We have quite a few releases for you. Let’s give you stuff from CBS Sports first.
It says ratings for the AT&T National won by Tiger Woods jumped by over 200% from last year when Tiger was out due to knee surgery.
RATINGS ROAR AGAIN FOR CBS SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF PGA TOUR’S “AT&T NATIONAL” FINAL ROUND WITH 207% INCREASE
CBS Sports’ final-round coverage of the PGA TOUR’s AT&T NATIONAL, which saw host Tiger Woods win his tournament with a birdie at the 16th hole and pars at 17 and 18 to beat Hunter Mahan by a stroke, on Sunday, July 5 (3:00-6:30 PM, ET) scored an overnight household rating/share of 4.6/11, up +207% from last year’s 1.5/3 in the metered markets.
Sunday’s 4.6/11 was the highest rating for a PGA TOUR event (non-major) on CBS Sports since a 4.6/9 for the final round of the BUICK INVITATIONAL (1/27/08) and the highest rating for the final round of the AT&T NATIONAL since the inaugural event in 2007.
Sunday’s final-round rating peaked at a 6.3/14 from 6:00-6:30 PM, ET.
CBS Sports’ third-round coverage of the AT&T NATIONAL on Saturday, July 4 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) earned an overnight household rating/share of 2.6/7, up +100% from last year’s third round 1.3/3 in the metered markets.
Saturday’s 2.6/7 was the highest-rated third round for this event.
The Late Show with David Letterman will have Wimbledon Ladies Champion Serena Williams as guest tonight.
2009 WIMBLEDON WOMEN’S SINGLES AND DOUBLES TENNIS CHAMPION SERENA WILLIAMS TO VISIT CBS’ “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” MONDAY, JULY 6
NEW YORK, July 6 — 2009 Wimbledon women’s singles and doubles tennis champion Serena Williams talks about her victories when she visits the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Monday, July 6 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. On Saturday, Serena defeated her sister, Venus, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the women’s singles final to capture her third Wimbledon title and 11th major championship. Later that afternoon, Serena and Venus teamed up to win their fourth Wimbledon women’s doubles title and ninth Grand Slam doubles title as a duo, defeating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Also featured on tonight’s LATE SHOW will be an interview with actress Hayden Panettiere, a special Top Ten List presented by Optimus Prime from “Transformers,” and a performance by musical guests Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Maria Pope, Jude Brennan and Rob Burnett are the executive producers.
Official CBS Web site: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/
And here’s what Serena told Dave about grunting and other things.
2009 WIMBLEDON WOMEN’S SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPION SERENA WILLIAMS TALKS TOURNAMENTS AND GRUNTING AND INDULGES IN AN IMPROMPTU TENNIS PRACTICE WITH LETTERMAN WHEN SHE VISITS CBS’ “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” MONDAY, JULY 6Serena Williams t
alks about tournaments and grunting and indulges in some tennis practice with Letterman, when she visited the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Monday, July 6 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.Letterman asked Williams, who defeated her sister, Venus, in the women’s singles final and then teamed up with her to take the doubles title that after her victory in the women’s singles final, beating her sister, Venus, “Do you really want to go play doubles after you win the singles?” Williams said, “Absolutely, because, I mean, when I won the singles, I had to beat Venus in the finals in order to win. So last year, she actually beat me in the final and she won, so last year, I was so excited to get on the doubles court because I wanted to win a title. I didn’t want to go home without anything. And so this year when I won, I was actually more excited to go out and play doubles because, more than anything, I wanted Venus to win, to leave with something.”
After a torn quad muscle in Williams’ knee kept her from playing for a year, Letterman wondered, “Were there times when you thought, ‘you know what, this may be – this may be it?’” Williams confessed, “Of course – I mean, when you’re down and out after surgery, it’s like you feel like there is no comeback and there is no way back, but it’s always very important to never give up, guys.”
Letterman asked Williams if she’s looking forward to playing the U.S. Open, and Williams said, “Yeah, I do. I was just coming in today over the bridge and saw the stadium over there and had so many wonderful memories, and I automatically thought, I thought, ‘Wow, I want to get out of this car and just go over there and start training,’ so that’s my next goal is to win the Open ‘cause that’s like what I really want to do.”
Letterman asked Williams about the grunting noises she makes while playing, and “is it mostly younger women who make noise when they hit the tennis ball or is it men and women now? She thinks “it’s definitely more the ladies thing.” Letterman wondered, “Now why is that? Is that something they are taught when they’re learning to play the game?” Williams revealed, “When I was younger growing up, I used to watch Monica Seles and she’s like the first person that I know that really used to grunt really loud and really hard, so that’s kind of how I modeled my grunt after? Yeah, because you have to have role models when it comes to grunting…” Letterman asked, “Can it be distracting to somebody who doesn’t typically make much noise to have an opponent who is making noise?” Williams laughed, “I often wonder that, I often wonder…I’m thinking like we were playing just recently in the finals and Venus and I were grunting really loud in the doubles and the other girls weren’t doing anything, and after the point, I was thinking, ‘Wow, that was pretty loud, was that distracting for them?’ So, like I said, I’ll often wonder.” Williams also revealed that grunting “advanced in everything, like if I play golf, I grunt, if I’m playing soccer and I kick the ball, I grunt…” Letterman had Williams laughing when he joked, “What about at breakfast? ‘…Need some coffee here – ugh! How about some more eggs – ugh!” After the interview, Letterman and Williams indulged in an impromptu tennis practice, taking turns hitting tennis balls into the balcony of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
CBS will re-air a 1963 Wonderful World of Golf segment between Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead this Sunday.
|
|
From the archives of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf comes a classic 1963 match-up between 23-year-old Jack Nicklaus and legendary Sam Snead, then 50 years old and the owner of a PGA TOUR-record 81 wins. Filmed at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Monterey, CA, the 18-hole stroke play competition pitted current and future greatness in Snead and Nicklaus, who was the reigning U.S. Open champion.
The match was filmed on February 24 and came down to the final hole. It hasn’t been rebroadcast in any manner since 1963, until now. NICKLAUS VS. SNEAD REVISITED will be aired by CBS Sports on Sunday, July 12, at 2 p.m. ET.
Produced by PGA TOUR Productions and digitally re-mastered to high definition, the one-hour special will feature an exclusive interview with Nicklaus regarding the match and his fondness for Pebble Beach, swing tips from both Nicklaus and Snead, mini-features on the two contestants as well as the golf course, and interviews with writers, television producers and fans who were in attendance.
The airing of NICKLAUS VS. SNEAD REVISITED leads into CBS Sports’ final-round telecast of the John Deere Classic, Sunday, July 12, 2009 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
The following day, Golf Channel will run a documentary on the famous 1977 duel between Nicklaus and Tom Watson in the Open Championship.
Re-Live the Nicklaus-Watson Battle at Turnberry in GOLF CHANNEL SpecialORLANDO, Fla., July 6, 2009 – One of the most memorable showdowns in major championship history took place at the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry, when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson engaged in a historic 36-hole battle for the Claret Jug that became known as “The Duel in the Sun.”
When the 2009 Open Championship returns to Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland, next week, GOLF CHANNEL will chronicle the story of the duo’s epic battle in a special presentation, Duel in the Sun, airing Monday, July 13 at 9 p.m. ET. The half-hour special includes tournament footage from the original broadcast and features recent interviews with Nicklaus and Watson, third-round leader Roger Maltbie, 1977 U.S. Open Champion and third-place finisher Hubert Green, and several award-winning journalists.
Duel in the Sun will document the Nicklaus-Watson pairing in the final round at the 1977 Open Championship, where they separated themselves from the field. Watson, going for his second major of the year, birdied the 71st hole on Sunday to take the lead for the first time, ultimately finishing one shot ahead of Nicklaus at 12-under-par. Green, who finished 11 strokes back of Watson at 1-under-par, was the only other player to break par for the tournament.
Duel in the Sun will re-air Monday, July 13 at 9:30 p.m. ET and Tuesday, July 14 (Monday night) at midnight ET.
We get an update from MLB.com on the voting for the last roster spots for the 80th All-Star Game.
Races start with Sandoval and Kinsler narrowly leading as voting enters second day
NEW YORK, July 6, 2009 –Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers are the clubhouse leaders after the opening 24 hours of online fan voting in the 2009 All-Star Game Final Vote, held exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual Club sites.
Sandoval currently owns a very small lead over the other four players on the ballot for the final roster spot on the 2009 National League All-Star Team, followed closely by Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies; Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks; and Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals.
On the American League side, Kinsler leads the very close race among the five candidates for the final roster spot, followed by Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers; Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays; and Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The eighth annual All-Star Game Final Vote ballot commenced exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites at 2 p.m. (EDT) yesterday and will continue until the voting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 9, 2009.
Mobile voting is available exclusively on Sprint capable mobile phones and fans can send the word “Vote” to 1122 to receive the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot. Standard text rates apply. In Canada, fans should text the word “Vote” to 88555.
The All-Star Game Final Vote program has seen nearly 140 million votes cast since its inception in 2002, including last year’s record-setting total when fans chose Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers. Previous winners of the All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote are: Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL, 2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt (NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).
Fox Sports and MLB Advanced Media team up for an online pregame show from the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
FOXSPORTS.COM ON MSN & MLBAM REPRISEMLB ALL-STAR BATTING PRACTICE SHOW
Live Show from St. Louis Begins All-Star Coverage at 4:30 ET
Digital ASG Plans Include Second Screen In-Game Camera Experience
New York & Los Angeles – So, it’s All-Star Tuesday and you can’t wait to get home from work to watch the Midsummer Classic. You find yourself daydreaming about being in St. Louis, watching the game’s best hitters take batting practice, launching ball after ball into the
Missouri sky. Well, once again, with a click of your mouse, FOXSports.com on MSN and Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) can transport you there.FOXSports.com on MSN and MLBAM, for the third consecutive year, partner to co-produce the MLB ALL-STAR BATTING PRACTICE SHOW, live on Tuesday, July 14 at 4:30 PM ET from Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis, home of the 80th MLB All-Star Game. FOX Sports’ Chris Rose hosts, while MLB Network’s Royce Clayton provides analysis. FOX’ Ken Rosenthal reports and conducts interviews from the batting cage. Fans can access the show by logging onto www.mlb.com or www.foxsports.com.
Once the hour-long program concludes at 5:30 PM ET, the show’s multiple cameras remain live in fixed positions, providing ambient background audio and video as preparations for the pre-game ceremonies and game continue. At 8:00 PM ET, when FOX Sports begins its live national coverage of the MLB ALL-STAR GAME PREGAME SHOW, the same cameras that were used during the batting practice show are once again manned and provide a second-screen, viewer-pick-the-angle, online experience. As many as five camera angles are expected to be available.
The show’s production infrastructure is supported by MLBAM’s Mediaplayer ’09, with cameras provided by FOX Sports. Pre-produced features and packages, including game highlights, are planned, but are only viewable via the set’s camera stream.
And here’s what ESPN will cover for Motorsports this week.
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABCNASCAR Nationwide Series on ESPN in Prime Time from Chicagoland
The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time on Friday night as it makes its only appearance of the season at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. ESPN will have a live, high definition telecast of the race on Friday, July 10, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. The race re-airs Saturday, July 11, at 2:30 a.m. on ESPN2 and again at 1 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
Also this weekend, live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying airs Friday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, while coverage of final practice airs Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake, 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 Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Craven, Said, Blount on NASCAR Now Roundtable
ESPN NASCAR analysts Ricky Craven and Boris Said and ESPN.com reporter Terry Blount will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, July 13, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Nicole Manske hosts half-hour episode of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 5 p.m. and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Manske also hosts the one-hour weekend edition that airs Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. Said will join Manske on the set, while Mike Massaro and Marty Smith will report from the track.
NASCAR Now 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 Full Throttle Drag Racing from Denver on ESPN2
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series travels to Bandimere Speedway near Denver this weekend, and ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action on a same-day basis. Qualifying from the Mile-High NHRA Nationals airs Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET, with eliminations airing Sunday at 7 p.m. Finals coverage re-airs Monday, July 13, at 2 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
The second half of the season kicks off with the first of three consecutive weekends of racing and one of its greatest challenges. Teams travel high and deep into the Rocky Mountains to more than 5,800 feet, where the altitude affects everything from engine tune-ups to aerodynamics. Crews must make changes to established power-making combinations and battle lack of downforce to tackle the environs. The event is testament to the skill and adaptability of the racers.
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
Other NHRA programming airing on ESPN Networks this week includes the 2003 NHRA Nationals from Brainerd, Minn., airing Monday, July 13, at noon on ESPN Classic. Following at 1 p.m. is an hour of NHRA Sportsman Series action from Atlanta Dragway.
IndyCar Series Races at Toronto Live on ABC
After a one-year absence, one of North America’s famous racing venues returns to action this weekend as the IndyCar Series races in Toronto on the famed Exhibition Place street circuit. ABC will have live coverage of the event on Sunday, July 12, at 1 p.m. ET.
The CART/Champ Car Series raced at Toronto for 22 years, starting in 1986, before the event took a year off last year when open wheel racing unified.
Marty Reid will call the race for ESPN on ABC’s coverage with analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear. Reporting from the pits will be Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch.
Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2
The Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action for more than two hours on Sunday, July 12, in five half-hour program beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.The programs will feature highlights from events held in Wheatland, Mo., and Henry, Ill. The league is sanctioned by the American Tractor Pulling Association.
And those are the releases for tonight.
