Second Annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Begins at Midnight

contacts: michael.c.humes@espn.com or tilea.coleman@espn.com

ESPN’s second annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon -- 12 consecutive live college basketball games in 24 hours – will begin tonight, Monday, Nov. 16, at midnight ET on ESPN. In addition to ESPN’s 24 consecutive hours, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile will offer an extensive lineup of action. Combined, the networks will televise at least 38 total hours of coverage with 19 games -- 17 men’s and two women’s.

The schedule will be highlighted by prime-time telecasts of the top two men’s teams in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll: Gonzaga at No. 2 Michigan State, coming off a National Championship game appearance, at 8 p.m. and Memphis vs. No. 1 Kansas from St. Louis in a Hall of Fame Showcase contest at 10 p.m.

The women’s games -- ESPNU Road to the Championship doubleheader, created by ESPN Regional Television (ERT) -- will pit Tennessee vs. Texas Tech at 7 p.m. on ESPNU, followed by defending champ Connecticut vs. Texas at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2.  Pam Ward, Kara Lawson and Lobo will be courtside.

Details and a schedule are available here.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Finale Live on ABC

contacts: andy.hall@espn.com or george.mcneilly@espn.com  

The 2009 season finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ends with the crowning of the champion this weekend.  The Ford 400 will air live Sunday, Nov. 22, on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m.  The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m.  Also from Homestead, ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m., as well as the final practice on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m.  Dr. Jerry Punch will be joined by analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree to call the action.

ESPN2 completes its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series concludes with the Ford 300 at Homestead on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m., with the green flag at 4:45 p.m. Jarrett and Petree will be joined by Marty Reid in the ESPN booth.

College GameDay Live from No. 11 Oregon at Arizona

contact: michael.c.humes@espn.com

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot (Saturdays at 10 a.m. on ESPN) will originate from the Tucson, Ariz., site of No. 11 Oregon at Arizona (ABC at 8 p.m.). It will mark the first time College GameDay has originated from Tucson and the fifth consecutive week from a school not in the SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 (three from the Mountain West and two Pac-10), the longest streak in the show’s history.  College GameDay is hosted by Chris Fowler with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.

College Football: Three Undefeateds in Action, Plus No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan & No. 11 Oregon at Arizona

contact: michael.c.humes@espn.com

ESPN’s college football coverage this week will include telecasts involving three of the remaining six undefeated teams, No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan in one of sports’ greatest rivalries and No. 11 Oregon at Arizona in a key matchup that could help decide the Pac-10 title. The telecasts involving unbeaten teams include:

• No. 2 Alabama against Chattanooga Saturday, Nov. 21, at noon on ESPN Regional Television’s SEC Network;
• No. 3 Texas against Kansas Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. on ABC’s Saturday Night Football;
• No. 6 Boise State at Utah State Friday, Nov. 20, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

• The Thursday night game on ESPN Nov. 19 will feature a Big 12 showdown pitting Colorado at No. 12 Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m.

* Reverse mirror: ESPN or ESPN2 will regionalize two games on ABC to markets not receiving the telecast

** Syndication

^ Split window

NBA: Conference Semifinal Rematch on ESPN

contacts: nate.smeltz@espn.com or mark.d.mandel@espn.com

This week’s NBA schedule on ESPN will include a rematch of the 2009 Conference Semifinals -- Orlando vs. Boston -- Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m.  Schedule:

Biggest Tuesday Ever on ESPN360.com: 32 Live Events

contact: kristie.chong@espn.com

ESPN360.com, ESPN’s 24/7 live broadband sports network, will reach a milestone tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 17, with its biggest Tuesday ever in terms of the total number of live events.  Every second of the day will include one of 32 live events, led by ESPN’s second annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, including the Northern Illinois vs. Illinois at 8 p.m. exclusively on ESPN360.com.  In addition, over 57 hours of scheduled content will be available – nearly 2.5 days of events packed into one day.  Other events include women’s college basketball, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and Liga Dominicana baseball.  Log onto ESPN360.com for a complete schedule.

On ESPN.com’s Mayne Street This Week; Laker Tickets

contacts: alison.lazar@espn.com or paul.melvin@espn.com

This week, ESPN.com’s original scripted series Mayne Street (debuts every Tuesdays at 9 a.m.) Kenny Mayne is accused of stealing courtside Laker tickets: a death-penalty offense in southern California. 

On Mayne Street, Mayne stars as himself in a fictionalized version of life at a sports television network. His reoccurring foils revolve largely around his fictional production crew, as well as other ESPN personalities. Mayne Street joins a lineup of video that is among the most popular online.  ESPN.com leads the sports video category, capturing nearly 29 percent of the total minutes spent by users.  For photos and clips, visit ESPNMediaZone.com.

ESPN RISE: St. Thomas Aquinas Still No. 1 in ESPN RISE FAB 50

contact: crystal.howard@espn.com

Week 12’s ESPN RISE FAB 50, a national high school football team ranking, has Florida’s St. Thomas Aquinas maintaining the No. 1 position for the 12th week in a row. The ESPN RISE FAB 50 is compiled weekly by a panel of ESPN RISE and ESPN.com high school editors, including Doug Huff, Mark Tennis and Jon Mahoney. The ESPN RISE FAB 50 was launched in August 2008 and is a combination of three former national high school rankings (Student Sports FAB 50, RISE Magazine Top 25 and the ESPN Elite 25).  The complete ESPN RISE FAB 50 rankings are available at ESPNRISE.com.

ESPN RISE FAB 50 Top 10, Week 12

                  *Ties in points are broken according to which team was ranked higher by a majority of panelists.

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