Seen on Screen: NBA Christmas Day Brings Five Games to ESPN, ABC; NCAA Championships Continue With FCS Playoff Semifinals
Story Highlights
by Wilson Sy, Editorial Assistant
NBA’s five-game Christmas Day matchup will continue this season beginning at noon ET. The jerseys and socks to be worn for the league will take a unique approach to highlight on of the league’s biggest days of the year. The sleeves and player nicknames of the past will no longer be worn as the NBA has gone back to sleeveless tops, and has adopted a classic feel with the scripted names on player’s jerseys. Another unique showcase will be the league utilizing a game-day ball that presents snowflake accents around the league logo.
The first matchup features Anthony Davis’ New Orleans Pelicans visiting Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat on ESPN. The second game will be the first of a double-header seen on ABC with a 2:30 pm ET matchup with the Chicago Bulls visiting the Oklahoma City Thunder. The main game will feature a finals rematch between two first-place teams in their respectively conference with Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on Stephen Curry and the defending champion, Golden State Warrior at 5:00 pm ET. The last two games are followed by an ESPN double-header with San Antonio taking on Houston at 8:00 pm ET and a showcase in Los Angeles with the Clippers taking on the Lakers at 10:30 pm ET…
…ESPN’s 2015-16 NCAA Championship coverage continues this week with the FCS Playoff semifinals, the Division II and III Football Championship Games, and the Women’s Volleyball Championship finals. The FCS semifinals will feature four-time defending nation champion No. 3 North Dakota State hosting No. 7 Richmond on Fri, Dec. 18 at 8 pm on ESPN2 and No. 1 Jacksonville State hosting Sam Houston State on Sat, Dec. 19 at 4 pm on ESPNU. ESPN will television the FCS Championship Game on January 9, 2016 from Frisco, Texas. ESPNU will television the Division III Football Championship Game from Salem, Virginia on Fri, Dec. 18, at 7 pm and ESPN2 will televise the Division II Football Championship Game from Kansas City, Kan. On Saturday, Dec. 19, at 4pm. ESPN2 will air the Women’s Volleyball final on Saturday, Dec. 19 with No. 3 Texas taking on No. 4 Nebraska at 7:30 pm ET. The Longhorn network will run a 30-minute pregame show at 7:00 pm and post-game show after the match for more coverage on Texas volleyball…
…The College Football Bowl games will begin Saturday, Dec. 19 with a total of 40 games. Saturday, Dec. 19 will feature five games, three watched on ESPN, beginning with the New Mexico Bowl at 2:00 pm ET, followed by the Las Vegas Bowl on ABC at 3:30 ET. The Cure Bowl will be seen on CBS Sports Network at 7 pm ET for the network’s first ever-Pro Bowl beginning with the New Mexico Bowl at 2:00 pm ET on ESPN. The matchups will resume Monday, Dec. 21-24 with seven matchups all on ESPN and six games Saturday, Dec. 26 with CBS televising the Sun Bowl at 2 pm ET and ABC airing the pinstripe Bowl at 3:30 pm ET. The following week starting Dec. 28-Jan. 2, there will be six consecutive days for Bowl action with a double-header in the Championship semifinals starting with the Orange Bowl featuring No. 4 Oklahoma taking on No.1 Clemson on Dec. 31 at 4 pm ET on ESPN followed by the Cotton Bowl with No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Alabama 8 pm ET. The National Championship game will on held on Monday, Jan 11 on ESPN at 7:00 pm ET…
…Fox Sports 1 opens its 2015 holiday marathon lineup with 14 consecutive hours of U.S. OPEN-themed programming, beginning Thursday, Dec. 24th at 9:00 am ET with the 116th U.S. OPEN airing on Fox and FS1 in 2016 from Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, PA on June 16-19. FSI will provide a 17-hour NASCAR marathon, beginning Friday, Dec. 25 starting 6:00 am ET with three consecutive hours of NASCAR RACE HUB: BEST OF THE YEAR and culminating with a replay of the 2-15 Daytona 50. On Saturday, Dec. 26, FS1 will air 14 consecutive events from the 2015 MONSTER JAM monster truck season, beginning at 9:00 AM ET. On News Years Eve, FS1 will offer a selection of live Big East men’s basketball games, beginning with No. 10 Xavier at No. 12 Villanova on at Noon ET and Creighton at St. John’s 2:00 pm ET, followed by the Pac-12 matchup of by the Pac-12 matchup of UCLA at Washington on Friday, Jan. 1 at 11:00 pm ET. In the ring, New Year’s Eve and new Year’s Day are loaded with UFC programming, including a replay of the Chad Mendes vs. Conor McGregor fight on Thursday, Dec 31 at 8:00 pm ET and the live-weight-in for the Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit title bout on Friday, Jan. 1 at 7:00 pm ET in preparation for UFC 195 on Jan. 2, with the Preliminary Card live on FS1…
…NBA TV will televise a record 12 live games from the NBA Development League Showcase 2016, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 1 pm ET with the Idaho Stampede taking on the Canton Charge. The five-day showcase will feature each of the league’s 19 teams playing two regular-season games apiece. The 13th annual event will resume with a full four-game NBA TV slate on Thursday, Jan. 7, with games at 1 pm, 3:30 pm, 8 pm and 10:30 pm and two games per day from Jan 8-Jan 10 at 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm ET. The network will also provide tape-delayed coverage…
…MSG Network will reprise its “Knickmas” 24-hour marathon on Thursday, Dec. 24 (12 noon ET). Host Walt Frazier will kick it from his NYC apartment with ex-Knicks stars John Starks and Larry Johnson. MSG will also show 60-minute versions of Knicks games from this season.(Cynopsis Sports)
