U.S. OLYMPIC PURSUIT: AGAINST THE ROPES
CSTV'S INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF BOXER ROBERTO BENITEZ'
QUEST FOR OLYMPIC GOLD PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16
NEW YORK, June 10, 2004 - There is perhaps no bigger dream of an American athlete than to represent the United States in the Olympic Games. CSTV: College Sports Television (www.collegesports.com), the fastest-growing independent cable network, will chronicle such a quest, that of bantamweight boxer Roberto Benitez, when it premieres U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes Wednesday, June 16 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
"Against the Ropes paints an intimate portrait of a young athlete chasing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the sacrifices he must make to live his life-long dream of making the U.S. Olympic Team," said Joel Feld, executive vice president and executive producer, CSTV.
The June 16 premiere is a special presentation of College Sports TV's weekly U.S. Olympic Pursuit original series, the first regularly scheduled, year-round television programming dedicated to showcasing amateur athletes and future Olympic champions.
U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes follows Benitez as he trains for and later competes in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Benitez grew up on New York City's Lower East Side and began boxing in 1992 at age 12. He fell short in his bid for a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and, while many of those training alongside him subsequently turned pro, Benitez chose to set his sights on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
College Sports TV's June 16 special depicts Benitez' training at the U.S. Olympic Education Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University as part of a program which enables aspiring Olympians to pursue a college degree while training. Benitez earned an associates degree from Northern Michigan while training there. In the ring, Benitez was under the tutelage of the legendary Al Mitchell, who is assisted by David Reid, the last American boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
The program tracks Benitez during his strenuous training regimen and features footage of his bouts against some of the best amateur talent in the world. U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes features interviews with Benitez, Mitchell, Reid, Benitez' mother and Jeff Kleinschmidt, the head of the U.S. Olympic Education Center.
The Roberto Benitez File:
Won the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and Olympic Box-Offs, advancing to the America's Qualifiers with an undefeated record this year
Captured his fourth U.S. Championships title in 2004
2003 Everlast U.S. Championships runner-up and National Golden Gloves semifinalist
Fell to eventual American Olympian Jose Navarro in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Box-Offs and America's Qualifier
1996 Junior Olympic National Champion, and 1997 and 1999 National Golden Gloves Champion
U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes Encore Presentations:
Friday, June 18, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
Monday, June 28, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, June 29, 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT
Monday, July 5, 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, July 8, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Friday, July 9, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
College Sports TV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com or call their cable or satellite operator.
CSTV is comprised of two primary business units: College Sports TV and CollegeSports.com. College Sports TV televises regular season and championship event coverage from every major collegiate athletic conference, in addition to nine NCAA Championships. The network also has a programming and marketing agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee. CollegeSports.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of 150 official athletic sites for top colleges, universities and athletic associations, are the number one online source for college sports news, information, scores and analysis.
CSTV was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company's successful foray into the college market.
###
Eric Handler
CSTV: College Sports Television
212-342-8760
ehandler@cstv.com
QUEST FOR OLYMPIC GOLD PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16
NEW YORK, June 10, 2004 - There is perhaps no bigger dream of an American athlete than to represent the United States in the Olympic Games. CSTV: College Sports Television (www.collegesports.com), the fastest-growing independent cable network, will chronicle such a quest, that of bantamweight boxer Roberto Benitez, when it premieres U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes Wednesday, June 16 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
"Against the Ropes paints an intimate portrait of a young athlete chasing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the sacrifices he must make to live his life-long dream of making the U.S. Olympic Team," said Joel Feld, executive vice president and executive producer, CSTV.
The June 16 premiere is a special presentation of College Sports TV's weekly U.S. Olympic Pursuit original series, the first regularly scheduled, year-round television programming dedicated to showcasing amateur athletes and future Olympic champions.
U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes follows Benitez as he trains for and later competes in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Benitez grew up on New York City's Lower East Side and began boxing in 1992 at age 12. He fell short in his bid for a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and, while many of those training alongside him subsequently turned pro, Benitez chose to set his sights on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
College Sports TV's June 16 special depicts Benitez' training at the U.S. Olympic Education Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University as part of a program which enables aspiring Olympians to pursue a college degree while training. Benitez earned an associates degree from Northern Michigan while training there. In the ring, Benitez was under the tutelage of the legendary Al Mitchell, who is assisted by David Reid, the last American boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
The program tracks Benitez during his strenuous training regimen and features footage of his bouts against some of the best amateur talent in the world. U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes features interviews with Benitez, Mitchell, Reid, Benitez' mother and Jeff Kleinschmidt, the head of the U.S. Olympic Education Center.
The Roberto Benitez File:
Won the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and Olympic Box-Offs, advancing to the America's Qualifiers with an undefeated record this year
Captured his fourth U.S. Championships title in 2004
2003 Everlast U.S. Championships runner-up and National Golden Gloves semifinalist
Fell to eventual American Olympian Jose Navarro in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Box-Offs and America's Qualifier
1996 Junior Olympic National Champion, and 1997 and 1999 National Golden Gloves Champion
U.S. Olympic Pursuit: Against The Ropes Encore Presentations:
Friday, June 18, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
Monday, June 28, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, June 29, 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT
Monday, July 5, 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, July 8, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Friday, July 9, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
College Sports TV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com or call their cable or satellite operator.
CSTV is comprised of two primary business units: College Sports TV and CollegeSports.com. College Sports TV televises regular season and championship event coverage from every major collegiate athletic conference, in addition to nine NCAA Championships. The network also has a programming and marketing agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee. CollegeSports.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of 150 official athletic sites for top colleges, universities and athletic associations, are the number one online source for college sports news, information, scores and analysis.
CSTV was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company's successful foray into the college market.
###
Eric Handler
CSTV: College Sports Television
212-342-8760
ehandler@cstv.com
posted by Don @ 6/15/2004 12:01:00 AM
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