ESPN will kick off its 21st straight season of Major League Soccer coverage on Sunday, March 6, at 4:30 p.m. with the live presentation of Portland Timbers vs. Columbus Crew SC - a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup won by Portland. The match will be the first of 17 MLS telecasts in 2016 featuring expanded programming windows for pre-game, halftime and post-game segments. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to carry 33 MLS regular-season matches live in 2016. The matches will air in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, streamed on WatchESPN and ESPN Deportes+ (Spanish).
The
MLS SOCCER Sunday opening weekend telecast marks the regular season debut of ESPN's "Goal Post Cam" - the production innovation whereby cameras are embedded on each post to enhance views of action on the goal-line. The technology, exclusive to ESPN, has been in development since February 2014. It was tested at the 2014 MLS All-Star Game in Portland, and used, for the first time, in a league match at the 2015 MLS Cup.
Coaches Wired - coaches Caleb Porter (Portland) and Gregg Berhalter (Columbus) will each wear a live microphone on the sidelines for in-game audio during the telecast.
Portland vs. Columbus Commentators:
SportsCenter anchor Max Bretos will host the studio segments around the match beginning with a live pre-game show (4:30 p.m.) from Portland's Providence Park, the home of the Timbers. Adrian Healey (play-by-play), analyst Taylor Twellman and sideline reporter Mónica González will call the match in English, while Richard Méndez and Giovanni Savarese will provide commentary on
ESPN Deportes.
Pre-game Features on ESPN:
Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe Conversation: Twellman will conduct a conversation with Portland Timbers midfielders Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe from the "Heineken Boot Room" - a bus on-site at Providence Park in Portland
"MLS Insider": An all-access feature looking back at the 2015 MLS Cup Final - Portland's 2-1 victory over Columbus for the franchise's first MLS title, by award-winning documentary producer Jonathan Hock
Championship Banner Ceremony: The unveiling of Portland Timbers' 2015 MLS Cup championship banner
National Anthem: Live telecast of the Timbers Army - the team's supporters group - leading fans in singing of the National Anthem
The Timbers Army Tifo: The unfurling of the new Timbers Army tifo, a symbolic flag or artistic display created by ardent soccer fans to represent the group's affinity to their team.
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