FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 5th, 2013
NBC SPORTS GROUP’S PRESS PASS – WHAT TO WATCH APRIL 5, 2013
(All Times ET)
The “Press Pass” on the NBC Sports Group Press Box is a quick overview with upcoming program information and highlights from the Communications team. “The Pass” provides upcoming listings, and “The ‘Lights” details the programs.
THE PASS
Friday, April 5
6 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – The Crossover
6 p.m. on Golf Channel – Kraft Nabisco Championship
10:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – NHL: Calgary at San Jose
Saturday, April 6
1 p.m. on NBC – 2013 National Heads-Up Poker Championship: Round of 16
1 p.m. on Golf Channel – Valero Texas Open
3 p.m. on NBC – Valero Texas Open
5 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – Indy Car Qualifying
6 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – Road to the Kentucky Derby: Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby
7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – MLS: Real Salt Lake at Colorado
Sunday, April 7
8 a.m. on NBC – Cycling: Paris-Roubaix
12:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – NHL: St. Louis at Detroit
1 p.m. on Golf Channel – Valero Texas Open
2 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – Firestone Indy Lights: Barber Motorsports Park
3 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
3 p.m. on NBC – Valero Texas Open
7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – NHL Live
7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – NHL: New Jersey at Buffalo
Monday, April 8
7 a.m. on Golf Channel – Morning Drive
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Golf Channel – Live from the Masters
6 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – The Crossover
11:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network – NHL Overtime
THE ‘LIGHTS
Golf Channel provides live coverage of the Kraft Nabisco Championship this Friday at 6 p.m. ET with coverage hosted by Kelly Tilghman. Terry Gannon provides play-by-play alongside Judy Rankin (analyst), Tom Abbott (tower), and Jerry Foltz, Kay Cockerill and Phil Parkin on the course.
In bonus coverage Friday night at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, the Calgary Flames (30pts) travel to the Shark Tank (44pts) in San Jose, Calif., to take on the teal and black in a battle between the Northwest and Pacific Divisions. Randy Hahn (play-by-play), Drew Remenda (analyst) and Brodie Brazil (reporter) will be on the call.
NHL on NBC coverage will continue on Sunday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET with a Central Division matchup between the Detroit Red Wings (41pts), who are currently in second place in the division, and the St. Louis Blues (40pts). The Blues have won two of the three previous meetings between the two teams, and are just one point behind the Red Wings in the Central Division standings. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call the action from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
Sunday night on NBC Sports Network, the New Jersey Devils (39pts) will travel to the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY., to take on the Buffalo Sabres (34pts) at 7:30 p.m. ET. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call the game.
NHL studio programming throughout the 2013 season will originate from NBC Sports Group’s new, state-of-the-art International Broadcast Center located in Stamford, Conn. NHL Live, NBC Sports Network’s pregame show, will air prior to every game, usually beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
NHL Overtime airs most weeknights at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. NHL Overtime is hosted by Bill Patrick and former NHL C Jeremy Roenick. NHL Overtime examines all NHL games played each night and features news, highlights, and analysis.
2013 HEADS-UP POKER CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY WSOP.COM
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship features 64 of the world’s most compelling poker players as they compete in a series of Heads-Up matches (one-on-one games of No Limit Texas Hold’em). The tournament is a single-elimination, bracket-style format modeled after the NCAA Basketball tournament. A player wins a match and advances to the next round; wins six matches and becomes the National Heads-Up Poker Champion. The round of 16 airs at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.
Golf Channel provides lead-in coverage of the Valero Texas Open Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET followed by coverage on NBC at 3 p.m. ET each day.
Lead commentator Dan Hicks and analyst Johnny Miller will be joined by Gary Koch and Peter Jacobsen, while Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing and Notah Begay will walk with the players on the course. Steve Sands will conduct player interviews.
INDYCAR: HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
NBC Sports Network presents seven hours of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series coverage this weekend highlighted by the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m. ET from Barber, Ala. The race will be preceded by IndyCar qualifying on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET and Firestone Indy Lights at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. An encore of the race will air on Monday, April 8 at 1 a.m. ET.
NBC Sports Network’s IndyCar booth is helmed by lead voice Leigh Diffey. He will be joined by race analyst and former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and IndyCar driver Townsend Bell.
Jon Beekhuis will report from pit road. Veterans Kevin Lee and Marty Snider will manage the pit, and will be joined by Robin Miller, the network’s IndyCar reporter.
ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: WOOD MEMORIAL AND SANTA ANITA DERBY
Live coverage of the Road to the Kentucky Derby™, a series of major prep races for the 2013 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, continues this Saturday 6-7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network with the Santa Anita Derby from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y. The Road to the Kentucky Derby™ is a collaboration of The Jockey Club and the NBC Sports Group.
Laffit Pincay, III will host NBC Sports Network’s coverage this Saturday from Santa Anita Park. He will be joined by analyst Randy Moss; reporters Donna Brothers and HRTV’s Christina Blacker; Maggie Wolfendale, in-house analyst for NYRA, will report on the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct Park.
In addition to the two graded stakes races, NBC Sports Network coverage will include a feature on Hall-of-Fame jockey and long-time NBC horse racing analyst Gary Stevens, who returned to racing earlier this year after a seven-year absence, as he points towards his first Kentucky Derby since 2005.
MLS: REAL SALT LAKE AT COLORADO
NBC Sports Network’s Major League Soccer coverage this weekend features a Rocky Mountain rivalry match when the Colorado Rapids host Real Salt Lake in primetime, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The rivalry’s first match of the 2013 season ended in a 1-1 draw.
NBC Sports Group’s MLS announce team of Arlo White (play-by-play) and Kyle Martino (‘Between-the-Benches’) and Russ Thaler (analyst) will host coverage from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
NBC Sports Network will air live coverage of the 111th Paris-Roubaix cycling race on Sunday, April 7 at 8 a.m. ET. Also referred to as the “Queen of the Classics,” Paris-Roubaix is a one-day 254km road race in northern France. The challenging route starts in Compiègne and races to Roubaix over 27 cobbled sectors.
NBC Sports Group’s cycling announce team of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen will call all the action.
Golf Channel will dedicate a record number of network resources to cover next week’s Masters tournament, delivering nearly 70 total hours of live news and related programming geared toward the first men’s major championship of 2013. Coverage tees off Monday at 7 a.m. ET with Morning Drive, followed by Live from The Masters at 3 p.m. ET and live coverage at 7 p.m. ET.
Monday’s Morning Drive will introduce viewers to all 93 players in the field, from the 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of China to 63-year-old former Masters Champion Tom Watson. With a little help from apparel manufacturers, the Morning Drive team also will give viewers a sneak preview of what select players will be wearing during the week.