Articles by Ryan Berenz

About Ryan Berenz

Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.

2011 French Open tennis finals June 4-5 on NBC

June 3, 2011 Ryan Berenz

The French Open is down to the finals, with Australian Open runner-up Li Na of China taking on defending French Open champ Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the women’s match Saturday, June 4, at 9am ET on NBC. In the men’s final, Rafael Nadal continues his dominance on clay, defeating Andy Murray to reach his sixth final in seven years. Nadal will face the winner of the Roger Federer-Novak Djokovic semifinal match (taking place Friday at 11am ET on NBC), with the final scheduled for Sunday, June 5, at 9am ET. Here’s the complete release from the NBC Sports Group: […]

2011 National Spelling Bee Finals live June 2 on ESPN

June 1, 2011 Ryan Berenz

By Ryan Berenz Follow @ChannelGuideRAB Over 270 spellers ranging in age from 8 to 15 and spanning the United States and Canada will come to Washington, D.C., to have their knowledge of the lexicon put to the test at the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Dr. Jacques A. Bailly is back to pronounce the words and use them in sometimes amusing sentences. Last year, Anamika Veeramani correctly spelled “stromuhr” (an instrument for measuring blood flow) for the win. ESPN airs the final round Thursday, June 2, in prime time beginning at 8:30pm ET. And I’m pleased to say that I’ll […]

2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals TV schedule

June 1, 2011 Ryan Berenz

One of two long-suffering NHL fanbases will finally get some relief as the Stanley Cup Finals pit the Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins — who’ve not won a Cup since 1972 — against the West champion Vancouver Canucks, who’ve never won a Cup in their 40-year existence. The Canucks enter the series well-rested, having beaten the San Jose Sharks in five games, while the Bruins took the Tampa Bay Lighting to a full seven games in their series. NBC and Versus have complete prime-time coverage of the best-of-seven-game Stanley Cup Finals beginning Wednesday, June 1, at 8pm ET, with Boston […]

2011 NBA Finals TV schedule

May 31, 2011 Ryan Berenz

Click here for the 2012 NBA Finals TV schedule Many of this saw this day coming in July of last year. Many of us dreaded it. “The Decision” gave most NBA fans outside of Miami a reason to hate the Heat, but it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Heat would be in the NBA Finals. Now, LeBron’s shot at a title enters the final phase as the Heat take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight in Miami. (Due to the short Conference Finals series, […]

Where to watch the 2011 Indianapolis 500

May 27, 2011 Ryan Berenz

Click here for the 2012 Indy 500 TV schedule The 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 (Note: It’s not the 100th running of the Indy 500, since the race was not held during World Wars I and II) takes place at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29. IndyCar’s best will compete on the 2.5-mile rectangular oval for the Borg-Warner Trophy, including popular drivers Will Power, Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti and last season’s Indy 500 and series champ Dario Franchitti. Canadian Alex Tagliani is at the pole […]

Be Our Guest: What’s happening on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” finale?

May 23, 2011 Ryan Berenz

The undisputed queen of the talk show circuit, Oprah Winfrey, wraps up 25 years of her eponymous The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 25 (check local listings) — that’s more than 3,700 episodes, one wagonload of fat, a book club, a couch-climbing Tom Cruise, a Dr. Oz., a Dr. Phil, 276 Pontiac G6s and God knows what else — appropriately enough on the 25th of the month. Oprah’s final week includes guest stars like Tom Hanks, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Michael Jordan and many more. You can see the lineup for The Oprah Winfrey Show‘s last week […]

Where to watch the 2011 Preakness Stakes

May 19, 2011 Ryan Berenz

First off: All hail Kegasus, Lord of the InfieldFest! For the rest of us unable or unwilling to partake in the drunkenness and debauchery of the infield at Pimlico, we’ll be watching the Preakness Stakes on TV. NBC and Versus have 6.5 hours of coverage devoted to the two-minute race, including live coverage of the race itself on Saturday at 4:30pm ET on NBC. Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, listed as the early 2-1 favorite at the Preakness, will try to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Other contenders include Dialed In, Mucho Macho Man, Shackleford, Flashpoint, Dance […]

2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race live May 21 on SPEED

May 18, 2011 Ryan Berenz

By Ryan Berenz (Twitter: @ChannelGuideRAB) The 27th NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race airs on SPEED Channel from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 21, at 7pm ET, with the winner receiving a $1 million prize. Drivers qualify by winning a race in 2010 or 2011, winning a past All-Star Race, winning a past Sprint Cup Series championship, finishing in the top two in the Sprint Showdown 40-lap preliminary race or by winning the Sprint Fan Vote. Last year, Kurt Busch held off Martin Truex Jr. to win his first All-Star Race. Other coverage surrounding All-Star week includes the NASCAR Sprint Pit […]

Where to watch the 2011 French Open tennis tournament

May 18, 2011 Ryan Berenz

Click here for the 2012 French Open TV Schedule [Update: We have NBC’s coverage of the French Open finals here.] The second Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year returns to the red clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris for the French Open. Spain’s Rafael Nadal goes for his sixth title (he has won five of the past six French Opens), but will face competition from Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling and longtime foe Roger Federer. The story heading into Roland Garros is Djokovic’s unbeaten streak of 39 matches (37 in 2011) and his two-straight wins over Nadal […]

This Is ESPN: New tell-all book exposes the inside world of the Worldwide Leader

May 17, 2011 Ryan Berenz

By Ryan Berenz (Twitter: @ChannelGuideRAB) When something gets this big, it needs to be viewed under a microscope. As they did with Saturday Night Live in their best-selling 2003 book Live From New York, authors James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales do with ESPN in Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN (Little, Brown and Company, $27.99) which hits bookshelves May 24. Having completed over 500 interviews for the book, including current and former ESPN presidents, chairmen, executives, on-air talent and employees, as well as athletes and other media personalities, Miller and Shales put together a […]