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Sports

2011 U.S. Open golf tournament TV schedule

The world’s best golfers hope for a better showing than they had last year at the U.S. Open, when Pebble Beach Golf Links absolutely punished the field. In the end, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (pictured) survived as the only player to match par for the tournament and became the first European since 1970 to win the U.S. Open. This year’s national championship heads to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald and Phil Mickelson hope for a title in the year’s second major. Tiger Woods withdrew due to a lingering injury in his left […]

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Sports

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series shifts to TNT for the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway

Farewell, for now, NASCAR on FOX. The Sprint Cup Series heads to TNT for a six-race summer schedule beginning Sunday, June 12, at 1pm ET for the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. NASCAR’s best, including Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, take on Pocono’s 2.5-mile tri-oval. Last year, Denny Hamlin avoided an eight-car pileup on the final lap of a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win his fourth race in nine starts at Pocono. Here’s the complete press release and schedule for TNT’s […]

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Sports

2011 Belmont Stakes live June 11 on NBC

By Ryan Berenz Follow @ChannelGuideRAB So there will be no Triple Crown winner again, which makes this Belmont Stakes somewhat anticlimactic. Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford will race at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and as much as NBC wants to hype up the matchup between them, it’s not quite the same as a Triple Crown threat. (At least it’s not like last year, when Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky skipped the race and some horse named Drosselmeyer had his 15 minutes.) NBC has the Belmont live on Saturday, June […]

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Documentary

HBO serves “McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice” documentary June 11

The 1980 Wimbledon men’s final was as much a clash of personalities as it was an epic struggle between two premier tennis players. When the dust settled, the icy, stoic Björn Borg outlasted the fiery, hot-tempered John McEnroe, but it signaled a shift in tennis’ balance of power. Thirty-one years after their historic match, HBO premieres the documentary McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice on June 11 at 10pm ET, looking at the legendary rivalry — and friendship — between two of tennis’ most accomplished greats. “Björn Borg and John McEnroe are tennis royalty,” says HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. “Their rivalry […]

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Sports

Where to watch the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup on television

The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, June 7 –25 FOX Soccer to air US group stage matches, knockout rounds and Gold Cup final in stunning HD But first, a little commentary – As the USMNT seeks to reclaim the Gold Cup from Mexico, after suffering a humiliating 5-0 loss in 2009’s final, excitement has given way to resignation with the recent unveiling of Bob Bradley’s roster. The usual stars are there – Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard. But there are a few not-so-hot surprises on the list, made even more obvious by the players who were omitted. Jonathan Bornstein, […]

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Sports

The Memorial serves as great tune-up for U.S. Open

The Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio is important for several reasons, one of which is that it was founded by legend Jack Nicklaus. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the field of great golfers it draws as they prepare for the prestigious and treacherous U.S. Open in two weeks. The four majors —the Masters, the Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship — are obviously the biggest tournaments in the world, but it’s the events that precede them that have a huge bearing on who wins those coveted titles. The Memorial is one of those events, […]

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Sports

2011 French Open tennis finals June 4-5 on NBC

The French Open is down to the finals, with Australian Open runner-up Li Na of China taking on defending French Open champ Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the women’s match Saturday, June 4, at 9am ET on NBC. In the men’s final, Rafael Nadal continues his dominance on clay, defeating Andy Murray to reach his sixth final in seven years. Nadal will face the winner of the Roger Federer-Novak Djokovic semifinal match (taking place Friday at 11am ET on NBC), with the final scheduled for Sunday, June 5, at 9am ET. Here’s the complete release from the NBC Sports Group: […]

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Sports

2011 National Spelling Bee Finals live June 2 on ESPN

By Ryan Berenz Follow @ChannelGuideRAB Over 270 spellers ranging in age from 8 to 15 and spanning the United States and Canada will come to Washington, D.C., to have their knowledge of the lexicon put to the test at the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Dr. Jacques A. Bailly is back to pronounce the words and use them in sometimes amusing sentences. Last year, Anamika Veeramani correctly spelled “stromuhr” (an instrument for measuring blood flow) for the win. ESPN airs the final round Thursday, June 2, in prime time beginning at 8:30pm ET. And I’m pleased to say that I’ll […]

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Sports

2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals TV schedule

One of two long-suffering NHL fanbases will finally get some relief as the Stanley Cup Finals pit the Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins — who’ve not won a Cup since 1972 — against the West champion Vancouver Canucks, who’ve never won a Cup in their 40-year existence. The Canucks enter the series well-rested, having beaten the San Jose Sharks in five games, while the Bruins took the Tampa Bay Lighting to a full seven games in their series. NBC and Versus have complete prime-time coverage of the best-of-seven-game Stanley Cup Finals beginning Wednesday, June 1, at 8pm ET, with Boston […]

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Sports

Brandi Chastain and Briana Scurry join ESPN as studio analysts for Women’s World Cup 2011

Three key members of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup winning U.S. team – Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry and head coach Tony DiCicco – will join ESPN as studio analysts for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 (June 26 – July 17). Chastain, Scurry and DiCicco will contribute to ESPN and ESPN2’s studio coverage of the three-week tournament, providing analysis on pre-match, halftime and post-match shows from Germany, including studio segments on the company’s news and information programming such as SportsCenter, First Take and ESPNEWS. Chastain’s 16-year career on the U.S. Women’s National Team was highlighted by scoring the 1999 […]