Football Season is Right Around the Corner
Jeff Genthner Senior Vice President, General Manager
The countdown to kickoff has begun, and at FOX Sports South and SportSouth we’re ready with more than 45 live SEC, ACC, and C-USA college football games this season. We are excited to welcome Wes Durham, a legendary voice of college athletics, and Brian Stann, a former Navy linebacker and UFC fighter, to the ACC booth this season, where they will be joined by sideline reporter Jenn Hildreth, returning for her third season covering ACC football on FOX Sports South. The new ACC college football broadcast team will make their debut August 31 on FOX Sports South as Florida International travels to Maryland to start the season.
Emmy Award-winning original programs SEC Gridiron LIVE and The NEW College Football Show return for their fifth and third years respectively, bringing fans news and insights each week leading up to Saturday’s slate of live games. Former NFL’er Ovie Mughelli will join Tim Couch, James Bates, and Elizabeth Moreau on SEC Gridiron LIVE (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET starting on August 28). Tommy Bowden and James Bates will once again team up for The NEW College Football Show (Thursdays at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET starting on August 29). As college football season is teeing up, the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Dream continue their regular seasons in hot pursuit of postseason berths. FOX Sports South and SportSouth will be there for every swing and jump shot along the way.
Erika de Souza Atlanta Dream
Tony Wroten Memphis Grizzlies
And sports television history will be made on August 17th with the much anticipated debut of FOX Sports 1. With collegiate football action from some of the best conferences in the nation, and our local teams in the hunt for championships, we hope you’re buckled in and ready for an exciting ride. Andrelton Simmons Atlanta Braves
FOX Sports 1 Debuting August 17th FOX Sports 1 is America’s new 24-hour sports network that puts fans first and is set to launch on August 17th. FOX Sports 1 will not have a subtle launch; day one will be jam-packed with NASCAR coverage and hard-hitting UFC action, all leading up to the primetime debut of FOX Sports LIVE, which will take sports news to the next level. If the first day of action isn’t enough - FOX Sports 1 will bring more live sports with the best college football, college basketball and soccer action around. In addition, informative and entertaining studio shows such as FOX Football Daily and Crowd Goes Wild will be introduced in to the lineup. For most cable and satellite customers, FOX Sports 1 will launch in the same channel location now occupied by SPEED. Specific channel information will be posted at www.FOXSportsSouth.com closer to the launch date.
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FOX Sports South Unveils New ACC College Football Broadcast Team FOX Sports South unveiled its new lineup of announcers for the 2013 ACC football schedule, featuring a legendary voice of collegiate athletics, Wes Durham, who will handle play-by-play duties. Durham will be joined by analyst Brian Stann, a former linebacker for the Naval Academy, and sideline reporter Jenn Hildreth. FOX Sports South will air 17 ACC games beginning with the Florida International at Maryland game on Saturday, August 31 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Wes Durham Play-by-Play Announcer Bringing 18 years of ACC experience as the voice of Georgia Tech football and men’s basketball games, Wes Durham will handle the play-by-play duties for the weekly ACC games on FOX Sports South. He is an eight-time Georgia Sportscaster of the Year recipient and 2006 winner of the Furman Bisher Award for Sports Media Excellence. Durham will continue on as the radio play-by-play voice for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Wes Durham Q&A
What are you most excited about by making the move from the radio booth to the television booth? The most exciting part of the move is getting to do games in the conference that I have followed practically all of my life, but professionally for the last 18 years. To experience stadiums and arenas from this perspective is very energizing to me.
Brian Stann Analyst A former linebacker for the Naval Academy and a UFC mixed martial artist with a professional fight record of 12-6, Brian Stann will join Durham in the booth as the ACC broadcast team’s analyst. Stann is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and received a Silver Star for his combat valor when his platoon was ambushed while on a mission in Iraq in 2005. Stann currently runs a non-profit organization, Hire Heroes USA. Brian Stann Q&A
Was it a difficult decision to retire from the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC)? It was an extremely difficult decision. I can still compete with the best in the world, however it was the right time for my family and I to transition in to my long-term career.
Tell us more about your non-profit organziation, Hire Heroes USA. Hire Heroes USA helps veterans find careers after their service is over. It allows me to serve the men and women I look up to and make a difference in a community that helped shape the man I am today. Hire Heroes USA utilzes a personal approach to the service of veterans which Which ACC player everyone will be talking about come December? has allowed us to assist thousands of veterans. The one guy who could “light up” the league is Miami RB “Duke” Johnson. While Tajh Boyd is getting a lot of pre-season attention, and rightly so, Johnson is the league’s leading returning rusher (947 yards), and split time with Mike James last year. Which ACC team will surprise us in 2013? Somewhere along the way, I think Wake Forest might be a surprise. The Deacons have 15 starters back from last year, including one of the better pass-catch batteries in the ACC.
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Jenn Hildreth Sideline Reporter A former soccer, basketball and track and field standout at Emory University, Jenn Hildreth will have the ACC sidelines covered as she returns for her third season of ACC football and her 12th covering college football on FOX Sports South. Hildreth is also the Emmy Award-winning host of ACC All-Access on FOX Sports South and has done play-by-play and reporting for ACC men’s and women’s basketball. Jenn Hildreth Q&A
As a veteran of ACC broadcasts, insights will you share with your new coworkers? It’s an absolute honor to attain this title of “veteran” and return for my third season covering ACC football from the sidelines. I’d probably pass on the really important things to my new team, like which schools give us very good parking spots, which schools provide food at our Friday meetings with the coaches, which campuses are easy to navigate, and which ones definitely require GPS. Who has been your favorite sideline interview since doing ACC games? I love getting the opportunity to interview people on the sidelines or in the stands during games. I find the mothers often give the best (most embarrassing) stories; I can’t pick a favorite, but I always enjoy what seems to be my now annual reunion with the Campanaro family at Wake Forest, and I’ll miss seeing former Duke receiver Conner Vernon’s mom and dad this fall!
SEC Gridiron LIVE Returns to FOX Sports South
James Bates, Ovie Mughelli, Tim Couch and Elizabeth Moreau
FOX Sports South’s Emmy Award-winning original program, SEC Gridiron LIVE, makes its fifth season debut on Wednesday, August 28, at 10 p.m. ET for 16 weeks of the only live, interactive one-hour program dedicated to SEC football and the fans. Former NFL All-Pro and Atlanta Falcon Ovie Mughelli joins the SEC Gridiron LIVE team, bringing hard-hitting analysis and insights from his playing days. Tim Couch returns for his fourth season as an analyst, along with Emmy Award-winning host, James Bates, and SEC football sideline reporter and social media host, Elizabeth Moreau, both returning for their second year to the show. Three-time winner of the Southeast NATAS Emmy Award for Interactivity, SEC Gridiron LIVE puts the fans in the spotlight. Fans can be a part of the show every week by voting in real-time polls and connecting with the show and hosts via @SECGridironLIVE on Twitter, Facebook.com/SECGridironLIVE and SECGridironLIVE.com.
Vote for the SEC Greatest Player Only on FOXSportsSouth.com By Cory McCartney FOX Sports South Digital Content Manager The SEC boasts 11 Heisman Trophy winners and dozens of All-Americans -- but who is the best player in the conference’s storied history? It’s the task that FOX Sports South is putting into the hands of the fans with the SEC Gridiron LIVE’s Greatest Player Tournament, presented by Direct Auto. A field of 64 players have been seeded and placed into a NCAA tournament-style bracket pitting legend against legend and who advances from round to round will be entirely decided by the fans.
The greatest player in SEC history will be selected by the fans at www.foxsportssouth.com/secgreatest.
Launching in early August, fans can log on to www.foxsportssouth.com/secgreatest and fill out their own SEC Greatest Player Bracket. With the debut of SEC Gridiron LIVE on August 28th, select pairings will be released each week for 13 weeks on the show. The SEC Gridiron LIVE’s Greatest Player Tournament will all culminate in the crowning of the greatest player in SEC history. Fans will select the best player in conference history by participating in this 64-player bracket.
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FOX Sports South Visits SEC, ACC Media Days
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier with The NEW College Football Show co-host James Bates at the SEC Media Days in Birmingham, Ala.
North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora goes over X’s and O’s with The NEW College Football Show co-host Tommy Bowden at the ACC Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C.
SEC Gridiron LIVE host Tim Couch (right) sits down with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
FOX Sports South producers discuss the upcoming football season with ACC Preseason Player of the Year and Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd.
DRIVEN: 2013 NHL Draft, The South is on the Clock Debuts August 2 at 11:30 p.m. ET FOX Sports South goes behind-the-scenes with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers as they prepare to make four of the top five picks in the 2013 NHL Draft with the debut DRIVEN: 2013 NHL Draft, The South is on the Clock, on Friday, August 2, at 11:30 p.m. ET. Documented over the course of a month of activity leading up to the NHL Draft, FOX Sports South first travels to the NHL Combine in Toronto, taking viewers inside private team meetings with top prospects. Back at the teams’ headquarters, fans will get unique insights as general managers and scouts finalize their strategies and set their draft boards. The journey to draft day concludes in Newark, N.J., on June 30, as FOX Sports South gives viewers exclusive access to both the teams and their top prospects, capturing an inside look at the strategy and emotion as the day’s events unfold. DRIVEN: 2013 NHL Draft, The South is on the Clock will re-air throughout the month of August on FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports. DRIVEN: 2013 NHL Draft, The South is on the Clock Debut Dates:
Friday, August 2, at 11:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports South Monday, August 5, at 7:00 p.m. ET on SUN Sports Tuesday, August 6, at 10:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports Florida
The Nashville Predators selected Seth Jones with the No. 4 draft pick overall.
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Braves Country Sends Freddie Freeman to All-Star Game Braves Country came together in a big way to support Freddie Freeman in Major League Baseball’s “Final Vote” promotion for the All-Star Game, sending him to his first Mid-Summer Classic. Freeman received 19.7 million votes, the most ever recorded for a candidate in a Final Vote campaign. FOX Sports South supported the movement on air as well as via social media and digital billboards.
FOX Sports South reporter Tom Hart interviews Freddie Freeman on Braves LIVE.
The Georgia Aquarium joined the #VoteFreddie campaign with a video that aired on Braves LIVE.
Freddie Freeman dominated the vote in the Southeast, according to the MLB Final Vote distribution map.
Several digital billboards around Atlanta supported the #VoteFreddie movement.
FOX Sports South participated in the #VoteFreddie Twitter campaign by tweeting out various graphics to support the Braves first baseman.
The Buzz is Back in Charlotte The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Bobcats Sports & Entertainment’s application to change the team’s name to the Charlotte Hornets, effective at the start of the 2014-15 NBA season. The Hornets was the name of the original Charlotte NBA franchise that debuted during the 1988-89 season. As a thank you to the New Orleans Pelicans organization (formerly the New Orleans Hornets) for their assistance in this process, the Bobcats made a donation to Pelicans’ Gulf Coast Preservation Fund.
Charlotte Bobcats fans cheer the return of the Hornets name to “Buzz City.”
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Meet Morgan, the Newest FOX Sports South Girl Hometown: Dalton, GA High school: Northwest Whitfield High School College: Kennesaw State University Favorite sports team: Atlanta Braves Sports played: I participated in basketball and track & field in high school and was a member of the Kennesaw State track & field team. Favorite thing about Atlanta: I love the city’s southern charm and hospitality! Whether I’m tubing the “Hooch” [Chattahoochee River], throwing a football in Piedmont Park, or catching a Braves game, it always makes me happy to see so many people take pride in Atlanta’s outdoor splendor. Favorite Restaurant in Atlanta: Ah! It’s a toss-up between Pappasito’s and Maggiano’s. Mexican cuisine and Italian food are my absolute favorites! Atlanta has so much to choose from. Morgan and Canicka join Braves LIVE reporter Elizabeth Moreau for an interview before the July 23rd Braves game.
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