| Media Note: ESPN will host a Media Day on Wed., August 21, at its headquarters in Bristol, Conn. NFL analysts Tedy Bruschi and Keyshawn Johnson, NFL Insider Adam Schefter, NFL Live host Trey Wingo and lead NFL studio producer Seth Markman will participate in a NFL roundtable discussion that will be live-streamed from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET at ESPN Front Row and ESPN MediaZone.(Note: links will not be live until the session begins.) Media can also follow the session using the #ESPNMediaDay hashtag on Twitter. |
“It All Comes Down to Monday Night” Campaign Returns, Features Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt
In anticipation of the start of the 44th season of Monday Night Football, ESPN’s “It All Comes Down to Monday Night” campaign returns, with a spot featuring Houston Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt. The 30-second ad is narrated by Watt with references to NFL legend Ken Norton Jr. (now a Seattle Seahawks coach), former 13-time All Star Ken Griffey, Jr. and features a cameo by singer Kenny Loggins. The overall campaign, created in collaboration with creative agency Wieden + Kennedy New York, centers on the fact that Monday Night Football is the biggest stage for the league’s players, fans and Fantasy Football players. Two additional spots featuring different NFL players will be launched closer to the regular season. (JJ Watt photos via ESPN Images. To preview the spot.)
Monday Night Football: Carolina Panthers Face Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens
In ESPN’s final preseason game, Joe Flacco and the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in a special edition of Monday Night Football on Thursday, August 22, at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN and available via WatchESPN for fans who have video subscriptions from an affiliated provider. MNF’s Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will call the game from M&T Bank Stadium, along with sideline reporter Lisa Salters.
Host Chris Berman and studio analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson kick off the pre-game coverage with a one-hour Monday Night Countdown (7 p.m., ESPN).
Additionally, ESPN has a host of NFL programming throughout the week, including live daily editions of NFL Insiders (3 p.m.) and NFL Live (4 p.m.); a new Audibles (Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN) with NFL analysts Herm Edwards, Antonio Pierce, Darren Woodson and Steve Young; the Sport Science: NFL Season Preview special (see below); and an encore presentation of the SportsCenter Fantasy Draft Special (Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPN2). Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Show | Network |
| Mon, Aug. 19 | 3-4 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN2 |
| 4-5 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN2 | |
| Tue, Aug. 20 | 3-4 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN |
| 4-5 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN2 | |
| 6-6:30 p.m. | Fantasy Football Now (re-air) | ESPN2 | |
| 6:30-7 p.m. | Sport Science: NFL Season Preview | ESPN2 | |
| 7-8 p.m. | SportsCenter Fantasy Draft Special (re-air) | ESPN2 | |
| Wed, Aug. 21 | 3-4 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN |
| 4-5 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN2 | |
| 7-8 p.m. | Audibles | ESPN | |
| Thu, Aug. 22 | 3-4 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN |
ESPN Sport Science: NFL Season Preview Airs Tuesday on ESPN2
ESPN Sport Science: NFL Season Preview airs on Tuesday, August 20, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. In the 30-minute show, host John Brenkus analyzes NFL rookies, veterans, coaches and even a league rule change to prepare fans for the season ahead. Highlights:
- Sport Science examines how rookies Ziggy Ansah (Detroit Lions), Montee Ball (Denver Broncos), Kenjon Barner (Carolina Panthers), Giovani Bernard (Cincinnati Bengals), Tyrann Mathieu (Arizona Cardinals), EJ Manuel (Buffalo Bills), Dee Milliner (New York Jets) and Cordarrelle Patterson (Minnesota Vikings) will fare in their first year of NFL play;
- Sport Science answers questions about veterans Michael Crabtree: Was the “uncatchable” Super Bowl pass really uncatchable?; Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson: How should teams prepare for running quarterbacks? Can RG III recover as well as the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson?; and Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas: Could the Seattle Seahawks have the best secondary in the NFL?;
- Sport Science anticipates the impact of new head coach Chip Kelly’s offense; and
- Sport Science projects how the new crown-of-the-helmet rule will affect the physics of running with the ball.
ESPN’s #NFLRank Project Debuts Today, Counts Down Top 100 NFL Players on Offense, Defense
ESPN’s #NFLRank project – a countdown of the top 100 NFL players on offense and defense – begins today on ESPN.com. Based on votes cast by more than 60 ESPN NFL experts, the results of #NFLRank will be revealed over the course of two weeks. Ten players on each side of the ball will be revealed every weekday, culminating with a reveal of the top 10 offensive and defensive players on Friday, August 30.
Senior writer Greg Garber introduces the project and will contribute analysis throughout the countdown along with ESPN.com’s Jeffri Chadiha, Ashley Fox and Rick Reilly and ESPN Insider and NFL Nation contributors. Videos (for the top 100) and a photo gallery (top 30) will also accompany the player countdown and related analysis. Additionally, ESPN’s Facebook and Twitter pages will complement the content on ESPN.com
NFL Players Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson Participate in ESPN’s SportsCenter “My Wish” Series
NFL quarterbacks Robert Griffin III of the Redskins and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks are participants in the eighth annual SportsCenter “My Wish” series, which chronicles sports-themed wishes by Make-A-Wish® for children with life-threatening medical conditions. The series started Saturday during the 11 p.m. edition of SportsCenter and continues this week with Emmy Award-winning reporter Chris Connelly. In the first Wish segment, 12-year-old Kevin Lee, who suffers from a life-threatening heart condition, plays flag football with Wilson, his favorite player. Video. Tonight (Monday) on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter, Griffin welcomes eight-year-old Lateef Brock — who received a life-saving kidney transplant last fall – to Redskins practice. Preview.
Former Chicago Bears Wide Receiver Tom Waddle Joins ESPN Radio and ESPN as Contributor
Tom Waddle, host of the Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN Chicago 1000 AM and ESPNChicago.com, has reached a multi-year agreement to provide analysis during the national Football Sunday on ESPN Radio program, beginning September 8 at 1 p.m. The former Chicago Bears wide receiver will work from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios each Sunday throughout the NFL regular season. He will also appear on Sunday editions of SportsCenter and on ESPN2’s Cowherd on Football (9 a.m.), the new hour-long program focusing on both college and pro football discussion and commentary with host Colin Cowherd.
Waddle will continue his ESPN Radio Chicago role and add a variety of duties for ABC 7 Chicago.
ESPN Collaborates with Filmmaker Peter Berg on New Monday Night Football Open
ESPN is collaborating with acclaimed filmmaker/director Peter Berg of Pony Show Entertainment to create a new Monday Night Football open, which debuts September 9 at 6:55 p.m. before ESPN’s MNF regular-season opener – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins. The one-minute, 30-second open chronicles the 44-year history of sports television’s signature series. (More details on the MNF open. Peter Berg video interview on ESPN Front Row.)
One-Hour Documentary-Style Film “RGIII: The Will to Win” to Air Tuesday, August 27, on ESPN
ESPN will present “RGIII: The Will to Win,” a one-hour documentary-style film produced by NFL Films and Gatorade Productions about Washington Redskins quarterback and 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III. The program will air on ESPN as a one-hour prime time special on Tuesday, August 27, at 7 p.m. More information.
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