Seen on Screen: NESN Plans New Morning Highlights Show; ‘The Men In Blazers’ Show Debuts on NBCSN

by Jarrel Harris, Editorial Assistant

NESN announced plans to expand its sports news programming by launching a new show called NESN Sports Update that will air every morning (M-Su) from 5 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. beginning Monday, November 3, 2014. The show will also re-air between noon and 2 pm on weekdays when a live event is not scheduled.

The fast-paced, 20-minute sports update show will showcase all relevant late-night games, scores, not-to-miss highlights, and previews of upcoming events in order to serve fans on-the-go who may not have seen the end of the previous night’s Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots or Celtics games.

The program will include post-game interviews not available elsewhere, custom reports from NESN’s Red Sox and Bruins broadcasters, regular updates from former New England Patriots Matt Chatham and Jermaine Wiggins, and insights from experts spanning all the biggest events both in New England and nationally…

…The Men In Blazers Show, featuring popular soccer personalities Michael Davies and Roger Bennett, debuted their new television program on NBCSN on Monday.

NBCSN will present the new 30-minute show — set at the Men in Blazers “studio” in SoHo in New York City — each Monday night at 10 p.m. ET during the Premier League season, with an encore at midnight ET. The new show will also stream live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app.

“We are aiming to make the least technically ambitious show in the history of television,” Michael Davies said. “One camera. One guest. Two bald blokes. We may or may not have clips.”

“We are honored to have the chance to commune with Americans about football on such a sacred day,” Roger Bennett added. “As the saying goes, ‘Week after week, it’s the time that is right. All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night.’”

The Men In Blazers Show on NBCSN follows NBC Sports Group’s weekend Premier League coverage, allowing Davies and Bennett to break down all of the action for American soccer fans.

The show compliments Men in Blazers’ special, digital-only weekly podcast on NBCSports.com each Tuesday. The podcast hit the No. 1 overall spot on iTunes’ podcast chart at the start of the Premier League season and is regularly among the top podcasts in the Sports & Recreation category. Weekly digital-only Men in Blazers’ previews of the upcoming Premier League matches will be released each Friday…

…ESPN Films today revealed the films that will make up its fall 2014 30 for 30 slate. The series will return for a six-week run Tuesday nights on ESPN beginning October 7, with one additional film in December. This October marks the fifth anniversary of 30 for 30’s launch in 2009.

The upcoming slate will kick off with “Playing for the Mob,” which delves into how mobster Henry Hill once helped orchestrate the fixing of Boston College basketball games. The film is narrated by actor Ray Liotta, who played Hill in the iconic movie “Goodfellas.” Other film topics include: the 1989 San Francisco earthquake shortly before Game 3 of the World Series; the rise, fall and maturation of former Oklahoma All-American linebacker Brian Bosworth; and the incredible story of Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, half-brothers who escaped Cuba separately and quickly made themselves into star pitchers in the major leagues. “Brothers in Exile” will premiere in Spanish on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 9 p.m. ET.

Additionally, actor Michael Rapaport takes a look back at the championship teams of the New York Knicks in his film “When The Garden Was Eden,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year; and “Rand University” will explore the enigma that is former NFL star Randy Moss by going back to where he came from – Rand, West Virginia.

“The U Part 2″ will debut after the Heisman Trophy presentation in December, making it the first 30 for 30 sequel. “The U,” a chronicle of the rise of the University of Miami football program in the 1980s, was one of the first 30 for 30 films, and subsequently became ESPN’s most-watched documentary film in history up to that point. In “The U Part 2,” director Billy Corben picks up where his original film left off, with Miami trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals.

The “Playing for the Mob” debut on October 7 will be immediately followed by a special premiere of a new 30 for 30 Short titled “The Great Trade Robbery,” directed by Stu Zicherman. Launching on Grantland the next day, this short film is a first-person account by Jimmy Johnson of arguably the most significant trade in NFL history—when the Dallas Cowboys built their Super Bowl dynasty 25 years ago by sending star running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings.

…ESPN will provide comprehensive coverage of Derek Jeter’s final week in Major League Baseball, highlighted by SportsCenter Special: Derek Jeter on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Host Karl Ravech, analysts Curt Schilling, Aaron Boone, Mark Mulder and ESPN MLB Insiders Buster Olney, Tim Kurkjian and Keith Law will look back at Jeter’s career and accomplishments while examining his rank among all-time Yankees legends.

SportsCenter’s coverage throughout the week will include Pedro Gomez reporting from Yankee Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 25, leading up to and following Jeter’s final game in the Bronx and Jeremy Schaap reporting live from Fenway Park on Sunday, Sept. 28, prior to the final game of Jeter’s career.

Additional SportsCenter elements include a compilation of Jeter’s “ultimate” highlights, a remix of highlights from award-winning DJ and music video producer DJ Steve Porter, essays from ESPN MLB Insiders Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian, a look back at the Jeter Farewell Tour with SportsCenter’s Neil Everett, a feature on the scout who scouted Jeter for the Yankees and excerpts of Jeter’s interview at the 2014 MLB All-Star Game with analyst Aaron Boone.

ESPN MLB analysts Eduardo Perez, Doug Glanville and Mark Mulder will also contribute to SportsCenter coverage from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. campus while Baseball Tonight will preview and discuss Jeter’s farewell throughout the week with episodes at approximately 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. each night.