NFL Network to nationally televise rescheduled Jets-Giants game live Saturday at 2 PM ET

“Around the League” whip-around show featuring LIVE look-ins on 9 games follows at 7:30 PM ET

The New York Jets at New York Giants preseason Week 3 matchup rescheduled for 2:00 PM ET Saturday, August 27 will air LIVE on NFL Network (except in the New York market where it will be broadcast over-the-air on WNBC Channel 4).

The game was moved to 2:00 PM ET due to the possibility of severe weather conditions caused by Hurricane Irene.

NFL Network will show WNBC’s telecast with Bob Papa and Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson calling the action on a game with storylines that include Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress facing his former team for the first time. Former Giants tight end Howard Cross and Bruce Beck are sideline reporters.

NFL Network’s live preseason game coverage continues Saturday at 7:30 PM as host Rich Eisen and analysts Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp provide live look-ins of nine games on Around the League: Preseason 2011.
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Fans are back to NFL.com Fantasy Football

NFL.com Fantasy Seeing Record Growth:
More than 50% Increase in Signups

 World’s Only NFL Fantasy Game with Video Now
Including Instant In-Game Highlights

“NFL Fantasy Ultimate Experience” Offers Fantasy
Prizes only the NFL can make a Reality

 NFL.COM FANTASY FOOTBALL, the official game of the NFL, is setting record numbers as fans get back to football, with a more than 50% increase in signups to date this year.  For the first time, NFL.com fantasy players will have access to exclusive NFL video with instant in-game highlights. Once a big play happens, the video highlight will appear on your screen as quickly as 30 seconds.

 “Fans are choosing NFL.com Fantasy Football because when you want the NFL, you go to the NFL,” said JEFF BERMAN, GM of NFL Digital Media. “Fantasy players want everything instant and NFL.com is the only home for immediate highlights anywhere online. No other fantasy game can offer anything close.”

 In addition to instant video, NFL.com is offering a suite of new and enhanced functionality and research, including:

• First-to-the-fan official injury information detailing practice status, game status and active/inactive information an hour before a game starts
• Tracking of player Targets and Touches to predict the next breakout star
• Advanced “RedZone Opportunity” analysis to select the top performers
• In-depth Fantasy Points Against (FPA) information
• Drag-and-drop roster changes
• Additional trends and research to assist in managing the best possible team throughout the season

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NFL donates $1M to MLK Memorial Foundation

Washington, D.C. (August 26, 2011) – The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation’s leadership today announced a $1 million gift from the National Football League and NFL Charities.  The gift will support the memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. honoring Dr. King, which will be officially dedicated this fall.

“We are extremely humbled by the million dollar gift from the NFL owners and the NFL’s charitable foundation,” said Harry E. Johnson, Sr., president and CEO of the Memorial Foundation. “This NFL gift moves us one step closer to our $120 million fundraising goal.  The NFL has been a close ally of our Project in Washington, DC as well as a strong supporter for more than two decades of the national holiday in Dr. King’s honor on the third Monday each January.  We are proud the NFL has joined with us to create the first memorial on the National Mall celebrating a man of hope, a man of peace, and a man of color.” 

The National Football League is the largest major professional sports league in this country with 32 teams in 23 states.  The NFL kicks off its 92^nd season on Thursday, September 8 when the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers play host to the New Orleans Saints.

“We are pleased to join our fellow Americans in saluting Dr. King, his legacy and his vision of America,” says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  “The Memorial is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man who dedicated his life to ensure freedom, equality and opportunity for all.  We in the NFL believe that professional football is the ultimate meritocracy.  NFL players are measured strictly by their performance on the field regardless of race, religion or economic background.  Our league offers more than 2,500 job opportunities on the field each season to young men as players, coaches and game officials.  We also employ thousands more men and women in our NFL offices and at the 32 clubs.  In the spirit of Dr. King, we work vigorously to maintain an inclusive environment where everyone can reach their fullest potential.  We are proud to have our name associated with Dr. King.”
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NFL Statement: Jets-Giants moved to 2:00 PM ET

Due to the possibility of severe weather conditions caused by Hurricane Irene, the kickoff time for Saturday’s Jets-Giants game has been moved to 2:00 PM ET. After consulting with both teams and local authorities, the decision was made to allow sufficient time for fans, teams and stadium staff to return home before the potentially severe weather is expected to arrive.

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Four national TV games highlight Week 3 of NFL preseason

Week 3 of the NFL preseason features four games on national TV.

The action starts on Thursday night, August 25, when the Washington Redskins visit the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium (8:00 PM ET, ESPN). On Friday, CBS will bring NFL fans a matchup between the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts from Lucas Oil Stadium (8:00 PM ET). The Detroit Lions will host the New England Patriots on Saturday night (8:00 PM ET, CBS) at Ford Field. And the week concludes in Oakland on Sunday when the Raiders host the New Orleans Saints (8:00 PM, NBC).

For the complete release click here.

Showtime & NFL Films sign multi-year extension for Emmy Award-winning Inside the NFL

Season Four on SHOWTIME^® Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

NEW YORK (Aug. 23, 2011) – INSIDE THE NFL, the Emmy Award-winning NFL studio show, returns to SHOWTIME for a fourth consecutive season on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT to kick off a multi-year extension announced today. The announcement was made jointly by Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President, General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports^®, Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports and Executive Producer, THE NFL ON CBS and INSIDE THE NFL, and Steve Bornstein, Executive Vice President of NFL Media.

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the NFL and NFL Films,” said Hershman. “INSIDE THE NFL is the crown jewel of SHOWTIME Sports. From the breathtaking highlights and compelling features to heated debate on the most provocative issues in football, INSIDE THE NFL stands alone as the best sports highlights and analysis program on television.”

“We are looking forward to continuing to produce INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME,” said McManus. “The CBS Sports team takes great pride in advancing this Emmy Award-winning show, which continues in its unique style and has been highly acclaimed for more than three decades.”

“Emmy Award-winning INSIDE THE NFL has enjoyed a successful run on SHOWTIME,” said Bornstein. “We are proud to extend our partnership.”
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Raiders choose Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor in NFL Supplemental Draft

The Oakland Raiders today selected Ohio State quarterback TERRELLE PRYOR in the NFL Supplemental Draft.

The Raiders selected Pryor with the 18th pick in the third round and as a result will forego their third-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Pryor passed for 6,177 yards and rushed for 2,164 yards, accounting for 76 touchdowns (57 passing, 17 rushing and two receiving) in his three-year collegiate career. Pryor was a three-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection and led Ohio State to a Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl victory as a sophomore in 2009.

The supplemental draft was conducted electronically today from NFL headquarters in New York. There were no other players selected.

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NFL Films & NBC Sports Group present NFL Turning Point — a new weekly series on Versus

NFL Turning Point Debuts Thurs., September 15, at 10 p.m. ET/PT

First NFL Program Ever on VERSUS

NEW YORK – August 22, 2011 – Every game has a turning point and NFL Films and the NBC Sports Group are partnering to cover that crucial moment for football fans in a more in-depth way than ever before by launching a new one-hour program, NFL Turning Point, that will air weekly on VERSUS during the NFL regular season. It is the first NFL program ever to air on VERSUS, which will be re-named the NBC Sports Network on January 2. The announcement was made today by NFL Films President Steve Sabol and Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group.

Each week, NFL Films will utilize its unprecedented access to cover two games in its traditional behind-the-scenes, award-winning style. The crucial moment in each game — its turning point — will be examined in-depth and from all angles using NFL Films’ unmatched cinematography, sideline and on-field audio as well as postgame access to players and coaches.

“Showcasing the sounds and images of the game, from the smallest detail to the big picture has been our strength for nearly 50 years,” said Sabol. “We are thrilled to get an opportunity to produce that type of show with a new partner in VERSUS.”

The new program debuts Thursday, September 15, at 10 p.m. ET/PT and airs a new episode at that time every week through November 3. Beginning on November 10, when Thursday night NFL games begin on NFL Network, new episodes of NFL Turning Point will air at midnight ET.

“NFL Turning Point is symbolic of the high-quality, relevant programming viewers will see more of on our national, all-sports cable platform,” said Lazarus. “It unites two of sports’ premier storytellers in NBC Sports and NFL Films to bring viewers a new perspective on the game.”

NFL Turning Point will often include games featuring teams that are playing against each other the upcoming week on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, providing additional promotion for the No. 1 primetime show of the fall.

Week 2 of NFL Preseason features six national TV games

Football is back. Last week, 16 games kicked off the return of the NFL. Now, it’s on to Week 2 of the preseason and the schedule is full of excitement. Six games will be featured on national TV, starting with the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night (August 18, 8:00 PM ET, FOX) and concluding with the New York Giants hosting the Chicago Bears in primetime on Monday (August 22, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN).

For the complete Preseason Week 2 NFL preview, click here.

Supplemental Draft rescheduled for Monday, August 22

The Supplemental Draft, originally scheduled for August 17, has been rescheduled for Monday, August 22 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The following six players have been declared eligible for selection in the Supplemental Draft:

No other applications for the Supplemental Draft will be accepted.

In addition to being notified that Terrelle Pryor may be selected in the Supplemental Draft, NFL clubs were informed that Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft.  Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules.  This resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.  Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft.  Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules.

In his decision allowing Pryor to enter the Supplemental Draft, Commissioner Roger Goodell determined that Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs.  Pryor may be selected in the Supplemental Draft, negotiate and sign a contract with an NFL club, and fully participate in the remainder of the preseason.

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