Rick Reilly by Jason Nevader/WireImage.com
In what can be best described as a media trade-off, Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly has jumped to ESPN, perhaps as a direct response to SI’s hiring of former SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick last week.According to the sports network, Reilly will take his popular back-page column to ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com, while also contributing to short television essays and interviews.“I’m thrilled, this is an itch I’d love to scratch,” Reilly said in a conference call with the media today. “I want to take my voice to a different place, and I’m hoping to bring well-written essays to TV.”Reilly was mum about the hiring of Patrick, however, insisting the moves were purely coincidental and that he wishes Patrick the best of luck. Patrick was hired by Sports Illustrated to contribute a weekly column and provide a platform for his radio show on SI.com. —Reporting by Rob MoynihanUPDATE: The New York Post reports that ESPN snagged Reilly with ...
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Joe Buck and Tim McCarver by Marc Levine/Fox Sports
The World Series matchup is set. Following last night’s 11-2 win in Game 7 of the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox will host the Colorado Rockies in Game 1 on Wednesday night.Outgoing New York Yankees manager Joe Torre has declined Fox’s offer to join Joe Buck and Tim McCarver as an analyst for the Fall Classic, Sports Illustrated ports. “Joe was flattered to be asked but respectfully declined because he has made some family commitments," Fox Sports spokesman Dan Bell told SI.com. After 12 years managing the club, last week Torre rejected the Yankees' one-year contract extension. Torre will appear on Late Show with David Letterman next Monday (Oct. 29, 11:35 pm/ET, CBS).The World Series schedule (all games on Fox at 8 pm/ET) will be:Game 1: Wednesday, Oct. 24Game 2: Thursday, Oct. 25Game 3: Saturday, Oct. 27Game 4: Sunday, Oct. 28Game 5: Monday, Oct. 29*Game 6: Wednesday, Oct. 31*Game 7: Thursday, Nov. 1**if necessary
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Joe Torre by Mike Ehrmann/WireImage.com
Joe Torre ended his reign as manager of the New York Yankees yesterday, and to commemorate his remarkable career with the Bronx Bombers ESPN Classic will air a four-game marathon of some of his biggest victories tonight (Oct. 19, 7 pm/ET).On Thursday Torre rejected the Yankees offer for a one-year contract. He coached the team for 12 seasons, leading the team to the World Series six times, including four wins. For the third consecutive season, the Yankees last week were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.The four games ESPN Classic is airing are:• 1996 World Series, Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves, Game 6 • 1998 World Series, Yankees vs. San Diego Padres, Game 1 • 2000 World Series, New York Mets vs. Yankees, Game 5 • 2001 World Series, Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, Game 5
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David Beckham by Steve Grayson/WireImage.com
David Beckham could return to the soccer field tomorrow night. The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder, who sprained his right knee in an Aug. 29 game, has started training again and the buzz is positive that he may play some portion of a critical match Thursday at home against the New York Red Bulls (Oct. 18, 11 pm/ET, ESPN2).Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop is cautiously optimistic. "We're not going to force him in there," Yallop said of the English star. "It would be nice to get him on the field at some point because he's such a good player."After struggling for much of the year, the Galaxy have won their last five games and have moved into playoff contention. The Galaxy will conclude their regular season on Sunday against the Chicago Fire.In other soccer news, the United States men's national team plays Switzerland this afternoon in Basel (2:30 pm/ET, Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision). Also, Germany and Canada are the last two countries in the running to host the 2011 Women's World Cup...
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The Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks last night to win the National League Championship Series and advance to their first World Series. The Rockies will play the winner of the American League Championship series. (The Cleveland Indians lead the Boston Red Sox two games to one in that series.) Game 1 of the World Series will air next Wednesday (Oct. 24, 8 pm/ET) on Fox.... ESPN has added Jeff Van Gundy to its NBA broadcasting team. Van Gundy, who was head coach of the Houston Rockets through last season and was previously coach of the New York Knicks, will call games on ESPN and ABC alongside play-by-play man Mike Breen and analyst Mark Jackson. Van Gundy worked for TNT and TBS during the 2002-03 season, in between his coaching gigs.... The 2007 PGA Grand Slam of Golf begins today on TNT (4 pm/ET). The two-day tournament features this year's champions of the Masters (Zach Johnson), U.S. Open (Angel Cabrera) and British Open (Padraig Harrington) as well as Jim Furyk, wh...
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Tom Farrey, Lisa Salters, Jeremy Schaap, Rachel Nichols and Michael Smith courtesy ESPN, Inc.
ESPN will premiere its first prime-time sports newsmagazine, E:60, tomorrow night (Oct. 16, 7 pm/ET). The slighlty awkward title is a play on the network’s “360” cross-platforming initiative. (Similarities to the granddaddy of newsmagazines, 60 Minutes, must be purely coincidental.)Named after the 360-degree cross-platform approach to sports journalism, E:60 is an hour-long series that will cull in-depth interviews, investigative sports reports and behind-the-scenes footage. (The series will air for four weeks, then return for five more episodes in the spring and six next summer.)“Sports is so central to the culture these days and is the flashpoint for issues that extend beyond sports, and we think there’s a need and a place for another vehicle for really exploring the great journalistic stories that are happening in sports today,” says Robert Wallace, ESPN vice president and E:60 executive producer. “That’s our mission.”The premiere epis...
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