Chael Sonnen and Jon "Bones" Jones - SportsCenter - January 22, 2013

SportsCenter Studio - Bristol

posted by on May 21, 2013 12:00 PM

Former Kentucky basketball star Nerlens Noel visits ESPN campus before NBA Draft Lottery

Nerlens Noel turned 19 years old in April. To our knowledge, ESPN’s cameras were not present at his birthday party. But ESPN has chronicled many milestone moments in the former University of Kentucky basketball star’s development.

In April 2012, ESPN aired his head-turning commitment to the Wildcats; in October, ESPN captured his first collegiate practices; in February 2013, the 6-foot, 10-inch shot blocker suffered a season-ending injury in a game airing on ESPN’s platforms. The next significant step in Noel’s career happens tonight on ESPN when the NBA conducts the 2013 Draft Lottery (coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on KIA NBA Countdown) before Game 2 of the San Antonio Spurs-Memphis Grizzlies Western Conference Finals duel. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes, NBAOnESPN

posted by on May 21, 2013 8:00 AM

See hours of changes on the Bristol SportsCenter set in less than a minute; preview SC’s 2014 new home

When most people hear “ESPN,” they probably think of SportsCenter. A lot of people probably can hum the theme song.

But what most fans know little about is all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into ESPN’s flagship news and information program. The time-lapse video above should shed some light on that. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 20, 2013 4:05 PM

ESPN Indy 500 promo takes viewers from 1911 vintage footage to present-day racing thrills

The latest Indy 500 promo (above) produced by ESPN Sports Marketing is a stirring 30-second trip through 100 years of thrills the iconic event has provided. The spot features vintage footage — supplied by IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway — dating back to 1911. The promo, which began airing last week, has inspired sports fans anticipating Sunday’s Indy 500 (ABC, pre-race coverage beginning at 11 a.m. ET, green flag at 12:15 p.m.).

“The campaign has been well-received by both internal stakeholders at ESPN as well as our league partners at IndyCar,” said Andrew Barge, associate manager, ESPN Sports Marketing. “In addition, the social conversation around the spot has been very positive.”

To wit:


continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes, ESPNonABC, Indy 500

posted by on May 20, 2013 12:05 PM

ESPN captures three Webbys causing winners to think of five-word acceptance speeches

A Webby Award featured in one of ESPN's award cases. (Hannah Worster/ESPN)

An example of a Webby (center) ESPN has won in previous years. (Hannah Worster/ESPN)

Winners of the 2013 Webby Awards will be honored tomorrow night at an event in New York City. ESPN will receive awards in three categories.

The Webbys were established in 1996 and honor excellence in Websites, Interactive Advertising & Media, Online Film & Video, Mobile & App, and a new batch of categories for work in the Social Web. ESPN was recognized with the following Webbys in this year’s voting: continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 20, 2013 9:08 AM

Tweetback: Carlesimo to serve as ESPN NBA analyst; Darke/Macca soccer outtakes; Cabrera rocks Sunday Night Baseball

Former NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo will join ESPN as an NBA studio analyst for the remainder of the NBA postseason. Carlesimo will debut Thursday, May 23, during the 9 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter and contribute to additional studio programming, including NBA Tonight. Carlesimo will also contribute to on-site SportsCenter coverage at the NBA Finals, beginning June 6.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to contribute to ESPN’s NBA postseason coverage,” said Carlesimo. “I look forward to sharing a coach’s perspective, along with insights from nine playoff appearances, with ESPN viewers and NBA fans.”

Carlesimo has 39 years of basketball coaching experience, most recently as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, who he led to the 2013 NBA Playoffs. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 1992 U.S. Men’s Basketball team (assistant coach). He has previously worked as an analyst for ESPN, ESPN Radio, NBC Sports, Turner Sports and Spurs Television.

***
Enjoy the comedy stylings of Ian Darke and Steven “Macca” McManaman as ESPN wishes BPL’s new home the best in its upcoming coverage:

“Who were those two lunatics?!” – Macca


***

And now, the Tweetback. . .


Filed in: Weekend Tweetback

posted by on May 18, 2013 10:00 AM

ICYMI: The week on Front Row; PLUS: Veteran BMX competitor, X Games analyst Kevin Robinson

X Games analyst Kevin Robinson. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

X Games analyst Kevin Robinson. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

BARCELONA, Spain — Kevin Robinson, a 22-year veteran BMX rider, pulls double duty at the X Games. Since 2011, he’s also been an on-air analyst for ESPN.

Injuries have sidelined Robinson, 41, but he is keen on competing at X Games Munich and X Games Los Angeles later this summer. Robinson tells Front Row how he remains a top-flight rider while honing his craft as an analyst for X Games Barcelona, which air across ESPN platforms through tomorrow.

XGames_Barcelona_CLR_Neg

How did you become an X Games commentator? continue reading…

Filed in: ICYMI Highlights, X Games 2013

posted by on May 17, 2013 4:00 PM

Up(front), close and personal with ESPN Deportes

NEW YORK — On Wednesday, ESPN Deportes held its Upfront presentation at the Hearst Building, where the network unveiled some of the new initiatives planned for next year while reinforcing the brand’s advantages in the marketplace. The presentation was led by some of ESPN and ESPN Deportes’ most renowned on-air talent who highlighted the brand’s ability to deliver sports content that is relevant to the Hispanic fan, anytime, anywhere.

The major announcements made during the presentation included Road to Brazil: Game around the Game, in anticipation to the World Cup, the NBA Finals in Spanish and ESPN Sync, a new second-screen experience for our Spanish-speaking sport fans. Here, we recap via photo gallery some of the most outstanding moments of the presentation.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 17, 2013 1:00 PM

Graduation time commences season of speeches for several ESPN Commentators

MLB reporter Buster Olney spoke at the Northern State University commencement ceremony.

MLB reporter Buster Olney spoke at the Northern State University commencement ceremony.

Mike Tirico participates in the commencement ceremony at Syracuse University. (Photo credit: Syracuse University)

Mike Tirico participates in the commencement ceremony at Syracuse University. (Photo credit: Syracuse University)

Graduation season is an exciting time of year at campuses across the country.

High school and college students receive their diplomas, marking the culmination of years of hard work, study and hopefully a little fun as well.

Before students go out into the “real” world or matriculate to college, they will hopefully take away one last lesson from the commencement speakers at their graduation ceremonies. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 17, 2013 10:59 AM

Fan Central Mailbag: NCAA softball & baseball slates; Miguel Cabrera on SNB; new 30 for 30 lineup

Screen-shot-2012-11-28-at-4.20.25-PM1

Before we get to your questions, here’s a quick programming reminder for college softball and baseball fans: The NCAA Softball Regionals start today at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPNU, with two of what could be 97 games played between now and June 5 (see complete schedule). NCAA Baseball Conference Championship Games start Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN3 with the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship (see complete schedule). In total, ESPN platforms will show 70 baseball conference tournament games between Sunday and May 26.

And now onto your questions . . .

Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers (Allen Kee / ESPN)

Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers face Texas on this week’s Sunday Night Baseball
(Allen Kee/ESPN)

Is ESPN showing Monday Night Baseball and Wednesday Night Baseball games at the end of May? Also, it appears there are no Sunday Night Baseball games scheduled for the end of July. — Molly continue reading…

Filed in: ESPN Fan Central, Fan Central

posted by on May 17, 2013 8:00 AM

Front & Center: Jason Bernstein on ESPN’s 11-year deal with the US Open

Serena Williams during the 2012 US Open. (Scott Clarke / ESPN Images)

Serena Williams during the 2012 US Open.
(Scott Clarke / ESPN Images)

Click HERE to listen or visit iTunes to download the podcast and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Front & Center podcast. Also, make sure to check out the ESPN Radio app, available for the iPad.

On Thursday, ESPN and the United States Tennis Association announced a landmark, 11-year agreement making the network the exclusive home of the US Open starting in 2015.

Jason Bernstein (ESPN)

Jason Bernstein (ESPN)

With this new deal adding about 30 hours of US Open television coverage to the 100 or so ESPN has aired since 2009 — including Labor Day weekend, the semifinals in prime time and both the women’s and men’s finals — and countless hours on ESPN3 covering the outer courts, ESPN will now air the championship in three of the four tennis majors. continue reading…

Filed in: Front & Center, Podcast, TennisOnESPN


ESPN Upfront 2013 – Behind the Scenes

Western Conf. Finals – Game 2 Grizzlies at Spurs (ESPN, 9 ET)

Categories & Archives


Front Row: Nationally Honored and Recognized.