The clock is clicking. The Clipboard National Chan’ship Tournament is less than a week away. Contacts have been made with the various game sites and media outlets. Wanted to let everyone know what’s going on. These details could affect choices made in the coming weeks.
ESPN will cover two of the first-round games. Chris Fowler gets the call for the 1-seed versus the 16-seed. Kirk Herbstreit will be on hand for analysis, and Erin Andrews will work the sidelines at the Georgia Dome.
Ron Franklin will do play-by-play as ESPN2 broadcasts the 3-seed/ 14-seed game. Ed Cunningham’ll work analysis and Dr. Jerry Punch roams the sidelines. Qualcomm stadium in San Diego is the setting for this matchup.
CBS grabbed coverage of two first-round battles. The Liberty Bowl in Memphis will be the scene of the 2-seed/15-seed encounter. Tim Brando will call the action as Spencer Tillman adds commentary. Alan Zemaitis will make his first-ever appearance as sideline reporter. Verne Lundquist will call the eight-nine match-up. Gary Danielson will add color, and Tracy Wolfson will report from on the field at Vanderbilt Stadium.
ABC will cover the 4-seed/13-seed game at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando and the 5/ 12 battle at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Gary Thorne, Andre Ware, and Todd Harris will be on site in Orlando. Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire, and Stacey Dales will call the action from Tampa.
Finally, Fox Sports will televis the 6/ 11 match-up from the Independence Bowl in Shreveport and the 7/10 game from the Alamo Dome in San Antonio. Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez,Charles Davis, and Chris Myers will call the action from Louisiana. Matt Vasgersian, Pat Haden, Terry Donahue, and Laura Okain supply the coverage from the Lone Star state.
Las Vegas lobbied hard for a game. After the NBA All-Star game, we opted for an alternative. Boise St. made their pitch, but our research showed that the blue rug detracts viewership.
If you haven’t ranked your teams, it’s not too late. Join the fun. You can list ‘em with this article or with the previous post pertaining to the Clipboard National Chan’ship.
I was getting ready to bash those of you who included BYU in the top 16. I originally thought their schedule was way too easy. After taking a second look, they are far more deserving than some of the others. But I can’t figure it out – those of you who included BYU in your polls, who did you leave out in their favor???
Reynell,
I think that for those that included BYU, left Boise State off their list.
I bounced Arizona St. After they lost two of their last four – including embarrassing themselves at home against the Men of Troy- they lost my vote. The Sun Devils also squeaked out victories against UCLA and Arizona at the end of the year.
Not gonna lie – I was looking for any possible opportunity to replace a ‘power-conference’ team with a ‘non-power-conference’ team. Didn’t want to overdo it.
For the purpose of improving college pigskin more teams from the supposed lower conferences need to have a chance. Alas I will leave that for another post.
When you guys get a chance, welcome Chas to the Clipboard. He weighed in on the National Chan’ship AND a profound rebuttal to the Hall of Fame cont. discussion.
Casey
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