“The Rumble on the Rails” Live Dual airs Wednesday, May 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Universal Sports to Air USA vs. Russia Wednesday, May 15 at 6 p.m. ET
New York – May 9, 2013 – USA Wrestling, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports combine to present “The Rumble on the Rails,” live wrestling featuring the national teams from the USA, Iran and Russia, from Vanderbilt Hall in historic Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Wednesday, May 15.
Fans can see the nationally-televised matches beginning with the USA vs. Iran freestyle wrestling dual meet on NBC Sports Network, 3:30-5 p.m. ET. Calling the action will be play-by-play announcer Jason Knapp, with color commentary from Olympic champion Rulon Gardner and reporter Jimmy Roberts.
NBC Sports Live Extra -- the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets -- will stream NBC Sports Network’s coverage of “Rumble on the Rails” live via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.
Coverage continues with USA vs. Russia from 6-7:30 p.m. ET on Universal Sports. This event will feature competition in all three Olympic styles of wrestling. It is expected that some experimental wrestling rules will be used, as part of the international effort to improve the sport of wrestling. This match will also be streamed live on UniversalSports.com to authenticated users.
Knapp will handle the play-by-play of this event as well, with reporting from Roberts. The color commentator for this match is yet to be announced.
Lineups for the USA, Iran and Russian teams will be announced shortly.
“The Rumble on the Rails” is part of the annual Beat the Streets Gala, which will be held following the competition at Bryant Park Grill, and raises funds for youth wrestling programs in New York City. It is also a showcase competition as part of World Wrestling Month, which was declared by the international wrestling federation FILA.
This is the second straight year that NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports have aired a major wrestling event affiliated with the Beat the Streets Gala. In June, 2012, these networks both aired “The Grapple in the Big Apple” from Times Square in New York City. ”The Grapple in the Big Apple” featured a USA vs. Russia freestyle dual meet and the U.S. Olympic Team Wrestle-off for the 60 kg/132 lbs. position on the U.S. Olympic Team in men’s freestyle wrestling.
As part of World Wrestling Month, “The Rumble on the Rails” is an important event in the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement, an international effort to retain wrestling as a sport on the program of the 2020 Olympic Games and beyond.
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.
Having produced every summer Olympic Games since Seoul in 1988 and every Olympic Winter Games since Salt Lake City in 2002, the networks of NBCUniversal are synonymous with the Games in the United States. In 2011, NBCUniversal acquired the U.S. media rights on all platforms to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2020 Olympic Games. At the conclusion of the 2020 Games, NBCUniversal will have presented 17 total Olympic Games and 11 consecutive, the most for a U.S. media company in both categories.
NBC has won an unprecedented 96 Emmy Awards for its Olympics coverage, as well as a prestigious Peabody Award for its presentation of the Beijing Opening Ceremony in 2008, which USA Today said was “the best overall Olympic experience ever provided by a U.S. network.”
In addition to its unsurpassed heritage and award-winning production, NBCUniversal is known for aggregating large Olympic audiences, as nine of the top 11 most-watched U.S. television events of all time are Olympic Games presented across the networks of NBCUniversal. The London Olympic Games rank No. 1 with more than 217 million viewers.
ABOUT BEAT THE STREETS
The mission of Beat the Streets is to develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and to strengthen the culture of New York City wrestling. BTSW works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to help New York City’s student-athletes achieve their personal and athletic goals. Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTSW and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life skills of physical fitness, teamwork, and self-empowerment. The goal of fostering strong, dedicated, and optimistic kids is delivered through coaching, after-school programs, and mentoring. More information can be found at www.beat-the-streets.org.
ABOUT USA WRESTLING
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.
ABOUT KEEP OLYMPIC WRESTLING
In the United States, the official website is http://www.KeepWrestlingInTheOlympics.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics, and on Twitter @wrestlingvision.
The international links for FILA are http://www.fila-official.com/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fila.official and on Twitter @FILA_Official. --NBC Sports Group--
