I’ll provide some press releases while I can.
Here’s the interview CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta conducted with Lance Armstrong. This interview aired on today’s edition of American Morning.
In an interview that aired on today’s American Morning, CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke exclusively with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, just after he took third place at the Tour de France this weekend. Armstrong spoke candidly about the challenges he faced after a four year break, drug tests, his critics and why he has committed to race in 2010.
Full transcript:
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Today has been a remarkable 22 days for Lance Armstrong right here in France. Tour de France started in Monaco, ended right here in Paris. Fans, cancer survivors from all over the world really cheering on the seven-time Tour de France winner.
Now I set on the board of Lance Armstrong, and I can tell you, after a four-year hiatus it was a big decision for him. I caught up with him just a few hours after he took third place at the Tour de France to talk about some of the challenges, to talk about some of the criticisms that have been waged against him, and how he responds to those and to simply ask him why he decided to get involved in all of this again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (on camera): Coming in first, is that something you thought about? I mean, did you care? You write it’s not about the bike. But do you care if you come in first or not?
LANCE ARMSTRONG, THIRD PLACE AT TOUR DE FRANCE: Well, I wanted to come in first. But sometimes in sports there’s somebody that’s better.
And I was that guy for seven years. And I never understood what it felt like to get second or third. I’m 38 now. And you race guys that are 24 or 25 or 26, and they’re fast, they’re strong. They have acceleration.
They have all of the things that you had at that age. And you get third. That’s what the great thing about the Tour is that the best man always wins.
GUPTA: How was this race different for you in terms of how you trained, what you ate? Were there differences compared to five years ago?
ARMSTRONG: Well, I used a lot of the same training, the same idea with diet. I mean, the only difference, I guess, is that I’m now 38 years old. So a 38-year-old man does not wake up every day like a 28-year-old. But I can’t even complain. I mean, I think I rode well.
GUPTA: Why come back after four years? What inspired this?
ARMSTRONG: Obviously, I have to have a love for the bike. I have to have a love for the Tour. Otherwise, this is too hard. It’s just way too damn hard to go out and do this. But my passion for fighting cancer and fighting it not just in Texas or the United States but around the world.
GUPTA: When you look at you the man, Lance, and the issue of cancer, do you think that people separate that? I mean, do they understand why you’re riding and why you came back?
ARMSTRONG: Yes, I think so. You know, these days it’s easy to get feedback. When people have a comment or have an issue, they let you know. And most of them are regarding cancer. So that tells me that the people understand. They’ve been affected either themselves or a loved one and they understand it. And then they say keep going. You know, pedal hard for them tomorrow. Pedal hard for my mom or my neighbor or my co-worker.
GUPTA: One of the things you mention — you talked a lot about during the whole tour was surprise test for doping. They just come and surprise you.
ARMSTRONG: They’re not surprises any more.
GUPTA: Not surprising — 40, I think over 40 tests.
ARMSTRONG: They’re 50 — they’re 50 now.
GUPTA: What do you say to the critics? What do you say to the skeptics now at the end of the tour?
ARMSTRONG: Look, I’ve done this a long time. And I’ve been at the highest level now since 1992 until 2009. I’ve been tested more than anybody else. If I can take four years off and come back at the age of 38 with more controls than anybody else on planet Earth and get third in the hardest sporting event in the world, I think we’ve answered the questions.
In what has become a cliched and hackneyed feature not just on ESPN, but on any media outlet, ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen will be reporting from 20 training camps in a span of 24 days.
Mort Goes to Camp: July 31- Aug. 23
Live Reports from 20 NFL Training Camps in 24 Days
Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen to Take Three-Week Road TripSenior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen will take a three-week road trip to cover 20 NFL team training camps in 24 days, July 31 – Aug. 23. Mortensen will travel by bus across the country and provide news and information updates from around the league daily on SportsCenter, NFL Live and other ESPN platforms.
“This trip will give me the chance to see the country and many of the teams in the league up close, said Mortensen. “I look forward to visiting with coaches, players and the front-office staff of the teams, and interacting with many passionate football fans as they get ready for the new season.”
“Mort Goes to Camp” coverage will include daily appearances on SportsCenter and NFL Live, as well as Monday Night Countdown (before ESPN’s Monday Night Football preseason games on Aug. 13 and 17); reports on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning (simulcast on ESPN2); blog items, video, interactive maps and daily post cards on ESPN.com; and regular updates on Twitter (@mortreport).
Mortensen’s tour will span some 6,400 miles, beginning with a visit to the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 31. The tour will conclude Aug. 23 in Miami, which will host Super Bowl XLIV in February.
“Mort Goes to Camp” Schedule:
7/31 Dallas/Arlington, TX
8/1 Dallas Cowboys (San Antonio, TX)
8/2 New Orleans Saints (Metairie, LA)
8/3 Travel to Minnesota via Hattiesburg, MS
8/4 Minnesota Vikings (Mankato, MN)
8/5 Green Bay Packers (Green Bay, WI)
8/6 Chicago Bears (Bourbonnais, IL)
8/7 Indianapolis Colts (Terre Haute, IN)
8/8 Detroit Lions (Allen Park, MI)
8/9 Cleveland Browns (Berea, Ohio)
8/10 Pittsburgh Steelers (Latrobe, PA)
8/11 Philadelphia Eagles (Bethlehem, PA)
8/12 N.Y. Jets (Hempstead, NY)
8/13 ESPN (Bristol, CT)
8/14 N.Y. Giants (Albany, NY)
8/15 New England Patriots (Foxboro, MA)
8/16 Baltimore Ravens (Westminster, MD)
8/17 Washington Redskins (Ashburn, VA)
8/18 Tennessee Titans (Nashville, TN)
8/19 Atlanta Falcons (Flowery Branch, GA)
8/20 Jacksonville Jaguars (Jacksonville, FL)
8/21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tampa, FL)
8/22 Miami Dolphins (Davie FL)
8/23 Miami, FL
We continue with ESPN and the motorsports events it will air this week.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Pocono on ESPN
ESPN will have live, flag-to-flag coverage in high definition as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes for 500 miles at the “Tricky Triangle,” Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., on Sunday, Aug. 2. The telecast is presented by Old Spice and begins with NASCAR Countdown at 1:00 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 2:18 p.m.
The final 17 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on the ESPN Networks, with the first six on ESPN and the final 11 on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
ESPN’s coverage from Pocono includes a live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, July 31, at 3:27 p.m., and telecasts of two practice sessions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars on the 2.5-mile track, all on ESPN2. The first practice session airs Saturday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m., while final practice airs at 11:30 a.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup c
hampion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Also this week, ESPN Classic will air highlights of the 1988 Budweiser 400 from Riverside International Raceway on Monday, Aug. 3, at 6 p.m. The event was the final NASCAR race ever run at the famed California road course and was won by Rusty Wallace.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Makes Iowa Speedway Debut
ESPN continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races for the first time ever at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs on ESPN on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 4 p.m. ET. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
Also on Saturday, live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying airs at 1 p.m. on ESPN2, while coverage of final practice airs Friday, July 31, at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.
Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie. Reporting from the pits will be Jack Arute, Mike Massaro and Rick DeBruhl.
ESPN Pit Reporters on NASCAR Now Roundtable
The four reporters who work the pits in ESPN’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Aug. 3, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Joining host Allen Bestwick will be Dave Burns,
Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch.
Mike Massaro slides into the host role for half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 5 p.m., and then Nicole Manske hosts episodes airing Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m.
Manske also hosts the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Marty Smith will report from Pocono for both programs. .
NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
NHRA Lucas Oil Series Action Monday on ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic airs two hours of drag racing action featuring the NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series on Monday, Aug. 3, beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
The first hour includes highlights from racing at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. A second hour airing at noon presents action from Englishtown, N.J.
These are the tournaments that Golf Channel will air this week.
GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
July 27 – August 2, 2009
Buick Open
Dates: 7/30 – 8/2
Venue: Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, Grand Blanc, Mich.
Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 3 – 6 p.m. (Live)/8:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)/2 – 5 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 3 – 6 p.m. (Live)/8:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1 – 2 p.m. (Live)/9:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 1 – 2:30 p.m. (Live)/9:30 – 11:30 p.m. (Replay)
GOLF CHANNEL On-Air Talent:
Rich Lerner (Play by Play)
Frank Nobilo (Analyst)
Peter Oosterhuis (Tower)
Gary McCord (Tower)
Mark Lye (On Course)
Scott Walker (Interviews)
Broadcast Notes: Golf Central will recap the news and storylines from all of the tours, preview the Buick Open and deliver news and insight. Thursday – Sunday, Golf Central will broadcast live from Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, delivering all of the comprehensive wrap-around news coverage of the 2009 Buick Open in addition to the latest news from the Ricoh Women’s British Open and all golf’s major tours… Hosted by Kraig Kann and Brandel Chamblee on-site from Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Golf Central Pre Game will prepare viewers for all of the action on the various golf tours with news, interviews and analysis. Saturday and Sunday, Golf Central Pre Game will air from 12:30 – 1 p.m. ET prior to GOLF CHANNEL’s lead-in coverage, and return for a second show from 2:30 – 3 p.m., preparing viewers for CBS Sports’ weekend action.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational
Dates: 7/30 – 8/2
Venue: The Ohio State University Golf Club, Columbus, Ohio
Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Replay)/12:30 – 2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 6:30 – 8:30 p.
m. (Replay)/Midnight – 2 a.m. (Replay)Saturday 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. (Replay)/Midnight – 2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 7 – 9:30 p.m. (Replay)/Midnight – 2 a.m. (Replay)
GOLF CHANNEL On-Air Talent:
Jerry Foltz (Play by Play)
Curt Byrum (Analyst)
Kay Cockerill (Tower)
Phil Parkin (On Course)
Stephanie Sparks (On Course)
Moravia Silesia Open 2009
Dates: 7/30 – 8/2
Venue: Prosper Golf Resort, Celadna, Czech Republic
Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 9 a.m. – Noon (Live)
Friday 9 a.m. – Noon (Live)
Saturday 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. (Live)
HBO Sports will air a new documentary this week on the 1983 Jr. Middleweight fight between Billy Collins, Jr. and Luis Resto. Look for my review of the doc before the airing.
HBO SPORTS DOCUMENTARY “ASSAULT IN THE RING” REVISITS THE ILL-FATED 1983 JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT FIGHT BETWEEN BILLY COLLINS JR. AND LUIS RESTO WHEN IT DEBUTS AUG. 1 ON HBO
HBO Sports presents ASSAULT IN THE RING, a documentary about the ill-fated junior middleweight bout between Billy Collins Jr. and Luis Resto and its subsequent effect on both boxers. Debuting SATURDAY, AUG. 1 (10:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, the special explores the events that profoundly impacted the New York sports landscape and the world of boxing, and changed the lives of two athletes.
“This film will revisit one of boxing’s saddest days,” says Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. “But it’s a compelling story that we feel needs to be told, because so many lives were changed forever on that night at Madison Square Garden. This is an in-depth, comprehensive examination of that tragic event.”
“There were so many unanswered questions surrounding what really happened and who, if anybody, was responsible. What we discovered was much worse than had ever been imagined,” says director and producer Eric Drath. “However, what we ultimately found was a story that went far beyond fact-finding; what unfolded before our cameras is a story of redemption.”
ASSAULT IN THE RING revisits a boxing scandal considered one of the sport’s darkest hours, and traces a man’s despairing journey following his alleged involvement in a criminal plot. The documentary examines new evidence about this boxing match turned 30-minute assault, and reveals much more about the pre-fight activities of Luis Resto, his trainer Panama Lewis and the athletic commission representatives.
On June 16, 1983, undefeated prizefighter Billy Collins Jr. set out to fulfill every boxer’s dream of fighting in the world’s most famous arena – Madison Square Garden. Collins’ opponent, Luis Resto of the Bronx, moving up from welterweight, had his own dream of rising to the occasion in front of hometown fans. But what began as a match that Nashville native Collins was favored to win changed both athletes’ lives – ending Collins’ career dreams and landing Resto in prison.
Resto seemingly reached a fighter’s ultimate goal by upsetting Collins, but his post-fight victory celebration was short-lived when it was discovered that the padding had been illegally removed from Resto’s gloves by his trainer, Panama Lewis, before the fight. Resto was subsequently incarcerated and banned from the sport, while the brutally beaten Collins went into a tragic downward spiral. Resto gives his account of the story in the documentary.
Lewis, whose official career as a trainer came to an end that night, was also subsequently banned, and speaks for the first time in ASSAULT IN THE RING about the events of the fight and their impact. Others interviewed include: former New York State Athletic Commission chairmen Jack Prenderville, Randy Gordon and Ron Scott Stevens; members of the prosecution, defense and jury from the 1985 trial in New York, including former New York prosecutors John Bicks and Thomas Moore; attorneys Robert Beecher and Mickey Joseph; referee Tony Perez; New York State forensic scientist Charles Pampa; former New York City police detective James Rodriguez; Luis Resto’s sisters, Marta Resto and Susan Lopez; Luis Resto’s sons, Brian and Luis Jr.; and Billy Collins Jr.’s former wife, Andrea.
HBO Sports presents a Live Star Entertainment Production; director and producer, Eric Drath; for HBO: executive producers, Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; executive producer, Barry Murphy; supervising producer for HBO, Joe Lavine; writers, Aaron Cohen and Eric Drath.
CNBC will air a documentary this week in Ultimate Fighting.
CNBC’S “ULTIMATE FIGHTING: FISTFUL OF DOLLARS” will premiere on Wednesday, July 29th at 10PM and 1AM ET.
The documentary will re-air on Friday, July 31st at 1AM and Sunday, August 2nd at 10PM ET.
It’s a hit business like no other. And CNBC is ready for a rematch.Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premiere name in the sport of mixed martial arts.
CNBC takes a new look inside the biggest brand in brawling with “Ultimate Fighting: Fistful of Dollars,” a fresh take on CNBC’s original Emmy-nominated documentary from 2007.
Correspondent Scott Wapner travels to Germany for the UFC’s first-ever event in mainland Europe, and goes inside the Octagon with Dana White, the controversial front man, as well as billionaire backers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. Wapner also profiles a stable of skilled fighters who have helped the league grow from a dying franchise to a global sensation in less than a decade.It’s not just the sport’s growing legion of fans who’ve taken notice, but Madison Avenue, too. In 2007, marquee brands were reluctant to advertise with a league that had a no-holds-barred reputation. Despite continued controversy, the UFC has gone mainstream, and Fortune 500 companies like Budweiser and Harley-Davidson are big-time backers.
The sport is becoming so popular and profitable that billionaires Mark Cuban and Donald Trump are throwing their hats into the ring. Their league, Affliction, promises top fighters and revenues to match, but Dana White tells Wapner that it’s just another in a long list of competitors he’s ready to take to the mat.
CNBC takes a look at the range of promotions, endorsements and movie deals tied to the sport, as well as at TapouT, the successful apparel company created by three hardcore fans who turned their passion for mixed martial arts into a $100 million dollar business.
It’s a mix of muscle and mayhem that is making money hand over fist.
“Ultimate Fighting: Fistful of Dollars” premieres Wednesday, July 29.
That’s going to do it for now.
