Professional Fighters League Debuts One Week From Today on NBCSN

NBC Sports presents the 2018 regular season debut of the PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE one week from today - Thursday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN from Madison Square Garden in New York City. MMA coverage will be headlined by a featherweight showdown between undefeated Long Island native Andre Harrison (17-0) and Juma Tuerxun (20-6), as well as Lance Palmer (12-6) vs. Bekbulat Magomedov (19-1) in a featherweight matchup.

The debut of the PFL continues NBC Sports' rich history of televising premier events at Madison Square Garden, including the first-ever NHL telecast, the first transmission of a sporting event in color, Cavalcade of Sports boxing, as well as historic NBA and NHL games.

Following are highlights of NBC Sports telecasts from Madison Square Garden:

February 25, 1940 - NBC hits the ice with first NHL telecast: NBC presents the first telecast of a National Hockey League game, between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on W2XBS.

February 28, 1940 - NBC begins college basketball coverage with doubleheader: NBC presents the first college basketball telecast on W2XBS - a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, with the University of Pittsburgh facing off against Fordham University, followed by Georgetown University against New York University.

September 29, 1944 - Cavalcade of Sports premieres: A 15-round bout between boxers Willie Pep and Chalky White serves as the debut of NBC's "Cavalcade of Sports." Pep defeats White in a fight presented to nearly 7,000 television sets on the East Coast. Running until 1960, the show becomes the "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports" in 1948, and focuses primarily on Friday night boxing at Madison Square Garden.

March 26, 1954 - NBC presents its first color transmission of a sporting event: Friday night's "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports" features the first broadcast of a sporting event in color - a boxing match between American Al Andrews and Germany's Gustav Scholz from Madison Square Garden.

June 17, 1994 - NBC presents Game 5 of the 1994 NBA FINALS amid the infamous O.J. Simpson chase: Bob Costas anchors NBC's coverage of Game 5 of the 1994 NBA FINALS between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks from Madison Square Garden, and opens the broadcast with the infamous O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase. NBC presents the second half of the game in split-screen - the chase as the main image and the game in a corner cut-in.

May 7, 1995 - Reggie Miller stuns Madison Square Garden: In one of the most improbable comebacks in sports history, Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers scores eight points in a nine-second span to erase a 105-99 deficit and stun the New York Knicks and MSG crowd with a 107-105 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

June 5, 1999 - The Four-Point Play: In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks power forward Larry Johnson creates one of the most improbable moments in playoff history. With the Knicks trailing by three points, Johnson records a four-point play, hitting a three-pointer while being fouled with less than 10 seconds left. The four-point play would give the Knicks a one-point lead. The Knicks won the game and the series, advancing to the NBA FINALS (lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs).

January 23, 2013 - NBC Sports introduces NHL ?Wednesday Night Rivalry: NBC Sports introduces ?Wednesday Night Rivalry, an exclusive NHL regular-season package on NBCSN that features matchups between teams with storied rivalries. In the inaugural matchup, the New York Rangers defeat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime at Madison Square Garden in New York.

More information on the June 7 PFL card will be announced next week.

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