FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

NBC SPORTS NETWORK’S MLS COVERAGE CONTINUES WITH LIVE PRIMETIME MATCHES ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

FC Dallas at D.C. United Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET; New England Revolution at Los Angeles Galaxy Saturday at 11 p.m. ET “With explosive MVP Dwayne De Rosario in their ranks, they could spark into life on Friday, and light up RFK Stadium.” – Arlo White on D.C. United “They continue to heat up game by game.” – Martino on L.A. Galaxy

NEW YORK –March 28, 2012 –NBC Sports Network’s coverage of Major League Soccer continues with two primetime games this week: Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, D.C. United hosts FC Dallas and Saturday at 11 p.m. ET, L.A. Galaxy hosts the New England Revolution.

COMMENTATORS: The NBC Sports Group MLS announce team of Arlo White (@arlowhite, play-by-play), and Kyle Martino (@kylemartino, “Between the Benches” analyst) will call both Friday night and Saturday night games.  NBC SportsTalk host Russ Thaler (@RussThaler) will host the pre-game, halftime and post-game segments on Friday live from RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., while NBC Sports Network’s Paul Burmeister hosts the coverage on Saturday from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

White and Martino have received praise for their work this season.  Soccer America said White is “one of the best MLS commentators around” and called Martino, “NBC’s insider analyst, not simply a guy with a mike.” Additionally, The Tampa Times said NBC Sports Network’s coverage, “looked great and sounded even better with Kyle Martino between the benches, just like you might see on NBC’s hockey coverage.”

WHITE AND MARTINO BREAK DOWN THE MATCHUPS:

 

WHITE ON D.C.UNITED VS. FC DALLAS: “Dallas will be one of the premier teams in the tough Western Conference when they get back to full strength. Brazilian Ricardo Villar has covered for the injured David Ferreira brilliantly so far, scoring two fantastic goals.  Striker Blas Perez has been involved in every goal Dallas has scored this season. He’s hot!  Ben Olsen’s D.C. United are desperate for a win.  Once the power of MLS, the club has fallen on hard times recently, but with explosive MVP Dwayne De Rosario in their ranks, they could spark into life on Friday, and light up RFK Stadium.”

 

MARTINO ON L.A. GALAXY VS. REVOLUTION: “Although they were without their ideal starting 11 the Revs were able to record their first win of the season last game against Portland. Hopefully there is room in the overhead compartment for that confidence as they make the cross-country flight to take on a dangerously talented L.A. team. A few bumps early are well in the Galaxy’s rearview as they continue to heat up game by game.”

 

UPCOMING MLS GAMES ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK: (All Times ET, Home Team Listed First)

Sat. April 14, Philadelphia vs. Columbus, 3:30 p.m.

Sat. April 21, Toronto vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m.

Sat. April 28, New York vs. New England, 3:30 p.m.

 

For the full NBC Sports Group 2012 MLS Schedule visit www.NBCSports.com.

 

ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com: Steve Davis (@SteveDavis90), a respected soccer journalist for more than two decades, is the featured writer for ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com.  Davis, who has covered Major League Soccer, since its inception in 1996 contributes regular posts and will provide video reports to NBCSports.com, and is expected to be an occasional guest on NBC SportsTalk, the daily hour-long news and information show the new NBC Sports Network.

 

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Last August, Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NBC Sports Group announced a three-year media rights agreement that calls for 46 MLS games and four U.S. National Team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This agreement was the first rights deal for the new NBC Sports Network. All telecasts on NBC and NBC Sports Network will consist of pre-game and post-game coverage.