Weekend Programming Press Releases

Let’s give you some weekend programming releases. Asides from baseball, NASCAR and golf, there are some slim pickings, but you may find something you like in the following announcements. Don’t let me influence your viewing.

Tomorrow, CBS airs the finale of the Tour de France plus has a special on the road to the PGA Championship.

CBS SPORTS AIRS ARMSTRONG’S AU REVOIR TO “TOUR DE FRANCE” WITH HIGHLIGHT COVERAGE OF FINAL STAGES ON SUNDAY, JULY 25

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR’s coverage of the 2010 TOUR DE FRANCE highlights the final stages of the 2,600-mile race on Sunday, July 25 (1:00-2:00 PM, ET; SD TAPE) in this hour-long recap on the CBS Television Network.  Seven-time Tour winner and one of the greatest cyclists of all-time, American Lance Armstrong makes the final Tour de France appearance of his legendary career as coverage also highlights what could be a dramatic finish between two-time defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain and last year’s runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.  American Levi Leipheimer, currently in seventh place, also pedals for the prize of wearing the yellow jersey at the end of the 23-day trek that started in Rotterdam, Netherlands and ends in Paris.  Craig Hummer hosts the show, while Vic Frank serves as coordinating producer of CBS Sports’ coverage.  Production support will be provided by Versus.

CBS SPORTS TRAVELS ANOTHER PATH WITH “ROAD TO THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP” ON SUNDAY, JULY 25

CBS Sports travels a slightly different path than it usually takes each March as it airs THE ROAD TO THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP on Sunday, July 25 (2:00-3:00 PM, ET). The road to a golfing major title has many twists and turns. For 312 PGA professionals, it began at the 43^rd PGA Professional National Championship in French Lick, Ind.  Only the top 20 survive and move on. Hosted by CBS Sports Bill Macatee, THE ROAD TO THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP chronicles their journey into golf’s final major of the year.  CBS Sports’ Chris Svendsen serves as coordinating producer.

Harold Bryant is Vice President of Production, CBS Sports.

Universal Sports has live gymnastics and the return of Alicia Sacramone to the sport.

UNIVERSAL SPORTS PRESENTS EXCLUSIVE LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2010 COVERGIRL CLASSIC

Action begins at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 24 from UIC Pavilion in Chicago

Alicia Sacramone makes her first competitive appearance since 2008 Olympic Games

July 21, 2010 – Universal Sports presents exclusive live coverage of the 2010 CoverGirl Classic on Saturday, July 24 at 8 p.m. ET at the UIC Pavilion on the University of Illinois-Chicago’s campus. David Michaels, Executive Producer of Universal Sports, will be directing the production, which will feature commentators Tim Daggett, 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, and Tasha Schwikert, 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist. In addition to the television coverage, fans can visit www.universalsports.com for live web coverage of the event and click on the gymnastics section for up-to-date broadcast schedules, breaking news, video highlights, special features, photo galleries and more. This marks the second consecutive year that Universal Sports will produce this national championships qualifying competition.

Highlighting this year’s CoverGirl Classic is the return of 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Alicia Sacramone. In her first competitive appearance since announcing a year ago that she was coming out of retirement, Sacramone will look to perform well, just three week away from the 2010 Championships. The competition will be fierce as the reigning world champion, Bridget Sloan, and world silver-medalist, Rebecca Bross, both of whom have already qualified for nationals, will be sure to bring their best in hopes of perfecting their routines for nationals. 

The CoverGirl Classic, formerly known as the U.S. Classic, is the final qualifying event for the 2010 Championships, the U.S. National Championships for men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling. Universal Sports will broadcast the 2010 Championships live on Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13 at 7 p.m. ET, while NBC Sports will show live coverage on Saturday, August 14 at 8 p.m. ET and taped coverage on Sunday, August 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Of course, having Alicia back gives me the excuse to post this video of her knocking out a guy at Brown University.

NBC Sports and USA have coverage of the Dew Action Sports Tour.

DEW TOUR CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND WITH NIKE 6.0 BMX OPEN, ON NBC & USA

NEW YORK – July 22, 2010 – The world’s top BMX freestylists will be decided this weekend during NBC Sports’ coverage of the Nike 6.0 BMX Open, the only BMX-specific event of the season from Soldier Field Festival Lot in Chicago. NBC Sports’ live coverage of BMX park airs Saturday and taped coverage of BMX vert airs Sunday, at 4-6 p.m. ET both days. USA Network will air late-night coverage of BMX park on Saturday, midnight-1 a.m. ET, and BMX vert on Sunday, 2-3 a.m. ET.

Athlete analysts Jamie Bestwick and Dave Mirra join host Todd Harris, analyst Todd Richards and correspondent Tiffany Simons from Chicago.

Over 190 of the best BMX athletes from 11 different countries will compete in Chicago in vert, park and dirt disciplines. Highlighting the vert roster includes five-time, undefeated Dew Cup champion Bestwick and Chad Kagy, who placed second in Chicago at last year’s BMX Open.

BMX legend Mirra took the BMX park win last year in Chicago. He will again look to repeat his win in the Windy City, but will have to contend with the likes of defending BMX Park Dew Cup Champion Garrett Reynolds, three-time Dew Cup champion Daniel Dhers and the youngest rider on the tour circuit, Brett Bansaniewicz.

Complete 2010 Dew Tour Schedule:

Aug. 12-15: Wendy’s Invitational – Portland, Ore. – Rose Quarter

Sept. 16-19: Toyota Challenge – Salt Lake City, Utah – Energy Solutions Arena

Oct. 14-17:  Dew Tour Championships – Las Vegas, Nev. – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Versus begins coverage of the final 7 races of the IndyCar season on Sunday with the event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Sunday.

VERSUS ROARS INTO HOME STRETCH OF INDYCAR SEASON WITH INCREASED RATINGS, TIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AND NEW RIVALRIES

Overall Points Leader Will Power Seeking His Third Consecutive 2010 Road Course Win When IndyCar Series Visits Edmonton July 25; Coverage Begins at 5 p.m. ET

NEW YORK, N.Y. (July 21, 2010)-VERSUS, the exclusive cable television home of the IndyCar Series, will air the final seven races of the 2010 season beginning on Sunday, July 25, with live coverage of the Indy Edmonton race. VERSUS’ HD coverage of the event will begin at 5 p.m. ET from the City Centre Airport and pre-race qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, July 24, at 6 p.m. ET.

VERSUS is heading into its second half of the season with tremendous momentum based on ratings and viewership growth over its inaugural year of coverage in 2009. The first five races of the 2010 season on VERSUS averaged a .5 HH rating and 428,000 viewers, which was up 25 percent and 24 percent, respectively, as compared to the first five races of 2009 (.4 HH and 345,000 viewers). Additionally, the network also recorded viewership increases for all key male demos over 2009: Men 18-34 (up 32%), Men 18-49 (up 8%) and Men 25-54 (up 26%).

The 2010 race in Edmonton marks the third consecutive year that IndyCar has held a race at the approximately 2-mile track. The course features 95 laps, including 14 turns, and totals a distance of nearly 190 miles. Scott Dixon was the first driver to win the race in 2008 and Will Power was victorious in 2009. While Power is looking to secure his second win on this course, and third straight street course win this year, he faces tough competition from Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson-all have had strong showings on road courses during recent events.

The remaining seven races of the season will undoubtedly feature an intense and tight battle for the points title, with the second through fifth place drivers trailing Power by less than 100 points each: Dario Franchitti (-42), Scott Dixon (-78), Ryan Briscoe (-85) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (-91). In addition to the excitement surrounding the quest for the top position, wrecks during last week’s Honda Indy Toronto race are creating heated rivalries, both on and off the course, between Graham Rahal and Ryan Briscoe as well as Tomas Sheckter and Alex Tagliani.

VERSUS’ REMAINING INDY CAR SERIES SCHEDULE FOLLOWS (subject to change, all times ET):

July 25 – Indy Edmonton, 5:00 p.m.

August 8 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2:30 p.m.

August 22 – Infineon Raceway, 5:00 p.m.

August 28 – Chicagoland Speedway, 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 4 – Kentucky Speedway, 8:00 p.m.

Sept. 18 – Twin Ring Motegi, 11:00 p.m.

Oct. 2 – Homestead-Miami Speedway, 6:00 p.m.

Pre-race qualifying coverage airs the day prior to each live event, visit www.VERSUS.com for schedule.

That will do it. One more release coming.