FSN NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
by FOX Sports Net
SPORT SCIENCE
Randy Johnson went into his pitching motion, let the ball go and ... annihilated a bird. It is one of the zaniest, shake-your-head plays in baseball history. But just how unlikely is it that a bird would fly into the direct path of a 100 MPH fastball speeding towards homeplate. Millions of pitches have been delivered in major league games, yet that has never happened before or after.
What are the odds? One in a million? One in ten million? Once in a lifetime? This week on SPORT SCIENCE, FSN's critically-acclaimed show that the Los Angeles Times recently called "the most innovative sports programming in years," host John Brenkus and his team of scientists attempt to recreate the craziest plays in sports. The plays that leave fans asking, "How? What? Did that really...?"
Clippers forward Cuttino Mobley, Cardinals QB Matt Leinart, and MLS players Jason Hernandez, Jesse Marsch and Preston Burpo help scientifically recreate the buzzer beaters, crazy catches, bicycle kicks and of course, the aforementioned bird strike in a show that has to be seen to be believed.
And since FSN would never harm a living bird, watch what happens when the scientists shoot frozen chickens out of an air cannon while trying to nail the oven roasters with 95 MPH fastballs.
The newest installment of the Emmy-nominated SPORT SCIENCE airs Sunday, April 6 at 9 p.m. local
UPCOMING: AMAZING SPORTS STORIES
Part movie, part documentary, FSN's newest program, AMAZING SPORTS STORIES, promises to touch the heart and soul of every sports fan. Using dramatic re-enactments, archival footage as well as interviews with historians and living principals, each of the 13 half-hour episodes focuses on an athlete or team whose unbelievable story has been lost to the annals of time.
Be it the boxer who rose off his deathbed for one last fight to give his family a special Christmas, the baseball player turned World War II fighter pilot who overcame extraordinary odds to become the only man to play in a major league game on one leg or the two rival NFL teams that merged into one team to save the league from going out of business, the profiles showcased in AMAZING SPORTS STORIES are insightful, fascinating and often inspirational.
Created and executive produced by Bruce Nash, AMAZING SPORTS STORIES airs every Sunday night at 8 p.m. local. A hybrid combination of a mini-movie and a documentary, AMAZING SPORTS STORIES is unlike anything seen on FSN before. The premiere episode, "Bert Shepard: The Dream That Wouldn't Die," airs on Sunday, April 13,
UPCOMING: NIKE HOOP SUMMIT
FSN presents the 11th Annual Nike Hoop Summit from Portland, Oregon's Rose Garden on Saturday, April 12 at 4 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST. The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premiere annual basketball game featuring America's top senior boy high school players going against a World Select Team comprised of the top players 19-years-old or younger from around the globe.
The Nike Hoop Summit has drawn the finest prep stars from around the world, making the tournament the first place to catch future NBA all-stars. More than 40 former USA players and nine former World team members are currently playing in the NBA. Since it's inception in 1995, the tournament has seen 74 alumni drafted by NBA teams, including 14 players drafted in the 2007 and 2006 NBA drafts.
The USA Basketball Junior Select National Team 10-player roster is a coast-to-coast compilation of basketball stand-outs, including such high school names as 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year Jrue Holiday (committed to UCLA) from Campbell Hall H.S. in North Hollywood, CA; 2008 McDonald's All American Game MVP Tyreke Evans (uncommitted) of American Christian in Aston, PA; Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross H.S. in Norcross, GA (committed to Wake Forest) along with Ed Davis of Benedictine H.S. in Richmond, VA (UNC) and Drew Gordon from Archbishop Mitty H.S. in San Jose (UCLA).
FSN's Nike Hoop Summit action will be called by play-by-play announcer Brian Davis, who covers the Sonics for FSN Northwest, along with FSN analyst and former NBA head coach Bob Weiss. Cara Capauno will have in-game interviews with the players while the action continues.
BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW PERIOD
BDSSP is the network's nightly sports talk show hosted by Chris Rose, alongside NBA expert John Salley, former All-Star pitcher Rob Dibble, NFL veteran Rodney Peete and BDSSP reporter Charissa Thompson. Regularly featuring fun interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities and entertainers, BDSSP airs weeknights at 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and 12:30 a.m. local.
THIS WEEK ON BEST DAMN:
Wednesday, April 2 — Best Damn Top 50 Spectacular Plays
Thursday, April 3 — Price is Right host Drew Carey, NY Giants LB Antonio Pierce
Friday, April 4 — Ohio State DE and NFL draftee Vernon Gholston, Kansas CB and NFL draftee Aqib Talib, University of Miami S and NFL draftee Kenny Phillips
FSN BASEBALL REPORT
FSN's BASEBALL REPORT looks at the opening week of the season, concentrating on the debut of new managers, players in new locations and rookies already making an impact. Hosted by Charissa Thompson and Tom Helmer, along with analysts Ken Rosenthal from Foxsports.com and former All-Star pitcher Mark Gubicza, the FSN BASEBALL REPORT is a fun, fast-paced 30-minute show airing Friday, April 4 at 6 p.m. local.
Also this week, Gubicza telestrates how pitchers can get White Sox slugger Jim Thome out and Rosenthal analyzes the young Washington Nationals and where the franchise is heading.
The FSN BASEBALL REPORT airs every Friday at 6 p.m. local.
ATP TENNIS FROM INDIAN WELLS
FSN's coverage of the ATP Masters Series continues this week from Miami, with the quarterfinal action on Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3 starting at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. EST and airing again at 7 p.m. local. When the tournament gets down to the final four on both the men's and women's sides, FSN has the semi-finals kicking off on Friday, April 4 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. EST and again at 7 p.m. local.
Former ATP pro Justin Gimelstob and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player Chandra Rubin provide expert analysis of the matches, while award-winning announcer Ted Robinson handles play-by-play duties throughout the tournament.
THE FSN FINAL SCORE
This week, FSN continues its nightly sports highlight show THE FSN FINAL SCORE. The show is 30 minutes of fast-paced highlights of the day's best moments the sports world has to offer. FINAL SCORE airs nightly at 10:30 p.m. local with repeats airing regularly.
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