Junior Seau run over by bull in season finale of Versus’ “Sports Jobs”
In the season finale of “Sports Jobs,” 9 p.m. Wednesday on Versus, former All-Pro linebacker Junior Seau works as a bullfighter for the Professional Bull Riders. He quickly learns it’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the toughest sport.
Seau has to help distract the massive bulls to keep the riders from getting trampled and gored, but he needs to watch his back because one beast named “Kick Butt” has him in his sights. Fortunately, he escaped injury when it runs over him.
You can view a sneak peek of the episode at :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-W0tkTBhZs
TNT analysts pick Kevin Durant to be All-Star reserve
Kevin Durant
Although the reserves for the NBA All-Star Game have not been announced, Thunder star forward Kevin Durant is a unanimous choice of TNT studio analysts to be picked for the West team. The team will be announced at 6 p.m. Thursday on TNT’s pregame show.
Durant, Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki and Trail Blazers guard are unanimous choices of TNT analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber.
Barkley said he didn’t pick Lakers forward Pau Gasol because he has missed 17 games due to injury. He said he didn’t pick Hornets guard Chris Paul because he felt Rockets guard Aaron Brooks should be rewarded for his excellent play and the Rockets have a better record than the Hornets.
Unanimous picks for the East team are Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace and Raptors forward Chris Bosh.
Here are their selections:
TNT’s West All-Star picks
Chris Webber: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Zach Randolph, Carl Landry, Chris Kaman
Kenny Smith: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Aaron Brooks, Pau Gasol.
Charles Barkley: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Zach Randolph, Deron Williams, Aaron Brooks, Chris Kaman.
TNT’s East All-Star picks
Chris Webber: Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Chris Bosh, Mo Williams, Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce, Shaquille O’Neal.
Kenny Smith: Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Chris Bosh, Mo Williams, David Lee, Paul Pearce, Chris Rose.
Chris Webber: Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, David Lee, Joakin Noah, Joe Johnson
Golf Channel to celebrate Jack Nicklaus’ 70th birthday on Thursday
Jack Nicklaus
The “Golden Bear” turns 70 on Thursday, and Golf Channel will celebrate the occasion with special Jack Nicklaus programming and features online at GolfChannel.com.
In honoring Nicklaus’ 70th birthday, GolfChannel.com’s team of writers and researchers developed a special tribute to Nicklaus titled, “You Don’t Know Jack: 70 Facts About Nicklaus.” Featured are little-known factoids about Nicklaus, including him passing out following the birth of four of his five children; being diagnosed with polio at age 13; co-authoring 15 books, and being one of the select few, nonband members to dot the “I” during halftime at an Ohio State college football game, his alma mater.
Special programming will air throughout the day. At 1 p.m. host Lauren Thompson will count down the top-10 Nicklaus highlights. The show will feature interviews with Arnold Palmer, Tony Jacklin, historian Martin Davis, Nicklaus’ son Jackie and Nicklaus. It will reair at 5:30 p.m.
“Planet Jack,” 6 p.m., is a two-part, Golf Channel special taking viewers on the ultimate road trip – a 12-day, eight-country, 25,000-mile journey with Nicklaus, offering an intimate look into his business life and showing how he is giving back to the game he loves.
“Golf Central,” 5 p.m., will provide extensive features on Nicklaus’ career, including a sit-down interview with Golf Channel Insider Tim Rosaforte and Rich Lerner.
Junior Seau castrates a horse for his Versus series “Sports Jobs”
Junior Seau, right, learns how to be a horse trainer in the next episode of "Sports Jobs."
In his Versus series “Sports Jobs” in which he tackles a different job each week, former NFL star linebacker Junior Seau castrates a horse while working as a horse trainer on the next episode, which airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Seau admitted it wasn’t his favorite task, listing “two-a-days, wind sprints and paying taxes” as things he would rather be doing.
He learned the art of training thoroughbreds on the grounds of Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif. Seau learned how to feed, groom, shoe, clean and care for racehorses as well as doing one of his dirtiest jobs yet — castrating a horse.
For a preview, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-t4cxIuCBo
TNT analyst Mike Fratello launches Web site
Mike Fratello
Turner Sports Interactive and TNT NBA Analyst Mike Fratello have launched MikeFratello.com, a Web site that will be regularly updated with exclusive information, analysis and insight from the “Czar of the Telestrator.”
Exclusive features on the site include:
Fratello fundamentals – Mike puts on his coaching hat to explain basketball strategies.
Mike’s fantasy pick – The Czar gives his expert advice on which player is in store for a big fantasy week.
Question of the week – Mike answers some of the bigger questions surrounding the NBA.
From the booth – The Czar shares what he and fellow broadcasters are up to in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Czar’s week in review – Mike analyzes the previous week of NBA action.
Weekly polls – Mike asks a new poll question every week and allows fans to answer.
Top telestrator moments – Mike breaks down NBA footage in a way only the “Czar of the Telestrator” can.
Stories from an NBA coach – Mike recounts episodes from his NBA coaching career spanning over two decades.
Fired up – Mike voices his opinion on issues around the league.
Short takes
–TNT will present a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tripleheader on Monday — Phoenix at Memhpis, 4:30 p.m.; Dallas at Boston, 7 p.m.; Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
–CBS’ “60 Minutes,” 7 p.m. Sunday, goes to American Samoa to find out how a territory with a population less than the capacity of a pro football stadium sends more players to the NFL than any similarly populated place in America.
–The NHL returns to NBC at 11:30 a.m. Sunday with Chicago at Detroit. Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) will call the action.
–Brad Faxon, a winner of eight PGA Tour events, has joined NBC’s golf coverage as an outer tower commentator.
–The next edition of HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday looks at concussions in the NFL and the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.
Former state sportscaster Ken Broo recovering from heart surgery
Cincinnati sports anchor Ken Broo, 57, who broke into television in the 1970s at KWTV-9 and Tulsa’s KOTV-6, is at home recovering from heart surgery. Broo woke up Christmas eve morning with severe chest pains. His wife drove him to the hospital, and he was soon in surgery, where a cardiologist inserted three arterial stents to overcome a 100 percent coronary blockage. He was out of the hospital 48 hours later.
“I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I eat healthy. I work out three days a week,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I asked how this could happen, and they said it could be genetic. And that’s kind of scary.”
Short takes
– The History Channel looks at a bitter family racing feud in “Madhouse,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday. The 13-episode series follows the rivalry between the Myers and the Millers at one of NASCAR’s oldest short tracks in Winston-Salem, N.C.
– NFL Films’ “Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League,” which aired on Showtime last fall, debuts at 7 p.m. Friday on the NFL Network. The five-part series features new introductions by John Madden as he gives his personal insights into the AFL.
– The MLB Network will air “Holy Land Hardball,” a documentary on the formation of the Israel Baseball League in 2007, at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Chris Paul featured on ESPN ‘homecoming’ show
New Orleans Hornets star guard Chris Paul returns home to Winston-Salem, N.C., on the next episode of “Homecoming with Rick Reilly,” which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, on ESPN. Hosted by Reilly, an 11-time Sportswriter of the Year, the show challenges the old adage, “You can’t go home again.”
In the episode, Paul is interviewed in front of nearly 2,000 at his alma mater, Wake Forest University. Paul’s former coaches and teammates, including Mo Peterson, were in the audience, as well as his family members and other supporters. The most poignant moment was when Paul was moved to tears talking about the murder of his grandfather the day after he signed with Wake Forest and how he forgives the teenagers who committed the crime.
Former Hornets coach Byron Scott (now an ESPN analyst) shares how Paul was the key to saving the New Orleans franchise after Katrina, and that he knew he’d be rookie of the year in 2006 when the team played in Oklahoma City.
Paul also took Reilly back to his grandfather’s old gas station where they faced off in a Squeegee competition. Paul is so well liked that sometimes even visiting players such as San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay stay at his house when in New Orleans.
Paul on his poem about his grandfather written while at Wake Forest University: “My best friend goes by the name Nathaniel Frederick Jones, also known to his grandchildren as Pa-Pa Chile. In the 17 years I was blessed to have him by my side, he taught me more about life than I could ever learn with a Ph.D. or a bachelor’s degree. To him life was a gift that should be cherished and used very wisely, because tomorrow is never promised.”
On his Uni-Brow: “I’m going to tell you the truth, my grandma, used to tell me about my uni-brow, she said that that meant I was going to be rich. Better start praying for a uni-brow.”
