I have a few releases for you to read today.
First, the MLB Network has released its Grapefruit and Cactus League schedules. Overall, it will show 61 games, 45 of them live. This, I like. I do believe it will pick up the local broadcast of the games.
MLB NETWORK TO BROADCAST 61 SPRING TRAINING GAMES
Broadcast Schedule Features 45 Live Games, and Includes All 30 MLB Clubs
Highlights Include First Exhibition Game at New Yankee Stadium and Second at CitiField
Secaucus, N.J. – MLB Network today announced its Spring Training broadcast schedule, which will feature 61 games — 45 of which will be live — featuring all 30 Major League clubs and including three World Baseball Classic exhibition games. MLB Network’s Spring Training schedule begins on Wednesday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. ET with San Francisco at Cleveland live from Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz. All games will be simulcasts of local broadcasts, including local announcers. MLB Tonight will air for one hour every night, containing news, analysis and highlights.
Highlights of the broadcast schedule include:
· Feb 28, 1:00 p.m. ET: Tampa Bay Rays @ Philadelphia Phillies (2008 World Series rematch)
· March 1, 5:00 p.m. ET: Chicago White Sox @ Los Angeles Dodgers (first game at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, the new Spring Training home for both teams)
· March 3, 1:00 p.m. ET: Team USA @ New York Yankees (World Baseball Classic exhibition game, also Derek Jeter’s first career game played against the Yankees)
· April 3, 7:00 p.m. ET: Chicago Cubs @ New York Yankees (first ever game at new Yankee Stadium)
· April 4, 1:00 p.m. ET: Boston Red Sox @ New York Mets (second game ever at CitiField)
“We’re all excited for the start of baseball season, and we wanted to give fans as many Spring Training games as possible, featuring every single club,” said Tony Petitti, President and Chief Executive Officer of MLB Network. “We’re also happy to be able to give a national audience its first look at the new Mets and Yankees parks, as well as an early look at some of the World Baseball Classic teams through those exhibition games.”
The full MLB Network Spring Training broadcast schedule appears below.
MLB NETWORK SPRING TRAINING BROADCAST SCHEDULE
*Indicates live broadcast
All times ET and subject to change, check mlbnetwork.com for updates
Games will be blacked out in local markets only where necessary
February 25 3:00 p.m.* San Francisco Giants @ Cleveland Indians
7:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ Minnesota Twins
February 26 4:00 p.m. Arizona Diamondbacks @ Cleveland Indians
February 27 1:00 p.m.* St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Mets
5:00 p.m. San Diego Padres @ Cleveland Indians
February 28 1:00 p.m.* Tampa Bay Rays @ Philadelphia Phillies
5:00 p.m. Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees
March 1 1:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ Minnesota Twins
5:00 p.m. Chicago White Sox @ Los Angeles Dodgers
9:00 p.m. Houston Astros @ New York Mets
March 3 1:00 p.m.* USA @ New York Yankees (WBC Exhibition)
5:00 p.m. Canada @ Toronto Blue Jays (WBC Exhibition)
March 4 9:00 p.m.* Australia @ Seattle Mariners (WBC Exhibition)
March 5 4:00 p.m.* Chicago White Sox @ Chicago Cubs
March 6 1:00 p.m.* Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles
March 7 3:00 p.m.* Oakland Athletics @ San Diego Padres
March 9 1:00 p.m.* Baltimore Orioles @ New York Mets
March 14 4:00 p.m.* Texas Rangers @ Chicago White Sox
March 15 1:00 p.m.* St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies
8:30 p.m. Kansas City Royals @ San Francisco Giants
March 16 1:00 p.m.* St. Louis Cardinals @ Detroit Tigers
7:00 p.m.* Tampa Bay Rays @ Pittsburgh Pirates
March 17 1:00 p.m.* Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox
March 18 1:00 p.m.* Atlanta Braves @ New York Mets
March 19 1:00 p.m.* St. Louis Cardinals @ Tampa Bay Rays
7:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ Cincinnati Reds
March 20 1:00 p.m.* Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros
5:00 p.m. San Diego Padres @ Chicago Cubs
9:00 p.m.* Los Angeles Dodgers @ Kansas City Royals
March 21 1:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ Florida Marlins
5:00 p.m. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox
March 22 1:00 p.m.* New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
5:00 p.m. Cleveland Indians @ Colorado Rockies
March 23 1:00 p.m.* Florida Marlins @ Houston Astros
5:00 p.m. Milwaukee Brewers @ Colorado Rockies
March 24 1:00 p.m.* New York Mets @ Houston Astros
7:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees
March 25 1:00 p.m.* Detroit Tigers @ New York Mets
7:00 p.m.* Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals
March 26 4:00 p.m.* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Cleveland Indians
10:30 p.m.* Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants
March 27 1:00 p.m.* Detroit Tigers @ Atlanta Braves
9:00 p.m.* Milwaukee Brewers @ Texas Rangers
March 28 1:00 p.m.* Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates
5:00 p.m. Chicago Cubs @ Colorado Rockies
9:00 p.m. New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves
March 29 1:00 p.m.* Atlanta Braves @ Detroit Tigers
5:00 p.m. Kansas City Royals @ Seattle Mariners
March 30 1:00 p.m.* Tampa Bay Rays @ Minnesota Twins
7:00 p.m.* San Diego Padres @ Cleveland Indians
March 31 4:00 p.m.* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Chicago Cubs
10:00 p.m.* Milwaukee Brewers @ San Diego Padres
April 1 1:00 p.m.* Florida Marlins @ Baltimore Orioles
5:00 p.m. Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
9:00 p.m. Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers
April 2 3:00 p.m.* Chicago White Sox @ Milwaukee Brewers
10:00 p.m.* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Los Angeles Dodgers
April 3 7:00 p.m.* Chicago Cubs @ New York Yankees
April 4 1:00 p.m.* Boston Red Sox @ New York Mets
6:00 p.m.* Baltimore Orioles @ Washington Nationals
10:00 p.m.* Milwaukee Brewers @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Next, PGA Tour.com is going to provide extensive coverage of Tiger Woods’ return tomorrow at the Match Play Championship.
PGATOUR.COM Tees Off Exclusive Coverage of Tiger Woods’ Return to the PGA TOUR Beginning on Wednesday, February 25 During Match Play ChampionshipComprehensive online hole-by-hole video, audio, scoring and editorial coverage available exclusively on PGATOUR.COM
PGATOUR.COM, the online home of the PGA TOUR, will offer comprehensive live coverage of Tiger Woods’ return to the PGA TOUR this week during his first tournament in eight months at the World Golf Championships – Match Play Championship beginning on Wednesday, February 25. For the first time, the event is scheduled to feature all 64 of the world’s top-ranked players. For the benefit of fans, PGATOUR.COM will unveil a ‘Tiger Returns’ microsite to provide real-time updates and exclusive online video content highlighting Woods’ first event since the 2008 U.S. Open. The site will be the only online destination with hole-by-hole video coverage, a live scorecard, a live swing-by-swing blog from a PGATOUR.COM writer, live tournament bracket scoring, live audio streaming coverage and all of Woods’ news conferences throughout the tournament.
“Tiger Woods is one of the world’s premier athletes and his return to the PGA TOUR is newsworthy and captivating to all sports fans,” said Matthew Hong, vice president and general manager of sports digital for Turner Sports. “Fans rely on PGATOUR.COM for the most comprehensive tournament coverage and we continue in our mission to offer the best live experience, delivered in the most innovative package, for all the sport’s biggest news and events.”
Exclusive features of PGATOUR.COM’s coverage include:
Hole-by-hole video wrap-ups allows fans to watch highlights of every hole online during Woods’ opening match(es) with video posted shortly after completion of each hole.
- Live scorecard highlights Woods’ performance during the exciting match-play event and tracks all the matches.
- Live, inside the ropes blog provides up-to-the-minute coverage from PGATOUR.COM’s T.J. Auclair who will write first hand accounts of the event’s golf action as well as the atmosphere of the tournament, giving fans an inside-the-ropes experience from their computers.
- Live tournament bracket scoring tracks the winners of each round and indicates their next opponent.
- Highlights and interviews recap each day of the tournament and offer the perspective from Woods himself on his day’s performance.
And Sirius XM’s PGA Tour Radio is also going to cover Tiger’s return.
SIRIUS XM RADIO COVERS TIGER WOODS’ RETURN TO ACTION ON THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network offers live hole-by-hole coverage of this week’s World Golf Championships-Match Play Championship in Arizona
Daily talk shows will feature analysis and discussion on Tiger’s first tournament since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last June
NEW YORK – February 23, 2009 – SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) will offer comprehensive coverage of Tiger Woods’ return to PGA TOUR action at this week’s World Golf Championships-Match Play Championship on The PGA TOUR Network, the only radio channel dedicated to covering the PGA TOUR 365 days a year. The PGA TOUR Network is available nationwide on XM channel 146 and on SIRIUS channel 209 with the “Best of XM” programming package.
Woods, who announced last week that he would return for the match play event, has not competed in a tournament since winning the U.S. Open last June. Eight days after defeating Rocco Mediate in a dramatic playoff to capture his 14th major championship and 65th PGA TOUR title, Woods underwent reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. His first competitive stroke after more than eight months off the TOUR will come this Wednesday when he faces Brendan Jones of Australia in the first round at the Ritz Carlton Golf Course, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Arizona.
Woods, who won this event for the third time last year, is one of a field of the top 64 ranked players in the world that includes Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and many other distinguished golfers from around the globe. Unlike the more common stroke play events on the calendar, the WGC-Match Play Championship features dramatic head-to-head match play in a five day bracket-style tournament that culminates in a two-player final on Sunday, March 1.
The PGA TOUR Network on SIRIUS XM will feature live coverage of the Match Play Championship, hosted by Brian Katrek alongside lead analyst, former PGA TOUR member John Maginnes, with hole-by-hole updates from on-course reporters Dennis Paulson, a 10-year TOUR veteran, veteran broadcaster Fred Albers and former professional caddy Michael Collins. Live coverage starts Wednesday through Friday at 12:00 pm ET and Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 am ET and runs through the conclusion of each day’s play. Each day’s live on-course coverage is immediately followed by a wrap-up of the day’s action on PGA TOUR Replay.
In addition to the live tournament coverage, The PGA TOUR Network offers a daily lineup of talk shows featuring compelling golf talk and expert analysis. In the wake of Tiger’s announcement, speculation about the state of his game is high and SIRIUS XM’s hosts will cover the discussion from every angle, monitoring Tiger’s performance in practice and on the course, interviewing players and others associated with the game, and offering a forum for fans to express their opinions on the return of the world’s #1 golfer.
Every Tuesday morning (7:30 am ET) is the premiere of a new edition of oPINionated, the weekly talk show hosted by popular PGA TOUR member Chris DiMarco and broadcaster Greg Warmoth. This week’s show, which replays several times throughout the week, will feature DiMarco’s thoughts on Ti
ger’s return and its impact on the game and his fellow competitors.
Every weekday morning (8:00-10:00 am ET), T.J. Rives hosts Playing Thru, which this week will feature a daily discussion on Tiger and other headlines from the world of golf, plus one-on-one interviews and e-mails from listeners around the country.
Talk of the TOUR, the weekly show hosted by John Swantek, debuts Tuesday (7:00 am ET) and re-airs several times, and will preview the Accenture Match Play Championship field and the first day’s match-ups.
Those are all of the press releases I see in my inbox. If I get more, I’ll post them.
Edited to add: Fox has just sent over a release stating its NASCAR race on Sunday was the most watched sporting event of the weekend.
AUTOCLUB 500 ON FOX IS WEEK’S HIGHEST-RATED, MOST-WATCHED SPORTS EVENT
Race Ranks with Top-Rated Prime Time Shows
New York — FOX Sports’ coverage of the AUTOCLUB 500 on Sunday evening (2/22) was the top-rated, most-watched sports event of the week and was one of the highest-rated prime time programs among several popular demographic categories, including adults 18-49.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the race posted a 6.0/10 national household rating/share, with 10.2 million viewers watching, by far the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the week. Placing a distant second was Sunday’s final round of the Northern Trust Open on CBS (3.7/7, 4.8 million viewers).
Out of 80 prime time programs televised on the four major broadcast networks last week, the AUTOCLUB 500 on FOX placed fifth among men 25-54 (5.8), seventh among men 18-49 (4.4) and 14th in the important adults18-49 category (3.7). Among men 25-54, the AUTOCLUB 500 beat well-known shows such as Lost and Two-and-a-Half Men; among men 18-49, the race out-distanced Heroes and Survivor: Tocantins; and among adults 18-49 the race out-rated Biggest Loser and Criminal Minds.
Sunday’s AUTOCLUB 500 coverage also fared well opposite expected stiff competition from the Academy Awards. FOX’s 5.9/9 prime time household average on Sunday fared +28% better than FOX’s recent performance versus the Oscars (4.6 average from 2004 to 2007), and +13% better among adults 18-49 (3.6 vs. 3.2). Last year’s NASCAR race opposite the Academy Awards show was delayed by rain and pre-empted the planned prime time lineup, so it was excluded from this comparison. The 2009 Academy Awards on ABC averaged a 20.6/36.
Now I think we’re done.
EDITED TO ADD: We’re not done. MLB Network will have the Mets’ David Wright to talk about the World Baseball Classic tonight.
DAVID WRIGHT INTERVIEWED AS PART OF MLB NETWORK’S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROSTER SPECIAL TONIGHT AT 6:00 P.M. ET
Mets Third Baseman and World Baseball Classic USA team member David Wright was interviewed as part of MLB Network’s World Baseball Classic Roster Special, which will air at 6:00 p.m. ET tonight. Wright talked with Victor Rojas and Harold Reynolds about gearing up to play in his first World Baseball Classic, which begins March 5. MLB Network will televise 16 World Baseball Classic games along with a nightly studio show titled World Baseball Classic Tonight, dedicated to the world’s premier international baseball tournament.
Highlights of the interview include:
ON HIS FIRST WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC:
“I can’t wait. I got down here to Spring Training a little bit early to try to get started a little bit earlier and try to face some live pitching to get ready because when you put that USA across your chest, to me, there is really no bigger honor as a baseball player to go represent your country. Obviously, wearing the uniform is something I am going to be very proud of and looking over to your left seeing Derek Jeter and some of those guys who are teammates just sitting around and talking baseball. I’m going to soak it up, try to learn as much as possible, and hopefully come away with a few wins.”
ON THE WBC INTERFERRING WITH 2009 PRE-SEASON PREPARATIONS:
“I think it will help with the development of getting ready for the regular season because you’re talking about playing in meaningful games, big at bats, trying to get runners over, get runners in. We were talking today with our manager Jerry Manuel and he likes the idea of a lot of us going to play in the classic because it puts us in those real life game situations where every at bat counts, being unselfish, trying to do things for the good of the team, and hopefully that will put us in a position where we are ready come first week of April.”
ON PLAYING WITH RIVAL PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES DURING THE WBC:
“Well hopefully for the few weeks together we’ll have a little truce (smiling). We’ll stop the war of words for at least a couple of weeks and as much as we obviously don’t get along with them all that well we respect them and we congratulate them obviously on their championship and I think we can learn a lot from a team like that.”
ON JOKING WITH FELLOW METS TEAMMATES AND WBC COMPETITION:
“Oh I told Jose [Reyes] ‘I’m coming in hard and you better watch out!’ (laughs and smiles) because if I get a chance to break up a double play I’m coming in hard.”
ON MENTAL PREPARATION FOR THE WBC:
“We’ve got a lot of guys on the team this year that participated in that first World Baseball Classic and obviously they are let down so we’re going to look to those guys to lead the team and prepare us for the expectations going into it because it’s a different kind of format. It’s a different style of play where obviously every game is huge and one game you could be going home so we’re going to look to those guys to kind of lead us and hopefully the young guys can provide some energy.”
ON WANTING SOMETHING MORE THAN A WBC CHAMPIONSHIP:
“Maybe a World Series. How about both of them? I’ll take that one (smiles and laughs). We’ll put both of them up there on kind of the same level.”
Ok, that’s it for the press releases. If I get more, they’ll go in a separate post.
