Brett Favre by Jon Roselli/Sports Imagery/Getty Images
The 2008 NFL season gets into full swing Sunday and the Brett Favre story will surely be a hot topic. The NFL's greatest statistical quarterback makes his debut as a member of the New York Jets Sunday against the Miami Dolphins (Sept. 7, 1 pm/ET, CBS - click here to see if your local affiliate will have the game). Prior to the game, on CBS' The NFL Today, Dan Marino sits down with Favre for a one-on-one interview (noon/ET).
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Jason Taylor by Scott Cunningham/ Getty Images
The NFL season opens Thursday with the New York Giants beginning their quest to defend their unlikely Super Bowl title. Eli and the gang host the Washington Redskins in the prime-time clash between NFC East rivals (Sept. 4, 7 pm/ET, NBC). On the other side of the ball, all eyes will be on Jason Taylor, who joined the Skins in July after 11 seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
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Venus Williams by Chris McGrath/Getty Images; Serena Williams by Al Bello/Getty Images
As expected, the Williams Sisters are set to meet in the U.S. Open quarterfinals Wednesday. Following their fourth-round victories on Labor Day, Venus and Serena will play under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium (Sept. 3, 7 pm/ET, USA Network).
Fourth-seeded Serena advanced to the quarters with a straight-set win over France's Severine Bremond. No. 7 Venus had an equally breezy triumph against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
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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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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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Michael Phelps by Osports/ WireImage.com
Newly minted eight-time Olympic gold-medalist Michael Phelps has said he wants to raise the profile of swimming in America and NBC is helping grant his wish (while hoping to cash in on his success, too). The network announced plans to televise the 2009 world championships, as well as the U.S. championships through 2011.
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Warren Sapp courtesy Showtime
Inside the NFL has finalized its roster. Warren Sapp, who recently retired after 13 seasons as a defensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders, has been signed as an analyst for the veteran series, which moves to Showtime this fall.
Sapp joins the previously announced trio of James Brown, Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth (a holdover from the show's HBO days).
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Hannah Storm by Joe Faraoni/ESPN
You might say Hannah Storm and her husband Dan Hicks are both back in the swim. As Storm begins hosting ESPN's new live weekday SportsCenter Monday in the 9 a.m. to noon/ET timeslot, Hicks is on the other side of the world calling Olympic swimming events in Beijing for NBC.
"It's a funny parallel, because he does swimming every four years," says Storm, an NBC Sports veteran who has also worked the Olympics. "We were talking about how you've got to crank those muscles back up and try to remember what it's like. It's the same thing here. I haven't done sports in a long time, haven't done a highlight-intensive show since my CNN years Then boom, you're doing it on SportsCenter, the greatest, most iconic franchise show in sports television."
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Tim Hasselbeck by Gary Gershoff/ WireImage.com
Tim Hasselbeck's NFL career ended with the Arizona Cardinals last season, but he's found a new team. Starting Monday, the 30-year-old husband of The View's Elisabeth will join the rotation of analysts for ESPN's NFL Live (weekdays at 4 pm/ET) and also contribute to SportsCenter.
The ex-Redskins/Giants/Cardinals quarterback, whose older brother Matt is the starting QB for the Seattle Seahawks, played in 12 NFL games between 2002 and 2007. In 2003, his most substantial season, he scored five touchdowns for the Redskins.
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