August 28, 2008
2008 Monday Night Football Chalk Talk Luncheon Series
2008 Monday Night Football Chalk Talk Luncheon Series
National Sponsors Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ruth’s Chris Steak House;
First of 12 MNF Luncheons at Brett Favre’s Steakhouse in Green Bay on September 8
The Monday Night Football Chalk Talk Luncheon Series will return September 8 with the first of 12 events during the 2008 National Football League season. National sponsors Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ruth’s Chris Steak House will continue their involvement in the second-year program which ESPN and the NFL launched to showcase the teams and host cities participating in the weekly MNF primetime games.
The Chalk Talk Series renews a tradition that originally began with local luncheon events in the 1970s, in the early years of MNF – now in its 39th season. On-air personalities in town to cover the game shared their insider perspectives with invited guests from the local community. This fall, key figures from ESPN and the NFL will participate in the panel discussion and question-and-answer sessions, along with prominent alumni players from the competing MNF teams.
John Seibel, host of SportsNation and Monday Night Countdown on ESPN Radio, will emcee the MNF Luncheon Series for the second year. Following each event, he will also broadcast his radio show from site -- Mondays, 4-8:35 p.m. ET. A rotation of NFL correspondents – including David Amber, Rachel Nichols, Sal Paolantonio and Ed Werder – will co-host the luncheons. MNF play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico, who will broadcast his popular ESPN Radio show, Tirico & Van Pelt (1-3 p.m.), from multiple luncheon sites, will also be a regular participant, as will ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, Stuart Scott, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young.
The Chalk Talk Luncheon Series kicks off Monday, September 8, at Brett Favre’s Steakhouse in Green Bay, Wis., before the Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers MNF season-opener (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Former Packers standouts Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman and Dorsey Levens will be part of the planned program. The series continues a week later in Dallas at Ruth’s Chris Steak House as part of ESPN and the NFL’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration festivities around the Eagles-Cowboys game (September 15).
Invitations to the MNF Chalk Talk Luncheon Series will be extended to 150 guests each week, including local civic and business leaders and sponsors. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, the national restaurant partner, will host events in most cities, in addition to catering the luncheons at the stadiums in New Orleans and Arizona.
“The Chalk Talk Luncheon Series was an enormous success last season and we will continue the program in 12 cities this fall, working closely with the NFL, participating teams and our sponsors to preview the weekly MNF match-ups and highlight the successes of local organizations in the communities we visit,” said John Wildhack, executive vice president, programming acquisitions & strategy, ESPN.
Team ESPN, the corporate outreach program of ESPN, will join the host NFL team and Dick’s Sporting Goods in recognizing select non-profit organizations at each MNF luncheon. This year, organizations that have made a positive impact in their local communities through youth fitness initiatives will be named recipients of the “Fans Helping Fans” community service award. ESPN, with the ESPN Play Your Way youth fitness program, and the NFL, through its “Play 60” and “Take a Player to School” initiatives, remain focused on encouraging kids to get fit and maintain their physical activity.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty store environment. As of August 2, 2008, the Company operated 357 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in 38 states primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The Company also owns Golf Galaxy, Inc., a multi-channel golf specialty retailer, with 84 stores in 30 states, ecommerce websites and catalog operations and Chick's Sporting Goods, Inc., which operates 15 specialty sporting goods stores in Southern California.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Ruth’s Chris Steak House, is a part of Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. Founded in New Orleans by Ruth Fertel in 1965, Ruth’s Chris specializes in USDA Prime grade steaks served in Ruth’s Chris signature fashion … “sizzling.” To experience fine dining at its prime . . . just follow the sizzle to Ruth's Chris Steak House. For information, reservations, and gift cards, visit www.RuthsChris.com.
ESPN’s Monday Night Football
ESPN’s Monday Night Football is the most-watched series in cable television history and the only NFL series nominated for a Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Live Sports Series category both the past two years. In two seasons on ESPN, Monday Night Football has registered nine of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history, led by the New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens telecast (12/03/07), which attracted cable’s largest audience ever (12.5 million homes and 17.5 million viewers). For the 2007 season, MNF averaged an 8.6 rating and 8,277,000 homes (11,230,000 P2+); the accompanying “Monday Night Surround” content on ESPN.com sparked an increase of Monday traffic to the site of 36% over the previous season.
2008 Monday Night Football Chalk Talk Luncheon Series:
Date Host City MNF game Luncheon Site
Sept. 8 Green Bay * Vikings vs. Packers Brett Favre’s Steakhouse
Sept. 15 Dallas * Eagles vs. Cowboys Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Sept. 22 San Diego Jets vs. Chargers Donovan’s
Oct. 6 New Orleans Patriots vs. Saints Louisiana Superdome
Oct. 13 Cleveland * Giants vs. Browns Mitchell’s Fish Market
Oct. 20 Foxborough, Mass. Broncos vs. Patriots TBD
Oct. 27 Nashville Colts vs. Titans Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Nov. 3 Washington, DC * Steelers vs. Redskins Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Nov. 10 Glendale, Ariz. 49ers vs. Cardinals University of Phoenix Stadium
Dec. 1 Houston Jaguars vs. Texans Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Dec. 8 Charlotte Buccaneers vs. Panthers Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Dec. 22 Chicago * Packers vs. Bears Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Note: No scheduled MNF luncheons on Sept. 29 (Pittsburgh), Nov. 17 (Buffalo), Nov. 24 (New Orleans) and Dec. 15 (Philadelphia).
* Mike Tirico (ESPN Radio’s Tirico & Van Pelt) to broadcast live from site
For downloadable images from the 2007 MNF Luncheon Series, visit http://espnmediasource.com/rs/?c=154&k=c202799187
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Media Contacts:
Bill Hofheimer or Keri Potts, ESPN Communications – 860/766-9589 (bill.hofheimer@espn.com) or 212/515-1122 (keri.a.potts@espn.com)
Jeff Hennion, Dick’s Sporting Goods – 724/273-3400 or jeff.hennion@dcsg.com
Cheryl J. Henry, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc. – 407/829-8763 or chenry@ruthschris.com
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