FanHouse ESPN2

You always have to trust Wikipedia, right? The other day when I was looking up for something on the Premier League, the very bottom of the page it listed that ESPN2 would broadcast select matches for the 2009-10. ESPN, in the wake of Setanta Sports collapse, acquired broadcast rights in the U.K., but there was no word about American rights.

I checked the ESPN television online guide and scrolled through my digital cable guide. No confirmation.

Then quietly Friday night the Associated Press confirmed that, yes, ESPN2 would air 48 live Premier League matches this season. It was very unlike ESPN, you'd think acquiring such a massive television chip like the Premier League would be trumpeted from on high in Bristol. Instead, it slipped pretty much on the radar with little, if any, fanfare for Saturday morning's Premier League opener between Chelsea and Hull City.

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage.
On Sunday, stop by for the live blog of the 50th Daytona 500 at 3:00pm/ET.

NASCAR CEO Brian France made a rare media appearance on ESPN2's pre-race coverage prior to Saturday afternoon's Camping World 300 for the Nationwide Series.

He had some interesting things to say in the brief interview, and tried to echo many of his comments from the pre-season media tour about limiting change in NASCAR for 2008 and trying to go "back to basics" -- the three word description of nearly everything NASCAR is doing for this season.

Rusty Wallace, Brad Daughtery, Dale Jarrett, and Allen Bestwick shared the set and asked France a few questions. Here's some of his answers:

On whether or not the next-generation car will be used in the Nationwide Series in 2009

Brian France: "I'm not sure. This is the right time for limited change on anything we're going to do. We've got a good rules package in the Nationwide Series."

On the identity of the Nationwide Series

BF: "My view, it's much like college football is to the NFL. The longer you stay, the more prepared you are. You're better prepared when you move to the Sprint Cup."

On looking at limited participation of Sprint Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series

I feel bad for Marty Reid, I really do.

Dude got shoved into a segment on ESPN2's NASCAR Now showing ESPN's impressive NASCAR coverage. Or, well, I hope he got shoved into it.

Before I rip the whole segment apart, let me allow Jeff Burton, ESPN's token driver voice for their coverage to do so as he did in the video:

"Well the first word that comes to mind is absurd. The first goal of racing is to be there at the end. This system would award people and reward people for doing things that actually would hamper the way they would finish the race," said Burton.

"So it makes no sense -- you used the worst example in the world at Talladega to expose a problem, when in fact, we don't have this problem at most race tracks. So you have to run toward the front, you have to run hard in order to be competitive at almost every race track with the exception of Talladega. So, in a word, I think it's absurd."

Amen, Jeff.

For me, this whole segment (with a nice after-touch of Judge Judy) shows why ESPN and NASCAR fans haven't exactly gotten along this season.

As I began writing this post, they had just completed opening race ceremonies for the O'Reilly 300, but viewers didn't get to see it on ESPN2. Instead, they got to see the end of a women's tennis match.

This is the second time that ESPN has screwed NASCAR and Busch viewers by grossly misjudging their schedules.

Nothing against women's tennis ... I'm hardly suggesting that they should cease coverage and switch to Busch. But I am suggesting that since ESPN has like a billion channels, they should bump something else off the air and give a live event priority.

Am I wrong?

ESPNA--whatever that is-- was SIGNED OFF. Is it really that difficult to transfer the signal and add a crawl at the bottom of the ESPN2 broadcast telling race fans where to tune in?

NASCAR did compensate somewhat for ESPN's faults with Live Busch Series Coverage, even though it took the dramatic cheesy soundtrack idea to a whole new level.

The race is underway now on both ESPN2 and NASCAR.com. ESPN2 joined in progress--after the engine command. Do they not know that sometimes that's the best part of the race broadcast? So annoying.

Damn, polesitter David Ragan gave up the lead to Kyle Busch after two laps and the caution is out under 10. I see it's shaping up to be a typical series race.

Update: In case you've missed the bulletins. NASCAR.com still sucks. It is trying to do way too much and not doing any of it well. So much for the live stream -- it crashed my computer while I was trying to post while simultaneously watching.

UPDATE: After chatting with Andy Hall, the manager of media relations for ESPN Communications, it seems that this break for Jerry and Dave Burns was something worked into the schedule.

"Jerry will be back in the booth at Phoenix. His (and Dave Burns') two weeks off are part of a schedule for the year that rotates time off for our announcers. Between the 35 Busch races and the 17 Cup races, we're doing 52 races this year, plus practice and qualifying shows for a lot of those, so these guys are going to be very busy," said Hall.

He also mentioned that Rusty Wallace won't be back for another ten Busch races as he covers the Indianapolis 500, with Jarrett filling in.

So have no fear, Dr. Jerry Punch will be in the booth for each Cup race presented by ESPN, and expect to see Marty Reid doing a couple of other races as well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hidden beneath the news that Dale Jarrett will serve as a substitute for Rusty Wallace for ESPN2's Busch Series coverage on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, Dr. Jerry Punch isn't returning to the TV booth for a second straight week.

Marty Reid, the lead announcer for the Indy Racing League on ESPN and ABC for 2006 and 2007, will again be featured in the booth as lead play-by-play announcer alongside Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Reid is in the spot of Punch, the man who was originally designated for the spot for both the early season Busch Series races and the Nextel Cup series events that ESPN and ABC will cover later this season.

When you are waking up at 4:30 a.m. to make the drive to Auburn Saturday for the Georgia game you can thank the bluegrass state of Kentucky. Thanks to the Wildcats taking the Dawgs to the woodshed this past weekend, the South's oldest rivalry has been relegated to that dreaded Lincoln Financial Network time slot... 11:30 a.m. CT.

Not surprisingly, both CBS and ESPN passed on the game in favor of other conference match-ups. CBS chose South Carolina at Florida - no sup rise there with Steve Spurrier heading back to the Swamp for the first time.

What is a sup rise is that ESPN chose Alabama at LSU for its prime time telecast starting at 6:45 p.m. CT. The network then chose Tennessee at Arkansas for its ESPN 2 telecast starting at 6:00 p.m. CT. OK, that's pretty messed up.

First off, If you have a brain in your head, you take Tennessee at Arkansas as your prime time game. Arkansas is a big story and is still in the mix for the SEC championship. Neither Alabama or LSU have a snowballs chance of going anywhere but Orlando or Shreveport.

How does ESPN pass on Auburn-Georgia for Alabama-LSU? That's incredibly stupid. Auburn is a one loss team in the top five. Where does Bama and LSU fall? The only storyline I can see in the game is whether or not Mike Shula is fired at the end of the season (please no!). What a bunch of morons. I hope their ratings fall through the roof when LSU goes up by 21 at the half.

Maryland is starting to finally get some recognition as a football program again. Of course, they aren't ranked. They shouldn't be. They're not even getting those additional votes that ESPN will show you below the rankings. They shouldn't be getting those either. However, ESPN has given them another shot not to get their arse's whipped on national television.

Maryland is winning the game they should, which they have all year since their two losses are to ranked programs, and that scored them the 7 PM game on ESPN2 next Saturday. That's right, people. The Terps are back in prime time! For all you displaced Maryland fans like myself, you know longer have to sit in sports bars where you can't really hear the game.

This is a must win game if the Terps want any national respect. The last thing the nation remembers was that thumping West Virginia delivered the Terps week three on ESPN. But since then, they've been competitive in every game and lost only one game that went down to the wire against Georgia Tech. They're now 5-2 and 2-1 in the ACC and ESPN is giving the Terps another chance. This is the perfect game for the Terps. Even though Florida State is only a shadow of what it was just a couple years ago, their name still carries enough weight so it will be impressive if the Terps beat them. It's in College Park so it's a winnable game for the Terps.

If they win, they probably won't be ranked, and once again, they probably shouldn't be. But they'll probably start getting those "additional votes." Only with a win over Clemson and some Top 25 losses can the Terps sneak into a ranking. So let's not think about anything but earning back that national respect that would come with beating Florida State. This is a perfect time for Maryland to change their image again and remind the world that they're a football team that should be taken seriously.