(CHICAGO) – Jay Williams, the NBA's #2 overall draft pick, joins sophomore sensations Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, along with Jamal Crawford, Eddie Robinson, Marcus Fizer, Donyell Marshall and veteran team scoring leader Jalen Rose, for an exciting new season of Chicago Bulls basketball on Fox Sports Net. This season, fans can look forward to head coach Bill Cartwright's squad in action 47 times on Fox Sports Net (44 regular season and three pre-season), once again, the most Bulls games covered by any television network.
Fox Sports Net will carry the season opener live from the Fleet Center in Boston, MA, as the Bulls visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, October 30 at 6:00 PM. The season opening festivities will be covered in a special, one-hour edition of Bulls PRE beginning at 5:00 PM. Prior to the start of the regular season, FSN will also carry three pre-season telecasts from the United Center with the first being held on Friday, October 11 at 7:30 PM vs. Toronto. Other pre-season match-ups will be played against the L.A. Clippers on Friday, October 18 and Minnesota on Monday, October 21.
This year's regular season Bulls schedule on Fox Sports Net features match-ups against the NBA's very best teams and players including a road game against Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 22), a pair of games against Jason Kidd and the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets (Dec. 23 & Apr. 11), plus, exclusive live coverage of what may be Michael Jordan's final game at the United Center when the Washington Wizards come to town on January 24.
Fox Sports Net's unrivaled coverage of the Bulls is led by the veteran announcing tandem of Tom Dore and Johnny "Red" Kerr, who begin their 11th season together for FSN. Also, former standout Bulls center Bill Wennington will handle sideline reporting for the majority of road games and selected home telecasts. Gail Fischer will handle sideline reports for home telecasts throughout the season.
Bulls PRE, featuring the studio tandem of Damon Andrews and Bulls legend Norm Van Lier, will air a half-hour prior to every game telecast on FSN (except Jan. 20) with a complete game preview and pre-game interviews. Andrews and Van Lier will also host half-time intermissions and the Fifth Third Bank Bulls POST, which will immediately follow all FSN game telecasts (except Mar. 12) providing fans with a thorough game breakdown and post-game locker room interviews.
"The Bulls are continuing to build their foundation for the future and we're looking forward to covering this exciting, young group of future NBA stars throughout the season," said James J. Corno, Fox Sports Net Chicago's Senior Vice President/General Manager. "From our expert game, pre-game and post-game coverage, viewers can always count on us for the very best in Bulls coverage."
This season's Bulls schedule on Fox Sports Net includes 22 home games and 22 road match-ups during the regular season. A schedule breakdown includes 29 games against Eastern Conference opponents, the first game facing Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and the Sacramento Kings (Nov. 19), a "Super Bowl Sunday" afternoon match-up against #1 NBA draft pick Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets (Jan. 26), a pair of games against division rivals Ray Allen, Toni Kukoc and the Milwaukee Bucks (Nov. 13 & Jan. 10), a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday late morning match-up against Glenn Robinson and the Atlanta Hawks (Jan. 20), three games against Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic (Dec. 10, Feb. 21 & Mar. 3), both contests against Scottie Pippen and the Portland Trailblazers (Dec. 31 & Jan. 31) and three games against NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers (Feb. 12, Feb. 19 & Apr. 15).
Two regular season games are currently scheduled to be telecast on Fox Sports Net Plus (see attached schedule). Fox Sports Net Plus (FSN+) telecasts are provided to Fox Sports Net affiliates and distributed to viewers when two live events are scheduled simultaneously. Through a cooperative agreement with CLTV, inner market cable operators are given the opportunity to place FSN+ games on CLTV. Cable operators who do not carry CLTV will place FSN+ telecasts on a to-be-determined channel.
Fox Sports Net Chicago reaches more than 3.8 million households in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Fox Sports Net Chicago's programming includes Chicago Bulls basketball, Chicago Blackhawks hockey, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs baseball, Chicago Fire soccer, "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," NASCAR and "The NFL Show." Fox Sports Net Chicago is managed by Rainbow Sports Networks.
Rainbow Sports Networks is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Fox Sports Net reaches more than 80 million households nationwide and is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and Fox Entertainment Group. Rainbow Sports Networks incorporates Rainbow's 50% ownership in Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising and the ownership and management of Fox Sports Net regional networks in five of the nation's largest markets: Chicago, San Francisco, New England, Ohio and Florida.
2002-2003 Chicago Bulls Schedule
| PRE-SEASON | ||
| 1. Fri, Oct. 11 | vs. Toronto | 7:30 pm |
| 2. Fri, Oct. 18 | vs. L.A. Clippers | 7:30 pm |
| 3. Mon, Oct. 21 | vs. Minnesota | 7:30 pm |
| REGULAR SEASON | ||
| 1. Wed, Oct. 30 | @ Boston | 6:00 pm |
| 2. Mon, Nov. 4 | @ Toronto | 6:00 pm |
| 3. Wed, Nov. 6 | vs. Boston | 7:30 pm |
| 4. Fri, Nov. 8 | vs. Dallas | 7:30 pm |
| 5. Wed, Nov. 13 | @ Milwaukee | 7:00 pm |
| 6. Fri, Nov. 15 | @ New Orleans | 7:30 pm |
| 7. Tue, Nov. 19 | @ Sacramento | 9:00 pm |
| 8. Fri, Nov. 22 | @ L.A. Lakers | 9:30 pm |
| 9. Tue, Dec. 3 | vs. New Orleans | 7:30 pm |
| 10. Wed, Dec. 4 | @ Cleveland | 6:00 pm |
| 11. Tue, Dec. 10 | vs. Orlando | 7:30 pm FSN+ |
| 12. Mon, Dec. 16 | vs. Boston | 7:30 pm |
| 13. Wed, Dec. 18 | vs. Toronto | 7:30 pm |
| 14. Sat, Dec. 21 | vs. Indiana | 7:30 pm |
| 15. Mon, Dec. 23 | @ New Jersey | 6:30 pm |
| 16. Fri, Dec. 27 | vs. Minnesota | 7:30 pm |
| 17. Tue, Dec. 31 | vs. Portland | 6:00 pm |
| 18. Mon, Jan. 6 | vs. Utah | 7:30 pm |
| 19. Fri, Jan. 10 | @ Milwaukee | 7:30 pm |
| 20. Tue, Jan. 14 | @ New York | 6:30 pm |
| 21. Fri, Jan. 17 | @ New Orleans | 7:30 pm |
| 22. Mon, Jan. 20 | @ Atlanta | 11:00 am |
| 23. Fri, Jan. 24 | vs. Washington | 7:30 pm |
| 24. Sun, Jan. 26 | vs. Houston | 12:00 pm |
| 25. Fri, Jan. 31 | @ Portland | 9:00 pm |
| 26. Sat, Feb. 1 | @ Seattle | 9:00 pm |
| 27. Tue, Feb. 4 | @ Denver | 8:00 pm |
| 28. Wed, Feb. 12 | @ Philadelphia | 6:00 pm |
| 29. Tue, Feb. 18 | @ Cleveland | 6:00 pm |
| 30. Wed, Feb. 19 | vs. Philadelphia | 8:30 pm |
| 31. Fri, Feb. 21 | @ Orlando | 6:00 pm |
| 32. Mon, Feb. 24 | vs. Phoenix | 7:30 pm |
| 33. Mon, Mar. 3 | vs. Orlando | 7:30 pm |
| 34. Thu, Mar. 6 | vs. Golden State | 7:30 pm |
| 35. Wed, Mar. 12 | @ Memphis | 7:00 pm |
| 36. Sun, Mar. 16 | @ San Antonio | 6:00 pm |
| 37. Tue, Mar. 18 | vs. Atlanta | 7:30 pm |
| 38. Sun, Mar. 23 | @ Detroit | 5:00 pm |
| 39. Wed, Mar. 26 | vs. Miami | 7:30 pm |
| 40. Fri, Mar. 28 | @ Indiana | 6:00 pm FSN+ |
| 41. Tue, Apr. 1 | vs. Seattle | 7:30 pm |
| 42. Tue, Apr. 8 | vs. Indiana | 7:30 pm |
| 43. Fri, Apr. 11 | vs. New Jersey | 7:30 pm |
| 44. Tue, Apr. 15 | vs. Philadelphia | 7:30 pm |
– Three pre-season, 44 regular season telecasts on this season's schedule
– Schedule subject to change
– All Times are Central Time
– All Games are preceded by a half-hour edition of Bulls PRE (except Jan. 20)
– All Games are followed by a 30-minute or 15-minute edition of Bulls POST (except Mar. 12)
PLEASE NOTE: FSN+ telecasts may be found on CLTV or call 1-877-655-PLUS for channel number.