sign in sign up
<<
Home , Brian Billick, Chris Rose, Sam Rosen (sportscaster), Tim Ryan (sportscaster)

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

FOX’s Bowl Bash Kicks Off Jan. 1 with ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL; Slate includes AT&T COTTON BOWL, TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL and FEDEX ORANGE BOWL

NFC East Title and No. 2 Seed on the Line in NFL on FOX Week 17 Doubleheader Action

FOX SPORTS BOWL BASH STARTS NEW YEARS DAY WITH ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL – FOX Sports kicks off its 2010 BCS campaign in prime time on New Year’s Day, Friday, Jan. 1 (8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT) with the ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL live from the Louisiana Superdome where the Big East Champions and undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats face Tim Tebow and the defending National Champion Florida Gators. NFL on FOX analyst makes his BCS debut calling the action alongside his partner on Sunday’s and BCS on FOX lead play-by-play announcer with reporting from the sidelines. From Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 2 , FOX Sports presents the AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC (2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT). Legendary broadcaster calls the clash between Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Ole Miss Rebels, alongside former fullback and NFL on FOX analyst Daryl Johnston with Krista Voda reporting from the sidelines. BCS Bowl action continues on Monday, Jan. 4 (7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT) with a battle of two undefeated teams in the 2010 TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL when the Mountain West Champion TCU Horned Frogs take on the WAC Champion Boise State Broncos led by head coach Chris Petersen . and former USC All-American Tim Ryan call the action live from the University of Phoenix Stadium, with Chris Myers reporting from the sidelines. Last, but certainly not least, FOX Sports heads to Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 5 (7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT) for the 2010 FEDEX ORANGE BOWL when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets face the Iowa Hawkeyes. Veteran play-by-play man and BCS on FOX analyst Charles Davis call the action live from Landshark Stadium. Laura Okmin and Chris Myers provide updates from the sidelines. hosts pre-and postgame coverage alongside National Championship-winning coach Jimmy Johnson and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George for the ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL, TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL and the FEDEX ORANGE BOWL.

2010 BCS & COTTON BOWL ON FOX SCHEDULE

BCS Studio Host: Chris Rose Analysts: Jimmy Johnson & Eddie George

Jan. 1 ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL 8:00 PM Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Florida Gators Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick & Chris Myers

Jan. 2 AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC 2:00 PM Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Ole Miss Rebels Pat Summerall, Daryl Johnston & Krista Voda

-more-

FOX SPORTS NQ&A – Page 2

Jan. 4 TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL 7:30 PM TCU Horned Frogs vs. Boise State Broncos Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan & Chris Myers

Jan. 5 FEDEX ORANGE BOWL 7:30 PM Georgia Tech Yellow vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Dick Stockton, Charles Davis & Laura Okmin/Chris Myers

CHARLES DAVIS: DIFFERENCE IN SUGAR BOWL COMES DOWN TO FLORIDA’S D – BCS on FOX analyst Charles Davis dissects this Friday’s Sugar Bowl between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Florida Gators: “Cincinnati is an offensive driven team that replaced 10 starters on defense when the season began and played pretty well early. But in the last month of the season, everything became a track meet with a mentality of ‘the offense better win it.’ They do such a great job maximizing matchups on offense and getting the ball in the hands of playmakers like Isaiah Pead, and wideouts Armon Binns and Mardy Gilyard. For Florida, their defense is outstanding and that’s where I see the difference in this game. Guys like Carlos Dunlap rushing the passer with Jermaine Cunningham off the edge; they’re going to be tough to stop.”

NFL ON FOX WEEK 17: SEEDING IN NFC PLAYOFFS ON THE LINE – All six spots are filled in the NFC, but the schedule and seeding picture is still cloudy as the NFL on FOX wraps up its 16 th regular season with an eight-game doubleheader on Sunday, Jan 3 . Beginning with the 1:00 PM ET games, Brett Favre and the look to secure the No. 2 seed and a first round bye when they host the Giants. In Charlotte, the No. 1 seeded Saints play a playoff tune-up against their NFC South rival Panthers. Falcons/Bucs, 49ers/Rams and Bears/Lions round out the early action. At 4:15 PM ET, the NFC East division title is on the line when and the Cowboys host Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. Philadelphia can clinch the No. 2 seed with a victory and Dallas secures a home playoff game with a win. In Arizona, and the Cardinals can secure the No. 2 seed with a victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers coupled with Vikings and Eagles losses. Also, the Chargers host the Redskins.

Coverage begins at 12:00 PM ET with America’s most-watched pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY. and co-host the Emmy Award-winning program and are joined by analysts Howie Long , Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson . The crew is joined by NFL Insider who presents the latest league news and scoops in the FOX NFL SUNDAY studio and comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo contributes his weekly “Frank’s Picks” segment.

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

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST/SIDELINE COV. TIME at Minnesota Vikings , Daryl Johnston 63% 1:00PM & Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome – Minneapolis, MN MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers Thom Brennaman & Brian Billick 14% 1:00PM Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC MARKETS INCLUDE: Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Raleigh, San Antonio --more-- FOX Sports NQ&A – Page 3

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Bucs Dick Stockton, Charles Davis 7% 1:00PM & Laura Okmin Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams & Ross Tucker 5% 1:00PM Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis, MO MARKETS INCLUDE: Sacramento, San Francisco

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions Chris Myers & 5% 1:00PM Ford Field – Detroit, MI MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys , Troy Aikman 79% 4:15PM & Dallas Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, TX MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, , Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, West Palm Beach

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals Sam Rosen & Tim Ryan 9% 4:15PM University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, AZ MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Milwaukee, Phoenix

Washington Redskins at San Diego Chargers Ron Pitts, John Lynch 6% 4:15PM Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego, CA & Nischelle Turner MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Norfolk, Richmond, San Diego, Washington

LONG QUESTIONS WHO WILL RISE TO THE TOP OF THE NFC – Following the Vikings loss to the Bears on Monday night, the Saints backed into the No. 1 seed in the NFC but how the other five teams will rank comes down to Week 17. FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Howie Long looks at how the NFC playoff picture has been drastically changed in a few short weeks: “Four weeks ago, I thought there was only one team that had a shot of beating New Orleans in New Orleans, and that was Minnesota. Now, with both the Saints and Vikings struggling, you can make a case that Philadelphia and Dallas might be the best teams in the NFC. After watching the Packers beat the Seahawks Sunday, I came away totally impressed with Aaron Rodgers , who is looking every bit the part of a franchise . He's everything that coach Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson thought he would be. But the best news for the Packers is they are getting their running game on track at the right time. Ryan Grant scored twice and missed 100 yards by only 3. He has become a force. It’s amazing how things have changed over the last few weeks.”

BILLICK ON CALDWELL’S DECISION: “WINNING A IS THE ONLY BAROMETER FOR COLTS” – “You can go around and around on both sides of whether Jim Caldwell’s decision to sit his starters was the right move,” said NFL on FOX analyst and Super Bowl-winning head coach Brian Billick . “If the Colts win the Super Bowl, it means absolutely nothing. If they stumble anywhere along the way and don’t win it all, this game will be looked upon as the reason. For the Colts right now, that’s the only barometer. At the very least this has caused a pause for a team that had a great deal of momentum and was feeling good about themselves. I know they’re going with the company line and the players are signing off on it but in that locker room there’s some question about whether they should have rested their starters. If nothing else it has created a distraction.”

-more-

FOX Sports NQ&A – Page 4

MALARIA NO MORE ROUNDS OUT FOX SPORTS SUPPORTS’ YEARLY CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN – FOX Sports has selected Malaria No More as the official charity of the BCS on FOX games in this January 2010. Malaria No More provides simple nets to save lives in Africa by protecting those in danger of malarial mosquitoes that bite at night. FOX Sports taped a public service announcement to help raise awareness for the cause. The PSA features American Idol host Ryan Seacrest , BCS analyst and FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Jimmy Johnson, BCS on FOX host Chris Rose and BCS on FOX analyst Charles Davis . "FOX Sports Supports is a powerful partner, helping African families protect themselves from malaria,” said Scott Case, CEO of Malaria No More. “Offering up the tremendous platform of the Bowl Championship Series will help us reach a new audience, heighten awareness of malaria and get closer to our goal of ending malaria deaths in Africa.” Please visit www.MalariaNoMore.org for more information or www.foxsportssupports.com .

-- FOX SPORTS --