ESPN launches NASCAR coverage with Brickyard 400
ESPN launches its coverage of the final 17 races of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at noon Sunday. The green flag is scheduled for 12:19 p.m.
Of the 17 races, 14 will air on ESPN and three on ABC.
Five former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions will be part of ESPN’s coverage team at the Brickyard, including analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid in the booth. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will feature analysis by 1989 champion driver Rusty Wallace and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, with host Allen Bestwick and analyst Brad Daugherty.
ESPN will use 76 high definition cameras in the telecast, including Track Cam, a camera running on a cable over pit road and the frontstretch that can move at more than 80 mph. ESPN also will record the radio transmissions of all 43 teams in the race and will provide additional access and discovery for viewers by replaying conversations between drivers and crews.
Short takes
— ESPN will air the St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game for its 7 p.m. Sunday game. Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine will be the announcers.
— KOKH-25’s 3 p.m. Saturday game has been switched from New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers to Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies. Dick Stockton and Tim McCarver are the annoucers for the game, which will got to 24 percent of the nation.
— CBS will kick off its 10th consecutive season of SEC football with Florida at Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
— The NFL Network begins its training camp coverage with a report on the Dallas Cowboys on “NFL Total Access” at 6 p.m. Friday.
Short takes: FSOK replays OU-Missouri football game
The college football season is not too far off. Fox Sports Oklahoma will help to prime your football appetite with a replay of the 2007 OU-Missouri game in Norman from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The No. 6 Sooners prevailed 41-31 over the No. 11 Tigerss as Chris Brown ran for three second-half touchdowns and Curtis Lofton returned a fumble for a score.
— TBS has a match-up of All-Star pitchers at noon Saturday as the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte is scheduled to face Rays’ David Price in the game at Yankee Stadium. Dick Stockton and Ron Darling will call the action.
— KOKH-25 will carry the Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals game at 3 p.m. Saturday. Joe Buck and Eric Karros will call the game, which will go to 27 percent of the nation.
— ESPN’s prime-time newsmagazine E:60 returns at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The program includes a feature on running back Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans, a profile of 13-year-old pitching sensation Chelsea Baker and a re-air of E:60’s investigation into the corrective rape issue in South Africa.
— EA’s new NCAA Football 11 includes an all-new ESPN broadcast package integration. From kickoff to the final play, players will now be able to experience the game as part of ESPN’s Game of the Week. The full broadcast integration includes actual graphics, intros and music as well as an all new replay system showing the best plays and highlights. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit and Brad Nessler offer commentary and reporter Erin Andrews provides injury reports and sideline updates.
Finally with the death of George Steinbrenner, it’s a good time to look back at how “Seinfeld” worked the Yankees owner into the hit show. New York Times columnist looks back in a column titled “Sultan of Swagger.” Here is a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/opinion/14dowd.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Seinfeld%20and%20Steinbrenner&st=cse
