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

Frank Caliendo
Caliendo performing impressions in March 2009.
Birth name	Frank Caliendo
Born	(1974-01-19) January 19, 1974 (age 38) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up comedy, television
Nationality	American
Years active	2000–present
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Impersonations, popular culture
Influences	Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams[1], Dana Carvey
Spouse	Michele Caliendo, 2 kids Joe and Juliet Caliendo
Notable works and roles	Frank TV Fox NFL Sunday
Website	frankcaliendo.com

Frank Caliendo (born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian and impressionist, best known for his work on the Fox Network television series MADtv, and as the in-house prognosticator for Fox NFL Sunday. In 2007 and 2008, he performed his impersonations on his own show, Frank TV, which aired on TBS. He is known for his impressions of Charles Barkley, NFL color commentator John Madden, sportscaster Jim Rome, comedian Robin Williams, actor William Shatner, and United States Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and for his frequent appearances on The Bob & Tom Show. He has released six solo CDs, and has performed as many as 120 impressions. From 2009 to 2011 he had a show at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He now tours.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Caliendo was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he attended Waukesha South High School. He is of Italian ancestry.^[2] Before graduating from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Caliendo began performing stand-up comedy at many different local night clubs and comedy clubs, eventually taking a job as a master of ceremonies at a local comedy club. Frank quickly became known for his spot on impressions of Colombo, the Seinfeld crew, Jonathan Winters, and many more which he mastered while bedridden after a painful back surgery. Within just a few short years, he was very active on the college circuit, putting thousands of miles on a beater of a car. During these years, he built a reputation as one of the circuit's top performers. Between 2000-2001, Caliendo made his television debut on sketch comedy series Hypeand later gaining significant national exposure on the comedy series MADtv.

Caliendo has performed stand-up on such series as cable's Premium Blend, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The View, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties in 2004.

His signature 'John Madden' impression is frequently seen on Fox NFL Sunday, The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Mohr Sports. Caliendo has also appeared on Comedy Central's Comedy Central Presents, as well as many radio shows, including the WDVE Morning Show with Jim Krenn and Randy Bauman in Pittsburgh PA, The Dan Le Batard Show, The Junkies, Bob & Sheri, The Bob & Tom Show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Opie and Anthony, The Don and Mike Show, Rise Guys, Bubba the Love Sponge, The John Boy and Billy Big Show, The Howard Stern Show, Mike and the Mad Dog, Elliot in the Morning, The Sports Inferno, The Rick and Bubba Show, The Roe Conn Show, Preston and Steve, The Glenn Beck Program, and Holmberg's Morning Sickness, and Lamont & Tonelli on 107.7 The Bone in San Francisco.

[edit] Frank TV

For two short seasons, Caliendo starred on Frank TV, his own sketch show on the TBS that began airing in November 2007. Frank was its host and performed in sketches in full makeup as characters he impersonated. Frank joked that he "wanted the show to be called 'The Chappelle Show,' but the lawyers wouldn't allow it," referring to the publicity he would likely receive from naming his show after another popular comedian.

In early 2008, TBS announced that they ordered eight more episodes, which ran later that year.^[3] The show ended after the fifteenth episode, which aired on December 23, 2008.

[edit] MADtv

Caliendo officially joined the cast of MADtv in 2001 as a repertory performer, for the seventh season, and as MADtv's equivalent to Saturday Night Live's Darrell Hammond. In 2002, Caliendo replaced Will Sasso as the impersonator of George W. Bush, but he won audience members over with an offbeat impersonation of former Fox sports announcer John Madden and also many other Fox personalities. Both became some of the cast member's most popular impressions on MADtv, and were featured quite prominently during his tenure. Frank also did the announcing for the best of scenes on the MADtv season 1 DVD, and the announcing for the Season 2 DVD release which was cancelled due to poor sales of the first season DVD.

In August 2006, Caliendo announced he would not return to MADtv for its 2006-2007 season.

[edit] Fox NFL Sunday

On November 5, 2000, Caliendo appeared on Fox NFL Sunday, as a guest to comedian Jimmy Kimmel. He performed his increasingly noteworthy John Madden impression and was well-received. He returned again the same season on January 7 during the playoffs.

In 2001 and 2002, Caliendo returned as a semi-regular guest on Fox NFL Sunday. He frequently appeared impersonating Madden or occasionally as pundit Jim Rome during some of Kimmel's prognostication skits. At times he appeared live in the studio with the main hosts.

In 2003, Kimmel departed the program, and Caliendo was named his permanent replacement. As the prognosticator for the NFL on Fox, he gives his predictions ("Cold Hard Picks") for the day's NFL games. Typically these come during a skit (usually a one-man skit), where he does one of his famous impersonations. For example, for the first week's Fox NFL Sunday of the 2006 NFL season, he impersonated James Brown, who left the show in the off-season to join The NFL Today on CBS. He also imitates all the panelists of Fox NFL Sunday on occasion, most frequently Terry Bradshaw.

[edit] The Comebacks

Caliendo appeared in the 2007 film The Comebacks. He impersonates John Madden and Al Michaels in the championship game between the Comebacks and The Unbeatables. His Character is "Chip Imitation".

White House Correspondent's Dinner[link]

Caliendo’s impression of President George W. Bush earned him an invitation to perform during the 2007 annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

[edit] The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008

During The Comedy Festival Caliendo hosted a special called The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008 where, from Caesars Palace, Caliendo introduced the top ten list for funniest films of 2008 based on an Internet poll.

Television and film appearances[link]

In addition he has been a frequent guest of the Fox News Channel show Huckabee.

Discography[link]

• Make the Voices Stop (2002)
• Frank on the Radio (2003)
• Frank on the Radio 2, Volume 1 (2007)
• Frank on the Radio 2, Volume 2 (2007)
• All Over the Place (2008)
• National Lampoon Live: Unleashed (2009)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Frank Caliendo at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank Caliendo at AllRovi
• Official website
• Official MADtv site