Monday, Dec. 28
12:00 NHL Live
4:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Canada vs. Switzerland
8:00 NHL On the Fly

Tuesday, Dec. 29
12:00 NHL Live
4:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Latvia vs. USA
6:00 LIVE World Junior Chmapionship: Sweden vs. Russia
8:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Canada vs. Slovakia
10:30 NHL On the Fly

Wednesday, Dec. 30
12:00 NHL Live
4:00 NHL Power Play
6:30 Pond Hockey: A Documentary Film
8:00 Qwest Tour: USA vs. Canada
10:30 NHL On the Fly

Thursday, Dec. 31
11:00 NHL Winter Classic Practice Coverage (Followed by an encore at 3:30)
8:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: USA vs. Canada
10:30 NHL On the Fly

Friday, Jan. 1
11:00 NHL On the Fly: 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic Pregame
4:30 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic Postgame
8:30 NHL On the Fly

Saturday, Jan. 2
5:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Quarterfinal #1
8:00 NHL On the Fly
9:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Quarterfinal #2
11:30 NHL On the Fly

Sunday, Jan. 3
5:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Semifinal #1
8:00 NHL On the Fly
9:00 LIVE World Junior Championship: Semifinal #2
11:30 NHL On the Fly

From their website:

Chicago, IL (December 24, 2009) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of the NHL Western Conference/Central Division first place Chicago Blackhawks, delivered its highest Blackhawks regular season rating ever last night (Wed, December 23) — a 3.27 household rating for its live coverage of the Blackhawks “Original Six” road battle against the rival Detroit Red Wings.

For last night’s thrilling 3-0 shutout victory by the Blackhawks, Comcast SportsNet attracted approx. 114,500 households for the entire game and posted a 4.72 peak rating during the 8:45 PM quarter-hour (165,247 households).  The 3.27 single game regular season ratings record on Comcast SportsNet shatters the previous record set earlier this month on December 9 vs. the New York Rangers (3.03).  Source for all ratings information is provided by Nielsen Media Research overnights.

Comcast SportsNet was also the #1-highest rated television network in the Chicago market last night in the male demos of Men 18-34, Men 18-49 & Men 25-54 for the entire length of the game (6:30-9:15 PM).  Comcast SportsNet was also #1 overall in the market in the key advertiser demo of Adults 25-54 from 8:30-9:15 PM.

So far this season, the Blackhawks on Comcast SportsNet are currently averaging a 1.98 household rating, a year-to-date increase of 83% compared to last season through 23 telecasts.  In addition, Chevy Blackhawks Pre-Game Live ratings are up 107% year-to-date, while Smirnoff Vodka Blackhawks Post Game Live ratings have increased 83%.  Comcast SportsNet’s next Blackhawks telecast airs Saturday night (December 26) as the Blackhawks visit the division rival Nashville Predators (pre-game coverage gets underway on SportsNite at 6:30 PM, face-off at 7:00 PM).  Viewers can also visit CSNChicago.com for the very latest Blackhawks news, game previews/recaps, blogs, videos and much more.

After last night’s Sharks-Blackhawks broadcast on VERSUS, Billy Jaffe asked a very simple question that got Dan Boyle to essentially emote everything that he felt went wrong with his team that night… in a 3-2 WIN.  It was great television, and Jaffe was terrific in getting out of the way and letting Boyle send the message he wanted to send.  Proof positive that VERSUS can get the hang of this thing.

We’ll see you on Monday with some cheesy, end-of-the-decade schtick and an article we’re working hard on that we think you’ll like.  Plus, debating the ratings of the Winter Classic, and some more good stuff, along with all the classic Puck the Media standards.

Merry Christmas to you all…

NEW YORK (December 23, 2009) – JP Dellacamera will serve as the play-by-play announcer for the NHL Network™ U.S. coverage of the Team USA games during the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26 – Jan. 5 in Regina and Saskatoon, Sask.  Dellacamera replaces Gary Thorne, who will be unable to be part of the broadcast team as previously announced as he attends to a personal matter.

Dellacamera has called thousands of hockey, soccer and collegiate basketball games during more than 30 years of extensive play-by-play experience in radio and television for various networks, including NBC, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, MSG Network, Discovery Network, TNT and CNN/SI.

“JP’s background in hockey and international events makes him a great fit,” said Jody Shapiro, Senior VP & General Manager of NHL Network.  “We wish Gary the best, and hope to work with him in the future.”

Dellacamera’s hockey broadcasting experience includes five seasons as the television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Thrashers; the 2004 World Cup of Hockey for ESPN and ESPN2, and four seasons of calling the Stanley Cup Playoffs for ESPN (1998-2000 and 2004).  The native of Waltham, Mass., has also handled play-by-play for six consecutive men’s soccer World Cups from 1986-2006, and has been the lead announcer on the last four Women’s World Cups.  Dellacamera, Dave Starman and Fred Pletsch will make up the broadcast team for NHL Network’s coverage of Team USA’s games. All other contests televised on NHL Network will utilize a feed from TSN.

NHL Network U.S. will televise every Team USA game, all of the medal-round games and six additional preliminary-round match-ups, bringing the total to 16 games – all in high definition.  It is the third consecutive year NHL Network U.S. is providing coverage of the IIHF World Junior Championship.
NHL Network U.S. Live Game Schedule – 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship

Date	Game	Time (EST)
Sat., Dec. 26	Latvia vs. Canada	4 p.m.
	Czech Republic vs. Sweden	6 p.m.
	Slovakia vs. USA	8 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 27	USA vs. Switzerland	4 p.m.
	Czech Republic vs. Finland	6 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 28	Canada vs. Switzerland	4 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 29	Latvia vs. USA	4 p.m.
	Sweden vs. Russia	6 p.m.
	Canada vs. Slovakia	8 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 31	USA vs. Canada	8 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 2	Quarterfinal #1	5 p.m.
	Quarterfinal #2	9 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 3	Semifinal #1	5 p.m.
	Semifinal #2	9 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 5	Bronze-Medal Game	4 p.m.
	Gold-Medal Game	8 p.m.

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Network is a trademark of the National Hockey League.  NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.  All Rights Reserved.

There’ll be a couple of new things here by day’s end, but that’s it.

I wish you a wonderful holiday, a very merry Christmas.  See you on Monday.

San Jose vs. Chicago, 8PM, VERSUS
Play by Play: John Forslund
Color: Eddie Olczyk
Reporter: Billy Jaffe 

Philadelphia, PA (December 22, 2009) – Comcast SportsNet, the leader in local sports coverage, today announced comprehensive coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers preparations for the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, pitting the Flyers against the Boston Bruins on New Year’s Day in Fenway Park.  Comcast SportsNet will air daily “Countdown To a Classic” reports in SportsNite beginning on Saturday, December 26, plus a 30-minute special recounting the history between the teams and previewing the game, and live game day pre- and postgame shows.

Countdown To A Classic Special
Neil Hartman hosts a 30-minute special on Wednesday, December 30 at 10:30 p.m. Countdown to A Classic delves into the long and often heated rivalry between the Flyers and the Bruins. John Boruk takes viewers on a tour of Fenway Park and its transformation from a ballpark to an outdoor ice rink. Fans will also hear from Winter Classic veterans including the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and the Sabres’ Ryan Miller, who describe their experiences playing in the outdoor game.

Winter Classic Practice Coverage
Comcast SportsNet will air the NHL Network’s NHL on the Fly: 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Practice Coveragefeaturing the Flyers on Thursday, December 31 at 6:30 p.m.  Comcast SportsNet’s John Boruk and Bill Clement will be reporting on the Flyers’ reaction as they take to the ice for the first time, plus provide in-depth analysis of the Flyers-Bruins matchup on New Year’s Day.

New Year’s Day Coverage
Comcast SportsNet will air Flyers Pregame Live beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, January 1. Gregg Murphy will host the program with John Boruk, Bill Clement and Flyers Insider Tim Panaccio reporting live from Boston. Flyers analyst Al Morganti will be live in studio. Immediately after the game, Flyers Postgame Live will hit the air with reaction to this historic game.

Wednesday, December 30
5 p.m.                     Daily News Live
6 p.m.                     SportsNite
6:30 p.m.               Flyers Pregame Live
7 p.m.                     Flyers at Rangers
9:30 p.m.               Flyers Postgame Live
10 p.m.                  SportsNite
10:30 p.m.            Countdown to a Classic Special

Thursday, December 31
5 p.m.                     Daily News Live
6 p.m.                     SportsNite
6:30 p.m.               NHL Network 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Practice Coverage
8 p.m.                     The Orange Line
8:30 p.m.               Building a Memory
9:30 p.m.               Countdown To a Classic Special Replay

Friday, January 1
11 a.m.                  Building a Memory
12:30 p.m.            Flyers Pregame Live
1 p.m.                     NBC: Winter Classic Flyers vs. Bruins
4 p.m.                     Flyers Postgame Live
5 p.m.                     Best of Daily News Live
6 p.m.                     SportsNite


CSNPhilly.com
Flyers Insider Tim Panaccio will be reporting live from Boston beginning on Thursday, December 31, where he will be covering the Winter Classic for Comcast SportsNet’s news programs including SportsNite and Daily News Live. Panaccio’s exclusive stories, videos and photos will also be available online on CSNPhilly.com’s Winter Classic page:
http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/winter_classic

Winter Classic Sweepstakes Winner Announced
Brian Conway of Downingtown, PA was selected from more than 60,000 entries submitted to CSNPhilly.com and won a sweepstakes package that includes: a trip for two to the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, complete with two tickets to the game, travel via Amtrak, two nights hotel accommodations, a Flyers Winter Classic jersey, VIP tickets to the House of Blues New Year’s Eve party and a Winter Survival Gear package. Comcast SportsNet promoted the contest to Flyers fans via social media applications Facebook and Twitter, online advertising and email.

NEW YORK – Dec. 16, 2009 – NBC Sports will broadcast the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, on New Year’s Day, 1 p.m. ET at historic Fenway Park. This marks the third outdoor NHL game played in the United States. Last year’s event at Wrigley Field between the Blackhawks and Red Wings was the most-viewed NHL regular-season game in 34 years.

Bob Costas will host the event for NBC Sports and will be joined for coverage by Mike “Doc” Emrick, (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (game analyst), Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass analyst), and Mike Milbury (studio analyst).

NBC Sports conducted a media conference call today with Costas, Emrick, Milbury, McGuire and Sam Flood (coordinating producer). For a complete replay, dial 719-457-0820 and enter passcode 7945125. Follow are highlights:

COSTAS ON THE BUZZ AROUND THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC: “The buzz for it is like nothing I’ve seen.”

MILBURY, A BOSTON NATIVE, ON THE BUZZ IN BOSTON: “The energy has been building since the announcement. It’s the toughest ticket to get that I have seen in all of my years in Boston, including Bruins playoffs, Red Sox playoffs, Patriots championships and Celtics championships. This is an event. It’s going to be a spectacular event and I’m proud to even be a little bit a part of it.”

COSTAS ON THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC AS AN EVENT: “This really is an event. It attracts a lot of people who don’t necessarily follow hockey closely throughout the course of the year.”

EMRICK ON HOW PAST PLAYERS FEEL ABOUT THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC: “I spoke with Ryan Miller, the goalie from Buffalo just this past fall almost two years after the first Winter Classic. He still has a big smile on his face when he talks about it. And his team didn’t win! Ryan Whitney and Colby Armstrong, now former Penguins, were walking in with the bagpipes and the fire salutes and one tapped the other on the shoulder and said ‘Lifetime memory right here. Take it in.’”

COSTAS ON THE HISTORY OF THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC: “The first one turned out even better than we thought it would. It snowed in Buffalo and was a tremendous atmosphere with that snow globe affect on camera; Sidney Crosby wins it with the winning goal in a shootout. And then we go to Wrigley field last year and the rivalry between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings. And now we take it to Fenway Park.”

FLOOD ON PRODUCING OUTDOORS: “We almost have twice as much equipment as we have for a regular-season NHL game. We have an airplane, which is not normal for a hockey game. For the first game, it was one of those ground breaking moments in TV — a replay from an airplane of a hockey game. It never happened before and can only be duplicated.”

MILBURY ON GROWING UP PLAYING OUTDOORS: “We lived on the ponds. The excitement was there because there was nobody to tell you where to go, where to line up. It was just mayhem. You played until you couldn’t play anymore and were frozen. You maybe brought an orange and broke it open and had that incredible smell of the fresh cold air.”

FLOOD ON THE WEATHER MAN: “It’s an event. It’s much more than a game. It’s the only hockey game in America or the world where you have a weather man working for you. Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel will be there. We’ve had a weather man at every game.”

MILBURY ON THE FREEDOM OF PLAYING OUTDOORS: “The players will be incredibly excited walking into that venue. The whole sense of playing outside is a sense of joy, pure freedom without any restrictions, no rules, no regulations. Just go beat around a puck and try to put it in between two old boots and have some fun.”

EMRICK ON THE PLAYERS: “You should’ve seen Brian Boucher this summer. He’s from Woonsocket, R.I. When he was at Fenway Park for the press conference, you could see in his eye he didn’t want to think anything ill of Ray Emory or anyone else. But he wants to play in this game for the Flyers. We were talking with Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, another New Englander who grew up spending a lot of summers at Fenway Park, and how he’s excited getting to coach a hockey game there. On skates and with this his stick raised to maximum heights, Zdeno Chara can get one third of the way up the Monster. Not bad.”

MILBURY ON FENWAY: “You walk into that place and it’s a museum.”

COSTAS ON HIS FIRST GAME AT FENWAY PARK: “I think it was the Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. I know that John Tudor was pitching for the Red Sox.”

COSTAS ON FENWAY PARK’S HISTORY: “All the history. The idea that someone sat there and watched Babe Ruth pitch or Ted Williams bat or Lefty Grove or Jimmy Fox plus all the visiting players through the years and the specific games and events. Fisk and Dent and the Impossible Dream and Yaz. The only thing missing is that when the Red Sox won the World Series in ‘04 and ‘07, they clinched in St. Louis and then in Colorado so they never had the chance to put the finishing touches on it at Fenway Park.”

COSTAS’ MOST VIVID MEMORY OF FENWAY PARK: “One that stands out the most was Carl Yastrzemski hitting a home run. It wasn’t that important in terms of the context of the game, but it was his last season in the major leagues. It had to be his second- or third-to-last home run in the big leagues. There was something about him that was so timeless. I was doing the game with Tony Kubek and called that home run hit by a guy the first time you saw when you were only 10 or 11 years old. That was pretty cool.”

FLOOD ON CAMERA PLACEMENT: “The camera baskets are designed for a baseball game, not a hockey game, so we spent a lot of time figuring out what the right angles were and what the right places were to put all of our cameras to make the game shine. We also shoot this bigger and wider than a normal game because its about the place as much as the game.”

MILBURY ON THE BRUINS-FLYERS: “Ultimately this game should be a really good hockey game between two teams that should be among the elite of the conference.”

MCGUIRE ON THE BRUINS-FLYERS: “This is going to be a ton of fun. It’s energy on both sides. It’s one team that is clearly desperate to get points in the standings, the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s another team that’s so proud, the Boston Bruins, and the internal leadership that they have with Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Mark Greci. There’s going to be villains on both sides. You’ve got Shawn Thorton with the Boston Bruins and you have Danny Carcillo on the Flyers. You are going to have Scott Hartnell and his wild hair flying all over the place. This game is going to be about energy.”

MILBURY ON THE RIVALRY BETWEEN BRUINS-FLYERS: “This rivalry goes back to the late 1960s, early 1970s and right through that decade in particular. It got its roots there. These were some of the nastiest battles that I’ve ever been involved with. Both teams, in their own way, have adapted to the new rules, but they listen to their fans and kept it constant. They want hard-nosed hockey. They want physical hockey. They want people to show up saying that we want to prove to you that we’re tough players and we’ve come to play every night.”

MCGUIRE ON THE PHYSICALITY OF BRUINS-FLYERS: “When you bring a player like Zdeno Chara into the mix, at 6-9 and a whole lot of nasty, and on the other team guys like Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards and Danny Carcillo, who like to push back, that leads to a lot of physical altercations.”

EMRICK ON HIS HEALTH (HE MISSED LAST YEAR’S GAME WITH LARYNGITIS): “I started on the Vitamin C around Thanksgiving, as I was urged to do by a number of people. It’s worked out pretty well so far. It was quite disappointing to miss it last year.”

NEW YORK – NHL Network™ is providing hockey fans an unprecedented amount of exclusive programming surrounding the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, the much-anticipated outdoor match-up between longtime rivals the Philadelphia Flyers® and Boston Bruins® at Fenway Park, on New Year’s Day.  NHL Network’s planned coverage of this one-of-a-kind event includes a variety of pre- and post-event programming, complete live coverage of the team practices, and special outdoor and pond hockey-themed shows.  For a complete program schedule, visit www.nhlnetwork.com.

On game day, NHL Network’s pre- and post-event coverage includes the NHL On The Fly: 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Pregame Show presented by Vizio at 11:00 a.m. ET and the NHL On The Fly: 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Postgame Show presented by Vizio immediately following the game.  Both programs will be presented in HD.  The live, 90-minute pregame show will preview the game and break down key match-ups.  The postgame show will feature highlights, interviews and press conferences with all the major players.  Also, U.S. Olympic Team General Manager Brian Burke will be on the NHL Network’s Fenway Park set minutes after the U.S. Olympic Team roster is announced.  NHL Network’s hockey experts follow with analysis and a breakdown of what to expect in Vancouver.

NHL Network’s on-site presence at Fenway Park begins on Thursday, December 31, when it televises NHL On The Fly: 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Practice Coverage presented by Vizio at 11:00 a.m. ET.  The network presents four-and-a-half hours of live coverage, all in HD, including both team practices in full, as the Flyers and Bruins hit the ice at Fenway for the first time.

As a special tribute to hockey played outdoors, on Wednesday, December 30 at 6:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network televises Pond Hockey: A Documentary Film.  This celebration of outdoor hockey, lovingly crafted by filmmaker Tommy Haines, centers on the U.S. Pond Hockey Championship in Minneapolis.  The HD documentary features interviews with hockey luminaries like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.

The 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic programming begins Christmas Day when NHL Network televises an outdoor game marathon featuring re-broadcasts of the first two NHL Winter Classics in Buffalo and Chicago as well as outdoor events played in Las Vegas and Edmonton.  The marathon will include behind-the-scenes documentaries on the 2008 and 2009 NHL Winter Classic events.

The special programming on NHL Network continues well after New Year’s Day with special hockey events such as Sun Life Frozen Fenway – the outdoor games between the Northeastern and New Hampshire women’s teams and the Boston College and Boston University men’s teams Jan. 8 at Fenway Park for U.S. viewers.  Both games will be presented in HD.  Also, special encore presentations of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic are scheduled for Saturday, January 9 starting at noon ET, with the NBC telecast followed by the CBC telecast at 2:30 p.m. ET.

From NHL.com:

Boston Bruins center Marc Savard and Philadelphia Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell are guests on the Wednesday, Dec. 23 edition of the Emmy Award-winning “The Price Is Right” (11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET; 10 a.m.-11 a.m. PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Savard and Hartnell will help host Drew Carey present a special 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® showcase.

The 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic-themed showcase includes a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Boston’s Fenway Park, including air travel and hotel accommodations, two tickets to the outdoor game and other assorted NHL prizes. Each studio audience member will receive an NHL Winter Classic puck.