FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 31st, 2018

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY: PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE DEBUTS ON NBCSN, CONTINUING NBC SPORTS’ RICH HISTORY OF EVENTS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

PFL Debuts Next Thursday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Sports at MSG – First-Ever NHL Telecast, First Color Presentation of a Sporting Event, New York Knicks in Memorable NBA Playoff Games & Debut of Cavalcade of Sports

PFL Telecast Headlined by Undefeated Andre Harrison vs. Juma Tuerxun, Lance Palmer vs. Bekbulat Magomedov & More

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 31, 2018 – NBC Sports presents the 2018 regular season debut of the Professional Fighters League one week from today – Thursday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN from Madison Square Garden in New York City. MMA coverage will be headlined by a featherweight showdown between undefeated Long Island native Andre Harrison (17-0) and Juma Tuerxun (20-6), as well as Lance Palmer (12-6) vs. Bekbulat Magomedov (19-1) in a featherweight matchup.

The debut of the PFL continues NBC Sports’ rich history of televising premier events at Madison Square Garden, including the first-ever NHL telecast, the first transmission of a sporting event in color, Cavalcade of Sports boxing, as well as historic NBA and NHL games.

Following are highlights of NBC Sports telecasts from Madison Square Garden:

February 25, 1940 – NBC hits the ice with  first  NHL  telecast: NBC  presents  the  first  telecast  of  a  National  Hockey  League  game,  between  the  Montreal  Canadiens  and  the  New  York  Rangers  at  Madison  Square  Garden  in  New  York  City,  on  W2XBS.

February 28, 1940 – NBC  begins  college  basketball  coverage  with  doubleheader: NBC  presents  the  first  college  basketball  telecast  on  W2XBS  –  a  doubleheader  at  Madison  Square  Garden,  with  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  facing  off  against  Fordham  University,  followed  by  Georgetown  University  against  New  York  University.

September 29, 1944 Cavalcade of Sports premieres: A  15-round  bout  between  boxers  Willie  Pep  and  Chalky  White  serves  as  the  debut  of  NBC’s “Cavalcade  of  Sports.” Pep  defeats  White  in  a  fight  presented  to  nearly  7,000  television  sets  on  the  East  Coast.  Running  until  1960,  the  show  becomes  the  “Gillette  Cavalcade  of  Sports” in  1948,  and  focuses  primarily  on  Friday  night  boxing  at  Madison  Square  Garden.

March  26, 1954 – NBC  presents  its  first  color  transmission  of  a  sporting  event: Friday  night’s  “Gillette  Cavalcade  of  Sports” features  the first broadcast of a sporting event in color – a  boxing  match  between  American  Al  Andrews  and  Germany’s  Gustav  Scholz  from  Madison  Square  Garden.

June 17, 1994 – NBC  presents  Game  5  of  the  1994  NBA  Finals  amid  the  infamous  O.J.  Simpson chase: Bob  Costas  anchors  NBC’s  coverage of Game  5  of  the  1994  NBA  Finals  between  the  Houston  Rockets  and  the  New  York  Knicks  from  Madison  Square  Garden,  and  opens  the  broadcast  with  the  infamous  O.J.  Simpson white Bronco chase.  NBC  presents  the  second  half  of  the game  in  split-screen  –  the  chase  as  the  main  image  and  the  game  in  a  corner  cut-in.

May 7, 1995 – Reggie Miller stuns Madison Square Garden: In  one  of  the  most  improbable  comebacks  in  sports  history,  Reggie  Miller  of the Indiana Pacers scores  eight  points  in  a  nine-second  span  to  erase  a  105-99  deficit  and  stun  the  New  York  Knicks  and  MSG  crowd  with  a  107-105  win  in  Game  1  of  the  Eastern  Conference Semifinals.

June 5, 1999 – The Four-Point Play: In  Game  3  of  the  Eastern  Conference  Finals  against  the  Indiana  Pacers,  New  York  Knicks  power  forward  Larry  Johnson  creates  one  of  the  most  improbable  moments  in  playoff  history. With  the  Knicks  trailing  by  three  points,  Johnson  records  a  four-point  play,  hitting a three-pointer  while  being  fouled  with  less  than  10  seconds  left.  The four-point play would  give  the  Knicks  a  one-point  lead. The Knicks won the game and the series, advancing to the NBA Finals (lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs).

January 23, 2013 – NBC Sports introduces NHL ͞Wednesday Night Rivalry: NBC  Sports  introduces  ͞Wednesday  Night  Rivalry, an  exclusive  NHL  regular-season  package  on  NBCSN  that  features  matchups  between  teams  with  storied  rivalries.  In  the  inaugural  matchup,  the  New  York  Rangers  defeat  the  Boston  Bruins  4-3  in  overtime  at  Madison  Square  Garden  in  New  York.

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More information on the June 7 PFL card will be announced next week.

–NBC SPORTS–