FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
NEW EPISODE OF “SPORTS ILLUSTRATED” TO AIR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1:30 P.M. ON NBC
New York, NY (10.11.12) – “I felt this responsibility to deliver… that I wasn’t doing my part.,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells Sports Illustrated senior writer Lars Anderson in a rare one-on-one interview. Anderson sat down with Earnhardt Jr. prior to Earnhardt’s accident at Talladega Superspeedway where he suffered a concussion and will miss the next two Sprint Cup races. The interview covered the driver’s transformation from racing’s most popular star who hadn’t won a race in 143 starts to competing for the Sprint Cup. You’ll hear from Earnhardt on his renewed approach to the 2012 season, the responsibility he feels to his fans to perform on a high level and how he remembers his father today.
The new episode of “Sports Illustrated” on NBC presented by Lexus debuts Saturday, October 13, 1:30 p.m. on NBC. As a preview to the show, SI’s Lars Anderson and Lee Jenkins will participate in a Google+ Hangout, moderated by NBC’s Erik Kuselias, on Friday, October 12 beginning at noon ET. Anderson and Jenkins will discuss their segments, and offer viewers an opportunity to ask questions about each of the stories. Visit: (https://plus.Google.com/+SportsIllustrated) to join the conversation.
Also featured on “Sports Illustrated” is “Confederacy of Kickers” – an exploration of the intense world of college field goal kickers, a place where dreams are made and lives are crushed, SI senior writer Lee Jenkins reports. You’ll hear from Philip Brabbs whose first career field goal (after two misses) was one of the biggest in Michigan football history; Florida State’s Dan Mowrey whose missed 39-yard game-tying attempt against then No. 2 Miami was dubbed ‘Wide Right II” and Oregon State’s Alexis Serna who missed a game-tying extra point in OT against then No. 3 LSU costing his team a major upset. Serna went on to successfully convert his next 144 PATs, a Pac-12 record. Says Mowrey on the fateful kick: “I remember striking the ball and before I even picked my head up – you hear people talk about getting in an accident and seeing your life flash before your eyes – I’m thinking what the?… What have I just done?…. My brain kinda just shut down for a moment.”
As the NBA season approaches, the spotlight may shine brightest on Brooklyn, NY when the Nets open in the new Barclays Center. SI contributor Rick Telander heads to the borough for a closer look at its legendary street ball culture. He speaks with two of the all-time playground legends Albert King and “Fly” Williams. The pair represent the dichotomy of the Brooklyn basketball story. King went on to collegiate and NBA stardom. Williams became one of many who fell victim to the drug culture. Williams says “I got a taste of that money and I didn’t know how to live no more unless I had that type of money. So what was left for me was the streets.”
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Sports Illustrated Episode #3 on NBC -2-
Finally, SI senior writer Tom Verducci talks about unlikely October baseball heroes: 1992 Blue Jays’ C Pat Borders; the 1969 NY “Miracle” Mets infielder Al Weis; the 1956 Yankees’ Pitcher Don Larsen and Verducci’s personal favorite Billy Bates – a late season call up of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. Bates had just six regular season hits but found himself in Game 2 of the World Series and down 0-2 in the count against dominant A’s closer Dennis Eckersley. He smacked an infield hit and eventually scored the game-winning run. The Reds went on the win the Series. Bates never played another game in the majors.
About NBC Sports Group
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the broad reach and storied history of NBC Sports united with Comcast’s 24/7 ability to super-serve fans to create the NBC Sports Group. The sports media company consists of an array of broadcast television, cable television and digital sports assets, including NBC Sports & Olympics, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, 11 Comcast SportNets (regional sports networks), and their respective digital properties. Together, the assets of the NBC Sports Group possess an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, USGA, Churchill Downs, MLS, Tour de France, French Open, IndyCar, and many more.
About Sports Illustrated
The Sports Illustrated franchise is anchored by the weekly magazine—the most respected voice in sports journalism, reaching an audience of 30 million – and www.SI.com, the magazine’s 24/7 sports news website that delivers more than 300 original stories to its users each week. The franchise also includes Sports Illustrated Kids (www.sikids.com), a monthly magazine targeted to kids age 8 and up; GOLF Magazine and www.Golf.com; www.FanNation.com, a social networking and sports-news aggregation platform; SI Presents, the magazine’s specialty publishing division; as well as SI Books, SI Pictures, SI Productions, SI Digital and SI Events. Founded in 1954, Sports Illustrated is a division of Time Inc., the world’s leading magazine publishing company and a subsidiary of Time Warner.
