TV Exclusive: Former Yankee Leyritz Talks of Life since Manslaughter Charge

E:60 (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET ESPN)
Former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz is one of the game's true October heroes. In the 1996 World Series, he hit a monumental three-run home run that sparked the Bronx Bombers to their first World Series championship in 18 years and helped launch a dynasty. Two years ago, Leyritz, whose playing career ended in 2000, was driving late at night near his Florida home when he crashed, killing the driver of the other vehicle. Leyritz has been charged with DUI manslaughter and is awaiting trial. In an E:60 exclusive, and for the first time on television, Leyritz talks with Jeremy Schaap about his life since the collision and his hopes for the future.
 

back to top

The High Roller Phil Ivey

E:60 (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET ESPN)
ESPN the Magazine (companion piece)
Phil Ivey is considered the best poker player in the world by his peers. The 33-year-old is the youngest poker player in history to win seven World Series of Poker bracelets. This year, he beat out a field of 6,500 players in the WSOP Main Event, and is playing in the coveted final table, beginning November 7. Ivey took E:60’s Chad Millman along on a four-day journey around the world on a private jet, giving E:60 cameras an exclusive, all-access pass into the eventful life of one of the world’s highest rollers.
 

back to top

New Mexico Football Coaches Discuss their Sept. 20 Altercation for First Time

Outside the Lines (Friday, 3 p.m., ESPN)
In exclusive interviews with Outside the Lines, New Mexico head football coach Mike Locksley and assistant coach J.B. Gerald, whom Locksley is accused of punching on Sept. 20 talk for the first time. On Oct. 13, Locksley received a 10-day suspension, causing him to miss the team's October 24 game against UNLV. Neither Locksley nor Gerald has previously talked about the incident. Gerald, who filed a police report charging that Locksley assaulted him, says he was choked and punched in the mouth a day after a loss. One punch split his lip, he said. Locksley denied he punched or choked his assistant, saying he only grabbed Gerald's collar. Mark Schlabach reports.

"He gets up and is walking over toward me. I'm looking at him like, 'What's this guy about to do?' He literally jumps in my lap and tries to choke me. He has his hands around my neck and around my collar and tries to choke me." – J.B. Gerald, New Mexico assistant coach, describing his version of the Sept. 20 events

"I grabbed J.B. Gerald, which is wrong, shouldn’t have done (that). The fight was broken up within a matter of seconds," – Mike Locksley, New Mexico head football coach, describing his version of the altercation with J.B. Gerald.

back to top

Walk On, Rise Up

College GameDay (Saturday, 10 a.m., ESPN)
Every football team has its stars, and for the Miami Hurricanes, Chris Hayes is the soul. A walk-on receiver and special teams player, Hayes has never missed a practice or film session or team meeting, but never once suited up for a game. A year ago Hayes received the devastating news that his father had committed suicide. How Miami's players and coaches responded tells a story about the meaning of “team” and the power of brotherhood. The story culminated in a moment at the end of Miami's game against Wake Forest last season that few people watching could understand – a moment the team and Hayes will never forget. Tom Rinaldi reports.
 

back to top

A Different Homecoming

NFL Countdown (Sunday, 11 a.m., ESPN)
Brett Favre has been gone from Green Bay for 1-1/2 seasons. He has played for two other teams. He has played against, and beaten, the Packers on Monday Night Football. But he hasn't come back to Lambeau Field, wearing another team's jersey, as another team's quarterback, to face a welcome of a different kind. If fans are conflicted about his return, they're not the only ones. Tom Rinaldi sits down with former Packers -- Favre's old teammates, and retired Green Bay legends -- to discuss their feelings on Favre coming back as, of all things, a Viking.

From the piece:

"In that uniform, people don't like you and I think Brett is going to have to understand that. There's going to be a percentage of people that are going to boo him." -- Leroy Butler, Favre's former teammate

"If you were married for 25 years, you divorce and marry her sister… that is what it looks like. You can't do that!" -- Butler

"I loved Brett as a Packer. I loved him as a person, and I never saw a better football player. And for him to be in a Viking uniform, (it) turns my heart cold." -- Fuzzy Thurston, Packer great

"I think of him as a traitor. He let millions of Packer fans down. That's why it hurts. They are going to boo him and they are going to try to run him right off the field." – Thurston

back to top

Ten Seconds at Talladega

NASCAR Now (Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPN2);
NASCAR Countdown (Sunday, noon ABC)
Talladega Speedway is known for its steep banking and high speeds. It is also known for one more thing: danger. Fans know when they go to Talladega that the close quarters racing often puts drivers more at risk. But how often do fans consider whether they too are in harms way? It's something Terry Bobbit never expected when he took his daughter, Blake, to her first Talladega race in April.
 

back to top

Who is Ted Thompson?

ESPN.com
The man at the epicenter of the Brett Favre saga is Packers General Manager Ted Thompson. Outside of Green Bay, he is not widely known. Who is he and what do others think of him? Elizabeth Merrill reports.
To view ESPN.com piece, click here
 

back to top

Billy Cannon’s Redemption

ESPN.com (Friday)
An Outside the Lines piece by Wright Thompson illustrates the redemption of Billy Cannon, the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU and one of the AFL’s most celebrated players.
Excerpt:
“On a crisp fall day a year ago, the Tiger Stadium public address man turned everyone’s attention to the southeast corner. A black drape fell to reveal Billy Cannon's No. 20, forever looking out on the field where he made his famous Halloween run 50 years ago. The rumble started at the top of the upper deck and by the time it reached the field, the old stadium shook. The announcer used the same words from so many years ago -- “Billy Cannon … Great All-American” -- and the crowd got louder. The roar would make the hair stand up on your arm.”
 

back to top

Takes Two Hands to Bowl Bolivian

ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
Reportajes Especiales piece on ESPNDeportes.com
Bolivia will host the Bolivian Games on Saturday, Nov. 14, when events scheduled for competition include bowling, a sport in which the Bolivian National team has chosen to adopt the rarely used two-handed style of play. Among the few individuals known worldwide using this technique is Australian Jason Belmonte, who has become the team’s mentor, if only through Internet.
 

back to top