Innovative 'Thursday Night Football' Returns to Comcast SportsNet

Innovative 'Thursday Night Football' Returns to Comcast SportsNet

Live High School Football Telecasts Begin September 11th with Greg Papa, Mike Pawlawski and Jim Kozimor Calling Games

20 Outstanding Games to Be Televised Featuring Top Local Teams

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast SportsNet West, home of leading local sports coverage including the NBA Sacramento Kings, will tip off its 2008 high school football schedule with the return of "Thursday Night Football" Presented by Farmer's Insurance on September 11 at 7:30 PM when defending North Coast Section 2A champion Novato (#2 in the MaxPreps North Coast Section Rankings) takes on NCS power and 8th-ranked Foothill.

Comcast SportsNet's "Thursday Night Football" schedule presents ten live weekly games featuring prominent high school football programs throughout Northern and Central California and is supplemented with 10 Monday night 9:00 PM encore presentations of games that originate on Comcast's Hometown Network on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. All of the telecasts will also be available via Comcast's popular On Demand platform, which is free to Comcast digital customers. Comcast SportsNet's high school football is presented in association with the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation).

"Football fans across the region can jump-start their sports weekend with our live Thursday night marquee match-ups," said Comcast SportsNet Executive Producer Richard Zinn. "The passion of local high school football is a cornerstone of our commitment to provide compelling, community-based regional sports programming."

Comcast SportsNet's high school football schedule features many of the top prep teams in Northern and Central California, including prominent Bay Area powers De La Salle, Bellarmine and Valley Christian, as well as league champions and traditionally strong teams such as Elk Grove, 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 veteran Comcast SportsNet 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. KNBR-AM radio's Dan Dibley will be the sideline reporter. Play-by-play duties for the Monday night games that originate on Comcast Hometown Network will be handled by longtime Northern California prep announcer Dave Cox, while former 49er cornerback Eric Davis will provide analysis.

   Following is CSN's tentative telecast schedule for the 2008 season:    Thurs., Sept. 11 (Live)  Novato at Foothill (Pleasanton)           7:30 PM    Mon., Sept. 15           Franklin (Elk Grove) at Pleasant Grove    9:00 PM    Thurs., Sept. 18 (Live)  Bellarmine at St. Mary's (Stockton)       7:30 PM    Mon., Sept. 22           Los Gatos at St. Francis                  9:00 PM    Thurs., Sept. 25 (Live)  Bullard at Clovis East                    7:30 PM    Mon., Sept. 29           Rocklin at Las Lomas                      9:00 PM    Thurs., Oct. 2 (Live)    Casa Roble at Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 7:30 PM    Mon., Oct. 6             Burbank at Pittsburg                      9:00 PM    Thurs., Oct. 9 (Live)    James Logan at Berkeley                   7:30 PM    Mon., Oct. 13            Valley Christian at Archbishop Mitty      9:00 PM    Thurs., Oct. 16 (Live)   TBD                                       7:30 PM    Mon., Oct. 20            Monte Vista at California                 9:00 PM    Thurs., Oct. 23 (Live)   Valley Christian at St.                             Francis (Mountain View)                  7:30 PM    Mon., Oct. 27            Rio Americano at Bella Vista              9:00 PM    Thurs., Oct. 30 (Live)   Elk Grove at Davis                        7:30 PM    Mon., Nov. 3             Cardinal Newman at Rancho Cotate          9:00 PM    Thurs., Nov. 6 (Live)    De La Salle at San Ramon Valley           7:30 PM    Mon., Nov. 10            Vacaville at Napa                         9:00 PM    Thurs., Nov. 13 (Live)   TBD                                       7:30 PM    Mon., Nov. 17            TBD                                       9:00 PM    SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE    

Comcast Sports Group operates 10 sports networks that cover more than 2,400 live sporting events annually and deliver comprehensive sports news and analysis to nearly 40 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast SportsNet's networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Comcast SportsNet West, SNY, The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network, and CSS. These networks provide live game coverage of 18 professional teams as well as college, minor league and other sports. For more information see ComcastSportsNet.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Comcast SportsNet

CONTACT: Bryan Byrd of Comcast, +1-916-515-2821,
bryan_byrd@cable.comcast.com, for Comcast SportsNet

Web site: http://www.comcast.com/

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