NFL Unveils TV Schedule For Opening Weekend, Thanksgiving

The NFL yesterday released the schedule of games for its ’06 Kickoff Weekend, with the September 7 season-opener on NBC featuring Dolphins-Steelers. On Sunday, September 10, Fox will air Cowboys-Jaguars in the late afternoon game, which will be followed by NBC’s first Sunday night telecast, matching the Colts and Giants at the Meadowlands. ESPN will debut its “MNF” coverage the next night with a doubleheader, featuring Vikings-Redskins at 7:00pm ET and Chargers-Raiders at 10:15pm. In addition, the league announced the first-ever tripleheader on Thanksgiving. CBS will air Dolphins-Lions at 12:30pm ET, followed by Buccaneers-Cowboys on Fox at 4:15pm, and Broncos-Chiefs on NFL Network at 8:00pm (THE DAILY). ESPN Senior VP/Programming Acquisitions & Strategy John Wildhack said the net chose the Vikings for its “MNF” debut because “historically, (they) have always rated extremely well on ESPN. ... The Vikings are a team that people are going to be talking about” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/28).

GIVING THANKS: In K.C., Adam Teicher reports the Thanksgiving night game will “rotate around the league,” while the Lions and Cowboys will “remain as the hosts for the earlier games.” Chiefs Owner Lamar Hunt: “It’s still not exactly what we wanted. We wanted to see all of these games rotated. But we’re happy to have this one” (K.C. STAR, 3/28). NFL Network’s Adam Schefter, on the Broncos and Chiefs playing in the net’s first-ever regular-season game: “Hunt has been a big proponent of Thanksgiving Day games in (K.C.) and (Broncos Owner) Pat Bowlen has been a big proponent of the NFL Network. So you get the two owners together and you give them what they deserve: a great game on Thanksgiving night” (“NFL Total Access,” 3/27).