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.

Behold! NBA Schedule Released

August 2, 2007 Ryan Berenz

The 2007-08 NBA season schedule is out, and so is the national TV schedule. Not surprisingly, there are suddenly a lot more Boston Celtics games on TV this year. Here are a few of the TV highlights: Oct. 30 – Portland at San Antonio and Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT). The season opens with No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden and the Blazers against Tim Duncan and the defending champion Spurs. Oct. 31 — Dallas at Cleveland and Seattle at Denver (ESPN). You’ll get to see No. 2 pick Kevin Durant and the Sonics against Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets. […]

“The Kill Point” Countdown: Episode 2 Recap

July 30, 2007 Ryan Berenz

Episode 2 of The Kill Point starts off with the morning after, 18 hours since Mr. Wolf (John Leguizamo) and his crew busted into the Three Rivers Trust bank. The FBI has taken control of the hostage negotiations, relegating Cali (Donnie Wahlberg) to a consulting role — basically a nice way of telling him to get lost. The new negotiator, Agent Ash, is an arrogant hard-ass who you know is just going to screw this up. At least Cali’s not giving up. He wants to know why Wolf released Mr. Sabian. Things aren’t going so well inside the bank either. […]

ESPN Chronicles Barry Bonds’ Pursuit Of The Home Run Record

July 25, 2007 Ryan Berenz

I knew I would have to do this post someday. Blah. Here are ESPN’s plans for coverage of Barry Bonds’ chase for the career home run record: Live cut-ins and short turn-around highlights of Bonds’ at bats when he goes for home runs 754, 755 and 756 during all Major League Baseball game telecasts Live cut-in or taped highlights in non-MLB programming Short turn-around highlights of home runs 754, 755 and 756 on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPN on ABC Select cut-ins to Bonds’ at bats through home run 756 on ESPN.com Live cut-ins to each Bonds’ at bat once […]

NFL Network Goes “Inside Training Camp”

July 24, 2007 Ryan Berenz

NFL Network is visiting six NFL training camps in five days beginning July 30 for a series aptly called Inside Training Camp (full schedule after the jump). NFL Network is putting wireless mics on players and coaches to give viewers an on-the-field perspective of drills and practices. There’ll also be news, storylines, injury reports and updates on positional battles throughout each show. The first preseason game, the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, between New Orleans and Pittsburgh, will air on NFL Network Aug. 5 — a bold scheduling move for the NFL, since this game usually aired in […]

“The Kill Point” Countdown: Extra Webisode Action!

July 24, 2007 Ryan Berenz

Followers of The Kill Point will want to head over to Spiketv.com for a series of webisodes which tell the story of Deke, the getaway car driver who escaped Market Square on foot. You’re not going to get any huge reveals in the webisodes, just some extra side-story stuff that might help fill in some of the gaps in the TV series. I’m curious to see exactly what Deke and the posse of ex-soldier buddies he rounded up at the end of Episode 1 plan on doing. Are they going to launch an assault on the cops? Are they going […]

We Have A Blast On The Set Of Spike’s “The Kill Point”

July 22, 2007 Ryan Berenz

Tucked away in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood is a large warehouse, and inside is a branch of Three Rivers Trust bank. It looks like the interior of any corner bank branch, with flyers advertising great mortgage rates and art on the walls depicting Pittsburgh’s steel-mill heritage. It would be a pleasant place to do business, if it weren’t for all the gunfire and bullet holes in the windows. It’s mid April, and dozens of cast and crewmembers are in Pittsburgh shooting The Kill Point, an eight-episode action/drama series premiering July 22 on Spike. John Leguizamo stars as the leader of a […]

“The Kill Point” Countdown: First Episode Review!

July 20, 2007 Ryan Berenz

Spike’s The Kill Point premieres this Sunday, with a two-hour presentation. I’ve been writing about The Kill Point now for nearly three months since I visited the set in Pittsburgh, and have amazingly managed to avoid Kill Point burnout. I’ve been screening a lot of comedies (many of them not so good) for our fall preview, and have been looking forward to finally watching The Kill Point DVD Spike sent me about a month ago. I watched it yesterday afternoon, and I’m happy to say that my three months of buildup for this series didn’t go to waste. My review […]

“The Kill Point” Countdown: Part 8

July 17, 2007 Ryan Berenz

If you’ve been following along, then you’ve probably figured out that Spike’s The Kill Point has some heavy, intense stuff in it. So I saved the fun stuff for last, just to lighten it up a bit before the show premieres this weekend. (Check back on Friday for my review of the first episode.) I asked a few of the guys I interviewed what their favorite movie was from the heist/robbery/standoff genre, and then I asked them what they liked to record on their TiVos or plain-old-generic DVRs. One thing’s for certain: They love themselves some Dog Day Afternoon. Attica! […]

“ESPN First Take” Features Matt Groening On Thursday, Will Resume Crappiness On Friday

July 16, 2007 Ryan Berenz

Perhaps in conjunction with some kind of movie coming out sometime in the near future, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and executive producer Al Jean will appear Thursday morning on ESPN First Take on ESPN2. Then on Friday, First Take subjects you to this: Friday, July 20 “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” – Adam Sandler & Kevin James If anyone sees that movie, I guarantee it’s not for Adam Sandler and Kevin James. (On Wednesday, Donnie Wahlberg is going to be on ESPN First Take talking about Boston sports.) Photo is from the Kwik-E-Mart in Chicago, where dorks […]

Big Ten Network May Be Overestimating Its Value A Bit

July 13, 2007 Ryan Berenz

The latest fussin’ and feudin’ between cable companies and upstart TV sports networks is brought to you by Big Ten Network, a joint venture between FOX Cable Networks and the Big Ten Conference. The network is devoted to sports, academics, activities and personalities (but yeah, mostly sports) from the Big Ten’s 11 institutions. It plans to launch Aug. 30 with a schedule that is going to include more than 35 football games, more than 105 men’s basketball games, women’s sports and coaches shows. Big Ten Network has found carriage on DirecTV and a number of small cable companies, but doesn’t […]