Major League Baseball ad featuring Jeff Foxworthy courtesy MLB
There are still a few days left in August, but Major League Baseball is already looking more than a month to the future. On Thursday night MLB unveiled its playoff campaign, "There's Only One October." Stars from Fox and TBS shows appear in the ads, which promote the postseason. Among the talent being used: Jeff Foxworthy from Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, American Idol judge Randy Jackson, Bill Engvall of The Bill Engvall Show and Stewie Griffin of Family Guy. The campaign expands in September to include MLB players whose teams are in playoff contention.
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Michael Phelps by Jon Furniss/WireImage.com
Michael Phelps was first to the finish line at the Olympics but hes taking his time making the talk show rounds The swimming sensation who won an Olympic record eight gold medals in Beijing will visit The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Monday Sept 8 1135 pmET NBCThe Tonight Show is the early winner in the Olympic booking race having already scored swimmer Dara Torres and all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin this week Wrestling gold medalists Henry Cejudo stops by on Wednesday and on Thursday Jay welcomes swimmer Natalie Coughlin who picked up six medals in Beijing including her second straight gold in the 100-meter backstrokeDavid Letterman is racking up golden guests too Gymnast Shawn Johnson and decathlon champion Bryan Clay showed up to the Late Show on Monday and Tuesday respectively and beach volleyballers Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will visit on Wednesday 1135 pmET CBSOver at 30 Rock Late Night With Conan OBrien has gold medal backst
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Corey Pavin and Thomas Gibson courtesy Golf Channel
Thomas Gibson takes a break from his dreary job as a criminal for a golf tutorial from PGA prog Corey Pavin. On Monday's episode of Playing Lessons From the Pros (Aug. 25, 11 pm/ET, Golf Channel), the Criminal Minds star gets tips from the 1995 U.S. Open champ on his short game, bunker play and playing into the wind.
Playing Lessons, now in its seventh season, gives everyday folks - and celebs - a chance to play a round of golf with a PGA Tour pro.
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Rafael Nadal by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal is riding high, having arrived in New York last Monday fresh off an Olympic gold medal and a rise to No. 1 in the rankings. When the U.S. Open starts he will be seeking his third straight Grand Slam tournament title, having won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. Coverage from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows begins Monday (Aug. 25, 11 am/ET, USA).
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Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie and Delisha Milton-Jones by Jeff Gross/Getty Images
The penultimate day of competition from Beijing began with the US womens basketball team dismantling Australia 92-65 in the gold-medal game There is just too much offense for the US team NBC analyst Ann Meyers said The Aussies just cant keep up with it Lisa Leslie solidified her iconic status by winning her fourth straight gold medal In her Olympic career dating back to the 1996 Atlanta Games the US has won 32 straight games We put it all out there on the floor every single time and we didnt leave anything for anybody else Leslie said after the game I thought we were the team who played the best basketball this whole Olympics and we were the team who was deserving of the gold medalRussia won bronze over China 94-81 American Becky Hammon or Rebekka as she is listed on the Russian roster led the way for her adopted team with 22 pointsAnd no surprise here the US mens basketball team comple
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Asafa Powell takes the baton from Usain Bolt by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images
As the Beijing Games approach the finish line Usain Bolt was once again the antidote to Olympic fatigue The boisterous Jamaican dynamo who turned 22 on Thursday picked up his third gold medal with a scorching third leg on the 4x100-meter relay He handed off to Asafa Powell the man who preceded him as the world record holder in the 100 and then it just became a race against the clock Powell dipped at the line in 3710 chopping three-tenths off a second off the world record held by the United States The US messed up the final exchange in Thursdays heats and didnt advance to the final Trinidad Tobago 3806 was nearly a second behind in silver-medal position and Japan 3815 grabbed bronzeBolt has been the star of Week 2 of these Olympics having already won the 100 and 200 in record time Said NBCs Tom Hammond A Michael Phelps like performance for Usain Bolt three races three golds three world recordsAlas the Jamaica
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David Neville, Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt by Carlos Barria/Reuters
Despite picking up six more medals the US track meet had another rough night Thursday Both the mens and womens 4x100-meter relay teams bumbled their final exchanges and failed to finish the heats Somebody somewhere has a voodoo doll on the United States womens anchor Lauryn Williams told NBCs Bob Neumeier Back in the studio Bob Costas summed it up perfectly when he said So the US relay teams laying a giant egg in the Birds NestEarlier world champion Allyson Felix was beaten convincingly by Jamaicas Veronica Campbell-Brown in the womens 200 Campbell-Brown the defending champion looked magnificent in running 2174 seconds putting her into a tie for eighth on the all-time list She jumped on Allyson Felix something awful and it was all downhill from there NBCs Ato Boldon said Felix ran a seasons best 2193 but never had the spark she showed in winning the last two world titles
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Sheila Taormina courtesy Sheila Taormina
She calls herself a multitasker but in her Olympic career Sheila Taormina has been more of a multiplier On Friday morning in Beijing Thursday night here in the States the 39-year-old Livonia Michigan native will become the first woman to compete in three different sports at the Olympics Taromina won a swimming gold medal in 1996 as part of the United States 4x 200-meter freestyle relay In 2000 and 2004 she competed in the triathlon one sport times three swimming biking and running She finished sixth in Sydney and 23rd four years later in Athens This go-round its modern pentathlon with its five distinct skill sets pistol shooting fencing swimming equestrian show jumping and running NBCOlympicscom has live coverage starting Thursday night at 830 pmET MSNBC has a recap Friday during the 5 am 5 pmET showModern pentathlon is based on a soldier delivering a message but Taormina has a different mission Im trying to break the paradi
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Dara Torres by Al Bello/Getty Images
As the Beijing Games wind down a different kind of competition heats up the talk show booking wars With some athletes already home and the closing ceremony fast approaching Sunday Aug 24 7 pmET NBC Dave and Jay have already starting lining up Olympian guestsDara Torres who picked up three silvers at age 41 to become the oldest Olympic swimming medalist ever visits The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Monday Aug 25 1135 pmET NBC Jay also has individual all-around gymnastics champ Nastia Liukin on Tuesday and freestyle wrestler Henry Cejudo the gold medalist at 55 kilograms on WednesdayMisty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh who won their second consecutive beach volleyball gold stop by the Ed Sullivan Theater on Wednesday for a Late Show With David Letterman chat Aug 27 1135 pmET CBS
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Lashawn Merritt by Stu Forster/Getty Images; Jeremy Wariner by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The main event on Thursday nights card is a predicted showdown between American sprinters Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt in the mens 400-meter dash Wariner is the defending Olympic champion and was nearly invincible between 2004 and 14507 But Merritt silver medalist behind Wariner at the 2007 world championships finally caught up this year and knocked off his rival twice most notably at the US Olympic Team Trials At the time of this posting the race has already been run in Beijing But Im living in a spoiler-free zone NBC will air it on an extended tape delay tonight in prime-timeAnother big showdown this one live pits Americans Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers against Brazils Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes in the mens beach volleyball gold-medal match Thats scheduled to begin at 11 pmETAlso in prime-time the rain-delayed BMX cycling semifinals and finals are expected to go off live around 9 pmETThe US men
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