Seen on Screen: NFL Films To Air ‘Super Bowl 50: Before They Were Pros’ Special; CBS Sports Plans Multiplatform Coverage of National Signing Day

by Alicia Montanaro, Editorial Assistant

NFL Films’ one-hour Super Bowl 50: Before They Were Pros special — inspired by the season-long Super Bowl High School Honor Roll Campaign — will air on CBS on Sunday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The program, which kicks off CBS’ Super Bowl Sunday pregame show, highlights the impact of high school football across America. It follows current and former NFL players who made it to the Super Bowl, such as Boomer Esiason and Eli Manning, as they go back to the communities that helped shape them. In addition to its airtime, Super Bowl High School Honor Roll will also be featured in various places throughout the week, including the Super Bowl Media Center with a special screening of Super Bowl 50: Before They Were Pros. The Super Bowl High School Honor Roll program will become an annual tradition, as every high school that produces a player or head coach in the game will be recognized…

…As Super Bowl 50 rapidly approaches, YouTube is celebrating the game’s commercials with the return of its AdBlitz site. This year’s AdBlitz already carries teasers promoting various companies’ Super Bowl ads, as well as promos for original content entitled How to Win Game Day, hosted by online personalities Jake and Amir. As the Panthers-Broncos matchup inches closer, the site will host Super Bowl ads released ahead of time. When all of the commercials are readily available after the game, AdBlitz will provide fans with a concise place to view them and vote for their favorite ad…

…CBS Sports will provide coverage of college football’s National Signing Day across CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Digital platforms on Wednesday, Feb. 3. On CBS Sports Network, recruiting expert Tom Lemming will be joined by former Miami coach Al Golden, as well as analysts Aaron Taylor and Houston Nutt. CBS Sports National Signing Day begins with a two-hour show from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon ET on CBS Sports Network, featuring host Adam Zucker, as well as Golden, Nutt, Taylor, and Lemming. Respectively, CBS Sports Digital will deliver a seven-hour live streaming show titled National Signing Day Live from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET…

…ESPN announced on Wednesday, Jan. 27, two game selections for its Sunday Night Baseball schedule for May. On May 15, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Adrian Gonzalez will host the St. Louis Cardinals and Matt Holiday. On May 22, the San Francisco Giants and Buster Posey will host the Chicago Cubs and Anthony Rizzo. Dan Shulman will be joined by new analyst duo Jessica Mendoza and Aaron Boone, as well as reporter Buster Olney for the broadcasts. Sunday Night Baseball telecasts begin at 8:00 p.m. ET and are also available on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, and via WatchESPN…

…The University of Michigan Athletic Department, in partnership with The Players’ Tribune and Carhartt, will hold the event, “Signing of the Stars,” at Hill Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET. The event, which doubles as an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the Chad Tough Foundation, will serve as Michigan’s official announcement for the student-athletes who will be attending the University of Michigan and playing football for the Wolverines this fall. Michigan’s J. Ira and Nick Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh and a celebrity cast will introduce the signees. A live-stream of “Signing of the Stars” can be found on The Players’ Tribune website, along with additional coverage on the various Michigan Athletic Department digital platforms…

…ESPN2 televised the two-hour 2016 Pro Bowl Draft from Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii, on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Monday Night Football voice Mike Tirico hosted the two-hour show with ESPN boothmate and Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, along with Hall of Fame wide receivers Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice. The show resembled a NFL Draft team meeting, as the announcers discussed which players to select for the competing Pro Bowl teams. In addition, ESPN’s presentation of the Pro Bowl Draft included four first-person features from veterans of Wheeler and Pearl Harbor. The 2016 Pro Bowl, hosted by ESPN’s MNF team, aired on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN on Sunday, Jan. 31…

…Interviews, analysis, breakdowns, and highlights were featured throughout NHL Network’s live coverage of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from Jan. 29-31. Anchored by Jamie Hersch, Tony Luftman, and Kathryn Tappen, NHL Network’s NHL Tonight provided live coverage before and after the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition and the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game. At 6:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 29, a special edition of NHL Tonight aired featuring a roundtable discussion with Luftman, Rupp, Stevens, and Weekes on today’s brightest NHL star. On Saturday, Jan. 30 at 5:00 p.m. ET, NHL Tonight’s All-Star Skills Competition coverage began with predictions and player interviews from the red carpet. The following day, on Sunday, Jan. 31, the NHL Tonight crew prepared viewers for the Honda NHL All-Star Game with live pre-game coverage, followed later by a post-game that included highlights, breakdowns of key plays, and player interviews…

…ESPNU televised Reese’s Senior Bowl practices live from Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL, on Jan. 27 and 28, with eight hours of live coverage highlighting top prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft. More than 90 NFL Draft eligible players, including eight quarterbacks, participated in this year’s annual showcase. The North team was coached by the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff and the South by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Analyzing the practice sessions for the two teams were ESPN NFL Draft experts Todd McShay and Kevin Weidl, NFL analysts Bill Polian and Louis Riddick, and college football specialist Joey Galloway. The event coverage also included mic’d up coaches, as well as featured interviews with NFL Personnel…

…WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith Thurman will defend his title against former champ Shawn Porter in a blockbuster matchup of two of the world’s best 147-pound fighters on Saturday, March 12, at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Uncasville, CT. The event will be aired on “Showtime Championship Boxing” on CBS at 8:30 p.m. ET, acting as the first primetime boxing event on the network since Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks on Feb. 15, 1978. With champion Floyd Mayweather now retired, Thurman and Porter are both looking to stake their claim as the future of boxing…

…Campus Insiders provided the first-ever live stream of the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The event was the 14th annual marching band showcase for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and featured the top marching bands representing eight different universities: Alabama A&M University, Alcorn State University, Bethune Cookman University, Lincoln University, Prairie View A&M University, South Carolina State University, and Tennessee State University. Each school had their travel expenses and accommodations paid for, in addition to receiving a $20,000 program grant from Honda. The event was streamed live on CampusInsiders.com, the Campus Insiders mobile app, the go90 app, and on Campus Insiders’ connected TV platforms…

…MAVTV and Lucas Oil’s newly launched worldwide app, LucasOilRactingTV, is expanding coverage of Stock Car racing in 2016 with the addition of six Super Cup Stock Car Series (SCSCS) events. MAVTV coverage includes the SCSCS series opener from Columbus, OH, on Saturday, June 18, followed by a doubleheader on July 9 from Jennerstown Speedway in Jennerstown, PA, before revisiting Jennerstown Speedway on Aug. 27. The SCSCS season points finales will be held at Motordome Speedway in Smithton, PA, on Saturday, September 17. Each MAVTV/SCSCS telecast, produced by Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions of Indianapolis, will run 30 minutes in duration. Air dates and times will be announced at a later date…