When I was a kid growing up, the Indianapolis 500 was one the biggest events on the sports calendar. It was speed, crashes, exotic rear-engine cars and the best racing anywhere. The Brickyard was a very special place. Before we saw the race “live,” we listened to it on the radio. In the 1970?s the Indy 500 was on tape delay and shown on ABC in primetime.
Fast forward to 2006, and the Indy 500 is part of total media coverage from HDTV to satellite radio and broadband. We now view not only the Indy 500 but, also other traditional Memorial Day sports fare in an on-demand world.
Sunday at noon on WMAR TV 2 the Indy 500 will get under way with a number of innovations. There will be a split screen that will allow fans to continue to watch the race while ABC airs ads, plenty of in-car cameras, and there will be the first-ever broadband coverage of the race on ESPN 360. Radio coverage for the Indy 500 will be on XM Channel 145.
Sunday at 5 p.m. the action heads east to Charlotte, N.C., where FOX 45 will have prime-time coverage of the Coca Cola 600. NASCAR.com has plenty of ways to follow the race, complimenting the telecast. It is on radio on XM Channel 144.
Baseball is a big part of Memorial Day, and the Orioles-Angels series will be seen on WB54 all weekend with 10 p.m. starts on Friday and Saturday and a 4 p.m. start on Sunday. Radio coverage is on WBAL and XM.
It?s a big lacrosse weekend with both Maryland and Virginia in the Final Four in Philadelphia. Saturday?s semifinal with Virginia and Syracuse is at 2 p.m. on ESPN 2, and Maryland takes on UMass at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. The final takes place Monday on ESPN at 1 p.m.
The NBA will focus on the playoff series, with ESPN following the Heat – Pistons and TNT covering the Suns and Mavericks. Radio coverage will be on XM and Sirius.
The battle for the Stanley Cup is on OLN all weekend with radio coverage on XM and Sirius.
So enjoy the holiday weekend.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.
