ESPN 2
Launched	October 1, 1993
Owned by	ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company (80%) Hearst Corporation (20%))
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Country	United States
Language	English
Headquarters	Bristol, Connecticut
Sister channel(s)	ESPN ESPNU ESPNews ESPN Classic ESPN Plus ESPN on ABC Longhorn Network
Website	ESPN2 Website
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV	209 (SD/HD) 211 Alternate feed (SD) 211-1 Alternate feed (HD)
Dish Network	144 (SD/HD) 146 Alternate feed
Cable
Available on most cable systems	Check local listings
Verizon FiOS	74 (SD) 574 (HD)
IPTV
AT&T U-Verse	606

ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.

Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross, snowboarding, and BMX racing. This mandate was phased out by the late 1990s, as the channel increasingly served as a second outlet for ESPN's mainstream sports coverage. ESPN2 is carried in 89 million homes in the United States, eleven million fewer than ESPN.

History[link]

"The Deuce" launched on October 1, 1993 with the first episode of SportsNight, a sports news program originally hosted by Keith Olbermann and Suzy Kolber, where Olbermann opened the show by jokingly welcoming viewers to "the end of [his] career." SportsNight would also serve as the starting point for many other ESPN personalities, among them Stuart Scott, Suzy Kolber and Kenny Mayne.

ESPN2 would also be used for experimental broadcasts and technology. On September 18, 1994, ESPN2 aired a simulcast of ESPN's coverage of CART's Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, using only onboard camera feeds. In 1995, ESPN2 debuted a sports news ticker, dubbed the "BottomLine,"^[1] a persistent ticker which stayed at the bottom of the screen at all times during most programming, unlike ESPN, who only shows their own at the :28 and :58 of each hour(accompanied by an audio cue) and during select programming. ESPN2's sports telecasts were also among the first to regularly use a scoring bug. In later years, ESPN2 would also participate in "Full Circle" telecasts, productions of a single game aired across multiple ESPN services to provide additional features and angles.

ESPN2 also featured several half-hour news programs focused on specific sports, such as NFL 2Night (football), NHL 2Night (hockey), and RPM 2Night (auto racing).

In the late 1990s, ESPN2 would phase out its youth-oriented format and begin to serve as a secondary outlet for ESPN's mainstream programming. The "graffiti 2" logo was dropped in 2001 and replaced with a variant of ESPN's normal logo, and telecasts began to use a more traditional style. However, on-screen graphics (such as the BottomLine) would use a blue color scheme instead of red to differentiate it from ESPN. On February 12, 2007, the use of ESPN2 branding would also be reduced — all graphics and elements would begin to only use the ESPN logo, and the ESPN2 brand would be retained only for identification between the two channels, such as on the BottomLine.^[2]

Programming[link]

Sports events presented on ESPN2 originally tended to be alternative sports such as poker, billiards, lumberjacking, extreme sports and, more recently, drum and bugle corps. However, in recent years ESPN2 has broadcast increasingly more mainstream sporting events, including Major League Baseball games, the East-West Shrine Game, much of the 2006 World Baseball Classic, many Major League Soccer and NCAA basketball games, the WNBA, the Arena Football League, and NASCAR Nationwide Series races on Saturday afternoons. In 2011, ESPN2 also picked up delayed broadcast rights for some American Le Mans Series events, with ABC broadcasting the major events.

The channel has also become ESPN's home for tennis coverage. The showpieces are all four of the "Grand Slam" tournaments – the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Also featured on ESPN2 are the ATP World Tour Finals and US-based tournaments, including the ATP Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami, as well as the US Open Series.

Most of ESPN's soccer output is broadcast on ESPN2. This includes Major League Soccer, all Barclays Premier League matches on Saturday mornings and Monday afternoons, two dozen La Liga matches, and the United States' 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. ESPN2 formerly broadcast matches of the UEFA Champions League, until rights for that tournament moved to Fox Soccer Channel and its sister stations.

ESPN2's former flagship show, the morning sports/entertainment program Cold Pizza, achieved minimal success and saw several format and host changes. In January 2006, it was supplanted by the TV simulcast of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning (which moved from ESPNews) and moved to a later time slot (10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST). In May 2007, Cold Pizza moved from New York City to the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, and was renamed ESPN First Take. After ESPN became part of a new broadcast contract with the association, ESPN2 also premiered the new daily show NASCAR Now (similar to the previous RPM 2Night, except only focusing on NASCAR) in February 2007.

In 2003, ESPN2 began broadcasting Major League Lacrosse games. In March 2007, both agreed on a contract that will run until the 2016 season.^[3]

Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a program that featured interviews with popular sports figures, had averaged extremely low ratings,^[4][5] and had also faced several time slot changes, until it was finally canceled in January 2007.

High definition[link]

A 720p high definition simulcast of ESPN2 launched in January 2005. Originally branded as 'ESPN2HD, the channel airs at least 8.5 hours per day of high definition programming (not including live event coverage). As with ESPNHD, ESPN2HD uses stylized pillarboxes during programming not produced in widescreen.

In January 2011, the separate ESPN2HD branding began to be phased out, as in May 2011, the channel would shift to using the widescreen format on both its high definition and standard definition feeds (through letterboxing).

Simulcasting[link]

ESPN2 has also simulcast many games with ESPN, usually as a part of a ESPN Full Circle special, which covers a single telecast across several ESPN networks, with each network providing a different form of coverage (such as different camera angles).

ESPN2 also simulcasts some ESPNews programming, often during local blackouts, and for a while provided a Sunday simulcast of ESPN Deportes' SportsCenter. In return, ESPN2 is often seen on ESPN during local blackouts.

ESPN2 also often carries SportsCenter on days where the regular ESPN broadcast is overrun by a longer than expected sporting event. ESPN and ESPN2 also jointly aired 2 episodes of a documentary special called This is SportsCenter, where ESPN showed a documentary showing the production of a SportsCenter episode, while the finished product aired on ESPN2.

Both ESPN and ESPN2 carried ABC News coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

ESPN2 also aired the men's basketball SEC Championship Game in 2008 to most of the nation, since a storm damaged the initial site of the tournament, causing the schedule to be rearranged in conflict with CBS's coverage of the Big Ten Championship Game. The game was produced by CBS. In SEC territory, the Big Ten game appeared on ESPN2.

External links[link]

• Official Site

References[link]

Dat Tan Nguyen ( /ˌdæt ˈwɪn/; Vietnamese: Nguyễn Tấn Đạt, pronounced [ŋʷjə̌ˀn tə̌n ɗàːt]) (born September 25, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for Texas A&M University, and earned All-American honors. He played professionally for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, became the first Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL, and was recognized as an All-Pro.

Early years[link]

Nguyen's family left South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War, and he was born in a refugee center in Arkansas. He lived most of his childhood in the Gulf Coast town of Rockport, Texas. At Rockport-Fulton High School, Nguyen played middle linebacker and handled punting duties. Nguyen earned All-State honors as a punter. Nguyen was recruited and received scholarship offers from Michigan, UCLA, Notre Dame, Texas and Florida. Nguyen eventually decided to play closer to home and chose Texas A&M University.

College career[link]

Nguyen attended Texas A&M University, where he played for the Texas A&M Aggies football team from 1995 to 1998. He battled the perception that he was too small to play linebacker for as long as he was involved in the game of football, despite his muscular 5'11", 238-pound frame. Proving critics wrong at an early stage, he finished his college career as the Aggies' career record holder with 51 consecutive starts, 517 career tackles and a 10.7 tackles-per-game average. His 517 career tackles is a Texas A&M record. He is the only Aggie to ever lead the school in tackles for four consecutive years. It is widely acknowledged that Nguyen was the undisputed on-field leader of the famous "Wrecking Crew" defense, as well as being its most famous and decorated player.

In 1995, he was named Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year. From 1996 to 1998, he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors three consecutive times. In 1997, he was named Aggies MVP. In 1998, he was named a consensus All-American by every awarding publication, won the Bednarik Award for College Defensive Player of the Year and the Lombardi Award for Outstanding College Lineman. Nguyen was also selected as a finalist for the Butkus Award eventually becoming first runner-up. Nguyen missed winning the Butkus Award by a single vote out of more than 45 votes cast. It remains to date the closest vote in Butkus Award history. He was named Defensive Player of the Game for the 1998 Cotton Bowl after recording a bowl record 2 tackles including 3 tackles for a loss. Dallas Morning News named him Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year in 1998, and he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Big 12 Conference. He also won the Jack Lambert Award in 1998. In 2005 he was named to the Big 12 Conference's 10th Anniversary Team. In 2010, he was voted on to the AP All-Time Big 12 Team tying with former University of Texas player Derrick Johnson for most votes at linebacker (19 out of 20.) Nguyen is generally acknowledged as the best defensive player in Texas A&M football history and one of the greatest defensive players of all-time in the history of the Big 12 Conference. In 2004, Nguyen was inducted in the Texas A&M Athletics Hall Of Fame.^[1] In April 2007, Nguyen was also inducted into the AT&T Cotton Bowl Hall Of Fame.^[2]

Professional career[link]

Dallas Cowboys[link]

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Nguyen in the third round (85th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. Nguyen made an impact with the Cowboys from the very beginning, leading the team in special-teams stops as a rookie and becoming Dallas' starting middle linebacker in his second season. In 2001, he completed his first full season as a starting NFL middle linebacker and recorded 112 tackles. In 2003, with Nguyen leading the team in tackles, the Cowboys were the most effective defense in the NFL by a very wide margin;^[3] he was selected second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.

Nguyen officially retired from the NFL on March 3, 2006 after a neck injury, which hindered his 2005 performance, failed to improve. He led the team in tackles three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and amassed 516 tackles in seven seasons, despite missing half of two separate seasons to injury.^[4] As of November 2010, Dat Nguyen currently ranks 10th all-time in Cowboys recorded history for career total tackles.^[5]

Coaching career[link]

Dallas Cowboys[link]

In February 2007, Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips announced the hiring of Nguyen as assistant linebackers coach and defensive quality control coach. Along with Phillips' son Wes, Nguyen was the first assistant hired under Phillips.^[6][7] Nguyen left the Cowboys on January 27, 2010.^[8]

Texas A&M[link]

Nguyen was named the inside linebackers coach at Texas A&M University on February 12, 2010.^[9] In Nguyen's first year as the A&M inside linebackers coach, the Aggies went 9-3 in the regular season with wins over nationally ranked Oklahoma and Nebraska as well as wins over Texas and Texas Tech. This marked the first time in school history that A&M had beaten all four of those teams in a single season. The resurgence of the Texas A&M defense to it former glory as "The Wrecking Crew" and particularly the outstanding play of the linebacker corps has been cited as a major reason for team's 2010 season success.

Nguyen helped cement linebacker Von Miller's status in Texas A&M history by coaching him in the 2010 season which led to Miller being awarded the 2010 Butkus Award.

Personal[link]

Nguyen married his college sweetheart, Becky, and they have three daughters. In May 2004, Nguyen was awarded a Golden Torch Award at the Vietnamese American National Gala in Washington, D.C. He was also featured in HBO's Hard Knocks

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dallas Cowboys coaching bio

David Ragan
Born	(1985-12-24) December 24, 1985 (age 26) Unadilla, Georgia, United States
Awards	2007 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
194 race(s) run over 7 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 34 (Front Row Motorsports)
2011 position	23rd
Best finish	13th - 2008
First race	2006 Dover 400 (Dover)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2011 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 31 2
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
99 race(s) run over 8 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 27 (GC Motorsports International)
2011 position	133rd
Best finish	4th – 2008
First race	2004 Ford 300 (Homestead)
Last race	2012 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 (Texas)
First win	2009 Aaron's 312 (Talladega)
Last win	2009 Food City 250 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 46 2
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
29 race(s) run over 3 year(s)
Best finish	24th – 2006
First race	2004 O'Reilly 400K (Texas)
Last race	2006 Casino Arizona 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 8 1
Statistics current as of May 24, 2012.

David Ragan, (born December 24, 1985), is an American stock car driver. Residing in Huntersville, North Carolina,^[1] he currently drives the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Ragan was born in Unadilla, Georgia, the son of former racer Ken Ragan, and began his racing career racing in the Bandolero Series at age 12. Four years later, he began competing in the Goody’s Dash Series with Cam Strader. After one year, he moved to the Legends Pro-Division to race for Mark Martin. He concluded the season by finishing fourth in the point standings. At age 18, Ragan began racing in the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and the ARCA Racing Series.

In 2007, he moved the Sprint Cup Series, driving for Roush Fenway Racing. Between 2007 and 2011, he has recorded 30 top-tens in the series.

On July 2, 2011, David Ragan won his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup series race, the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Career[link]

1996–2002[link]

Ragan was born in Unadilla, Georgia in December 1985, the son of former racer, Ken Ragan.^[2] Ragan started his racing career in the Bandolero Series at age 12. During the following year, he managed to win twelve races and the National Championship. In 1999, he won the National Championship for the second time. In 2001, Ragan began racing in the Goody’s Dash Series with Cam Strader. During the season, the two built late models for Ragan to use in 2002. In 2002, he began racing in the Legends Pro-Division for Mark Martin. At the end of the season, he finished fourth in the final point standings.^[2]

2003–2006[link]

David Ragan's No. 6 in 2007

At age 18, Ragan moved to the Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series), as well as the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) and the ARCA Racing Series. During his first career start in the ARCA Series, he qualified in the second position, but failed to finish the race after having tire failure.^[1] His first race in the Craftsman Truck Series was at Texas Motor Speedway, where he qualified 28th and finished in the 20th position for Fiddleback Racing. During the season, he failed to qualify for one race, and failed to finished six of the ten races he participated in.^[3] Ragan also participated in one Busch Series race at Homestead Miami Speedway, finishing 31st, after starting 36th.^[4] In the following season, he participated in Roush Racing: Driver X as the co-driver of the number 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford F-150 in the Truck Series. After participating in 19 events in the series, he recorded one top-five, eight top-ten finishes, and earned one pole position.^[1]

Also in 2005, Ragan participated in three Busch Series events,^[5] as well as 19 ARCA Racing Series events, where he managed to win one race, and record three pole positions, eight top-five and 11 top-ten finishes.^[6] During the 2006 season, he participated in three Busch Series events,^[7] and two Nextel Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) events.^[8] He also participated in 19 Truck Series events, where he recorded two pole positions, one top-five and eight top-ten finishes.^[9]

2007–2012[link]

Ragan's car in the garage preparing for the 2009 Pep Boys Auto 500.

For the 2007 season, Ragan moved to the Nextel Cup Series as the driver of the number 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. He also participated for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year standings in both Nextel Cup and Busch Series, where he managed to finished second in the Nextel Cup Series, while winning the award in the Busch Series.^[2] During the Cup season, Ragan recorded two top-five finishes, with one being in the 2007 Daytona 500, and three top-tens, finishing 23rd in the point standings.^[10][11] During the Busch Series season, he earned two pole positions, four top-five and nine top-ten finishes, while finishing fifth in point standings.^[10][12] Also in 2007, he participated in one ARCA Racing Series event, where he managed to finish in the fourth position.^[13]

In 2008, he raced in the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, as well as in two ARCA Racing Series events. In the Cup season, he recorded six top-five and 14 top-ten finishes, while finishing 13th in the final point standings. During the Nationwide season, he managed to get seven top-fives and 21 top-ten finishes. Ragan clinched fourth in the final point standings. One year later in 2009, he participated in only the Cup Series and the Nationwide Series. During the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, he recorded two top-ten finishes and finished 27th in the point standings. However, in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, he won two races, and earned five top-fives and 15 top-ten finishes, while finishing 18th in points.^[10]

During 2010, he only participated in the Sprint Cup Series. He recorded only three top-five finishes and finished 24th in points once the season concluded.^[2] In 2011, he began the year almost winning the Daytona 500, but he got penalized for moving lanes before he crossed the line on the restart with two laps to go.^[10] On May 21, 2011, he won the Sprint All-Star Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway, passing Brad Keselowski with two laps to go.

He won the Coke Zero 400 on July 2, 2011 for his first career Sprint Cup win. He was elgible to compete in the "wild card" to get himself into the chase. After bad finishes a few weeks before the final race before the chase at Richmond, he finished 4th but was 54 points away from 13th to put himself into a chase position. At the end of the 2011 season UPS, Ragan’s primary sponsor on the Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford, announced that they would no longer sponsor the #6 and that the company would scale back it’s racing program next season. Leaving the number 6 team without sponsorship and ultimately forced the camp to shut down, making Roush Fenway Racing a 3 car team for the 2012 season.

In January 2012, Ragan signed with Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 34 Ford for the team in 2012.^[14] He will also drive for GC Motorsports International in the season-opening Nationwide Series event at Daytona.^[15]

Sprint Cup Series statistics[link]

Data as of January 29, 2012^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• David Ragan at Racing Reference