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MTV Networks owned Nickelodeon and the National Football League have entered into partnership to produce new, original animated short-form series.

This production partnership will bring 22-episode series ‘Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core’ for Nicktoons. The series will be based on NFL’s online world for kids NFLRUSH ZONE.

Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core will comprise two-to-five minute shorts featuring an unexpected new hero, all 32 NFL teams and the voices of NFL players and coaches as themselves, such as Coach Sean Payton, who led the New Orleans Saints to victory in Super Bowl XLIV, and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

The new series will be broadcast on Nicktoons weekly coinciding the 2010 NFL season from September through February and will end with a one-hour movie special to air the day before Super Bowl XLV.

Nicktoons.com and NFLRUSH.com will also stream the animated short-form series. High-definition production is also planned for using it on Jumbotrons in NFL stadiums across the country.

Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core follows Ishmael, a 10-year old boy who was just an ordinary kid until learning that all 32 NFL stadiums also serve as secret strongholds of an otherworldly benevolent life force that he has been chosen to guard. That life force, once the core of a far-off peaceful planet, has been broken into pieces, or shards, which are hidden in every NFL stadium around the country. An evil villain known as Sudden Death is determined to find the shards, reassemble them and end humanity. To stop Sudden Death, Ish is given the physical abilities of an NFL football player (and a few additional super powers) to battle on and off the gridiron.

Dawkins, Nicktoons General Manager, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Programming Partnerships said “It is great to be partnering with the NFL. To be able to bring the power of two brands that boys love, the NFL and Nickelodeon, together less than one roof and leverage the best of what we both do is extremely exciting. This new series combines fantasy, sports, game play, team work, competition and the age old theme of good vs. evil, under one compelling new narrative.”

Peter O’Reilly, NFL Vice President of Fan Strategy & Marketing said “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Nickelodeon and to bring the NFL to life in a fantastical, exciting animated series. Millions of children have discovered the fun of the NFLRUSH ZONE online world in the past two years, and this new series is a great way of bringing the RUSH ZONE to an even wider audience every week during the NFL season.”

The Wichita Wingnuts has announced that it will partner with the University of Phoenix to present 2010 American Association All-Star Game on July 27. The game will be broadcast on Cox Kansas 22.

The University of Phoenix will be the presenting sponsor of the Wichita Campus 2010 American Association All-Star Game scheduled for Tuesday, July 27th at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

The 2010 American Association All-Star Game will witness the best players from the North and South Divisions, with all 10 teams sending at least one representative.

Before the American Association All-Star Game the Wingnuts will host several skills competitions, highlighted by the annual Home Run Derby.

Carrie Morris-Smith, University of Phoenix Wichita Campus Director said “University of Phoenix – Wichita campus is excited to sponsor the 2010 American Association All-Star game. The best baseball players in the league are participating, making this game one of the most competitive and entertaining in the nation. As fans of the Wichita Wingnuts, our employees, students and faculty members are thrilled to celebrate these players and baseball as a sport.”

Wingnuts’ President Josh Robertson said “This is another major step in making sure the All-Star Game is presented first class. The University of Phoenix is well-known across the country and we are very proud to have both of our names attached to one of the biggest events Wichita will see this year.”

SIRIUS XM Radio has announced that it will broadcast all the 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup live from South Africa from June 11 through July 11.

SIRIUS XM will deliver English language broadcasts of every World Cup match, produced by ESPN Radio.

SIRIUS XM subscribers will hear ESPN broadcasters JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth. Dellacamera has called the last six FIFA World Cups for a variety of television networks as well as the past two Summer Olympic Games. Smyth has called more than 2,500 international matches from leagues all over the world and has worked three FIFA World Cups.

SIRIUS XM will offer exclusive analysis throughout the tournament from international soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia and Charlie Stillitano, who will host special World Cup editions of their SIRIUS XM program, The Football Show in addition to live play-by-play of every match.

Chinaglia, one of the game’s most prolific goal-scorers, played for Italy in the 1974 FIFA World Cup and earned international renown as a striker for the Italian club Lazio and the New York Cosmos. Stillitano is the former general manager of the NY/NJ Metrostars and a U.S. Soccer Foundation founding board member.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, contested by 32 national teams, will take place from June 11 to July 11 in nine cities in South Africa. Nations competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup include Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Paraguay, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay and the USA.

ESPN has launched six local-based apps for the iPhone and iPod touch expanding its mobile reach. The most popular five ESPN Local apps launched are in Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. These apps allow fans to access all the latest breaking news, scores and information from the hometown teams.

ESPN has also launched ESPN Passport that allows fans to chronicle their at-the-game experiences by building a digital sports scrapbook via the app on their mobile devices while also capturing real-time perspective with the ability to upload photos and share commentary while at the game.

All these ESPN Local Apps are free to download allowing fans instant access to breaking local news, hometown team information, local writers, bloggers and a custom local SportsCenter. The features of ESPN Local apps are:

• Top local and national news stories;
• GPS-activated local weather updates;
• Blog posts and tweets from each of the local contributors to the sites;
• Interactive scoreboard;Access to local SportsCenter video and audio clips;
• Stadium guides for all local professional sports teams;Schedules;
• Text direct to ESPN Radio stations in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York;

ESPN Local sites in Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Los Angeles have already become leading destinations for fans of local sports.

ESPN has announced that for the first time in its FIFA World Cup history, the sports network in collaboration with affiliates will deliver 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches in languages other than English in the United States.

AT&T U-Verse, Cox and DirecTV are the affiliates which will deliver 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches in multiple languages.

ESPN’s multi-language coverage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will deliver games in Arabic, German, Japanese and Korean languages also. Customers can make a simple adjustment directly on their set top box, by selecting the appropriate option in their on screen guide, or online via ESPN3.com.

ESPN already announced that ESPN Deportes, the all-sports Spanish-language network, and ESPN3.com will provide Portuguese-language telecasts of 2010 FIFA World Cup, as part of its multi-language rights in the U.S. for FIFA events through 2014.

David Preschlack, executive vice president, affiliate sales and marketing, Disney & ESPN Networks Group, said “We are always looking for new ways to serve our fans and the World Cup presented the perfect opportunity. Our team has coordinated a lot of moving pieces to make this happen and we think the end result will help our affiliates serve their increasingly diverse constituents.”

SIRIUS XM Radio has announced that it will cover The Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses “The Kentucky Derby” from Louisville, Kentucky, United States starting Saturday, May 1.

SIRIUS and XM will present live race call of the 136th “Run for the Roses” at 5:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 120 and XM channel 140.

SIRIUS XM’s exclusive horse racing talk shows will deliver the latest news and analysis leading up to horse racing’s most celebrated day before the race broadcast.

Every weekday afternoon At The Races with Steve Byk on SIRIUS channel 126 at 4:00 – 7:00 pm ET and on XM channel 243 will air live from Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Byk will talk with handicapping experts and Derby trainers each day to give his audience and expert look at the field.

On Saturday a special pre-Derby edition of Down The Stretch, hosted by Dave Johnson and Bill Finley, will air live from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 126 and XM channel 243. Johnson, the acclaimed track announcer who called the Derby for 24 years, and Finley will discuss all the stakes races happening that day at Churchill Downs, provide the latest Derby news and pre-race analysis, and interview drivers, trainers and owners.

SIRIUS XM offers horse racing fans around the country comprehensive coverage of the Sport of Kings throughout the year, providing live coverage of top races from around the country plus the racing talk shows Down The Stretch (Saturdays, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm ET, SIRIUS channel 126 and XM channel 243) and At The Races with Steve Byk.

ESPN has announced that it will broadcast 2010 NFL Draft for the 31st consecutive year from April 22-24. ESPN for the first time will change to new primetime format as follows:

• Round 1 – Thurs., April 22 – 7:30 p.m., ESPN and
• Rounds 2-3 – Fri., April 23 – 6 p.m., ESPN/switches to ESPN2

2010 NFL Draft and related content will be available across multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile, ESPNU, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic and ESPN International.

Highlights of 2010 NFL Draft includes:

ESPN-ESPN2

ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise all 15 hours of the 2010 NFL Draft in high definition, as well as 20 hours of SportsCenter Special shows during NFL Draft week.  On Days 1 (Thurs., April 22) and 2 (Fri., April 23), Chris Berman will again host ESPN’s coverage with Jon Gruden, Tom Jackson, Mel Kiper, Jr., and Steve Young from ESPN’s main set at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen and NFL Insider Adam Schefter will report from a stage set, and reporter Suzy Kolber will conduct interviews in the green room and after players are selected. Also, ESPN Scouts Inc. director of college scouting Todd McShay will contribute from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.

On Day 3 (Saturday, April 24), NFL Live’s Trey Wingo will host coverage from Radio City with Gruden, Jaworski and Kiper. Mortensen and Schefter will continue to report from Radio City, and Kolber will co-host Rounds 4-7 from Bristol joined by Tedy Bruschi, Trent Dilfer, Herm Edwards and McShay.

ESPN will dispatch reporters on Days 1 and 2 to team sites across the country, including: Colleen Dominguez (covering San Francisco), Pedro Gomez (New Orleans), Rachel Nichols (St. Louis), Wendi Nix (Pittsburgh), Sal Paolantonio (Philadelphia), Michael Smith (Cleveland), Shelley Smith (Seattle) and Ed Werder (Washington).

Two editions of SportsCenter Special: On the Clock (3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., ESPN) and NFL Live (4 p.m., ESPN) on April 22 will kickoff ESPN’s comprehensive Draft coverage on Day 1 and 2. Monday Night Football’s Mike Tirico will host with analysts Cris Carter, Dilfer, Kirk Herbstreit (Thurs. only), Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson and McShay. The three-hour SportsCenter Special at 4:30 p.m. will lead into the NFL Draft telecast.

Other highlights:

* Coverage of the NFL Draft 75th anniversary Red Carpet event from Radio City Music Hall (Fri., April 23, 6-7 p.m.) will include interviews with Draft prospects, some of the Most Valuable Draft Picks of all-time and members of the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame class;
* Videoconferencing in high definition with all 32 teams using Glowpoint telepresence technology;
* Live shots with some 25 NFL Draft prospects, capturing their reactions as they’re picked;
* More than 200 player highlight packages;
* More than 60 rapid-fire still photo bumps featuring Draft prospects that will be used in and out of commercial breaks during the telecast;
* The perceptive pixel touch screen regularly used on SportsCenter and a new 65-inch interactive depth chart will be used by McShay during Draft coverage. ESPN Axis will also be utilized;
* Sport Science host John Brenkus will offer unique athlete analysis segments on player acceleration, VO2 Max, word association, speed and agility, etc., based on tests conducted on 2010 NFL Draft prospects.
* SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp (Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m.) – The one-hour special features Gruden in classroom sessions and one-on-one interviews with four of the top quarterbacks in the 2010 NFL Draft class – Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow.

ESPN’s 2010 NFL Draft marketing campaign is themed to the Jay-Z song “Empire State of Mind” (featuring Alicia Keys). The spots highlight the Draft’s move to primetime and take viewers on a visual tour of New York City before arriving at the famous Radio City Music Hall marquee. Along the way, names and images of top Draft prospects appear on the billboards and up in lights at various sites throughout the city.  The campaign was created by ESPN Consumer Marketing and produced by Triple Double in Los Angeles. To view the 30 second spot, click here. In all, ESPN’s NFL Draft telecast will feature four Jay-Z songs – “Star Is Born”, “On To The Next One”, “So Ambitious” and “Empire State Of Mind” – all from The Blueprint 3 album.

ESPN Radio

Football Tonight host Freddie Coleman will anchor ESPN Radio’s 2010 NFL Draft coverage Thursday and Friday, April 22-23, from Radio City with ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton and former Redskins Executive Vice President for Football Operations Vinny Cerrato. ESPN Radio’s coverage will start Thursday at 7 p.m. (Round 1) and Friday at 6 p.m. (Rounds 2-3). ESPN Radio will also present news and updates Saturday from Rounds 4-7.

ESPNEWS

ESPNEWS will supplement its overall sports news coverage with prime-time NFL Draft updates beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22 for Round 1. Mike Hill and Dari Nowkhah will anchor from Bristol with analysts Eric Allen and Qadry Ismail and college football reporter Joe Schad. Draft-related updates continue Friday, April 23 at 6 p.m. for Rounds 2 and 3 with Hill and Ryan Burr, Allen, Ismail and Schad. Both nights, ESPNEWS will offer analysis of player selections and live interviews. Special graphics will allow fans to follow the action, team-by-team, and viewers will be invited to share their thoughts through polls and comments on ESPN.com’s SportsNation and via Twitter (@ESPNEWS). On Saturday, April 24, ESPNEWS will offer special Draft-tracking graphics, updates, interviews and analysis throughout Rounds 4-7.

ESPN.com

ESPN.com’s 2010 NFL Draft section will offer comprehensive coverage leading up to and throughout all three days of the Draft with analysis and insight from Kiper, McShay, Scouts Inc. experts and others. All eight NFL division bloggers will be part of ESPN.com’s “cover it live” approach from various team sites, including Tim Graham (Miami), Paul Kuharsky (Nashville), Matt Mosley (Washington), Mike Sando (Seattle), Kevin Seifert (Detroit), James Walker (Cleveland), Bill Williamson (Denver) and Pat Yasinskas (Tampa). ESPN senior writers Jeffri Chadiha (Kansas City), John Clayton (New York) and Len Pasquarelli (Atlanta) will also offer columns and insights.

Pre-Draft highlights: Scouts Inc. reports on approximately 350 prospects through ESPN’s DraftTracker;

Kiper’s Big Board; weekly features by ESPN’s division bloggers examining each team’s Draft possibilities; regularly updated mock drafts; reports on individual workouts and evaluations of each team’s Draft needs and potential strategies; an “Inside the Draft” multimedia feature that examines key figures in the Dallas Cowboys’ war room; round-by-round all-star teams of previous drafts; a feature on the five best Drafts of all time; and profiles on prominent Draft prospects.

Draft coverage: The three-day coverage will include a revamped DraftCast, including NFL Draft Live, a feature that allows users to interact with ESPN.com writers, bloggers and other draft experts across the country; DraftTracker: Pick-by-pick data in real time; a social media application that integrates Facebook; SportsNation polling; live blogging and team reviews from all eight NFL division bloggers; video breakdowns of every first-round pick by ESPN’s Herm Edwards; pick-by-pick analysis by Scouts Inc., and Kiper’s team-by-team draft grades.

ESPN Mobile

ESPN Mobile will give fans on-the-go access to Draft-related news and information including a Draft section on ESPN’s mobile web site complete with video, player profiles, analysis and breaking news.  ESPN.com’s favorite columnists are also highlighted as well as player skill breakdowns from the experts at Scouts Inc.  ESPN Mobile TV will offer vignettes and features all week and throughout each round, and ESPN’s MVP subscribers will get one-touch access to Draft-related news, information and video.

ESPN International

ESPN International will offer coverage (same as the domestic telecast) all three days of the NFL Draft to approximately 23 million households in 43 countries and territories on ESPN America, the only European network dedicated to broadcasting the best North American sports, and TSN (Canada). The Draft telecast will be live Thursday and Friday on TSN (Canada).

ESPNU

The 24-hour college sports network is presenting extensive Draft-related content throughout the week by replaying college football games featuring several of the top 2010 prospects, including Gerald McCoy and Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska), Eric Berry (Tennessee), Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame) and CJ Spiller (Clemson), among others. Coverage will also include college football game reairs featuring NFL Draft “sleepers” like Ryan Mathews (Fresno State) and Tony Moeaki (Iowa). Games will air April 16-25.

The two-hour ESPNU Draft Special hosted by Lowell Galindo with analysts Tom Luginbill and Charles Arbuckle will air Tuesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. and will feature the latest Draft news, predictions and analysis.

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic will present a 13-day marathon (April 10-22) of star NFL players ‘before they were pros’ by televising each player’s classic college games daily from noon–10 p.m. The eventual NFL stars used these college games to showcase their talents for scouts and coaches, better positioning themselves for the NFL Draft. Featured players will include Donovan McNabb (April 13, 6-10 p.m.), Brett Favre (April 15, 2-6 p.m.), Tom Brady (April 16, noon–10 p.m.), Adrian Peterson (April 20, 4-8 p.m.) and Chris Johnson (April 22, noon – 4 p.m.), among others.

ESPN The Magazine

ESPN The Magazine’s NFL Draft Preview includes a cover-story on Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. In “As Easy As 1, 2, 3… 756, 757, 758” ESPN The Magazine writer David Fleming dissects the former Irish signal-caller’s forward pass to find out what he does and how he makes it looks so simple — his sublime mechanics give him an important edge over his peers and have made him a top prospect in this year’s NFL Draft. Clausen is also featured on the back cover where he has been “Avatorized” in an ad promoting the Avatar DVD release, with the copy written in Na’vi. Also featured in the NFL Draft issue, The Mag brought five mid-round Draft prospects to New York for a photo shoot and some fun in “Kings for a Day III.” The Magazine also calculated the Games Started Above Average (GSAA) to get a 1-32 ranking of each NFL teams’ war room success in “Picky, Picky.”

Golf legend Arnold Palmer has been named as Honorary Chairman for 2010 summer’s inaugural Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy, a PGA TOUR Nationwide Tour event.

Mylan Inc. Sponsored The 2010 Mylan Classic will be played Sept. 2-5 at Southpointe Golf Club in the Pittsburgh suburb of Canonsburg, preceded by a pro-am event on Sept. 1.

Mylan Inc. ranks among the leading generic and specialty pharmaceutical companies in the world and provides products to customers in more than 140 countries and territories.

Nearly all of the 100-plus PGA TOUR tournaments – including the Mylan Classic – are structured as non-profit organizations that donate 100% of event net proceeds to local charities.

Mylan Chairman and CEO Robert J. Coury said “We feel truly privileged that Arnold Palmer will be participating in the Mylan Classic in this very special way. While his golf career has certainly been nothing short of legendary, his reputation for helping to raise funds for numerous charitable organizations is just as impressive. He is the perfect Honorary Chairman for an event that combines the celebration of golf with the desire to give back to local communities and their charities.”

Palmer said “”I gladly accepted this offer when approached. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for the Nationwide Tour and the significant impact it has on the PGA TOUR. Now in its 21st year, the Tour has done much to advance the level of competition in professional golf and prepare many of the sport’s most talented young players for life on the PGA TOUR. I congratulate Mylan and key supporting sponsors CONSOL Energy and Dick’s Sporting Goods for bringing this wonderful event to the golf fans of western Pennsylvania.”

The Golf Channel will broadcast all the four rounds Sept. 2-5 in United States and the event will be broadcast in more than 120 countries worldwide.

The monthly sports news magazine ‘Next Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel‘ debuted on April 2, 1995 on HBO. The 157th edition will be presented on TUESDAY, APRIL 13 at 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on HBO in high-definition.

Other HBO play dates:

• April 17 – 10:30 a.m.
• April 19 – 10:00 a.m., 6:30 p.m.
• April 22 – 3:00 a.m.
• April 23 – 5:00 p.m.
• April 27 – noon, 7:30 p.m.
• April 29 – 6:00 a.m., 1:00 a.m., and
• May 2 – 8:00 a.m.

HBO2 play dates:

• April 15 – 9:00 a.m., 11:55 p.m.
• April 18 – 3:30 p.m.
• April 20 – noon, 9:00 p.m.
• April 26 – 1:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m.
• April 28 – 7:00 p.m.
• April 30 – 9:00 p.m.
• May 4 – 7:00 p.m., 5:00 a.m. and
• May 6 – 9:00 a.m.

HBO On Demand availability:  April 19-May 10

Segments include:

Arturo Gatti. Few fighters rivaled Arturo “Thunder” Gatti for heart, determination or sheer toughness.  A beloved

brawler who called northern New Jersey home, Gatti became a star by displaying a willingness to literally die in the ring rather than give up.  Given his reputation for refusing to quit, news of the 37-year-old’s death last July was particularly shocking.  Brazilian authorities initially suspected that Gatti had been murdered and charged his wife  Amanda with the crime – but after investigating concluded that Gatti killed himself.  While the authorities claim to be sure of their suicide theory, many questions still remain, and those closest to the famed slugger refuse to believe he was capable of taking his own life.  Correspondent Jon Frankel travels to Brazil to shed light on what actually happened the night Arturo Gatti died.

Producer:  Chapman Downes.

Vernon Forrest.  On a hot summer night last July, boxing champion Vernon Forrest, 38, and his 11-year-old godson, Shamar Guillory, pulled into a downtown Atlanta gas station for a quick stop.  Moments later, a senseless act of violence left a beloved fighter dead and a child witness traumatized.  Bryant Gumbel visits Atlanta to follow the trail of the murder investigation that brought together the police and the bereft community where Forrest had become such a prominent figure through his charitable work.  Gumbel also talks with Shamar Guillory, the young eyewitness to the tragic shooting, who provides a detailed account of what happened the night boxing lost one of its “good guys.”

Producer:  David Scott.

Alexis Arguello.  When former three-time boxing champion Alexis Arguello took the stage in 2008 to celebrate his election as mayor of Managua, Nicaragua’s capitol, it was a most unlikely sight.  For more than two decades, the greatest Nicaraguan athlete of all time had been in a downward spiral that included exile from his homeland and serious issues with drug addiction.  Now, Arguello was seemingly back on top, but it wouldn’t last long.  Less than a year later, amidst a maelstrom of political pressure, and embarrassment over the powerless nature of his position and his relationship with President Daniel Ortega, he took his own life.  As Arguello’s family and friends continue to grieve his passing, correspondent Frank Deford, in a gripping REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated report, heads to Nicaragua in search of answers about why Arguello may have felt compelled to take his own life.

Producer:  Josh Fine.

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL recently received six Sports Emmy® nominations for the 2009 programming year.  Winners will be announced April 26.

The executive producers of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; Kirby Bradley is senior producer.

ESPN.com announced the launch of a collection of local-market blogs that will grow to represent a specific, local voice for each of the 30 professional teams in MLB ‘SweetSpot Blog Network.’ ESPN.com has increased from eight in 2009 to 30 for the 2010 MLB season.

ESPN.com has launched the SweetSpot Blog Network in October 2009 during the playoffs. The SweetSpot Blog Network is anchored and hosted by ESPN.com’s SweetSpot blog, written by ESPN.com senior writer and blogger Rob Neyer. Prior to joining ESPN, Neyer worked with Bill James and STATS, Inc., and has written or co-written six books about baseball. He has been with ESPN.com since 1996.

Each blog will maintain editorial independence and continue to own and operate as its own site. Each blog will contribute a unique localized voice that will speak to baseball fans for each team.

The launch of the SweetSpot Blog Network coincides with the start of the 2010 regular season. The blogs include:

* Astros: Austin Swafford’s Astros 290 Blog is his most recent venture into blogging, after having a Texas Rangers blog with Most Valuable Network and a self-run college football blog. He is a student at the University of Texas, where he has been a writer for the sports section at the Daily Texan. Swafford has a long history with the Astros, going back to the days of his childhood when he cheered Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell through the rough years.

* Cardinals: Matt Philip (a.k.a. Pip) has been blogging since 2004 at Fungoes, which focuses on “Cardinals’ news from a Sabermetric point of view.” Pip is a member of the Bob Broeg (St. Louis) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, the United Cardinal Bloggers and the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. He believes Keith Hernandez was the greatest-fielding first baseman of all-time and that the second-best was his mustache.

* Braves: Peter Hjort is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and a life-long Braves fan. He opened Capitol Avenue Club in April of 2009 in an attempt to examine nearly everything the Atlanta Braves’ front office deals with and more, including baseball economics, sabermetrics, prospects, common sense, and bad tastes.

* Cubs: Joe Aiello has been writing about the Cubs on View From The Bleachers since October 2003 when he had his heart ripped from his chest by Steve Bartman and the epic collapse. Born and raised in Chicago, he now makes his home in North Carolina, but regularly makes a trip to Washington to see the Cubs play. His primary interest with blogging is in bringing a full organizational view of the team to help fans understand why the front office makes the decisions they do.

* Dodgers: A native of Los Angeles, Jon Weisman has been writing about the Dodgers at Dodger Thoughts since 2002 and thinking deeply about them since the 1970s. He is the author of 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, published in 2009. Weisman began covering sports professionally in 1985, complemented by adventures in writing for and about the screen. Any downtime he can muster will be happily spent with his wife and three young children.

* Giants: Chris Quick has been blogging about the Giants since 2006 at the stats-centric Bay City Ball. He believes in two absolute truths in life: (1) Will Clark had the sweetest swing of any player ever and (2) The Dodgers are evil. Currently living on the East Coast, he blames the Giants and their time zone difference for many bleary-eyed mornings peppered with heartbreak.

* Indians: Steve Buffum grew up a Cleveland fan in Akron, Ohio and writes the B-List Indians Blog. Steve has also written pieces for TheClevelandFan.com, The Orange and Brown Report (theOBR.com), and the weekly alternative paper Cleveland Scene. In his spare time, he writes fiction and loses his hair.

* Mets: A Mets fan since birth, Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach – he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result the blog often includes mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers.

* Nationals: Harper Gordek is a Yankees fan living in North Carolina so it’s only natural that he writes about the Nationals at Nationals Baseball. He started blogging about the franchise during the last summer of the Expos to prove a point but found that he actually enjoyed it and has been unable to stop since. He uses his outsider view to give a fair breakdown on the state of the Nationals while trying to make sure that bad decisions and bad analysis are always challenged.

* Orioles: Dave McNeill started writing about the Baltimore Orioles before the 2008 season. He named his blog Weaver’s Tantrum in honor of the legendary Oriole manager. Also because anger was the emotion he felt most frequently when writing about the Orioles. Today, Dave is looking forward to enjoying the current crop of young players in Baltimore.

* Padres: Geoff Young has covered the Padres at Ducksnorts since September 1997 and written three books about them. Like many people in San Diego, he is originally from somewhere else; unlike most of them, he actually cheers for the home team.

* Phillies: Crashburn Alley’s Bill Baer lives just outside of Philadelphia. He started the Phillies-themed blog in August 2007 in the hopes of bringing a fresh, statistically-oriented perspective to Phillies baseball analysis.

* Rangers: Joey Matschulat has written about the Rangers at Baseball Time in Arlington since February 2007, and contributed to the last two installments of John Burnson’s “Graphical Player” book series. Aside from his passion for baseball, he also enjoys jazz/hip-hop music and possesses great interest in severe weather.

* Royals: Royals Authority is a collaborative effort between Craig Brown, Clark Fosler and Nick Scott, three life-long Royals fans based in the Midwest. Online since 2005, they cover all aspects of The Process that is the Kansas City Royals – from the front office and the big club all the way down to the minor leagues and the draft and everything in between.

* Red Sox: Evan Brunell is a lifelong Red Sox fan who was born and raised in Massachusetts. Brunell started Fire Brand of the American League December 31, 2003 and is currently author emeritus. He has worked for NBC Sports’ Rotoworld.com, the Red Sox Foundation and the Quincy Patriot Ledger. His greatest moment involving the Red Sox is being in attendance for ‘The Steal.’

* Tigers: Mike McClary launched The Daily Fungo in March 2006 — at the outset of a remarkable Tigers season. The native Detroiter writes about the current-day Tigers through the lens of history, personal experiences and gut instinct. The Daily Fungo features game recaps, profiles of past Tigers players as well as podcast interviews of those who cover the team every day.

* Twins: Nick Nelson has covered the Minnesota Twins at Nick’s Twins Blog for the past five seasons. He resides in Minneapolis, where he majored in Journalism at the University of Minnesota.

* White Sox: Jim Margalus has written about the White Sox at Sox Machine since December 2005, and publishes the “White Sox Outsider” series of annual reference books. He’s a third generation South Sider who works as an online producer for a newspaper in upstate New York.

* Yankees: Jason Rosenberg started It’s About The Money in December 2007, not long after A-Rod opted out of his $252 million contact. The blog represents his efforts to present the most unbiased view of the Yankees possible. Jason was raised a Yankees fan and currently resides in Westchester County, NY.