Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel by Steve Grayson/WireImage.com
College football's regular season comes to a close Saturday with several key clashes. The Big 12 Championship game (Dec. 1, 8 pm/ET, ABC) pits current BCS No.1 Missouri against No. 9 Oklahoma. No. 2 West Virginia closes out its season against Pittsburgh at 7:45 pm/ET, on ESPN. The SEC title game — featuring No. 7 LSU and No. 14 Tennessee — will be shown on CBS at 4 pm/ET.While it has no impact on the BCS, the 108th Army-Navy game is also being played Saturday (noon/ET, CBS).ESPN’s College GameDay (10 am/ET) will be on-site for the Big 12 Championship in San Antonio. GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit will pull double duty, joining Brent Musberger in the booth for the game.The Bowl Championship Series pairings will be announced in a selection show on Fox on Sunday (Dec. 2, 8 pm/ET, or whenever their NFL games end). Fox will air four of the five BCS games, climaxing with the BCS Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 7.
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Andy Baldwin courtesy Catalyst
For those who think running a marathon isn't challenging enough, there's the Ironman Triathlon. Held Oct. 13 in Kona, Hawaii, the über-endurance world championship airs Saturday on NBC (Dec. 1, 4:30 pm/ET).In addition to elite athletes, the race also features everyday folks — and reality stars. Andy Baldwin, best known as the (still single) star of last spring's The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman, was one of the 1,700 racers. I'm guessing that competing in the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run was less painful than deflecting the desperate advances of the Bachelor's pack of harpies.
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Mike Bryan, Andy Roddick, Patrick McEnroe, James Blake and Bob Bryan courtesy USTA
After years of frustration, the U.S. men’s tennis team is looking for its first Davis Cup title since 1995 when it hosts defending champion Russia this weekend at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The U.S., which has won a record 31 Davis Cup championships, last appeared in the finals in 2004, when they lost Spain. Andy Roddick, ranked sixth in the world, and James Blake, No. 13, will play singles for the U.S. on Friday and Sunday, and Bob and Mike Bryan are handling doubles on Saturday. The Bryan brothers are ranked No. 1 in the world and have a 12-1 record in Davis Cup play.Though the Davis Cup lacks the cachet of tennis’ Grand Slam events, Roddick has long been vocal about how important the event is to him. "It’s always been a huge priority for me and it’s been on my list of goals to accomplish, the top couple of things since I started," he says. As home team, the U.S. chose the surface the matches will be played on, an indoor hard court. "I think for And...
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Tony Romo by Kevin Terrell/WireImage.com, Brett Favre by Steve Levin/WireImage.com
The Dallas Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers Thursday in what is arguably the NFL season’s biggest game to date not involving the New England Patriots. Yet much of the country won’t be able to watch the contest, which is airing on the fledgling NFL Network. The league-owned channel is available in only 43.5 million of the country’s 112.8 million households because many cable companies, like Time Warner, don’t feel it’s worth the price the NFL is charging. (Satellite providers Dish Network and DirecTV do offer the network, and NFL Network games are also shown on free TV in the local markets of the teams playing.) The NFL has attempted to make its network more appealing by adding eight regular-season games this fall, including Thursday’s meeting (Nov. 29, 8 pm/ET) between NFC rivals Dallas and Green Bay, both 10-1.One cable company that does offer the NFL Network is Comcast, but only as part of its Sports Entertainment Package, which requires an addition...
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David Beckham by Scott Clarke/ESPN
Sydney FC, an Australian soccer team partially owned by Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia, defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in an exhibition in Sydney earlier today. David Beckham's presence helped attract 80,295 fans — including LaPaglia — to Telstra Stadium. Beckham scored one of his trademark bending free kicks, but it wasn't enough, as Sydney won, 5-3. According to Sydney FC's website, "a series of three Beckham [corner kicks] in four minutes looked like the Christmas illuminations as flashes went off repeatedly in the nearby crowd...."ESPN Classic will air the NASCAR Nextel Cup Awards live on Friday from the (very un-NASCAR-like) Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan (Nov. 30, 9 pm/ET). David Spade and Kelly Clarkson will perform and driver Jimmie Johnson will be honored for his second straight Nextel Cup title. The show will replay at midnight/ET on ESPN2....The New England Patriots' nail-biting 31-28 win over the Philadelphia Eagles gave NBC's Sunday Night Football ...
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Sean Taylor by Al Messerschmidt/ WireImage.com
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, 24, who was shot in his South Florida home on Monday, died early today after losing a significant amount of blood. Apparently the victim of a home invasion or robbery attempt — eight days after police were called when an intruder broke into his home — Taylor was shot in the upper leg, damaging the femoral artery. Although there were indications that he had regained consciousness for a short stretch, his injuries were severe. Taylor's girlfriend and 1-year-old daughter were also in the house at the time of the attack but were not injured. Taylor had faced trouble earlier in his four-year career — and his life. He received multiple fines for late hits, missing mandatory meetings, violating uniform codes and spitting at Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game. He was also charged with drunk driving and was accused of brandishing a gun during a fight.But the Pro Bowler seemed to have turned his life a...
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courtesy NBC Photo
A pair of college-football specials premiere on Saturday, paying tribute to a legendary coach and a legendary play.Every Man a Tiger: The Eddie Robinson Story (Nov. 24, 1:30pm/ET, NBC) chronicles the career of Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson, who retired in 1997 as the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I history and sent over 200 players to the NFL.Narrated by Homicide star Andre Braugher, Every Man a Tiger includes interviews with Coach Robinson, who died in April, and his players, along with archival footage. Immediately following the special, NBC will air the State Farm Bayou Classic with Grambling vs. Southern.Later that day, Versus will revisit the infamous final seconds of the 1982 Cal–Stanford game with the special The Play 25 (Nov. 24, 6 pm/ET). The program marks the 25th anniversary of the winning kick return for a touchdown by Cal, which defeated Stanford, 25-20 — while Stanford’s band was already celebrating on the field.The Play 25...
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Randy Moss courtesy NBC Sports
They've been unstoppable so far this fall, but do the Patriots have what it takes to complete an undefeated season? New England (10-0) will attempt to keep their streak alive against the beat-up Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) this week on Sunday Night Football (Nov. 25, 8:15 pm/ET, NBC). "The Patriots are showing to be the greatest team that we've seen in a long time," says Tiki Barber, an analyst for NBC's Football Night in America studio show. "I don't know if it will be a close game, but it will be entertaining."John Madden, who will call the game alongside Al Michaels, praises the Patriots firepower. "It's the best offense that I've ever seen," he says. "Tom Brady is playing the position of quarterback, right now, better than anyone I've ever seen play it." In their last game, a 56-10 thumping of the Buffalo Bills, Brady threw for five touchdowns, four of them to a rejuvenated Randy Moss.The Patriots are on their way to becoming the second undefeated team in NFL history. (The 1972 Mi...
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Jimmie Johnson by Ida Mae Astute/ABC
By winning the last four NASCAR Nextel Cup races, Jimmie Johnson has placed his fortunes squarely in his own hands. All he needs to do Sunday is finish 18th or better at the season-ending race at Homestead, Florida (Nov. 18, 3:45 pm/ET, ABC), and he gets to drink in a Nextel Cup title for the second year in a row. If he finishes 19th and leads just one lap during the race, it also won’t matter what Jeff Gordon, second in the Cup standings, does.Which is not to belittle what Gordon has already done. A top-10 finish at Homestead would be Gordon’s 30th — out of 36 races — for the season, a mark of consistency unseen since Dale Jarrett scored 29 top 10s (out of 34 races) in 1999.Gordon and Johnson’s tug-of-war through the Chase for the Nextel Cup has been remarkable, the first time since the Chase began in 2004 that the main title contenders were teammates and buddies. "We’re good friends and get along great as teammates, but we’ve always been trying t...
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Drew Carey by Monty Brinton/CBS
Major League Soccer has confirmed what Drew Carey revealed last night on Monday Night Football: Seattle will be home to MLS' 15th franchise. Carey will be a minority owner in the as-yet-unnamed team, which begins play in 2009.The Price Is Right host is a rabid soccer fan and hosted a series for Travel Channel last year called Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures, which focused on the sport's premier event, the World Cup.Former Walt Disney Studios and Twentieth Century Fox chairman Joe Roth, currently running Revolution Studios, will be a majority partner of the club.In a statement, league commissioner Don Garber said, "the inclusion of Seattle in MLS provides us with a true gateway to Asia for a sport that is at the forefront of today’s globalization. We look forward to Major League Soccer’s debut in the Emerald City in 2009."
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