On Sunday, the French Open begins and so does ESPN2’s coverage which will begin right after Tennis Channel which has the main cable rights. Take a gander at the release:
French Open on ESPN2 & ESPN360.com
Two Weeks of Action Starts Sunday, May 24; Women’s Semis Live June 4
Part Three of Another “Serena Slam”?….Step Two of Grand Slam for Nadal?The best players in tennis will gather for the second Grand Slam tournament of the year on the red clay of Paris – Roland Garros, the 2009 French Open – beginning on ESPN2 on Sunday, May 24. The network – in its first year televising all four of tennis’ major events – will present more than 56 hours, culminating with the women’s semifinals live Thursday, June 4. ESPN networks have televised the French Open 1986 – 1993 and since 2002. In addition, ESPN360.com will have 277 live hours of coverage, also starting May 24, and continuing all days ESPN2 is on the air.After the opening day, ESPN2’s schedule will continue with extensive coverage Tuesday, May 26 – Friday, May 29, resuming the next week, Monday, June 1 – 4. Except for June 4 and the women’s semifinals starting at 8 a.m. ET, coverage will begin each day at noon – directly following Tennis Channel’s morning programming – and will generally continue until 6:30 p.m. (See schedule below.) In addition, ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language U.S. sports network, will televise 39 hours from Paris starting Sunday, May 24 and culminating with the women’s semifinals live Thursday, June 4.Dick Enberg will call his 23rd French Open, along with Cliff Drysdale and analysts Darren Cahill, Mary Carillo, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver. Chris Fowler will serve as on-site host and call select matches while legendary tennis columnist Bud Collins will provide his insights as analyst and interviewer.
Previewing the ActionRafael Nadal, fresh off his first Australian Open championship and sixth Grand Slam win, will be vying for his fifth straight victory on the red clay of Paris where he is an undefeated 28-0 lifetime. Roger Federer, with 13 Grand Slam titles just one behind Pete Sampras’ record of 14, has never won the French Open despite appearances in the finals against Nadal the last three years. His career record at the tournament: 32-10.On the women’s side, Ana Ivanovic claimed her first career major championship at Roland Garros last year. She will defend the title against a field led by Serena Williams, winner of the last two Grand Slam titles (2008 US Open, 2009 Australian Open) and winner of the French Open in 2002. That victory was the first of four consecutive majors she won extending into 2003, the “Serena Slam.”
Patrick McEnroe on Nadal: “We’re Watching History”“Despite the results this past weekend on clay in Madrid – Novak Djokovic testing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer beating him for the title, the question in Paris is not ‘Can anyone beat Nadal?’….it’s ‘Can anyone take a set from him?’ That’s what it’s come to at Roland Garros. The fact that he has improved so much on the other surfaces has actually helped his clay court game. Others in the past who made adjustments to better themselves on faster surfaces – Lendl, Wilander and Courier come to mind – saw their clay court play suffer. Nadal is serving better, being more aggressive with his backhand and coming inside the court more often. He’s absolutely steamrolling people. He used to win on clay with his defense, now he is as good an offensive player. It’s scary to see he’s so much better than he already was. We’re watching history — he’s on his way to surpassing Bjorn Borg as the best ever on clay, and he has a serious chance at the Grand Slam this year.
“As for Federer, the most common question I get asked is ‘What’s wrong with Roger?’ Well, until he loses early in a major you can’t ask. He has been in the last four Grand Slam finals and has an amazing streak of reaching at least the semis in 19 straight majors. So you can’t write him off. What he did Sunday was impressive; he played the right style – was aggressive and didn’t get into many long rallys. It’s the first time I’ve seen him adjust his game on clay versus Nadal. But the biggest factor was the altitude in Madrid, which helps a big server. He is capable of losing to a number of people and that streak is in jeopardy. Even though Nadal defeated Djokovic in the semis in Spain, in a best-of-five match he still has the best chance to upset the reigning four-time champ.”
Mary Carillo on Serena: Last win in Paris was ‘02….four straight losses in ‘09…bad knee…yet “the favorite”“Only two women in the draw have won the title – Serena Williams and the defending champ, Ana Ivanovic. Ana hasn’t played as well so far this year, but she’s still one of the best clay courters around, so we’ll see how well she handles the pressure of defending her crown.
“It’s been a while since Serena won in Paris; her lone French Open title came back in 2002. Now, she’s lost the last four matches she’s played, and she pulled out of Madrid with a bad knee…and yet she still has to be considered the favorite. I’d give Venus Williams a far smaller chance of getting to the final weekend…although in a few weeks she will be the favorite to win on the grass at Wimbledon.
“Dinara Safina, the top-ranked player in the world, has a good chance to go one step further and win her first major. Her best
surface is clay. Svetlana Kuznetsova is rounding into form as well, and Jankovic is always handy on this stuff. I’ll also be watching closely younger players – Aleksandra Wozniaki and Victoria Azarenka. There’s a huge chance for someone to change their life, their reputation, and make some tennis history.”
ESPN360.com: 277 Hours Live OnlineESPN360.com will deliver 277 hours live from the three primary courts at Roland Garros on the days ESPN2 is televising — Sunday, May 24, plus Tuesday, May 26 – Friday, May 29 and Monday, June 1 – Thursday, June 4. Live action will include matches not televised on ESPN2, as well as the ESPN2’s coverage, either live or later that day.ESPN360.com is ESPN’s live sports broadband network, giving fans a 24/7 online destination that delivers more than 3,200 live, global sports events annually. It is available at no cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. ESPN360.com is currently available in nearly 25 million homes, up 40 percent in the past 12 months and more than triple its distribution just 2 years ago. It is available via approximately 45 Internet service providers nationwide, including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more. It is also available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks (those with “.edu” and “.mil” domains).2009 French Open on ESPN2
Date
Time (ET)
Event
Sun., May 24
Noon – 6 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Tue., May 26
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Wed., May 27
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Thur., May 28
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Fri., May 29
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Mon, June 1
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Round of 16
Live & Same-day action
Tue., June 2
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Live & Same-day action
Wed., June 3
Noon – 6:30 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinals
Live & Same-day action
Thurs., June 4
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Women’s Semifinals
Live
2009 French Open on ESPN360.com
Date
Time (ET)
Event
Sun., May 24
5 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live
Tue., May 25
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live
Wed., May 26
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live
Thur., May 27
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live
Fri., May 29
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live
Mon, June 1
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Round of 16
Live
Tue., June 2
5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Live
Wed., June 3
8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinals
Live
Thurs., June 4
5 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Women’s Semifinals
Live
2009 French Open on ESPN Deportes
Date
Time (ET)
Event
Sun., May 24
Noon – 4 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Tue., May 26
Noon – 4 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Thur., May 28
1 – 5 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Fri., May 29
Noon – 5 p.m.
Early Round Action
Live & Same-day action
Mon, June 1
Noon – 6 p.m.
Round of 16
Live & Same-day action
Tue., June 2
Noon – 6 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Live & Same-day action
Wed., June 3
Noon – 6 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinals
Live & Same-day action
Thurs., June 4
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Women’s Semifinals
Live
And here’s TNT quotage from last night’s Game 7 of the Celtics-Magic.
Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Sunday, May 17, 2009
TNT’s exclusive coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals begins on Wednesday, May 20 with pre-game coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET followed by Game #1 of the Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:30 p.m. ET
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TNT NBA Tip-off
Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber
Barkley on predicting the Orlando Magic would win the series against the Boston Celtics: “The Boston Celtics are going down and the Orlando Magic are going to win…guaranteed. They’ve got a better team. I always believe the best team wins a seven game series and the Orlando Magic are a better team without Kevin Garnett (on the Celtics).”
Barkley on rooting for the Rockets in their Game #7 against the Lakers: “I rooted for a team, I normally never care who wins but I was pulling for the Rockets before the game started. I’ve never done that before. You have to respect what they accomplished, as a fan and as a player you have to respect them beating that really good Lakers team twice without Yao Ming.”
Smith on what Lakers fans should be concerned about: “The only thing you worry about as a Lakers fan is their tendency to be complacent, that tends to make the non-Lakers fans not root for them.”
Barkley on the health of Rockets guard Tracy McGrady and center Yao Ming dictating the Rockets future: “It just shows the people who think (the Rockets) are a much better team without Tracy McGrady, they are just idiots. They are a much better team with Tracy McGrady. You have to ask yourself if Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both going to be healthy. It is a legitimate, fair question because neither has been healthy basically for the last five years. You’ve got to make a decision on Ron Artest, he’s the biggest free agent on that team, but I don’t think you can judge this team at all until you see where Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming are. Neither are young kids anymore. Microfracture surgery is a serious deal, not many people come back from it, especially after a certain age. And Yao Ming, you hope he becomes (Zydrunas) Ilgauskas in Cleveland who missed a couple of years with foot problems and then came back, because it’s a shame.”
Smith on the Rockets being a contender but trailing the Lakers: “(Houston) is a contending team when healthy. The Lakers are the best in the West without question and (the Rockets) took them to seven games. They are the best in the West and everyone chases them, even the Denver Nuggets.”
Webber on the Rockets needing to determine the philosophy of their team with regards to center Yao Ming: “There has never been a test study on a guy that big (as Yao Ming) playing. The toll it takes on these guys’ bodies to keep up with a guy six feet tall is a lot. Also, what’s the philosophy of their team? I think (the Rockets) need to figure that out. Hopefully, Yao Ming doesn’t have to be the best player, so do they rest him like Shaq? He plays hard so how do you watch his minutes? They need to figure out their philosophy moving forward when they draft and sign players.”
Barkley on his pick to come out of the Western Conference Finals: “I’m not changing my mind, the Denver Nuggets and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the two best teams I’ve seen in the playoffs so far and so I’m going with the Denver Nuggets in an upset.”
Smith on the Lakers coming out of the West: “I’m going with the Los Angeles Lakers. I do not think the Lakers deserve to win the title because they don’t play every night, but still will. They play because of their great skill level and great talent level, but I think it’s going to be too much for (Denver).”
Webber on why he believes the Nuggets will beat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals: “I want to see LeBron and Kobe in the championship like everybody else, but I think Denver is going to win. The way that Kobe said (the Lakers are) bipolar and the lackadaisical play of the big fellows. If you saw today, (the Rockets) were scoring on (Pau) Gasol like he was lunch meat. If Nene and them come and play like that, you’ve got to watch out on the inside. Kobe said last year that there is maybe a lack of toughness and I’m wondering whether that will show this year.”
Smith on assessing player’s nerves before the game to know when to involve them: “For me, I used to look around and look in everyone’s eye and you can tell who is going to be there and who isn’t going to be there for you. As a point guard, delivering the ball to the right people when they’re ready was important to me, so I was just paying attention to who was out of character in their pre-game routine. I knew everyone’s routine before the game, so if you were doing things that you didn’t do before, I wasn’t coming to you early, I was coming to you late.”
Barkley on the stars needing to step up in Game #7: “Sometimes as a star you say, ‘I’m going to get everyone going and in Game #7 say, ‘boys you get your asses on my back and we’ll go forward,’ and you let them catch up. Role players can only pay well if stars get you off. If you’re a star you say ‘I’ve got to get going and make everyone follow’, that’s Paul Pierce and Dwight Howard and everyone’s got to follow.”
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Orlando Magic (101) @ Boston Celtics (82) – Magic wins the series 4-3 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Announcers: Marv Albert and Reggie Miller; with David Aldridge reporting
Miller on how the Magic need to approach the start of the game: “You want to get off to a quick start, you want to be tied or up at the end of the first quarter to take the crowd out of the game. If you’re the Boston Celtics, you know what you are going to get from your big guns in (Paul) Pierce and (Ray) Allen. To me, it’s all about the bench players. Eddie House, who was great in games one through three, needs to come up big to lead the bench.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Magic coach Stan Van Gundy after the first quarter.
Van Gundy on the Magic’s performance in the first quarter of play: “First six minutes outstanding and then a big lull I thought after that. We’ve got to get it back. It’s tough to get in the open court and get that ball movement. Our defense wasn’t as good and they were on the free throw line. When they are sitting on the free throw line a lot we’re in half court offense and it’s tough.”
Miller on great shooters not admitting when they have slumps: “Shooters continue to shoot. You talk to Ray Allen, he’s going to feel that he’s not in any slump, he’s just missing shots. Any great shooter will move on to the next shot.”
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Halftime Report
Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber and Kenny Smith
Barkley on the Magic needing to go be more aggressive in the second half: “I’m disappointed in Orlando, they should be up by more than seven points. Dwight Howard has to quit committing silly fouls, he’s too good a player to get those. I don’t mind players getting fouls, but the fouls he’s getting are silly. I’d like to see the tempo sped up, I like what they are doing against Paul Pierce, they’re taking the ball out of his hands. But on the other end, JJ Redick hasn’t even taken a shot. Ray Allen is going now. If you’re going to let (Allen) rest on defense anything can happen. J.J. Redick, he’s scared to death out there. If he’s going to be scared out there, we should get him a dog.”
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Miller on anticipating that the Nuggets will play a physical series against the Lakers: “If you thought Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes were physical, just wait until the Birdman (Chris Andersen), Nene and Kenyon Martin, especially on five or six days of rest, come at you.”
Miller on Celtics guard Ray Allen getting a jumper to get going: “This is what the Boston faithful have been waiting for. Ray Allen off a series of screens, J.J. Redick a little late coming over and when you’re late, you’re too late.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Celtics coach Doc Rivers after the first quarter.
Rivers on the Celtics defense in the third quarter: “It comes down to the guard taking away penetration. We play great defense for 18 seconds, unfortunately there is a 24-second clock and we’ve got to finish the possession.”
Miller on Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu’s pregame meal of pizza: “(Hedo Turkoglu) is probably going to get Dominos (Pizza) as a sponsor if he continues to eat pizza like that before the game. Maybe that is his ‘go juice’ to get Hedo going.”
Miller on Magic guard Courtney Lee guarding Celtics guard Eddie House: “Courtney Lee will not let Eddie House get off a shot attempt. Right now Eddie House has not put up a shot in 14 minutes because Courtney Lee is his Linus blanket.”
Miller on Celtics center Kendrick Perki
ns matching up well with Magic center Dwight Howard: “(Kendrick Perkins) really went toe to toe with Dwight Howard, matched his physical nature and was great at both ends of the floor.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Magic center Dwight Howard after the Magic defeated the Celtics.
Howard on how the Magic will approach playing the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals: “We just have to dominate on both ends, and it starts with me on the inside being able to block shots and rebound and other guys will follow. I’m happy for my team right now. It feels good. We believe. We believe we can go all the way. It’s going to get harder, we stepped it up these last two games and this is what we’ve got to do for the rest of the playoffs.”
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Inside the NBA
Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Webber and Smith
Barkley on Celtics guard Ray Allen’s Game #7 performance: “Ray (Allen) was spectacular but he didn’t get much help from anyone.”
Barkley on Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo: “If (Rondo) could learn how to shoot the ball, he could be scary.”
Webber on how he would plan the Celtics future with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett: “I would let (Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) stay around as long as they can and be a unit as long as KG (Kevin Garnett) is still together. If news comes back that KG isn’t healthy and can’t play, then I’m going to re-think it because they are a little bit older. They are getting older but I think they are ok as long as KG is there. He’s the main question as they go forward.”
Smith on why the Orlando Magic need to get to the NBA Finals to have a successful season: “(The Orlando Magic) have to get to the NBA Finals for their season to be a success. They went to seven games against the Boston Celtics without Kevin Garnett. Then if they lose to Cleveland (in the ECF), they are still only the third best team in the East (Conference). They might have to re-think things if they don’t win (the ECF) and get to the NBA Finals. It is very important for the Orlando Magic to get to the NBA Finals or they are still the third best team in the East. They would not beat the Boston Celtics with Kevin Garnett and they won’t beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have to get to the Finals.”
Barkley on who is going to win the Eastern Conference Finals: “I think the Orlando Magic are going to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers (in the ECF). I look at the match-ups and I don’t think (Cleveland) can match-up with Orlando’s starting unit. I think Orlando has a better bench. I look at it on paper and I know you don’t play the game on paper. Now (Cleveland) does have LeBron James.”
Smith: “What’s his name again? He makes a little bit of a difference because when you have LeBron James on your team, you take the paper match-up and tear it up.”
Barkley on the Lakers playing better at home: “You have to be amazed at how the Lakers play so well at home and so bad on the road.”
Barkley on the Denver Nuggets success in the playoffs: “The Denver Nuggets have played better than anyone in the West (Conference) in the playoffs. They’ve lost two games and played well in both of those games. They haven’t had a bunch of peaks and valleys. I think they have the physical strength and I think Carmelo Anthony has become the best scorer the league. Chauncey Billups has given them so much leadership. They play defense and Nene has picked his game up. J.R. Smith has been spectacular and ‘Birdman” (Chris Anderson) brings great energy. I think if they play like they’ve played so far (in the playoffs), they’ll beat the Lakers.”
Barkley on the Lakers not consistently playing a
t a high level: “It pisses me off for (the Lakers) to have that type of talent and play half-assed. If you take away my first couple of years in the league when I played with Doc (Julius Erving) and Moses (Malone), I doubt if I played with a guy as good as (Pau) Gasol, (Andrew) Bynum and maybe even Lamer Odom. I never played with that type of talent and for them to have a legitimate chance to win the (NBA) Championship and to half-ass it all the time, it pisses me off.”
Smith on the Lakers not playing hard at all times: “(The Lakers) might win (the NBA Championship) but I don’t know if they deserve it because I don’t know if they respect the league. They play against (the Rockets) without Yao Ming and they don’t give the same effort. Their skill level is so much higher than the Rockets and not respecting the league means that they just go about their business and say ‘we can win it anytime because we can get them in Game #6 or Game #7.’ For me, the teams that really win championships deserve it because they work hard from front door to back door, all the way through. I still think (the Lakers) are going to win it but I can’t root for that (mentality).”
Barkley on the passing of his former teammate Wayman Tisdale: “When I got the (news), I was in shock and my heart was sad all day. You’re never going to meet a nicer person (than Wayman Tisdale). I don’t think Wayman Tisdale was ever in a bad mood and he had the greatest smile. The world is sadder because he’s not here. It was an honor for me to play with him and get to know him. I feel bad for his whole family.”
That’s it for this post. I’m sure there will be more releases today.
