Mike Breen and analyst Jeff Van Gundy will call the game with reporter Doris Burke. The Kia NBA Countdown pregame show will precede game coverage at 7:30 p.m. with analysts Magic Johnson, Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Chris Broussard previewing the game.

In addition, ESPN Radio will nationally broadcast the contest with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Jim Durham and Hall of Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay will describe the action.

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“Sunday MLB on TBS” Features A.L. East Showdown

“Sunday MLB on TBS” continues on May 27 with an American League East match-up featuring David Ortiz and the Boston Red Soxhosting B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:30 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Clay Buchholz (4-2) is scheduled to start for the Red Sox against Rays’ probable starter Jeremy Hellickson (4-1). Calling the action will be Dick Stockton (play-by-play) and Ron Darling(analyst).

In October, TBS will exclusively televise the American League (AL) and National League (NL) Wild Card games and will once again provide exclusive coverage of all four MLB Division Series (DS) and the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

TBS also is the exclusive home of the 2012 MLB All-Star Selection Show airing Sunday, July 1. The network will announce future games on its schedule coinciding with its selection windows. The games included in the TBS MLB package will not be televised in the team’s home television territory.

TBS has broadcast MLB games for more than 30 years, serving as the exclusive home of the MLB Division Series (DS) and one League Championship Series (LCS) since 2007 and home of Atlanta Braves coverage from 1977 to 2007.

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

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NASCAR on FOX Revs Up For Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at 5:30 PM ET

Prerace Features Special Memorial Weekend Tribute to Fallen Servicemen & Women

Danica Patrick Heads to Charlotte to Make Third Sprint Cup Start

MLB on FOX Presents Baseball Night in America Saturday in Primetime at 7:00 PM ET  

BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA returns Saturday, May 26 (7:00 PM ET) with five enticing matchups. The MLB on FOX crew visits the home of the World Series champs as Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran lead the Cardinals against the Phillies.  Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Busch Stadium. In Boston, AL East rivals meet as David Ortiz and the Red Sox host David Price and the Rays. Also, the Pirates welcome the Cubs to Pittsburgh. Out west, a rejuvenatedAlbert Pujols and the Angels face Felix Hernandez and the Mariners in Seattle. The hard-hitting Reds combo ofJay Bruce and Joey Votto look to out-slug Troy Tulowitzki and the Rockies.

Coverage begins with the BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Billy Ripken.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX.  Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

GAME                                                                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST                                                                COV.   

Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals Joe Buck, Tim McCarver                                                                                 47%

                                                                                                & Ken Rosenthal

Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Kansas City, Knoxville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington

Probable Pitchers: Kyle Kendrick, RHP (0-4, 5.23 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia, LHP (3-2, 3.55 ERA)

Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox                            Dick Stockton & Brian Anderson                                                   25%

Fenway Park – Boston, MA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Myers, Hartford, Jacksonville, Miami, New York,

Orlando, Providence, San Diego, Tampa, West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers:  David Price, LHP (6-3, 2.88 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett, RHP (4-4, 4.38 ERA)

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates                             Kenny Albert & Bob Brenly                                                              10%

PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Chicago, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Pittsburgh

Probable Pitchers:  Paul Maholm, LHP (4-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. Kevin Correia, RHP (1-5, 4.50 ERA)

Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners                      Victor Rojas & Eric Byrnes                                                             11%

Safeco Field – Seattle, WA

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle

Probable Pitchers:  Jerome Williams, RHP (4-2, 3.74 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez, RHP (4-3, 2.80 ERA)

Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds                          Thom Brennaman & Mitch Williams                                                6%

Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, OH

MARKETS INCLUDE:  Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Louisville, Salt Lake City

Probable Pitchers:  Jeremy Guthrie, RHP (2-2, 5.55 ERA) vs. Mike Leake, RHP (1-5, 5.32 ERA)

IS NEW WILD CARD STRUCTURE SAVING MANAGERS FROM HOT SEAT? – Struggling skippers like Boston’s Bobby Valentine are usually on the hot seat by this point in the season.  FOXSports.com National MLB writer Jon Paul Morosi examines why not this year. “Three teams changed managers last June – the A’s, Marlins and Nationals – and none finished with a winning record. In 2010, six clubs replaced their manager during the season. All ended up below .500. In-season firings happen every year, except maybe this one.  At the risk of underestimating the inevitable turmoil of a baseball season, no big league manager is in immediate danger of losing his job.” After speaking to number of GMS, Morosi worked through some theories on the stability for managers this season.

EXPANDED PLAYOFFS = INCREASED HOPE

“The Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies are on the short list of baseball’s most disappointing teams, all hovering around the .500 mark. But the most important column in the standings is not record or winning percentage. It is games back. And in that regard, things don’t look as bad for the East Coast titans. For that, they have the second wild card to thank.”

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR

“Many current managers haven’t been on the job long enough to really screw up, with 19 starting their jobs since the end of the 2009 season. Some fans called for Miami’s Ozzie Guillen and Boston’s Bobby Valentine to be fired last month — albeit for very different reasons. But that wasn’t going to happen during the early weeks of their multiyear contracts, even if Valentine is signed only through next year. In that regard, the landscape could have a much different look one year from now. Seventeen managers have contracts that will expire after the 2013 season, including those with some of the highest-profile franchises in the sport: the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, Braves and Giants. If your idea of fun is speculating about where Terry Francona will manage next, my suggestion is to wait another 12 to 16 months and stay busy in the interim with this year’s midsummer trade rumors.”

For more from Morosi, visit: http://tinyurl.com/7nhb53k

JOHNSON LOOKS TO CONTINUE WINNING FORM ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND – The five-time champ is back. Fresh off of his first victory of the year in Darlington and a trip to victory lane in the All-Star Race,Jimmie Johnson aims to start a run of dominance on Sunday, May 27 (5:30 PM ET) in the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. FOX Sports presents NASCAR’s longest race starting in daylight and ending under the cover of darkness with drivers adjusting to temperature changes on the track. Who will navigate the Sprint Cup Series’ longest race?

Coverage starts with FOX NASCAR SUNDAY prerace show hosted by Chris Myers, with up-to-the-minute reports, live interviews with drivers, crewmen and officials shaping the day’s action, and analysis from Darrell Waltrip and Michael Waltrip.

During this weekend’s Memorial Day holiday prerace coverage, FOX Sports is proud to remember and honor the memories of the United States servicemen and women that have lost their lives fighting for our country over the past year.  A special scroll displays the names of over 400 fallen personnel and the tribute includes personal messages of thanks from current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and their families.  The remembrance begins with an invocation from NASCAR on FOX’s Darrell Waltrip.

Veteran analyst Jeff Hammond takes his extensive experience as a former championship-winning crew chief to where the action is, in the garages and pit road.  Once the green flag drops, race announcer Mike Joy is alongside analysts Waltrip and Larry McReynolds to call all the twists and turns on the track while Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum patrol the pits for reports on teams and pit stops.

PATRICK CHOOSES CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND – In the last 20 years, the month of May has meant something much different to Danica Patrick than it does this year as the full-time stock car driver made her choice to race in the Coca-Cola 600 on FOX Sunday, May 27 (5:30 PM ET).  FOXSports.com senior NASCAR writer Lee Spencer reports that between practices and qualifying last weekend from Iowa Speedway, where Patrick raced in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, she kept a close eye on the action in Indianapolis.  Patrick’s former car, driven by James Hinchcliffe, qualified second.  “This is the first day I’ve thought much about it, to be honest,” Patrick said during her time with the media at Iowa on Saturday. “Because this is the first day that something’s counted, obviously.”  While Patrick is focuses on Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend where she’ll make only her third career start in the Sprint Cup Series, she is optimistic about her performance in stock car racing this season.  “It’s been an up-and-down season.  There have been times when we have caught some bad luck. There have been times when we’ve just had some disappointing races. There have been times when we’ve been good but things just didn’t happen right. So, there are a lot of things – a lot of great stuff that has happened.”

To read the complete version of Lee Spencer’s story on Danica and for additional NASCAR coverage click here: http://on-msn.com/JmUm1r

2008 CHAMP STEWART TAKES EARLY LEAD IN LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS –James Stewart, the 2008 Champion of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships, has taken the early lead in the overall points standing this season. He’ll try to continue his winning ways on Saturday, May 26 (2:00 PM ET) when FUEL TV provides live coverage of the opening motos from the Freestone Raceway in Texas, for the Miller Electric Freestone National, presented by Yamaha. Stewart made the first big statement of the season in the 450 Class by sweeping the FMF Hangtown Motocross Classic. The 2008 champion made his highly-anticipated return to full-time competition at the Nationals and didn’t disappoint in his debut for the factory Suzuki squad he just joined two weeks ago.

ESPN Radio to Nationally Broadcast All Conference Finals Games

ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals – Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers – will begin with Game One on Monday, May 28, at 8:30 p.m. ET. Mike Breen, analyst Jeff Van Gundy and reporter Doris Burke will provide commentary for all games. The Eastern Conference Finals will also be available on ESPN3, ESPN Mobile TV and via the WatchESPN app.

ESPN Radio’s 17^th season of exclusive, live, national coverage of the NBA postseason will continue with broadcasts of every Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals game. Jim Durham and Hall of Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay will call the Eastern Conference games (7:30 p.m.) and Kevin Calabro and Hubie Brown will call the Western Conference games between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder (8 p.m.). Will Purdue will serve as studio analyst for all Conference Finals games.

Kia NBA Countdown will precede every Eastern Conference Finals telecast on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. (except Wednesday, May 30, at 7 p.m.) with a one-hour show. ESPN NBA Analysts Magic Johnson, Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Chris Broussard will preview the games.

Eastern Conference Finals Schedule

*If necessary

 2012 NBA Draft Lottery – The Draft Lottery will be televised on ESPN during Kia NBA Countdown on Wednesday, May 30, at 7 p.m. and the Lottery drawing at 8 p.m. This will mark the first year the Draft Lottery is held at ABC’s Times Square Studiosin New York. Mark Jones will host the Lottery with analyst Jay Bilas and reporter Heather Cox.

ESPN.com’s NBA section will offer extensive coverage of every Conference Finals game, including Daily Dime; Daily Dime Live chat; Video highlights; Special Series Page; Special Hollinger PER Diem; NBA Today podcasts.

ESPN’s NBA Facebook page will include highlights, polls, quirky stories and imagery, instant reactions to great moments, This Day in NBA History series and more.

ESPN International will present the Eastern Conference Finals in Latin America, Brazil, Caribbean, Middle East/North Africa, Atlantic (sub-Saharan Africa),  Pacific Rim and in the UK.  ESPN’s Pac-Rim networks will also be airing the Western Conference Finals.   

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Sunday Night Football averaged 21.5 million viewers and 20.9 million viewers for its games during the official TV season which ran from Sept. 19, 2011 through May 23, 2012. American Idol ranked second. Sunday Night Football was also the top-ranked primetime program for the television season in household rating, and all key adult and male demographics.

Additional TV highlights from the 2011 NFL season:

• Super Bowl XLVI on NBC was the most-watched program in U.S. television history.

• The AFC and NFC Championship Games accounted for the most-watched Championship Sunday in 30 years.

• Divisional Playoff weekend was the most watched ever, with Giants-Packers on FOX ranking as the most-watched Divisional Playoff game in history.

• The Steelers-Broncos playoff game on CBS was the most-watched Wild Card game ever.

• FOX posted its most-watched NFL season ever.

• CBS posted its second-most watched NFL season since acquiring the AFC package.

• ESPN’s Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable for the sixth consecutive year.

• NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football posted its most-watched season ever.

# # #

NEW YORK (May 25, 2012) – NHL Network™ and NHL.com will be front and center throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup® Final between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Kings and the Eastern Conference champion, reporting on every angle and providing fans with the most comprehensive coverage of the NHL’s ultimate event.

Download (PDF, 59KB)

• The Celebrity Bee with Nolan Gould, best known for his starring role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC comedy Modern Family, and Atticus Shaffer, who plays the role of Brick Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle;
• Best of the Bee – Highlights the most memorable moments from past National Spelling Bee Finals; and
• The Week that Was – A look at the friendships that are made among the 2012 Spelling Bee finalists and the fun that is had during Bee week in and around Washington, D.C.

• 1 – six year-old in the Finals, youngest in the competition: Lori Anne C. Madison, Woodbridge, Va.  According to the organization, she is the youngest speller on record.
• 3 – 2011 championship finalists – Nabeel Rahman of Buffalo, NY, Arvind V. Mahankali of New York, and Samuel Estep of Winchester, Va. – are among this year’s field of competitors
• 15 – top age for spellers in the 2012 National Spelling Bee
• 20 – spellers with at least one family member who has participated in past Spelling Bees
• 84 – percentage of spellers between ages 12 and 14 years old
• 110 – current spellers who named Math as their favorite subject

Bernstein to be Inducted into International Boxing Hall Of Fame,

Honored with “Good Guy’’ Award by Boxing Writers Association of America,

Release New Book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV”

 NEW YORK (May 24, 2012) – Al Bernstein has always been a man that likes to stay busy, but the coming weeks may be a tad hectic – even for him.

As SHOWTIME Sports^® gears up for what will be a sizzling summer of fistic action, Bernstein will be preparing himself for his impending induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the honor of being named the winner of the Marvin Kohn “Good Guy” Award by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and the launch of a new book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV.” All the while, he’ll continue to prepare for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts on June 2 and June 23.

Just days after the respected, longtime broadcaster calls the June 2 quadrupleheader in Los Angeles on SHOWTIME featuring boxing legends Antonio Tarver and “Winky” Wright in separate bouts, Bernstein will be at The Copacabana in New York City to receive the “Good Guy” Award at the Copacabana on Wednesday, June 6 before heading to Canastota, N.Y., for the 23^rd annual Hall of Fame induction weekend ceremonies which takes place June 7-10.

Bernstein will join an elite group of “Good Guy” Award recipients. Past winners include George Foreman, Don Dunphy andAlexis Arguello. It is the second major award he has received from the BWAA. In 1988, Bernstein won the prestigious Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcast journalism.

Bernstein will enter the Hall after being nominated for the first time. He is only the seventh broadcaster (and first from SHOWTIME) to be inducted.

Since 1980, Bernstein has chronicled the sport of boxing on television as ringside analyst, play-by-play announcer, host and reporter. He has called more than 2,500 fights and 68 pay-per-view telecasts. Bernstein has been at SHOWTIME since 2003. He started on national television at ESPN in the 1980s.

Bernstein’s book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths about Boxing, Sports and TV” (published by Diversion Books) is scheduled for a mid-June release. In it, Bernstein humorously tells the story of his 30-year run as the “voice of boxing,” recounting the people and events that made this a special time in boxing, sports and television. The upcoming book is Bernstein’s sophomore effort; in 1980, he wrote “Boxing For Beginners,” a historical and instructional look at boxing.

Before that, Bernstein was a featured writer for The RING Magazine and Boxing Illustrated. From 1974-79, he was managing editor of Lerner Newspapers in Chicago. During that time, he won the Chicago Newspaper Guild’s award for best news story – an investigation into illegal land deals by suburban officials.

Bernstein, who’s the executive producer and host of the Boxing Channel at www.boxingchannel.tv, was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009, having received the highest number of votes ever for a non-boxer inductee.

US Audience Up +676% Since 2002

New York – Chelsea had been out-played for most of the match, but only trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 in the 2012 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL until lightning struck in the 88^th minute and Didier Drogba tied the score with a header off a corner kick.  Thirty minutes of scoreless, dramatic extra-time ensued forcing the most prestigious title in European club soccer to be settled by penalty kicks.  Again, it was Drogba who connected on the game’s final shot giving Chelsea the 4-3 victory and the European crown.

Broadcast in the United States by FOX Sports for the third consecutive year, the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL between Bayern Munich and Chelsea on Saturday (5/19) averaged a 1.1/3 household rating/share with an average audience of 2 million, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research making it the second most-watched ever.  The three UCL Finals broadcast on FOX have averaged 2,049,000 viewers marking a 676% audience increase over the last decade (2002 UCL Final on ESPN2 delivered 264,000 viewers).

The 2012 UCL Final was +10% in rating (1.1 vs. 1.0) and +25% in audience (2 million vs. 1.6 million) compared to the 2010 game, which also featured Bayern Munich (vs. Inter-Milan).  Last year’s match, buoyed by Barcelona and Manchester United, two of the world’s most popular soccer clubs, posted a 1.4/4, with 2.6 million viewers and is the most-watched UCL Final ever in the US.

Additional highlights:

-       Viewing peaked during extra time and ensuing penalty kicks.  The 5:00-5:30 half-hour posted 2.4 million viewers and the last three minutes of the broadcast delivered 2.5 million viewers.

-       The average viewership of the UCL semi-finals on FOX Soccer and FX and the UCL Final on FOX was up +19% over 2011 (806,000 vs. 679,000).

-       The UCL Final was the #6 program on all of television from 2:30-5:30 PM ET on Saturday and delivered more viewers than several other sports events televised last weekend.

-       Proving popular with young men, the game posted a 1.6 rating on Men 18-34, ranking #2 in the 2:30-5:30 PM ET time period, and #3 event of the day.