Who Called Your NFL Team’s Games the Most in 2013?

We did this research last year, and we thought we would do it again to end the 2013 NFL season.

We examined the network play-by-play pairings for each regular season game in the league this year and noted which announcer called which teams’ games.  As in years past patterns emerge, generally the better teams in each conference have their games called by the higher-ranked broadcasters on each network.

The list you are about to see for each team pairs it ONLY with the play-by-play voice calling the game.  There are instances where play-by-play men work with different analysts (i.e. Thomm Brennaman filling-in for Joe Buck during the baseball playoffs with Troy Aikman) so instead of listing the results based on broadcast teams, we will link them only with the play-by-play announcer.

Here is each NFL team, along with the announcer who called their games the most, with the number of games in parentheses:

Arizona Cardinals- Dick Stockton & Sam Rosen (3 each)
Atlanta Falcons – Kevin Burkhardt (4)
Baltimore Ravens – Jim Nantz & Greg Gumbel (3 each)
Buffalo Bills – Greg Gumber & Ian Eagle (3 each)
Carolina Panthers- Chris Myers (4)
Chicago Bears- Thomm Brennaman (4)
Cincinnati Bengals- Greg Gumbel & Marv Albert (3 each)
Cleveland Browns- Kevin Harlan (6)
Dallas Cowboys- Al Michaels (4)
Denver Broncos- Jim Nantz (5)
Detroit Lions- Thomm Brennaman (4)
Green Bay Packers- Joe Buck (7)
Houston Texans- Kevin Harlan (4)
Indianapolis Colts- Al Michaels, Greg Gumbel, Kevin Harlan, Ian Eagle, & Bill Macatee (2 each)
Jacksonville Jaguars- Bill Macatee (5)
Kansas City Chiefs- Jim Nantz (3)
Miami Dolphins- Mike Tirico, Jim Nantz, Greg Gumbel, Marv Albert, Ian Eagle, & Chris Myers (2 each)
Minnesota Vikings- Thomm Brennaman (3)
New England Patriots- Jim Nantz & Greg Gumbel (4 each)
New Orleans Saints- Joe Buck (3)
New York Giants- Kenny Albert (4)
New York Jets- Greg Gumbel (5)
Oakland Raiders- Marv Albert (4)
Philadelphia Eagles- Kenny Albert (3)
Pittsburgh Steelers- Al Michaels, Jim Nantz & Ian Eagle (3 each)
San Diego Chargers- Ian Eagle (4)
San Francisco 49ers- Joe Buck (3)
Seattle Seahawks- Chris Myers (5)
St. Louis Rams- Chris Myers (4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Kevin Burkhardt (4)
Tennessee Titans- Greg Gumbel, Kevin Harlan, Marv Albert, Ian Eagle, Steve Tasker & Andrew Catalon (2 each)
Washington Redskins- Dick Stockton (3)

Now let’s look at each broadcaster and which team he covered the most this season.  Brad Nessler of the NFL Network once again wins the award for most diverse announcer, having called games featuring different teams for each of the network’s 13 games.  So, in effect, Nessler called one game for 26 teams this year.  Here is the rest of the list, sorted by network:

NBC Sports

Al Michaels- Denver Broncos (4)

ESPN

Mike Tirico- Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers & Seattle Seahawks (2 each)
Chris Berman- Houston Texans & San Diego Chargers (1 each)

CBS Sports

Jim Nantz- Denver Broncos (5)
Greg Gumbel- NY Jets (5)
Kevin Harlan- Cleveland Browns (6)
Marv Albert- NY Jets, Cleveland Browns, & Oakland Raiders (4 each)
Ian Eagle- San Diego Chargers (4)
Spero Dedes- Jacksonville Jaguars (3)
Bill Macatee- Jacksonville Jaguars (5)
Andrew Catalon- Tennessee Titans & Jacksonville Jaguars (2 each)

Fox Sports

Joe Buck- Green Bay Packers (7)
Kenny Albert- NY Giants (4)
Dick Stockton- Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals & St. Louis Rams (3 each)
Chris Myers- Seattle Seahawks
Kevin Burkhardt- Atlanta Falcons & Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4 each)
Thomm Brennaman- Detroit Lions & Chicago Bears (4 each)
Sam Rosen- Arizona Cardinals (3)
Gus Johnson- Detroit Lions & Minnesota Vikings (1 each)
Justin Kutcher- Tennessee Titans & Arizona Cardinals (1 each)
Tom McCarthy- Cleveland Browns & Detroit Lions (1 each)

Have a Happy New Year!

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College Bowl Games on ESPN, with Announcer Assignments

The college football bowl season begins this weekend and ESPN will televise 34 games this year, including the BCS bowl games and the National Championship.

Here is the schedule of bowl games, beginning with the BCS schedule, and the announcers calling each game on TV and radio:

Bowl Championship Series

Wed, Jan 1	5 p.m.	Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO: No. 5 Stanford vs. No. 4 Michigan State TV: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit & Heather Cox Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN Deportes
	8:30 p.m.	Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: No. 15 UCF vs. No. 6 Baylor TV: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman & Shannon Spake Radio: Bob Wischusen, Rod Gilmore & Quint Kessenich	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN Deportes
Thu, Jan 2	8:30 p.m.	Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Alabama TV: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN Deportes
Fri, Jan 3	8:30 p.m.	Discover Orange Bowl: No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 7 Ohio State TV: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen & Maria Taylor Radio: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman & Shannon Spake	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN Deportes+
Mon, Jan 6	8:30 p.m.	VIZIO BCS National Championship: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Auburn TV: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox & Tom Rinaldi Radio: Mike Tirico, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe & Joe Schad	ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line

 

Additional Postseason Games

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, Dec 21	2 p.m.	Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Washington State vs. Colorado State TV: Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Jessica Mendoza Radio: John Sadak, Tom Ramsey & Niki Noto	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	3:30 p.m.	Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: No. 20 Fresno State vs. No. 25 USC Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack & Samantha Ponder	ABC
	5:30 p.m.	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Buffalo vs. San Diego State TV: Clay Matvick, Matt Stinchcomb & Dawn Davenport Radio: Marc Kestescher, Dan Hawkins & Marty Cesario	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	9 p.m.	R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette TV: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Mon, Dec 23	2 p.m.	Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg: Ohio vs. East Carolina ESPN: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Paul Carcaterra Radio: Eamon McAnaney, Anthony Becht & Ian Fitzsimmons	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Tue, Dec 24	8 p.m.	Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Boise State vs. Oregon State ESPN: Steve Levy, Lou Holtz, Mark May & Maria Taylor Radio: Kevin Winter & Trevor Matich	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Thu, Dec 26	6 p.m.	Little Caesars Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green Dave Lamont, Ray Bentley & Niki Noto	ESPN
	9:30 p.m.	San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Utah State vs. No. 23 Northern Illinois TV: Joe Davis, Mike Bellotti & Cara Capuano Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Fri, Dec 27	2:30 p.m.	Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: Marshall vs. Maryland Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards	ESPN
	6 p.m.	Texas Bowl: Syracuse vs. Minnesota TV: Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Kaylee Hartung Radio: Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	9:30 p.m.	Fight Hunger Bowl: BYU vs. Washington TV: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese & Tom Luginbill Radio: Dave Flemming, Mike Bellotti & Shelley Smith	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Sat, Dec 28	Noon	New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Notre Dame TV: Chris Fowler, Jesse Palmer & Paul Carcaterra Radio: Connell McShane, Jack Ford & C.J. Papa	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	3:20 p.m.	Belk Bowl: Cincinnati vs. North Carolina TV: Carter Blackburn, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams Radio: Tom Hart, David Diaz-Infante & Cara Capuano	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	6:45 p.m.	Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 18 Louisville TV: Bob Wischusen, Rod Gilmore & Quint Kessenich Radio: Dave Lamont, Anthony Becht & Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	10:15 p.m.	Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Michigan vs. Kansas State TV: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman & Shannon Spake Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Mon, Dec 30	11:45 a.m.	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Navy TV: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Paul Carcaterra Radio: Mark Neely, Tom Ramsey & Lewis Johnson	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	3:15 p.m.	Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Jessica Mendoza	ESPN
	6:45 p.m.	Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 10 Oregon vs. Texas TV: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe Radio: Marc Kestescher, Kelly Stouffer & Kaylee Hartung	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	10:15 p.m.	National University Holiday Bowl: No. 14 Arizona State vs. Texas Tech TV: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen & Maria Taylor Radio: Bill Rosinkski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Tue, Dec 31	12:30 p.m.	AdvoCare V100 Bowl: Arizona vs. Boston College Tom Hart, John Congemi & Niki Noto	ESPN
	4 p.m.	AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Rice vs. Mississippi State TV: Bob Wischusen, Rod Gilmore & Quint Kessenich Radio: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	8 p.m.	Chick-fil-A Bowl: No. 24 Duke vs. No. 21 Texas A&M TV: Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack & Samantha Ponder Radio: Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Cara Capuano	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Wed, Jan 1	Noon	TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl: Nebraska vs. No. 22 Georgia Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards	ESPN2
		Heart of Dallas Bowl Presented by PlainsCapital Bank: UNLV vs. North Texas Clay Matvick, Matt Stinchcomb & Dawn Davenport	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Capital One Bowl: No. 19 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 South Carolina TV: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese & Tom Luginbill Radio: Dave Lamont, Ray Bentley & Ian Fitzsimmons	ABC & ESPN Radio
		Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. No. 16 LSU TV: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden & Lisa Salters Radio: Carter Blackburn, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Fri, Jan 3	7:30 p.m.	AT&T Cotton Bowl: No. 13 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 Missouri Brad Sham, Ed Cunningham & Ian Fitzsimmons	ESPN Radio
Sat, Jan 4	1 p.m.	BBVA Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt vs. Houston TV: Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Dawn Davenport Radio: Adam Amin, Rene Ingoglia & TBD	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Sun, Jan 5	9 p.m.	GoDaddy Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Ball State Carter Blackburn, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams	ESPN

Sports Media Weekly No. 175- Joe Flint, LA Times & Joe Tessitore, ESPN

The weather is frigid across much of the country so why not cozy up to the latest edition of Sports Media Weekly?

Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and I are joined for our news segment this week by Joe Flint, media and entertainment reporter for the LA Times.

We dream of warm weather to start the show, talking about the news that ESPN will add Curt Schilling to its Sunday Night Baseball broadcast booth.  Schilling replaces Orel Hershiser, who will be joining the broadcast team for the Los Angeles Dodgers new regional sports network which will launch in 2014.

We move to the NFL, discussing the flexing of Bears/Eagles to NBC’s Sunday Night Football for week 16 while Patriots/Ravens moves to CBS at 4:25pm ET.  We also speculate as to which game will be flexed to SNF for the week 17 finale.

For the second straight week we talk Canadian sports media as it was announced that CTV and TSN will be the home for NFL football north of the boarder.

We end the news segment looking at the report by John Ourand at Sports Business Journal that Fox appears to be the front runner to retaining the rights to the UEFA Champions League matches here in the United States.

Our second guest this week is ESPN’s Joe Tessitore.  Ken speaks with Joe about his upcoming new role as lead studio host for the SEC Network which will launch late next summer.

College Basketball This Week on ESPN

Here is this week’s college basketball schedule, along with announcer assignments, on the networks of ESPN:

Date	Time(ET)	Game / Commentators	Networks
Thu, Dec 12	7 p.m.	Maryland at Boston College Tom Hart & Len Elmore	ESPNU
Fri, Dec 13	8 p.m.	Arkansas-Little Rock at No. 16 Memphis Greg Gaston & Darrin Horn	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	No. 23 Iowa at No. 17 Iowa State Mike Couzens & Reid Gettys	ESPNU
Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers (Dec. 18-25)
Sat, Dec 14	Noon	Western Kentucky at No. 6 Louisville Bob Wischusen & Kara Lawson	ESPN2
		VCU at Northern Iowa Rich Hollenberg & Mark Adams	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky at No. 4 WisconsinWayne Randazzo & Kevin Lehman	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Tennessee at No. 12 Wichita State Mark Jones & Jimmy Dykes	ESPN2
		Louisiana Tech at No. 7 Oklahoma State Dave Armstrong & Bryndon Manzer	ESPNU
	3:15 p.m.	Notre Dame at Indiana Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich	ESPN
	4 p.m.	No. 5 Michigan State at Oakland Carter Blackburn & Bruce Pearl	ESPN2
		UNC-Greensboro at Rutgers Jonathan Yardley & Mo Cassara	ESPN3
	5:15 p.m.	No. 11 Kentucky at No. 18 North Carolina Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Jay Bilas	ESPN
	6 p.m.	Detroit at NC State Roy Philpott & Stan Lewter	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	New Mexico at No. 13 Kansas Dave Flemming & Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2
		Furman at Clemson	ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Illinois at No. 15 Oregon Roxy Bernstein & Sean Farnham	ESPN2
Sun, Dec 15	Noon	Philadelphia University at Boston College Eric Frede & Malcolm Huckabay	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	UNC-Asheville at USC Upstate	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Western Michigan at No. 24 Missouri Dave Neal & Jon Sundvold	ESPNU

NBC Flexes Bears/Eagles for NFL Week 16

The NFL announced today that the week 16 game between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles will be flexed onto Sunday Night Football (SNF) on NBC.

The original SNF match-up, the New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens, will now air Sunday, December 22nd at 4:25pm ET on CBS.

Here is the reconfigured week 16 NFL schedule (All times local):

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22

 

MIAMI AT BUFFALO	1:00 PM (ET)	CBS
NEW ORLEANS AT CAROLINA	1:00 PM (ET)	FOX
MINNESOTA AT CINCINNATI	1:00 PM (ET)	FOX
DENVER AT HOUSTON	12:00 PM (CT)	CBS
TENNESSEE AT JACKSONVILLE	1:00 PM (ET)	CBS
INDIANAPOLIS AT KANSAS CITY	12:00 PM (CT)	CBS
CLEVELAND AT NEW YORK JETS	1:00 PM (ET)	CBS
TAMPA BAY AT ST. LOUIS	12:00 PM (CT)	FOX
DALLAS AT WASHINGTON	1:00 PM (ET)	FOX
NEW YORK GIANTS AT DETROIT	4:05 PM (ET)	FOX
ARIZONA AT SEATTLE	1:05 PM (PT)	FOX
*NEW ENGLAND AT BALTIMORE	4:25 PM (ET)	CBS
PITTSBURGH AT GREEN BAY	3:25 PM (CT)	CBS
OAKLAND AT SAN DIEGO	1:25 PM (PT)	CBS
*CHICAGO AT PHILADELPHIA	8:30 PM (ET)	NBC

MONDAY, DECEMBER 23

ATLANTA AT SAN FRANCISCO

5:40 PM (PT)

ESPN

Curt Schilling Joins Sunday Night Baseball Crew

With the announcement that Orel Hershiser will be working on the Los Angeles Dodgers game telecasts, ESPN wasted no time today announcing who will take his place on the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast crew.  Curt Schilling will fill Hershiser’s role beginning next season.

Schilling has served as a Baseball Tonight studio analyst since 2010, and has also provided analysis for select MLB game telecasts on ESPN. He will continue to make studio appearances for the network.

“I’m excited to join an already outstanding team,” said Schilling. “I would like to bring a perspective that will help fans get inside the head of the guy on the mound, and behind the plate, while also helping fans to better understand the work and preparation that goes into pitching in the big leagues.”

“Curt is one of the most unique announcers we have ever had on baseball, or any other sport, for that matter.” said Jed Drake, ESPN executive producer and senior vice-president, production. “He speaks his mind, and when he does, it is almost always fascinating, insightful and quite often, provocative. People will watch Sunday Night Baseball because of what Curt might say – that’s a rare gift. And, did I mention that he was a ferocious competitor, who has three World Series rings? Enough said.”

Photo Courtesy ESPN

Sports Media Weekly No. 174- John Ourand, Sports Business Journal

After a week off for the holiday Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and I are back for another edition of Sports Media Weekly.

Joining Ken and me this week is John Ourand from Sports Business Journal.

We start the show by looking back at the big sports media story from a week ago, the news that Rogers Communications has won the sole national NHL media rights in Canada away from TSN and CBC.  We look at the impact the deal will have in Canada as well as what it may mean for sports rights deals here in the U.S.A.

We move on to the NFL and the news from Fox Sports that it has already sold its entire ad inventory for February’s Super Bowl XLVIII.  The news proves once again that football is king on TV and with sponsors.

We look back at the spectacular weekend of college football and, in particular, CBS’ coverage of the Alabama/Auburn Iron Bowl.  We all give kudos to CBS for its coverage of the game and striking the right tone both in pictures and in words from Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, and Tracey Wolfson.

As ESPN prepares for coverage of its final World Cup for a while we discuss the potential U.S. rights fee battle for the UEFA Champions League matches.  Fox Sports currently holds the rights, but ESPN and NBC are looking to snatch the package away.

We wrap the show by discussing Deadspin’s purchase of a baseball Hall of Fame vote and how that may shake out.

Week 14 NFL Schedule, with Announcer Assignments

Here is the week 14 schedule in the NFL, along with the announcers calling each game:

THURSDAY, DEC. 05
GAME	TIME/SCORE	TV	ANNOUNCERS
Houston at Jacksonville	8:25 pm	NFL Network	Brad Nessler, Mike Mayock
SUNDAY, DEC. 08
GAME	TIME/SCORE	TV	ANNOUNCERS
Minnesota at Baltimore	1:00 pm	FOX	Chris Myers, Tim Ryan, Jennifer Hale
Kansas City at Washington	1:00 pm	CBS	Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcotts
Buffalo at Tampa Bay	1:00 pm	CBS	Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein
Miami at Pittsburgh	1:00 pm	CBS	Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Detroit at Philadelphia	1:00 pm	FOX	Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Molly McGrath
Oakland at N.Y. Jets	1:00 pm	CBS	Marv Albert, Rich Gannon
Indianapolis at Cincinnati	1:00 pm	CBS	Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Cleveland at New England	1:00 pm	CBS	Bill Macatee, Steve Tasker
Atlanta at Green Bay	1:00 pm	FOX	Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin
Tennessee at Denver	4:05 pm	CBS	Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
St. Louis at Arizona	4:25 pm	FOX	Dick Stockton, Ronde Barber, Kris Budden
Seattle at San Francisco	4:25 pm	FOX	Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver
N.Y. Giants at San Diego	4:25 pm	FOX	Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Carolina at New Orleans	8:30 pm	NBC	Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth
MONDAY, DEC. 09
GAME	TIME/SCORE	TV	ANNOUNCERS
Dallas at Chicago	8:40 pm	ESPN	Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden

College Basketball This Week on ESPN

Here is this week’s college basketball schedule, along with announcer assignments, on the networks of ESPN:

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup / Commentators	Network
Thu, Dec 5	7 p.m.	Big 12/SEC Challenge: West Virginia at Missouri Mark Jones & Jimmy Dykes	ESPN2
		Big 12/SEC Challenge: TCU at Mississippi State Tom Hart & Carolyn Peck	ESPNU
		Rider at Monmouth Doug Sherman & Rob Kennedy	ESPN3
		Tennessee Tech at Lipscomb	ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Big 12/SEC Challenge: Ole Miss at Kansas State Dave Flemming & Miles Simon	ESPN2
Fri, Dec 6	7 p.m.	Loyola Marymount at Pittsburgh Tim Neverett & Curtis Aiken	ESPN3
	8:30 p.m.	Fairfield at Quinnipiac Doug Sherman & Rob Kennedy	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Big 12/SEC Challenge: South Carolina at No. 9 Oklahoma State Micth Holthus & Reid Gettys	ESPNU
	10 p.m.	Big 12/SEC Challenge: No. 3 Kentucky at No. 20 Baylor Jon Sciambi & Fran Fraschilla	ESPN
Sat, Dec 7	Noon	Texas at Temple Adam Amin & Tim Welsh	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Hofstra at SMU Dave Raymond & Stephen Howard	ESPN3
		Northwestern State at No. 16 Memphis Greg Gaston & Darrin Horn	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Richmond at Wake Forest Evan Leplar & Pete Strickland	ESPN3
		East Tennessee State at Georgia Tech	ESPN3
		Eastern Michigan at Purdue Mike Couzens & Jeff Jackson	ESPN3
		William & Mary at Wofford	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	New Orleans at Minnesota BJ Schaben & Rich Zvosec	ESPN3
	3:15 p.m.	No. 6 Kansas at Colorado Dave O’Brien & Jimmy Dykes	ESPN2
	4 p.m.	Marshall at Penn State Tim Neverett & Brian Allen	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Virginia at Wisconsin-Green Bay Mike Morgan & Brooke Weisbrod	ESPNU
	5:15 p.m.	UNLV at No. 2 Arizona  Roxy Bernstein & Miles Simon	ESPN2
	6 p.m.	San Jose State at Houston Brett Dolan & Reid Gettys	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	UNC Greensboro at North Carolina Joe Davis & Paul Biancardi	ESPNU
		Stetson at UCF Jesse Agler & Mark Wise	ESPN3
		Binghamton at No. 4 Syracuse Jason Benetti & Reggie Witherspoon	ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Alabama at USF Rich Hollenberg & Carolyn Peck	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	New Mexico State at No. 19 Gonzaga Steve Quis & Jon Crispin	ESPNU
Sun, Dec 8	12:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech at Miami (Fla.) Tom Hart & Jay Williams	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	No. 13 Oregon at Ole Miss Dave Neal & Kara Lawson	ESPNU
	6 p.m.	Jacksonville State at Florida State	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Seton Hall at Rutgers Eamon McAnaney & Tim Welsh	ESPNU

ESPN Announces First Five Analysts for the World Cup

Next year’s World Cup will be the last on ESPN for a while.  Today the network announced five analysts who will work the tournament in Brazil.

Michael Ballack, Alexi Lalas, Steve McManaman, and  Santiago Solari will appear on pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, SportsCenter, ESPN FC, and FIFA World Cup-themed news and information programs. Taylor Twellman will primarily serve as a co-commentator. McManaman will also co-commentate on select matches.

The analysts will be on hand this Friday at 11:30am as ESPN2 televises the final draw for the World Cup.  Bob Ley will host.

“The quality and diversity of our analyst team was one of the keys to our 2010 World Cup success,” said Jed Drake, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer.  “Michael, Alexi, Macca, Santiago, Taylor and others to come, will form what we expect to be one of the best collections of football minds available anywhere for this global sporting event.”