Courage Regional TV Coverage Begins Saturday
April 12, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Carolina Courage News Release
Morrisville, NC (April 12, 2002) - The Carolina Courage's regional television coverage will kick off this weekend on CNNSI (Channel 47 in the Triangle), when Courage opens up on the road against the San Diego Spirit.
12 of the Courage's 21 games will be televised regionally, while an additional four games will be aired nationally on PAX TV. Of the dozen regionally televised games, six will be home contests and six will be on the road.
The Carolina Courage regional broadcast team for its home games will reunite play-by-play announcer Dean Linke, the voice of the Carolina Courage, and color analyst Bill Palladino, the longtime Assistant Coach of the 17-time NCAA Champion UNC women's soccer team. Linke and Palladino paired up on several Courage broadcasts last season.
Joining the broadcast team for the first time is Drew Smith, the Sports Director/Anchor for WTVD, the ABC-owned and operated station in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market. Smith is a two-time Emmy Award winner, having garnered awards in 1999 and 2000 for his anchoring and reporting. Smith will handle sideline duties, conducting half-time interviews and providing routine updates during the matches.
Dean Linke, a longtime U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman, also hosts the Carolina Courage Soccer Show, which airs year-round on Time Warner's Triangle Television. In addition, Linke serves as the host and emcee for Courage special events and press conferences. Linke's broadcast portfolio includes Major League Soccer's broadcasts for the Colorado Rapids (1996-98) on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. He also called the 2001 UNC women's and men's soccer broadcasts on the Tar Heel Sports Network, including the NCAA Men's Final Four in Columbus, Ohio. Linke is the President of The VilCom Network, a Chapel Hill-based sports marketing company. Before joining TVN, Linke was the Vice President of Operations and Communications for MLS' Rapids (1996-98), the first-ever Director of Communications for MLS (1994-96) and the Press Officer for the 1994 U.S. Men's World Cup Soccer Team. Linke resides in Chapel Hill, with his wife, Leah, and sons, Ben, 5, and Max, 2.
In addition to his long service with the UNC Women's Soccer program, Palladino holds an A coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation and is currently the Assistant Coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. Prior to the formation of the WUSA, Palladino served as the Head Coach of the Raleigh Wings from 1998-2000, steering the team to two W-League championships.
Drew Smith joined WTVD in November of 1991 after spending three years as the weekend sports anchor for KSDK-TV, the NBC affiliate in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1990, the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association named Smith the Missouri Sportscaster of the Year. During his two decades as a professional sportscaster, Smith has covered just about every major sporting event including several NCAA Final Fours, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the US Open, the Daytona 500, the Stanley Cup playoffs, the WUSA playoffs, the Major League Baseball All-Star game, and numerous high school and youth sports. A soccer enthusiast, Smith has coached youth teams and served as a team administrator with the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh for several years.
The Courage will play its home opener on May 4 at the brand new State Capital Soccer Park in Cary against the Atlanta Beat. For ticket information, call the Carolina Courage ticket office at (919) 573-7626 or log on to the official website at www.carolinacourage.com.
The Carolina Courage is a charter member of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). The WUSA is the world's premiere women's professional soccer league, with eight franchises located in Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh, San Diego, San Jose, and Washington D.C.
The WUSA is owned by a unique partnership that unites Time Warner Cable, which operates the Carolina Courage and the New York Power, with several other major players in the cable industry. Other WUSA investors include John S. Hendricks, chairman and CEO of Discovery Communications: Amos B. Hostetter, former chairman and CEO of Continental Cablevision, Inc.; Comcast Corporation; Cox Enterprises; and Cox Communications.
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