SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A groundbreaking era in Northern California sports begins this fall when Comcast SportsNet West's second season of high school football shifts from the traditional Friday night games to a single, significant "showcase" game of the week each Thursday. Beginning on September 6 at 7:30 PM, CSN will feature a live "Thursday Night Football" telecast with Pittsburg (#10 in the San Francisco Chronicle's preseason Top 25) at CCS power and 19th-ranked Valley Christian (San Jose).
The weekly "Thursday Night Football" schedule of 10 live telecasts on Comcast SportsNet in association with the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) will feature prominent high school football programs throughout Northern and Central California. They will be supplemented with 20 tape-delayed games televised on Comcast SportsNet and produced by Comcast "Local Origination" groups. Many of the telecasts will also be available via Comcast's popular On Demand platform, which is free to Comcast digital customers.
"Televising these outstanding match-ups on Thursdays will allow thousands of high school football fans throughout the region, many of whom will be attending Friday night games to watch our live, exciting, marquee contest before the traditional weekend lineup of prep football begins," said Comcast SportsNet Executive Producer Richard Zinn. "High school football continues to be a key programming element for Comcast SportsNet as we provide compelling, community-based regional programming."
Many of the top prep teams in Northern and Central California will make appearances on Comcast SportsNet's schedule this season. These include prominent Bay Area powers De La Salle, Monte Vista, Valley Christian, Pittsburg, and Cardinal Newman, as well as league champions and traditionally strong teams such as Grant, Jesuit, Granite Bay, St. Mary's, and Clovis East from the Sacramento, Stockton and Fresno areas.
Play-by-play duties for the live "Thursday Night Football" will be shared by Greg Papa, the voice of the Oakland Raiders, and by CSN veteran play-by-play announcer Jim Kozimor. Cal Hall of Fame quarterback Mike Pawlawski will again provide expert analysis for most of the "Thursday Night Football" telecasts. The Arena Football League's two time Coach of the Year, Darren Arbet will join the team on occasion. CSN's Nicole Zaloumis will work the sidelines.
Following is CSN's tentative telecast schedule for Weeks 1 - 5 of the 2007 season:
Thurs., Sept. 6 (Live) Pittsburg at Valley Christian (San Jose) 7:30 PM Sun., Sept. 9 Franklin (Stockton) at Grant (Sacramento) 6:30 PM Mon., Sept. 10 Serra (San Mateo) at De La Salle (Concord) 9:00 PM Thurs., Sept. 13 (Live) West (Tracy) at Monte Vista (Danville) 7:30 PM Sun., Sept. 16 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) @ Folsom 6:30 PM Mon., Sept. 17 McClymonds (Oakland) at Pinole Valley 9:00 PM Thurs., Sept. 20 (Live) St. Mary's (Stockton) at St. Francis (Mountain View) 7:30 PM Sun., Sept. 23 Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) at Oakdale 6:30 PM Mon., Sept. 24 Palma (Salinas) at De La Salle (Concord) 9:00 PM Thurs., Sept. 27 (Live) Granite Bay at Nevada Union (Grass Valley) 7:30 PM Sun., Sept. 30 Amador Valley (Pleasanton) at San Ramon Valley (Danville) 6:30 PM Mon., Oct. 1 Los Gatos at Palo Alto 9:00 PM Thurs., Oct. 4 (Live) Lincoln (Stockton) at Foothill (Pleasanton) 7:30 PM Sun., Oct. 7 St Ignatius (San Francisco) at Riordan (San Francisco) 6:30 PM Mon., Oct. 8 Elk Grove at Sheldon (Sacramento) 9:00 PM SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Comcast SportsNet operates 11 sports networks that cover more than 2,400 live sporting events annually and deliver comprehensive sports news and analysis to 38 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast SportsNet's networks are: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet West, Comcast SportsNet Northwest (launching Oct. 2007), SportsNet New York, FSN Bay Area, FSN New England, The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network, CSS, and Comcast Local Detroit. These networks provide live game coverage of 17 professional teams: the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals; the NBA's Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards; and MLB's Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants; as well as college, minor league and other sports. For more information see http://www.comcastsportsnet.com/.
