LPWire: More Than 30 Sports Stars and Former Olympians to Join ESPN Personalities at WDW

More Than 30 Sports Stars and Former Olympians to Join ESPN Personalities for ESPN's 25th Celebration at Disney-MGM Studios

ESPN The Weekend -- ESPN's 25th anniversary celebration at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., July 31 and Aug. 1 -- will give fans of all sports the opportunity to see many of their favorite athletes as more than 30 professional sports stars and former Olympians are scheduled to appear, along with more than 25 ESPN personalities.

The list of Hall of Famers, sports legends and current stars will feature athletes and coaches from Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL, NHL, the Olympics and the world of action sports. In all, ESPN The Weekend will mark the largest collection of sports stars ever assembled at one time at the Walt Disney World theme parks. Those scheduled to appear include: Scotty Bowman, Grant Fuhr, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Michael Irvin, Bruce Jenner, Mike Metzger, Joe Namath, Dave Stewart, Kerri Strug, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Theismann, James Worthy and others.

Over the two days, ESPN will present live telecasts (spaced through morning, afternoon and evening) from a set in front of the Disney-MGM Studios Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat. On-site programs include a special season-preview edition of College GameDay and live, on-site telecasts of Baseball Tonight (twice daily) as well as SportsCenter and ESPNEWS segments. Park guests can watch the programs live as well as via two large video screens.

ESPN personalities scheduled to appear include: SportsCenter anchors Linda Cohn, Dana Jacobson, Dan Patrick, Stuart Scott, Trey Wingo and newcomer Mike Hall, as well as the broadcast teams from Baseball Tonight, Cold Pizza, College GameDay and Fuera de Juego on ESPN Deportes.

In addition to the ESPN broadcasts, sports celebrities and ESPN personalities will make appearances throughout Disney-MGM Studios during this first-of-its-kind event. ESPN The Weekend will include star motorcades and conversations with network personalities and athletes; sports shows in the ESPN Theater featuring ESPN commentators and athletes; a visit from ESPN The Truck; a special sports edition of the game show attraction "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-Play It!; the ESPN Sports Zone interactive area; a SportsCenter and play-by-play "role play" area; and an exclusive ESPN The Commercials video of blunders and thrills.

ESPN's reality series Dream Job kicks off ESPN The Weekend with an open casting call for its second and third seasons on Friday, July 30, at Disney-MGM Studios. The weekend will culminate with a final tribute to the past 25 years in sports orchestrated to a Disney pyrotechnics show exploding over the park's 12-story Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat icon.

Sports celebrities scheduled to appear include (not all personalities will appear both days):

FOOTBALL:

Ottis Anderson -- Former NFL running back (New York Giants)
Mack Brown -- Current college head coach (University of Texas)
Harry Carson -- Former NFL linebacker (New York Giants)
Eric Dickerson -- NFL Hall of Fame running back (Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts), former ABC Sports Monday Night Football sideline reporter
Ralph Friedgen -- Current college head coach (University of Maryland)
Darrell Green -- Former NFL defensive back (Washington Redskins)
Desmond Howard -- Former NFL wide receiver (Detroit Lions)
Michael Irvin -- Former NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys)
Jim Kelly -- Former NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills)
Willie Lanier -- NFL Hall of Fame linebacker (Kansas City Chiefs)
Karl Mecklenburg -- Former NFL defensive lineman (Denver Broncos)
Joe Namath -- NFL Hall of Fame quarterback (NY Jets)
Nick Saban -- Current college head coach (Louisiana State University)
Lawrence Taylor -- NFL Hall of Fame linebacker (NY Giants)
Joe Theismann -- Former NFL quarterback (Washington Redskins)

BASEBALL:

Gary Carter -- Former MLB catcher (NY Mets, Montreal Expos)
Jim Morris -- Former MLB pitcher (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), real-life story behind Walt Disney Pictures The Rookie
Dave Stewart -- Former MLB pitcher (Oakland A's)

BASKETBALL:

Greg Anthony -- Former NBA player (NY Knicks, Portland Trailblazers), ESPN NBA analyst
Rick Barry -- NBA Hall of Fame player (Golden State Warriors)
Caron Butler -- Current NBA player (Los Angeles Lakers)
Richard "Rip" Hamilton -- Current NBA player (Detroit Pistons)
James Worthy -- NBA Hall of Fame player (Los Angeles Lakers)

HOCKEY:

Scotty Bowman -- Former NHL coach (St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings)
Grant Fuhr -- Hall of Fame NHL player (Edmonton Oilers)
Ken Morrow -- Former NHL player/member of 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Craig Patrick -- Former NHL player/assistant coach of 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
John Tortorella -- Current NHL coach (Tampa Bay Lightning)

OLYMPICS:

Bonnie Blair -- Former U.S. Speed Skater
Dorothy Hamill -- Former U.S. Figure Skater
Dan Jansen -- Former U.S. Speed Skater
Bruce Jenner -- Former U.S. Decathlete
Mary Lou Retton -- Former U.S. Gymnast
Kerri Strug -- Former U.S. Gymnast

ACTION SPORTS:

Mike Metzger -- X Games gold medallist (Motocross)

ESPN personalities scheduled to appear include (not all personalities will appear both days):

Linda Cohn -- SportsCenter
Dana Jacobson -- SportsCenter
Dan Patrick -- SportsCenter
Stuart Scott -- SportsCenter
Trey Wingo -- SportsCenter
Peter Gammons -- Baseball Tonight
John Kruk -- Baseball Tonight
Karl Ravech -- Baseball Tonight
Harold Reynolds -- Baseball Tonight
Rob Dibble -- ESPN Radio / Baseball Tonight
Lee Corso -- College GameDay
Chris Fowler -- College GameDay
Kirk Herbstreit -- College GameDay
Luis Omar Tapia -- Feura de Juego
Diego Balado -- Feura de Juego
Randy Alvarez -- Feura de Juego
Carlos Hermosillo -- Feura de Juego
Thea Andrews -- Cold Pizza
Jay Crawford -- Cold Pizza
Kit Hoover -- Cold Pizza
Mike Hall -- Dream Job winner, SportsCenter
Aaron Levine -- Dream Job Season One
Maggie Haskins -- Dream Job Season One
Sal Paolantonio -- NFL reporter
Howie Schwab -- Coordinating Producer, Studio Production, Stump The Schwab

Related Links

ESPN The Weekend -- Official Website

--Posted July 30, 2004
Source: Walt Disney World

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