten years ago, and we had talked on the phone. I get a lot of calls from a lot of coaches when jobs open just to share – I would never, ever tell a coach flat up and down you should take it, not take it. I wouldn't do that.  I would never do that.

But I would give my feelings if he's asking, and I said at the time, I said, man, replacing Roy Williams is going to be a monster, a monster.  Twenty-eight games a year he averaged wins, trips to the Final Four, championships in the Big Eight, Big 12. But he loved the idea of coming back there, and he loved the idea of what they can provide, and he loved it also with all the language. It was a great job, as well, a great job. But he took the job here, and I am so absolutely beyond belief what he has achieved.

To win the Big 12 you've got to go through Lawrence. You've got to go through Lawrence. He's been incredible.  This year I'll be honest, I voted for him for my national coach of the year. He lost four starters this year including the two Morris twins, lost the guards, as well, and here it is, he's now like 80 minutes away from being a national champion.

And I saw them early in the year against Kentucky in the first half and I saw them during that game, I said to myself, they're going to have a good year. You can say they're going to have a good year, but I would have never, ever imagined that they would be sitting where they are, and it starts with his leadership. The man can lead. 

Q.  What do you think about Danny Manning as the next Tulsa coach? 
Dick Vitale: Well, I think that Danny certainly brings a wealth of unbelievable credibility. He's synonymous when you talk about the Final Four in 1988, Danny and the Miracles, what he did to carry Kansas on his back to win the national title. You think about all his experience, Kansas player, coach, NBA experience, he's a magical name in recruiting. I just think –his dad was a coach. He learned so much in his home, learned so much under Bill Self and guys that he played under, Larry Brown. 

I think he's a great hire, and I look for him to do some really outstanding things, because in Tulsa they love their basketball. He'll get people in the stands. I feel bad for Doug Wojcik because I was a big fan of Doug's.  Bottom line is Danny should be able to put some people in the stands, I'll tell you that, sell tickets. 

Q.  Having never been a Division I head coach, period, what would you recommend for his staff?
Dick Vitale: He's got to get a staff with lots of experience. I mean, we could have said the same thing basically about Roy Williams when Roy Williams took over at Kansas. He had never been a head coach, ever. I mean, he came there – the fact that many people would say he was probably the second or third assistant on a staff with Dean Smith, but Bob Frederick was able to recognize potential greatness and rolled the dice and gave him a shot, just like I feel about Chris Collins. I think people with no experience –I’m telling you, I've been around that kid. I call him a kid, he's not a kid anymore, but I've been around him, and he's a star in waiting. He just needs somebody like a Bob Frederick to open the door and give him an opportunity because with his background as a player and his background as a guy with his dad and his dad's name and his name, I think he'd be a natural – I think sometimes that experience factor can be overrated a little bit. 

Q.  I know you're a big baseball fan. With the season beginning here after the Final Four, I need to at least ask you on what your thoughts are on the beginning of the baseball season. 
Dick Vitale: Well, I'm a baseball fanatic as you know. In fact, I'm looking at tickets right now while I'm talking to you, opening home game with the Rays with the Yankees. I look at that pitching staff, I can tell the Yankees have all those bats, but the Rays light up with Price and Shields and Moore, Hellickson and Niemann, Davis. That starting cast means the Yankees will battle it for the wild card. 

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ESPN golf analysts Andy North, Curtis Strange and Paul Azinger and host Mike Tirico participated in a media conference call today to discuss ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of the 2012 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Coverage begins with live SportsCenter reports from Augusta on Monday, April 2, and also will include 4.5 hours per day of first and second-round play on ESPN, ESPN HD and ESPN Deportes on Thursday and Friday, April 5-6, five days and 14 hours on the ESPN 3D Network, extensive coverage on ESPN.com and a special 43-hour Masters tribute on ESPN Classic. Live coverage of Wednesday’s Par 3 Tournament will air on ESPN, ESPN 3D and ESPN3.

A transcript of the conference call follows:

MIKE TIRICO:  It's year 5 for us, and I'll repeat what I've said the other years.  There's no greater thrill than knowing that your place of work for the week is not just Augusta National but you go to Butler Cabin to work for the couple of days that we're on Thursday and Friday and the par‑3 on Wednesday has been so well received over the first four years, so look forward to returning to all of that, and our golf schedule is small in terms of numbers, but the best in terms of stature.  We get to cover this great tournament, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship all four days, and work the first day of the Ryder Cup.  So we're pretty fortunate to have that schedule. 

For that small a schedule in terms of number of events, to have three major champs and all guys who have been there, done it and know the TV route with Zinger, Curtis and Andy, it's a pleasure, and once again, it seems like every year we top this, but look at all the story lines in 10 weeks, Mickelson, Woods, Donald, McIlroy all winning.  The hot guys are hot.  There's no shortage of story lines, so we look forward to another phenomenal few days at Augusta National. 

ANDY NORTH:  I want to go on what Mike was saying, the fact that the two top players in the world, Rory and Donald, and then Phil and Tiger winning, any time you've got Phil and Tiger coming into this event playing well, I think it's potentially one of the most enjoyable Masters to cover going back maybe seven or eight years when we had that time frame when Phil and Tiger and Ernie and Goosen and Vijay were all at the top of their games coming into the Masters playing exceptionally well.

I think it's going to be that same kind of feeling there, that you've got the guys that you want playing well playing well; that's really special.  And any time you get to Augusta, for me as a player, the Masters is really the start of the golf season.  We had a lot of good tournaments before that and a lot of guys are grinding to do their thing, but it always felt like this is what we've all been getting ready for, and to go there with the excitement and the idea that from this point on you hit a bunch of majors coming up, and really the teeth and the meat of the schedule was coming, and I always looked forward to getting to Augusta mainly because of that. 

CURTIS STRANGE:  Well, ditto to whatever everybody said.  I just think that it's always exciting to go there, and it was very exciting as a player, as Andy said, and it's exciting to go as a TV guy, mainly because I don't have to hit it off those side‑hill lies and putt those greens.  It's just more relaxing than having to do that on some of the holes, some of that pressure. 

Thinking back, we've all thought a lot about this game in the last ten days, since Bay Hill, and I think it's exciting because this is the first Masters post‑scandal.  This is the first Masters that's going to be nothing but golf, and I like that.  And I think that the landscape has changed a great deal, which we'll probably go into in a moment with questions, but it's going to be a good week. 

PAUL AZINGER:  I'm pumped because I think honestly this is going to be one of the most anticipated Masters in a long time, and really I think the whole Tiger Woods winning at Bay Hill was huge.  He's going to be the most confident player in the field.  He'll probably come off as a favorite ahead of Rory McIlroy and whoever is ranked ahead of him. 

I think the anticipation is pretty big for this event, and these guys said earlier, with McIlroy and Donald and Mickelson and all the top players being red hot, I think we look forward to a great event. 

I think that Tiger Woods still is the big draw on this Tour obviously.  I've said all along I thought the Tour was kind of a two‑show pony, and Tiger was one and Mickelson was kind of getting a half and then the rest get a half, but I believe that dynamic has changed a little bit now with McIlroy playing the way he has and Luke Donald becoming the type of player he has become.  There is a lot of anticipation for this Masters.  Tiger with the convergence of his physical and mental aspect to him now.  You think about it, as Curtis alluded to, the kind of post "it hit the fan" with Tiger Woods, he finished fourth two years in a row at Augusta really where his head wasn't in the game, and he had a bad left knee and he was in the midst of a colossal swing change.  He still finished in the top 5 at this event. 

Who knows; he's coming in the most confident player, and if his mind is like it was at Bay Hill and he's physically even close to where he was, he might run off and hide from this field. 

Q.         For any of you, can you talk about Rory and his past year starting in Augusta with that final round, what you've seen in him, going on to win the U.S. Open and then winning a couple weeks ago in Palm Beach?  Maybe you could address Rory's season going into the Masters. 

ANDY NORTH:  First of all, I thought the way he handled the meltdown last year at the Masters was spectacular.  He stood there and took it like a man, and I think that's very important.  And because he handled it so well, it helped him grow as a player immensely.  We forget how young he is.  He's just a kid yet.  He handled that exceptionally well, much better than we've seen some veteran players handle defeats like that. 

And I think it really helped him once he got to the U.S. Open.  We saw there what he can be.  He has beautiful technique.  He has tons of confidence, his putting has improved dramatically over the last 18 months working with Dave Stockton.  So I think he's the total package.  I always thought that he was the next No. 1 whenever Tiger relinquished that reign.  So I think he's handled it exceptionally well, he's had a lot of things on his plate over the last year, and he's still a young guy.  He's still growing in how he handles this stuff. 

But I think he handles it exceptionally well.  You forget sometimes that he is 22 years old.  I'm looking forward to him playing at Augusta.  I think his game fits the golf course unbelievably well, and I think he's the kind of guy, we got so used to Tiger just playing well week after week after week when he was at his best, I think Rory is the kind of guy that when he is at his best, he can beat all these guys, and he might do it for a two or three‑week period of time, and then maybe he won't be in contention.  I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.  I think when he gets it going, he's maybe as good as we've seen in a long time. 

Q.         I've got a course question which I've already asked Andy North this question so I'll direct it to Curtis and Paul.  When people talk about what it takes to win a Masters, what comes up most often is putting and the difficulty of the greens, but it seems to be true that if you don't play the par‑5s well, you don't have a chance, almost no matter how well you putt on the other holes.  Would you guys agree with that? 

CURTIS STRANGE:  I think that the first mandatory requirement now is length.  Now, it doesn't mean you can't be a medium‑sized hitter, but you have to be so exceptionally sharp that week that you are giving up a lot, and Augusta, you're giving up a lot on the par‑4s, but especially on the par‑5s. 

You know, the par‑5s, if you can get it on all of them in two, which the big hitters can, it is such an advantage, and it's not only an advantage because of your length, it's an advantage because of the height and the shorter irons.  You've got a shorter club you're coming in that you can get it up in the air and stop it on 13 and 15 and 2 possibly.

So the strength factor is huge at the Masters.  It always has been, but especially in the last ‑‑ well, since they lengthened the four or five holes. 

The par‑5s, as you said, are so important.  They always are.  They're important every week.  But even more so because of the way the game has changed.  And also the length off the tee allows you to come in with shorter irons into these big par‑4s, much shorter than other hitters, and it's just such an advantage there because now you can control the ball on the green better, especially when they get hard and firm and fast, and just strength rears its head so many ways at Augusta that makes it so advantageous to hit it a long way. 

PAUL AZINGER:  I agree, the par‑5s are ‑‑ you think about it, you've got Schwartzel who's not a bomber, Mike Weir, Zach Johnson were able to win the Masters not really killing the ball off the tee, but wasn't it Zach Johnson that was famous for laying up on all the par‑5s but his wedge game was sharp. 

Tiger Woods for his career is something like 1,800 or 1,900 under par on the par‑5s, and he's only about 40 or 50 under on the par‑4s, and he actually might be over par on the par‑3s for his career.  So Tiger's made a career out of killing the par‑5s. Augusta's par‑5s are really the ‑‑ they're the major scoring holes.  They've added a lot of length, a little bit of rough and a bunch of trees.  So accuracy plays a little more of a part.  It's not just the bomber's paradise that it once was, but you've still got to get the par‑5s. 

Q.         Now that Tiger has won at Bay Hill, I want to ask everybody if they think the chase for Jack's record is back on, if they ever had doubts that it was off, and maybe just to illustrate how difficult it might be, is there anybody on the landscape who has four more majors in them besides Rory? 

ANDY NORTH:  Well, I think if you look at the young players, I think that Rory has a chance to win multiple majors.  But until you've done it, you don't know.  And so many of the younger guys looking for that first major championship that until that get that one, that's probably the hardest one.  Once you get that, then you at least sense that you can do it, you've done it, that sort of thing, so I think he has the potential to win multiple championships. 

You look at Luke Donald's game and you think this guy does everything so well; he's got a great short game; he's got a game that should do well in major championships, but up until the last year or so, he really hasn't been even involved in the talk at any of the majors.  So getting that first major is so important. 

You know, can Tiger do it?  I always felt like if he got healthy, he had a chance.  You know, a lot of people wrote him off right away when he struggled for a while.  Every great player we've ever had and seen in our game has gone through a period of time where they've struggled, a year, maybe a season's worth or a couple of years even, and they get it back together.  Look at what Vijay Singh accomplished after 35, look at what Steve Stricker has done after 35.  There's a lot of wins out there for him. 

You've got to be lucky to be playing well at the right times and at major championships, but I always felt, and I don't know if Curtis and Paul felt this way, I always felt like going to a major championship was maybe easier to win than a regular event, at least in my mindset it was, because it eliminated so many players because either the difficulty of the golf course or the mental strain that gets put on players that week. 

So I think because Tiger is so tough mentally, it looks like he's getting healthy again, it looks like he's starting to get his mind organized well again, I think he's got a great opportunity to win multiple more major championships and see if he can catch Jack. 

PAUL AZINGER:  And I agree with that.  The whole thing with Tiger, the emotion ‑‑ I talk about the emotional side of what happened a lot.  I'm one of the believers that says that he'll still break the record if he's physically fit.  However, there was this mental hurdle that he had to get over.  You know, the worst human emotion is shame, and he was ashamed of himself.  He brought shame on his family.  And then you have kind of the heartache of it all, and then there becomes anger at all the people that make jokes and make fun.  Those are real emotions, and it's difficult to overcome that.

Sometimes your family won't let you get over the shame of something.  It happens in many levels.  It could be alcoholism or something.  It could be a million things.  It could be divorce.  It could be anything.  But the person has to be able to forgive himself, as well, and I think that ‑‑ to me I think Tiger has gotten to that point where I believe the people he's surrounded with have gotten beyond the shame of what happened.  I believe that winning at Bay Hill for Tiger has taken him beyond that point where he's been able to forgive himself.

And that to me, if Tiger can get to where he was mentally ‑‑ he didn't separate himself from the rest of the players on Tour because he just always hit it better.  He made more putts more often, and the physical part of it is superb, don't get me wrong, but there was a place mentally that Tiger went to that no one else has seen except maybe Nicklaus, the elite of the elite, and that's where Tiger has taken himself.  The stuff has been jumping in Tiger's head in that second and a half that it takes to make a golf swing that wasn't in there before the accident, before it hit the fan for him, whatever it was, he didn't have that at Bay Hill. 

And if he brings that mental mindset that he had at Bay Hill the rest of the year, I think he returns to the Tiger of old.  I mean, the sky's the limit for him.

He said something ‑‑ Tom Renaldi asked him a question, and he asked was it different for you, Tiger, leading with a chance to win than it was previous, in the however many days since he's won.  Tiger said no ‑‑ the all‑time cliché is that we take one shot at a time.  Well, he said that differently.  He said, I had a game plan ‑‑ he said it was no different basically Saturday night going into Sunday.  "I had a game plan, and all I wanted to do was try to get the ball where I wanted it to go."  That's just a different way of saying one shot at a time. 

For him when he said that to me, I listened to that, and I thought, you know what, it was no different for him, and he's done it more than anybody that plays the game today. 

CURTIS STRANGE:  And I think Paul is exactly right, and not to dwell on Bay Hill so much, but I don't think we can overstate the importance of him winning at Bay Hill for two reasons. 

One, it might be a little bit of an overstatement, but one, this is the start of his second career because of getting over the shame, getting over the past, starting anew, and also starting anew with new mechanics and a new golf swing.  It solidifies his belief in Sean Foley.  I think it was huge, huge for him, and then also I think now we can move on. 

            PAUL AZINGER:  Curtis, are we going to be in agreement that technically ‑‑ when he was with Hank, I think the great instructors in today's game would probably have seen towards the end of his dominance really with Hank, when he started to get stuck in his golf swing, we could all look at Tiger's swing and see five or six or seven things that we didn't like and so would the great instructors, but if you look at Tiger's swing now, if you were picky, you might find one or two.  I bet Andy and Curtis are in agreement, he is more fundamentally sound now than he was before he had the accident. 

CURTIS STRANGE:  He didn't ‑‑ not one time working with Hank Haney did he hit the ball as well as he did this past weekend.  Not one time did I see him in the years with Hank Haney did he hit the ball that well.  Drove it well, he was number one in driving, distance and accuracy hit, damn near all the greens, and when you do that, it takes the pressure off the putting, and he was able to putt well. 

MIKE TIRICO:  I'm going to add one point to the contrary of all this because it sounds like the guys are saying yes, yes and yes to your questions.  The last seven majors have been won by guys who won their first major.  10 of the last 11 have been won by first‑time major champs.  I'm just saying there are more guys in the field who have the confidence and the indestructible Tiger atop of the leaderboard, I think that is not there for many more players in the field as we go in.  So that would be the one other‑side‑of‑the‑street view of this that I would say maybe it's not going to be as easy because of the health issues, will they hold up, and maybe more players getting to the first tee on Thursday of a major who not only have a chance to win but know how to win. 

PAUL AZINGER:  Tiger at his best was unbeatable.  You can't play defense in golf.  I think the one element of intimidation that Tiger had on everybody pre‑accident, pre‑fire hydrant, was that when he walked on that tee on Sunday, and I've said this before, black pants and a shirt the color of blood, you looked at him like he was the most disciplined player by far, maybe the most disciplined athlete, and at times maybe the most disciplined person. 

But what we didn't realize was that maybe we were more disciplined than he was.  We didn't know that.  This generation knows that.  They can say, I think I'm more disciplined than him, if they're not doing the things that he's doing, or was doing.  I'm just saying, this generation now can say, I'm just as disciplined, maybe more. 

Q.         Curtis, there's been ample evidence this year and at lesser events how difficult it is to close out a tournament on a Sunday.  Can you give us some idea, especially at an event like this, what's going through a player's head and stomach trying to close out a lead on a Sunday, how difficult that is and what traits serve a player best coming down to the finish? 

CURTIS STRANGE:  You know, I just think it takes a lot of character, it takes a lot of guts.  It's hard. 

You know, I saw this year an interesting thing.  When Kyle Stanley won Phoenix after blowing it at San Diego the week before, when Peter Kostis ‑‑ this is just an example.  When Peter Kostis interviewed him before it was official that he won, he was talking freely; he was in control of himself.  After whoever didn't make his second shot and Kyle Stanley had won officially his first tournament, he couldn't speak.  His lips were quivering.  He was so emotional, and it just showed how much it means to these guys, and we get blown over ‑‑ they make their money and don't win a lot of tournaments.  You know what I'm saying.  I thought it was a great portrait of a person and how much it meant to them.

Now, in a major in a Masters which is coming up next week, you can ten‑fold the pressure on that, and I've been through it, I know.  I always felt like I could handle Sunday afternoon reasonably well.  I felt somewhat comfortable. 

But the first time I was in contention on Sunday afternoon at the Masters, it was hard.  It was really hard, physically and emotionally, and everybody has to go through it.  We saw it first hand with Rory last year, and I think you just have to buckle down if you're a youngster.  You don't know how to buckle down and do it when you're as young as Rory McIlroy or some of the other youngsters.  You have to be there a few times.  You have to be there a few times in other events.  And even then you just have to buckle down and focus. 

It's not easy.  Some people have written books over it.  But you just need a lot of intestinal fortitude, a lot of focus, don't think about trophy, don't think about anything else.  You have to take, as Zinger said, one shot at a time.  There's no tricks to it. 

Q.         I actually wanted to ask you a little bit about last year's tournament.  I actually went back and watched the whole final round.  I had a DVD of it, and there were eight different guys tied for the lead, and I think I'm more confused now about what happened than I was last year in with, NASCAR terms, kind of like eight wide coming down the final stretch.  From an entertainment standpoint, I know it's hard to say it was the best Masters ever, but from an entertainment standpoint if Paul or Curtis can remember watching one that had them more on the edge of their seat. 

PAUL AZINGER:  I missed the '86 Masters with Jack coming down the stretch because I was in Hattiesburg playing. 

You know, it was awesome.  It got ‑‑ Rory let everybody in, and it was anybody's game, and my palms were sweating.  I'm sitting there with Tirico and Curtis, and we're watching it doing the 3D telecast and getting the call the final day of the Masters, and it just became so compelling.  You know, I need to rewatch it myself to remember who all the eight guys were. 

But for Schwartzel to come out of the pack the way he did and birdie those holes at the very end to finish that championship ‑‑ the Masters off, you can't call it a championship, you call it the Masters, I guess.  I said championship last year a few times. 

But what an event, and it was awesome last year.  It's a very, very difficult course to win on because most of the people that are trying to win have watched the Masters their whole life, and they've watched it on that golf course. 

Schwartzel impressed me.  I thought Schwartzel would be a dominant force in the game, and maybe he will after he defends and he can kind of move on. 

CURTIS STRANGE:  '75 Masters with Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf, Jack Nicklaus, Nicklaus sitting in that scorer's tent at the last hole when they both had birdie putts, pretty exciting stuff.  '86, Jack winning was ‑‑ not only exciting but so emotional for everyone.  And then last year.  Last year was top rank.

ESPN announced 10 of its Mid-American Conference college football game dates for the 2012 season for coverage across ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The schedule will conclude with ESPN2’s telecast of the 15th annual MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. Additional games for coverage, including more ESPN3 exclusives, will be announced in the coming months.

All of the pre-season selections are for mid-week coverage with five of the games on ESPN2, four on ESPNU and one exclusively on ESPN3. Games for the two Friday after Thanksgiving windows on November 23 are to be determined and will be selected on a six or 12-day basis between that day’s five games*.

ESPN2 and ESPNU will showcase participants in last year’s conference title game in separate games on Wednesday, Nov. 14: Defending conference champion Northern Illinois against Toledo at 9 p.m. ET and Ohio, which lost to North Illinois 23-20 in the championship contest, at Ball State at 8 p.m.

• Northern Illinois handed Toledo its only conference loss last year in a high-scoring 63-60 victory. The West Division rivals combined for 1,121 yards of offense and scored for a conference record 17 touchdowns.
• With a 23-20 win, Ball State was one of two MAC teams to defeat the East Division champion Ohio last season.

2012 MAC Schedule as of March 29 (additional selections will be announced):

* ESPNU and ESPN3 will each select one of the following five games for coverage: Ball State at Miami (Ohio), Buffalo at Bowling Green, Central Michigan at UMass, Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan and Ohio at Kent State

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