FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

MLB on FOX Hits Prime Time with Mets/Yankees, Phillies/Red Sox, Rangers/Cubs, & Dodgers/Tigers

Rosenthal: Critical Week for the Mets and Jerry Manuel’s Future

UEFA Champions League Final on FOX Saturday

SPEED Covers NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Sunday

SUBWAY SERIES BATTLE IN PRIMETIME – Lights! Camera! Action! On Saturday, May 22 , the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK moves to prime time with four interleague matchups at 7:00 PM ET. The Subway Series reconvenes in New York as David Wright and the Mets welcome Derek Jeter and the World Champion Yankees to Queens. In Philadelphia, Ryan Howard and the NL Champs host the Boston Red Sox. Experiencing a bit of a renaissance, Vladimir Guerrero leads the first-place Rangers into a matchup with the North-Siders in Texas. Also, the Tigers take on the Dodgers out west. This week, the pregame show originates live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA with host Chris Rose . Once game action begins, Rose joins the game crew including Dick Stockton and Jose Mota as a field reporter.

For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX . Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports and www.myspace.com/foxsports .

ROSENTHAL: “CRITICAL WEEK FOR THE FUTURE OF JERRY MANUEL & THE METS” – With the Yankees visiting Citi Field this week to face the struggling Mets, MLB on FOX’s Ken Rosenthal gave his thoughts on the latest talks regarding Jerry Manuel ’s future in New York. “Manuel is under intense scrutiny right now. When the owner of the Mets flies down to Atlanta to meet with manager and others that is a sign of major concern,” said Rosenthal. “The real question is: ‘ When will the Mets make a move and what do the Mets need to do to avoid this from happening?’ The next week is critical. They start a series with Washington tonight, then they host the Yankees, then they have the Phillies. It’s a big week and if it doesn’t go well I can easily see the Mets replacing Manuel with Bob Melvin , who is with the team in a scouting capacity. Would he be a massive improvement over Manuel? Would he reverse the misfortunes of the Mets franchise? Probably not, but attendance is down and the Mets are going to be looking perhaps for a different voice, something to sell the fans. The easiest thing in the world to do is change the manager.”

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST COV. New York Yankees at New York Mets Joe Buck, Tim McCarver 49% & Ken Rosenthal Citi Field – Flushing, NY MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach Probable Pitchers: Phil Hughes, RHP (5-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey, RHP (5-1, 3.02 ERA)

Chicago Cubs at Texas Rangers Josh Lewin & Mark Grace 23% Rangers Ballpark in Arlington – Arlington, TX MARKETS INCLUDE: Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa

Probable Pitchers: Randy Wells, RHP (3-2, 4.13 ERA) vs. Derek Holland, LHP (2-0, 2.38 ERA) Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers Dick Stockton & Jose Mota 17% Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA MARKETS INCLUDE: Detroit, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego Probable Pitchers: Armando Galarraga, RHP (1-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. TBA

Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies Kenny Albert & Eric Karros 10% Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA MARKETS INCLUDE: Boston, Dayton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Probable Pitchers: Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (2-1, 7.89 ERA) vs. TBA

FOX SPORTS TRAVELS TO MADRID FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – On Saturday, May 22 FOX Sports presents the pinnacle of European club soccer as Inter Milan takes on Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League Final. The event is FOX Sports’ first-ever soccer broadcast and live HD coverage kicks off at 2:30 PM ET. Martin Tyler (play-by-play) and Andy Gray (expert analyst) call the action from Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Curt Menefee anchors the network’s coverage from Spain beginning with a live 15-minute pregame show. The FOX NFL SUNDAY host is joined by former US Men’s National team coach Bruce Arena and second-leading USMNT scorer and Fox Soccer Channel host Eric Wynalda .

During a Champions League Final on FOX preview press call, FOX Sports Chairman David Hill , play-by- play announcer Martin Tyler , pregame host Curt Menefee and analyst Bruce Arena explored some story line of the game and soccer on the television in the U.S.

For a complete replay of the call dial 719-457-0820 and enter passcode 9128824 .

David Hill on why now was the right time for FOX Sports to broadcast the UEFA Champions League Final : "What we’ve discovered with Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus has been an incredible eye-opener. The American audience keeps building. It became a no-brainer that this game deserves a place on the network. Obviously being on a Saturday afternoon is perfect for us, it doesn’t force us to replace prime time.”

Bruce Arena on quality of play in the Champions League: “We all appreciate that the World Cup probably has a greater global presence than the CL, but I think in the views of the football communities around the world, people can clearly argue that the CL has greater quality than you will see in the World Cup.”

Martin Tyler on Bayern-Inter Matchup: “We’ve got a team that scores goals and concedes them in Bayern and one that doesn’t score so many but doesn’t concede easily in Inter. It’s like a heavyweight title fight. If you have different styles you’re going to have a wonderful contest. It has all of the right feel. Bring it on!”

Curt Menefee on the atmosphere at major International soccer games: “What I’m really looking forward to is the atmosphere. I’ve been to Maracanã in Rio which then held about 100,000 people, and there were only 75,000 there and Hampden Park in Glasgow with about 50,000. This is going to be the largest soccer crowd I’ve been apart of with 80,000. This place is going to be electric. You’re going to see some great soccer on the pitch but I think the atmosphere will surprise a lot of people when they tune in. People may have heard of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, but wait until they see the madness and how important it is to the supporters. This cup means a lot to people in Europe.”

SPEED COVERS HISTORIC WEEKEND AS HALL OF FAME ENSHRINES ITS FIRST CLASS – As part of live and exclusive coverage of this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (Saturday, 7:00 PM ET) and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Sunday, 12:00 PM ET), SPEED will offer coverage of the Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge – an event where NASCAR drivers show off their best victory celebrations in front of a panel of celebrity judges. This year’s judging panel includes Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith , Creed front man Scott Stapp, wrestling champion Jeff Hardy and former racer and SPEED personality Jimmy Spencer . The winner gets $10,000 donated to the charity of their choice. Coverage of the event will be part of SPEED’s popular pre-race show, NASCAR RaceDay Built by The Home Depot (Saturday, 4:00 PM ET).