TUTV Press Release

February 13, 2002 - For the past two weeks, TUTV Sports has been airing men’s basketball games on Channel 43 of the Tufts Cable Network. Now, thanks to the show's producers, the men’s basketball team is about to gain exposure far outside the boundaries of Tufts University.

Starting Thursday night at 9:30 p.m., the residents of Medford will be able to watch the men’s basketball team on Medford Cablevision Channel 3. The game will be re-broadcast on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. TUTV Sports' executive producer and play-by-play announcer, Tommy Calvert, expects to have the broadcast time for Somerville Community Access finalized by next week. The increase in audience size should provide some boost to the men’s basketball program.

The program has a halftime and post game show, which give updates on all jumbo sports and has featured interview pieces such as an interview with men’s basketball coach, Bob Sheldon. In the last game against Middlebury, the show featured an MTV Cribz-styled piece in the home of the team’s co-captains Bobby MacMannis and Bruce Reese. It’s a great opportunity for the community to learn more about the faces they see on TV, said Eddie Vazquez, a former member of the 2000 ECAC Championship team and now chief analyst for the games.

Eli Kazin, another producer for TUTV Sports, believes that Tufts students will be impressed with the show's production quality. Kazin has worked for NBC Sports in New York and the Sports section at the Boston Globe.

The halftime and post game shows are anchored by former Tufts football player Harry Pierre. They include several reporters from the Daily including Jon Japha, Neil McMahon, Neil Taylor, and Elliot Wiley. Also, swimmer Mike Ferenchick has joined the broadcast team and Alethea Pieters keeps the broadcast updated with sideline reports.