TV Schedule, Saturday August 6

Auto Racing:

Camping World Series: Pocono Mountain 125 Qualifying 8:30am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Qualifying 9:30am on ESPN2
Camping World Series: Pocono Mountain 125 12pm on Speed Channel
ARCA Re/Max Race: 2pm on Speed Channel
NHRA Drag Racing: O'Reilly Auto Parts NW Nationals Qualifying 5pm on ESPN 2 (same day tape)
IRL: Honda Indy 200 Qualifying 5pm on VERSUS (same day tape)
Nationwide Series: US Cellular 250 6:30pm on ESPN2

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 7pm on VERSUS

Golf:

PGA Tour: WGC Bridgestone Invitational (Third Round) 11am & 1pm on CBS
Nationwide Tour: Cox Classic 1pm (Third Round) on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: 3M Championship (Second Round) 3pm on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Reno-Tahoe Open (Third Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel

Horse Racing:

The Hambletonian: 2pm on NBC
Whitney Handicap: 4pm on VERSUS

MLB Baseball:

Cincinnati @ Chicago Cubs 12pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
NY Yankees @ Boston 3pm on Fox
Atlanta @ NY Mets 6pm on MLB Network
Detroit @ Kansas City 6pm on FS Kansas City
Milwaukee @ Houston 6pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Chicago White Sox 6pm on FS North & WGN
St. Louis @ Florida 6pm on FS Midwest

Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction: 3pm on NFL Network & 6pm on ESPN

Soccer:

Summer Friendly: Liverpool vs Valencia 11:30am on FOX Soccer
Ligue 1: FC Lorient at Paris Saint-Germain 2pm on FOX Soccer
Barcelona vs America 3pm on ESPN
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Australia vs Spain 4:45pm on ESPNU
USL: PDL Championship, Teams TBA 6:30pm on FOX Soccer
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Nigeria vs Saudi Arabia 7:45pm on ESPNU

Swimming: U.S. Championships 3pm on NBC

Tennis:

ATP Tour: Legg Mason Classic 2pm on ESPN2 & 6pm on Tennis Channel
WTA Tour: Mercury Insurance Open 4pm on Tennis Channel & 9pm on ESPN2

WNBA Basketball: New York @ Washington 6pm on NBATV

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

ESPN is gearing up for College GameDay

ESPN today announced the first three sites has been selected as hosts for ESPN's College GameDay Buiilt by the Home Depot.

According to a Press Release, on September 3, College GameDay will originate from Cowboy Stadium in Arlington as "Jerry's World will host the Oregon vs LSU matchup.  On September 10, College GameDay will travel to the Michigan campus on September 10 and Florida St. on September 17.

The 2011 season will mark Lee Corso's 25th season serving as analyst on College GameDay at at the link above, you can get information on how ESPN will celebrate this milestone.

ESPN gets all-access coverage of Florida Gators camp

Multiple ESPN platforms are teaming up for all-access coverage of Florida Gators camp this Monday, August 8.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, coverage begins at 8am (CT) with hourly updates across numerous ESPN platforms and ESPN's coverage will follow the Florida Gator team from wake-up to curfew.

NFL Network's pre-season schedule

As in previous years, the NFL Network will televise every pre-season game this year, with a handful of live telecasts and the schedule of live games is below with all times listed being Central.

Aug 13: Green Bay @ Cleveland 6pm
Aug 20: New Orleans @ Houston 7pm
Aug 20: Minnesota @ Seattle 10pm (joined in progress)
Sept 1: Indianapolis @ Cincinnati 6pm
Sept 1: Denver @ Arizona 9pm
Sept 2: Oakland @ Seattle 9:30pm

TV Schedule, Friday August 5

Boxing: Friday Night Fights: 8pm on ESPN2

Canadian League Football: Saskatchewan @ BC 9:30pm on NFL Network

Golf:

Nationwide Tour: Cox Classic (Second Round) 9am on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: 3M Championship (First Round) 11am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: WGC Bridgestone Invitational (Second Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Reno-Tahoe Open (Second Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel

MLB Baseball:

Cincinnati @ Chicago Cubs 1pm on WGM
NY Yankees @ Boston 6pm on MLB Network
Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago & FS North
Detroit @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City
Milwaukee @ Houston 7pm on FS Wisconsin
St. Louis @ Florida 7pm on FS Midwest

Minor League Baseball:  Quad Cities vs Cedar Rapids 6:30pm on Mediacom Channel 22

NASCAR:

Sprint Cup Series: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Practice 11am on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: Pocono Mountain 125 Final Practice 1pm on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Final Practice 3pm on Speed Channel

Soccer:

Manchester United vs New York Cosmo 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
FIFA-20 World Cup: Unguary vs Cameroon 4:45pm on ESPNU
USL: Wilmington vs Los Angeles Blues 6pm on FOX Soccer
MLS: Columbus @ Colorado Springs 9pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2:30pm on ESPN2

Tennis:

ATP Tour: Legg Mason Classic 1pm on Tennis Channel, 4pm on ESPN2, & 8pm on Tennis Channel
WTA Tour: Mercury Insurance Open 10pm on ESPN2

WNBA Basketball: Connecticut @ Seattle 9pm on NBATV

Disclaimer All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

ESPN announces brackets for several early season college basketball tournaments

The start of the college basketball regular season may be months away, but that's not stopping ESPN Regional TV, a subsidiary of ESPN from announcing the brackets for several early season tournaments.

You can get the full schedule, complete with tip times and TV information at this Web Site, all of the tournaments will have schools from the Big 10 & Big 12 competing, with a pair of Missouri Valley teams competing in two tournaments.

Eric Mangini joins ESPN

The roster of NFL analysts at ESPN today has gotten bigger with the announcement  that former Jets & Browns coach Eric Mangini has joined ESPN as an NFL Analyst.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, Mangini will appear on multiple TV programs as well as be a contributor on ESPN Radio.  Mangini's first day with ESPN will be Wednesday, August 17.

Big 12 releases the men's basketball conference TV Schedule

With college football just starting, the Big 12 wants you to think basketball as the conference today has released it's TV Schedule for the conference portion of the college basketball season.

The conference schedule will be round-robin with all schools playing each other twice.  As of right now, 80 conference games are scheduled to be televised by a host of Big 12 TV partners.  You can get the complete schedule at the link above.

Nebraska Cornhusker radio information for Iowa

After a quick scan of official Web Sites for some of the major colleges across the Midwest, Nebraska has posted their 2011 radio affiliates for football and several Iowa radio stations are listed as affiliates and the list is below.  I will post radio affiliates for Iowa, Iowa St., and Northern Iowa as well as affiliate info for stations with signals that reach into Iowa as I find them.

Atlantic, KSWI-FM (95.7)
Council Bluffs/Omaha, KFAB-AM (1110)
Des Moines (station is located in Chariton), KEDB-FM (105.3)
Shenandoah, KMA-FM (99.1)
Sioux City, KMNS-AM (620)

ESPN to have live coverage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony

In addition to NFL Network's live coverage of the Pro Football of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, ESPN will have live coverage as well.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, coverage begins from Canton, OH this Saturday night at 6pm (CT) , in addition ESPN Radio will provide highlights of the induction speeches Saturday night as well as extensive coverage on ESPN.com

TV Schedule, Thursday August 4

ATP Tennis: Legg Mason Classic 3pm & 5pm on Tennis Channel

CFL:  Montreal @ Toronto 6:30pm on NFL Network

Golf:

Nationwide Tour: Cox Classic (First Round) 10:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: WGC Bridgestone Invitational (First Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Reno-Tahoe Open (First Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel

MLB Baseball:

Texas @ Detroit 12pm on MLB Network
Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Cleveland @ Boston 6pm on MLB Network
Baltimore @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City
St. Louis @ Florida 6pm on FS Midwest
NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on WGN
Minnesota @ LA Angels of Anaheim 9pm on FS North

FIFA U-20 world Cup Soccer: Brazil vs Panama 7:45pm on ESPNU

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 9am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

WNBA Basketball:

Chicago @ New York 11am on NBATV
San Antonio @ Minnesota 7pm on NBATV

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

ESPN introduces the Total Quarterback Rating

New for ESPN's NFL coverage this year is the Total Quarterback Rating and will be used throughout all of ESPN's NFL programming, including Monday Night Football.

The Total Quarterback Rating will make it's debut this Friday in a one hour SportsCenter special at 7pm (CT). 

According to a Press Release from ESPN, the Total Quarterback Rating is a new statistical approach that will be used to evaluate quarterback play.  For more information, including quotes from ESPN NFL personalities on the new tool, please visit the Web Site linked above.

A look at how Yahoo! Sports has become ESPN's biggest competitor

the author of this blog feels that Yahoo! Sports has become ESPN's biggest competitor with some very valid and key points that you can read inside the link above.

While the author of the blog feels that Yahoo! making an investment into what was formerly known as Sporting News Radio is a key move, with less than 200 affiliates nationwide, that investment won't pay for itself unless Yahoo! Sports  Radio can grow their affiliate count and put some sort of mandate on the number of hours a station must air Yahoo! Sports Radio programming, similar to what ESPN Radio does.  In addition Yahoo! Sports Radio will see a growth spurt if Yahoo! Sports writers to only appearing nationally on Yahoo! Sports Radio.

MLB Network's August schedule of televised games

MLB Network has released it's August schedule of televised games.  You can get the schedule for the first two weeks of August at this Web Site.  As usual, blackouts are likely across Iowa for telecasts involving regional teams.

2nd Annual HS football kickoff set for ESPN

Multiple ESPN platforms are teaming up for the 2nd Annual High School Kickoff August 26-28.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, the High School Kickoff will air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN3.com and will feature 26 teams from 13 different states and will showcase 15 ESPNU Top 150 players and over 100 Division One recruits.

For more information, including a complete schedule, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Wednesday August 3rd

Big League Baseball Championship: Teams TBA 5pm on ESPN2

MLB Baseball:

St. Louis @ Milwaukee 1pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin
Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago+
Baltimore @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City
NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago & ESPN (subject to blackout across Iowa on ESPN)
Minnesota @ LA Angels of Anaheim 9pm on FS North

Soccer:

CONCACAF League: FC Dallas vs Alianza FC 7pm on FOX Soccer
Barcelona vs Chivas de Guadalajara 7:30pm on ESPN2
CONCACAF League: Seattle vs San Francisco 9pm on FOX Soccer
MLS: Los Angeles @ Portland 9:30pm on ESPN2

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike and Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

Swimming: National Championships 8pm on Universal Sports

WNBA Basketball: Connecticut @ Los Angeles 2pm on NBATV

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

Compass Media announces it's 2011 college football schedule

Compass Media has released it's 2011 college football broadcast schedule and the schedule includes some highly anticipated matchups.

Some of the games include:

Alabama @ Penn St. on September 10
Ohio St. @ Miami on September 17
Nebraska @ Wisconsin on October 1
LSU @ Alabama on November 19
Big 10 Championship Game on December 3

You can get a complete schedule at this Web Site.

Compass Media announces it's 2011 NFL broadcast schedule & talent

Compass Media, one of several national media outlets that broadcasts NFL games has announced their 2011 schedule and broadcast teams.

According to a Press Release from Compass Sports, broadcast talent includes Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports Network, Brain Baldinger of NFL Network and a host of several other former NFL players.

Compass' broadcast schedule will consist of weekly doubleheaders and you get get a partial schedule at this Web Site.

TV Schedule, Tuesday August 2

CONCACAF Soccer: Real Estell FC vs Toronton FC 9pm on FOX Soccer

MLB Baseball:

Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Baltimore @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City
NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on WHO-DT 13.3/Mediacom Channel 114
St. Louis @ Milwaukee 7pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ LA Angels of Anaheim 9pm on FS North

Minor League Baseball: Buffalo @ Rochester 11am on MLB Network

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

Swimming: National Championships 8pm on Universal Sports

WNBA Basketball: Phoenix @ Minnesota 7pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

Comments from NBC Sports on the VERSUS rebrand

Wowser, what a busy day today, glad i'm home to keep up with all of it.

Earlier today, I noted the official announcement that VERSUS will be re-branded effective January 2nd as NBC Sports Network and thanks to following NBC Sports PR on Twitter, I was able to track down comments from Mark Lazarus who is chairman of the NBC Sports Group and his comments regarding the VERSUS rebrand to NBC Sports Network as well as further confirmation to incoporate the NBC Sports brand into the Comcast regional sports networks, including Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

ESPN announces the addition of Hugh Douglas as an NFL analyst

ESPN today has announced the addition of former NFL defensive end Hugh Douglas to it's roster of NFL Analysts.  According to a Press Release from ESPN, Douglas will make is debut today on ESPN's NFL Live at 3pm (CT), which will be repeated throughout the day & night on ESPN & ESPN 2.

Douglas most recently worked with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia as well as Philly based sports radio WIP..

Sporting News Radio rebrands as Yahoo! Sports Radio

Well, this came out of left field, Sporting News Radio has rebranded and is now known as the Yahoo!  Sports Radio Network, you can hear the launch of Yahoo! Sports Radio at this Web Site.

All Access  is reporting that the programming lineup on Yahoo! Sports Radio won't change, however, there will be more content from Yahoo! Sports incorporated into the new Yahoo! Sports Radio.  You can see if there is a Yahoo Sports Radio affiliate in your area at this Website

TV information for Chicago Bears preseason games

A pair of Eastern Iowa TV stations will be a part of the Chicago Bears TV Network.  According to the Bears Web Site, KFXA in Cedar Rapids and KLJB out of the Quad Cities will televise 3Bears preseason games with the first telecast being August 13 with the Bears hosting Buffalo.

Sam Rosen, Erick Kramer, and Lou Canellis will call the action.  As I find preseason TV information for other Midwest teams, i'll post that info here.

NFL Network to have extensive Hall of Fame coverage

The 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony is next weekend and NFL Network is going to have extensive coverage leading up to the ceremony.

According to The NFL, 12 hours worth of original programming honoring the inductees begins tonight and continues all week and ending next Saturday with 7 hours of live coverage, including the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

For more information, as well as a full schedule of Hall of Fame related programming, please visit the Web Site linked above.

VERSUS to rebrand as NBC Sports Network January 2

Ever since the Comcast/NBC merger, it's been expected that VERSUS would be rebranded to reflect the NBC marriage and today, at long last, we have the new name for VERSUS.

NBC Sports today is reporting that effective January 2, 2012, the VERSUS brand will retire and the NBC Sports Network will debut.  This is just another subtle change to the NBC Sports group this year.  We've already seen the VERSUS website close, NBC's golf coverage is known as The Golf Channel on NBC and rumors and speculation that the regional Comcast SportsNet's would change to reflect the NBC marriage.

In addition to the announcement of the VERSUS rebrand, NBC also introduced a new logo for NBC Sports which you can see at the link above.

TV Schedule, Monday August 1

MLB Baseball:

Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago+
Cleveland @ Boston 6pm on ESPN
NY Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
St. Louis @ Milwaukee 7pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin

Soccer:

Friendly: Valerenga vs Liverpool 12pm on FOX Soccer
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Argentina vs England 7:45pm on ESPN2

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.