Nickelodeon Gas (Games and Sports for Kids) Presents 'Sideline Heroes of the NFL,' A New Kids' Special Offering a Kids-Eye View of an NFL Game, to be Broadcast Saturday, Aug. 26, on the CBS Television Network

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    NEW YORK, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon GAS (Games and Sports for
 Kids) presents SIDELINE HEROES OF THE NFL, a new kids' special to be broadcast
 during CBS's children's programming lineup Saturday, Aug. 26 (11:00-11:30 AM,
 ET and in most markets; check local listings) on the CBS Television Network.
 SIDELINE HEROES OF THE NFL offers a kid's perspective of National Football
 League football as three kids become immersed in the worlds of the coaches,
 players and CBS announce team members during a pre-season game between the New
 York Giants and the Jacksonville Jaguars.  (This program preempts the
 regularly scheduled "New Tales from the Cryptkeeper" on this day only.  Like
 the show it is preempting, the special conforms to FCC educational
 guidelines.)
     (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000821/NYM096 )
     CBS NFL lead announce team Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms host the special
 along with 12-year-old Marc Alan Beja.
     Eleven-year-old Ashley Brown becomes an honorary member -- or "sideline
 kid" -- of the Jaguars, and 9-year-old George Canni serves in the same
 capacity for the Giants.
     Earl Mann, the voice of the NFL, narrates the kids' special, which
 features the attitude and feel of the now-classic "Inside the NFL" and
 presents the NFL experience from the perspective of three pre-teens working
 side-by-side with football industry professionals.  In the true essence of,
 and with the help of, NFL Films, the show tracks the action of a pre-season
 game between the Giants and the Jaguars -- with a twist.
     In the broadcast booth, Beja jumps into football play-by-play by
 announcing with Gumbel and Simms.  On the field, Brown and Canni join their
 respective teams to confer with coaches and referees, give players moral
 support -- and water -- take viewers in the huddle, breakdown plays on the
 tele-strator, and give the official "it's good" when the ball crosses the end
 zone line.
     The pre-teens were selected, from a large pool of applicants, for their
 love of football, their knowledge of the game and their ability to think on
 their feet.   While working with the football professionals, they experienced
 -- first hand -- the value of teamwork and good sportsmanship.
     Nickelodeon's GAS network, CBS Sports and NFL Films have teamed together
 for the first time to produce SIDELINE HEROES OF THE NFL.  Jay Schmalholz is
 executive producer/creative director.  The special was written by Marcus
 Wagner.  It will air on Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon GAS at a later date.
     Nickelodeon GAS, a new digital channel, covers the world of games and
 sports from all angles -- from everyday kid competitions, video and board
 games and organized sports to kids' fascination with the big leagues.  This
 sports-themed channel is geared toward children 6 to 11.
 
 

SOURCE  Nickelodeon/CBS