THIS WEEK:
- Top Contender
- Eagle Zone
- Revolutionary announcer
- Blitz Bits
New England gets a dose of “Contender” madness
AM 1510 scores a goal, Feldman’s fury, Blitz Bits
Boxing stars from ESPN’s popular “The Contender 2” series roll into Providence’s Dunkin Donuts’ Center Saturday night. The main event features Peter Manfredo, Jr. against cross-town rival Joey Spina in “The Contender Special – Put Up or Shut Up.”
The show will be televised on ESPN2 at 10:30 p.m. on a tape-delayed basis with the main event beginning live at 9:00 p.m. The show is promoted by Tournament of Contenders and Classic Entertainment and Sports. Info and tickets are available at CESBoxing.com.
“There’s real bad blood between us,” says Manfredo. “I want to hurt this kid. He disrespected me, trash talking about me, my father and my wife. He kept calling me out and Saturday’s the big night.
“He just swings for the fences, looking for home runs, and that’s when you strike out. He’s not a boxer, I am. I throw short punches. He throws looping punches. I’m going to wear him down and take him out by the eighth. I have too much skill for him.”
As part of Saturday’s card, Jerson Ravelo takes on Allan Green in the eight-round co-feature. Fellow “Contender” fighters including Champion Grady Brewer, Steve Forbes, Cornelius Bundrage, Gary Balletto and many more are in New England to support Manfredo’s quest.
“It’s great to have the rest of the Contender team with me in Providence,” Manfredo says. “They’re guys from all over the U.S., but I know they’re going to love New England and New England will love them.” The attending Contender fighters will sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans for 45 minutes on Saturday night starting at 7:00 p.m.
The recent finale of ESPN’s “The Contender 2” series earned a 1.9 rating on ESPN, representing more than 1.7 million households and 2.3 million viewers. It was the highest rated boxing telecast on ESPN in nine years dating back to January 1, 1997.
“The Contender 2” improved its time slot’s ratings by 56% over 2005 and by 100% in all key demographic age groups. ESPN offered live video on ESPN.com and ESPN360 on-demand where fans could view two undercard bouts from the event exclusively.
“The strength of these results demonstrates the continued hunger by our viewers not only for “The Contender” series but for the kind of programming it represents: compelling human drama that allows viewers to witness first-hand the ultimate outcome,” said Ron Wechsler, ESPN Original Entertainment vice president of development.
“The Contender” originally began as an NBC series with Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone as the show’s front men. The show is currently produced by Stallone, DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Mark Burnett, the mastermind behind other reality series such as “Survivor” and “The Apprentice.”
Hockey zone
It seems that AM 1510 The Zone has more lives than a cat convention. The station announced this week a deal with ISP Sports and Boston College to become the new flagship station for Boston College men’s 2006-07 hockey.
The slate includes 32 regular season games and will debut on October 10 vs. Northeastern. BC grads John Rish and Ken Hodge, Jr. will have the call for AM 1510 on all 32 regular season games.
“BC Hockey is perpetually a national championship-level program and we couldn’t be happier to have partnered up with such a great athletic institution, says AM 1510 program director Jon Anik.
“BC Hockey will be our signature winter product and we are expectant and hopeful that this will lead to a long-term relationship with Boston College and its athletic programs.”
Adds Boston College Assistant Athletics Director for External Operations Jamie DiLoreto, “We are thrilled, along with ISP Sports, to bring Boston College hockey to 1510 the Zone for the 2006-2007 season.
“Given the program’s status as a perennial national championship contender, we made it a priority to find a 50,000-watt, major metropolitan home for BC Hockey and we have done that.” According to AM 1510, BC Hockey games will also be available online at bceagles.com and 1510thezone.com.
Feldman’s fight
New England Revolution broadcaster Brad Feldman has indeed arrived as a full-fledged MLS villain, at least to DC United fans and possibly team management. At last Saturday’s Revs-DC contest, Washington, DC fans posted a banner reading “Feldman: Dead to Us.” Another banner reading “Reis: Dead to Us” and was aimed at Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis.
Says Feldman, “What’s strange is that these weren’t unfurled just prior to the game. In both cases they were hanging there when the TV crews showed up several hours pregame. Someone from DC United and RFK Stadium let the fans in or hanged the banners for them.
“No matter what you think about the signs, it seems to have the tacit endorsement of DC management. It’s all great for what’s arguably the most heated rivalry in MLS. I’d just like to think it came from the rabid DC fans not the team.”
Feldman relates the story behind the banners. He states, “Last season (June 18, 2005), Reis came charging off his line to play a ball into the penalty area and his knee hit DC forward Alecko Eskandarian in the head.
“There was no foul call, card or subsequent disciplinary action but Eskandarian missed several months with post-concussion syndrome. Reis expressed publicly on more than one occasion that he never intended to injure Alecko, but Eskandarian was adamant that Reis should apologize for what he did.
Feldman continues, “This spring, when Reis said that he never intended to injure the guy, Eskandarian said, ‘He’s dead to me.’ Hence, the first sign. On June 3 (2006), when we played down there, I was critical of Eskandarian and the sign.
“On my internet talk show, I was more critical of the fans, saying I thought the sign was in poor taste and that Revs’ management would not have allowed that sign to hang at Gillette Stadium for a game, which is true.”
This past Saturday, Eskandarian again gained Feldman’s ire. Says Feldman, “I tried to make light of the latest banner when we showed it on the telecast, just after Eskandarian had come on as a sub.
“Late in the game, with NE leading 2-1, Eskandarian lined up Revs’ defender Michael Parkhurst with an elbow to the head. Kind of surprising for a guy who now wears protective headgear because of the concussion he had. I called it a cheap shot play and low rent behavior.”
According to Feldman, Saturday’s Revs-DC match on TV-38 scored nearly a respectable 1.0 rating with a 3 share for men ages 25-49. In the wake of the banner drama, Feldman has become a folk hero to Revs’ fans and the target of swear-laced epithets in DC. Just another day in the life of a crusading MLS announcer.
Blitz Bits
“The Troy Brown Show” will air Tuesday nights live from 7-8:00 p.m. on AM 890 ESPN Boston throughout the football season. 890 ESPN reporter Mike Salk will co-host alongside the Patriots receiver. Brown and Salk will preview and review Patriots’ games and cover other NFL news … “ Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey
{ 0 comments… add one now }