These don’t fit into any particular category. They just go into one particular pile. This one. Let’s go.
ESPN Films’ documentary, The Lost Son of Havana, a film on former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant’s return to Cuba airs on ESPN Deportes on Sunday and ESPN on Monday. I have an advanced copy and I hope to have a review by Sunday.
ESPN Films: The Lost Son of Havana — Luis Tiant Documentary — This Weekend
ESPN Films’ The Lost Son of Havana will air Sunday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN Deportes and Monday, Aug. 10, at 10 p.m. on ESPN offering a rare inside look at former Major League Baseball all-star pitcher Luis Tiant, who returned to Havana after 46 years of exile. His 19-year baseball career included stints with the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, and at 67 he finally confronted the long-simmering feelings of love and loss he had for his family, his former teammates and the country he left behind. His performance in the 1975 World Series captured the hearts of Boston fans with two wins, including a shutout in Game 1 against the Cincinnati Reds, baseball’s greatest lineup, bringing the Red Sox as close to a championship as they had in nearly 60 years.
ESPN’s SportsNation which I have yet to watch will have what is known in the business as an “encore presentation” at midnight ET on ESPN2. The show usually airs at 4 p.m. ET on the network formerly nicknamed “The Deuce”.
SportsNation Now Reairs at Midnight on ESPN2
In addition to its weekday 4-5 p.m. slot on ESPN2, SportsNation, the new live studio show with co-hosts Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd, will reair weekdays at midnight (9 p.m. PT) on ESPN2. A new segment – “Walk the Plank” – was introduced this week with Beadle or Cowherd guessing the correct percentage from a SportsNation poll result. For every percentage they’re off, that’s how many steps they’ll have to take down the plank in this time-sensitive game that uses graphics with renderings of the hosts. More than 40 steps and they’re swimming with the sharks.
SportsNation is fan interactive and relies on sports fans to be the show’s third co-host as well as influence the daily production and direction of the show. Fans can deliver their input via Twitter (@SportsNation), ESPN.com’s SportsNation web page, e-mail (sportsnation@espn.com), and phone calls (1-888-FAN-ESPN) before, during and after the show.
Is NBC Sports happy to have Kerri Walsh back in beach volleyball? As former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would say, “You betcha!” Kerri is taking part in this weekend’s AVP Tour stop at Hermosa Beach.
KERRI WALSH RETURNS AS NBC SPORTS PRESENTS COVERAGE OF THE AVP FROM HERMOSA BEACHUniversal Sports To Broadcast Semifinals LiveNEW YORK- August 6, 2009: Two-time Olympic gold medalist and 103-time beach volleyball match winner Kerri Walsh is making her comeback at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open. Walsh, who has not played since the end of last season due to her pregnancy, returns this weekend with fellow new mom and 2008 FIVB World Tour silver medalist Rachel Wacholder as her partner. The top men's team this weekend is Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers who took the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
NBC Sports will present high-definition coverage of the women's final on Saturday and the men's final on Sunday each beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com will provide live coverage of women's semifinal round on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET and the men's semifinal round on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Also competing on the women's side are Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs who have won six of eight events in which they played this year and Southern California natives and former USC All-Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross who recently won the FIVB World Championships in Norway. Dalhausser and Rogers competition will come from Sean Scott and John Hyden. They come in as the top seed after winning AVP stops in Atlanta and Ocean City, Md.
AVP COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS:
Universal Sports will broadcast 12 hours of live semifinal coverage for events in Hermosa Beach and the Cup Championship in Chicago and will re-air all 12 hours of the finals after the live broadcasts on NBC Sports. UniversalSports.com will also live stream each semifinal event with on-demand video of the semifinals and finals available online.HAMBLETONIAN LIVE ON NBC SPORTS SATURDAY, 3:30 P.M. ETNEW YORK August 4, 2009 - NBC Sports presents live coverage of the 84th edition of harness racing's "Greatest Race," the Hambletonian from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., Saturday 3:30-4: 30 p.m. ET. The Hambletonian is one of America's oldest sporting events dating back to 1926, showcasing legendary Standardbred horses.
The Hambletonian attracts the world's finest trotters including favorite Muscle Hill, winner of 12 straight starts, and Explosive Matter, winner of seven of his 10 career starts. The Hambletonian is the richest horseracing event of its kind with a $1.5 million purse. The Oaks, which will also be aired live, will highlight the best three year-old fillies.
Gary Seibel, Kenny Rice and Donna Brothers call the action.AMERICAN Le MANS ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE, SUNDAY, 2:30 P.M. ETNBC Sports presents taped coverage of the American Le Mans Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, this Sunday from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. ET. The American Le Mans Series features eye-catching exotic sports cars, and provides multiple ways to interact with Series personalities. The Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course marks the eighth stop of the American Le Mans Series.
Bill Weber hosts NBC Sports' coverage alongside Wally Dallenbach, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Calvin Fish.
This Sunday, National Geographic Channel has a fascinating special on what is actually on the ocean floor in a program called, “Drain the Oceans”. As usual with NatGeo, we have pictures and videos to accompany the release. That’s always appreciated.
DRAIN THE OCEAN
Sunday, August 9 at 9PM ET/PT
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/drain-the-ocean-3639/Overview
This is a world you have never seen before a world normally hidden under miles of water, the landscape of the ocean bed. Combining the latest scientific data with state of the art CGI computer hardware and specially written software, we drain the water from the oceans to reveal the mountains, canyons, plains and volcanoes that are more dramatic than anything on dry land.
Left to Right:
1) LANAI, HAWAII: White coral boulder amidst black volcanic ones are taken as evidence for a giant tsunami, originating on the Big Island, that hit the island of Lanai in the past. (photo credit © Steve Nicholls)
2) BAHAMAS: The inner side of Eleuthera Island. The shallow water overlying the Great Bahama Bank. (photo credit © Steve Nicholls)
3) BIG ISLAND, HAWAII: Ropy textures of Pahoehoe lava formed from recent eruptions on Hawaii’s Big Island, the world’s largest shield volcano. (photo credit © Steve Nicholls)
On our program Web site for Drain the Ocean, you can also check out what we do and do not yet know about what lies under the ocean, as well as the interactive map. While you’re there, please check out National Geographic’s Ocean Now Project as well, which aims to study the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean.
Video “A New Hawaiian Island” – Draining the Pacific reveals a mountain larger than Everest and a new Hawaiian island on the rise.
Video “Oasis of Life” – On land, tar pits can be a death trap, but beneath the Gulf of Cadiz, they support unusual life forms in huge numbers.
Great stuff as always from NatGeo. And we’re done.
