Games include Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United at 4 p.m. ET and Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network
Playoff Coverage begins on Nov. 1 with LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network
NEW YORK – Oct. 25, 2012 – NBC Sports Group MLS regular season coverage culminates with three games in one day beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, when the New York Red Bulls head to Philadelphia to face the Union at PPL Park. Then, NBC Sports Network presents back-to-back matches when the D.C. United hosts the Chicago Fire live from RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., at 4 p.m. ET, immediately followed by the Portland Timbers vs. the San Jose Earthquakes from Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Ore., at 6:30 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports Group’s first MLS playoff game will be on Nov. 1 at 10:30 p.m. ET when the LA Galaxy hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps FC live from The Home Depot Center on NBC Sports Network. Additional playoff coverage will be determined after this weekend’s matches.
WHITE ON PHILADELPHIA: “Nothing would give the Philadelphia fans more pleasure than seeing their Union upsetting the Red Bulls before the play offs. John Hackworth’s side has improved dramatically towards the end of the season and will want to sign off an unhappy season in style against their rivals.”
MARTINO ON NEW YORK: “Can the Red Bulls make a championship team on paper come to life on the field? They have one more regular season game to prove it before it is show time.”
COMMENTATORS:
Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls
Arlo White (play-by-play), Kyle Martino (“Between the Benches” analyst) and Russ Thaler (host).
D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire
Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play) and Shep Messing (analyst).
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Portland Timbers
JP Dellacamera (play by play) and Brian Dunseth (analyst) and Rob Simmelkjaer (host).
For the full NBC Sports Group 2012 MLS Schedule visit www.NBCSports.com. Viewers can also follow all the action on Twitter @MLSonNBCSports.
ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com: Steve Davis (@SteveDavis90), a respected soccer journalist for more than two decades, is the featured writer for ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com. Davis, who has covered Major League Soccer, since its inception in 1996 contributes regular posts and will provide video reports to NBCSports.com, and is expected to be an occasional guest on NBC SportsTalk, the daily hour-long news and information show on NBC Sports Network.
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Last August, Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NBC Sports Group announced a three-year media rights agreement that calls for 46 MLS games and four U.S. National Team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This agreement was the first rights deal for the new NBC Sports Network. All telecasts on NBC and NBC Sports Network will consist of pre-game and post-game coverage.
–NBC Sports Group–