ABC SPORTS PRESENTS LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES LIVE

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY, AUGUST 28 7:30-10:00 P.M., ET

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 6:30-9:00 P.M., ET

ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

"ABC's Wide World of Sports" provides live coverage of the 58th Little League World Series, the culmination of Little League Baseball competition from around the world. The 31-game elimination series is played at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The World Championship game of the Little League Baseball World Series can be seen live on ABC (6:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on SUNDAY, AUGUST 29. ABC will also televise the U.S. Championship game on SATURDAY, AUGUST 28 (7:30-10:00 p.m., ET).

This marks the 42nd consecutive year of the Little League World Series on ABC Sports.

COMMENTATORS:
Hosting the Little League World Series will be the legendary Brent Musburger, with former major league star Harold Reynolds providing analysis. ABC Sports reporter Sam Ryan and 16-year-old Grant Paulsen will serve as the game reporters.

THE GAMES:
Saturday's U.S. Championship game showcases the top two teams from the United States. The winner of that game will then meet the top team from the World bracket in the World Championship game on Sunday.

EVENT:
Little League is played in more than 100 countries on six continents, representing nearly three million youngsters.

Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, PA, has been the home to the Little League World Series since 1959. Sports Illustrated ranked Lamade Stadium as the 16th best venue in the world for watching a sporting event. Among the top 20, Lamade is the only one that is exclusively reserved for a youth athletic event.

After winning their regional titles, sixteen teams - eight representing the U.S. (Great Lakes, Mid-West, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, West, New England, Southwest and Northwest), Canada, Latin America, Transatlantic, Mexico, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Caribbean, Asia and Pacific -- will gather in South Williamsport for the elimination series. The final game will match the U.S. champion and the International champion.

PRODUCTION:
Production elements will include: UmpCam, providing viewers with a unique behind-the-plate view through a thumb-sized camera built into the umpire's facemask; HatCam, a camera placed on the hat of an infield umpire, providing a unique angle of the on-field action; a 35-foot JIB boom camera for surrounding and scenic views; and robotic cameras to provide unique baseline views.

Telecasts will also feature "Hometown Heroes" and "Hometown Postcards" vignettes, recognizing the hometown volunteers of the competing teams who give their time and service to Little League baseball.

LLWS ON ABC ANC ESPN:
This year's coverage marks the fourth of a six-year extension between ABC Sports, ESPN and the Little League World Series, featuring increased regional and World Series games. Two games (the U.S. Championship and the World Championship) will be televised on ABC for the fourth straight year. The World Championship game has been on ABC since 1963. In all, 35 games of the Little league World Series will be televised by ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

Forty-one years ago (1963), "ABC's Wide World of Sports" broadcast the LLWS Championship game for the first time, with Chris Schenkel calling the play-by-play.

THE TEAMS:
Great Lakes Owensboro, Kentucky
Mid-West Davenport, Iowa
Mid-Atlantic Preston, Maryland
New England Lincoln, Rhode Island
Southwest Richmond, Texas
Southeast Morganton, North Carolina
West Thousand Oaks, California
Northwest Redmond, Washington
Canada Ottawa, Ontario
EMEA Kunto, Poland
Transatlantic Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Mexico Guadalupe, Mexico
Latin America Panama City, Panama
Caribbean Willemestad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Asia Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Pacific Saipan, CNMI

LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL HISTORICAL TIMELINE:

1939 Little League Baseball is founded in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

1947 The Hammonton, New Jersey Little League becomes the first league established outside Pennsylvania. The first Little League World Series is won by Maynard Little League of Williamsport.

1948 Little League grows to 94 leagues.

1949-50 Little League expands to 307 leagues in the United States.

1951 The first Little League is formed outside the U.S. in British Columbia, Canada.

1952 Peter J. McGovern becomes the first full-time president of Little League Baseball.

1953 The Little League World Series is televised for the first time by CBS, while Howard Cosell called the action for ABC Radio. Birmingham, Alabama defeated Schenectady, New York.

1956 The first Little League World Series perfect game is pitched by Fred Shapiro of Delaware Township, New Jersey.

1957 Monterrey, Mexico becomes the first foreign team to win the Little League World Series.

1960 The first European entry in the Little League World Series is from Berlin, Germany.

1963 ABC Television Network and its "ABC's Wide World of Sports" televises the Little League Championship game for the first time, with Chris Schenkel providing the play-by-play.

1968 Little League baseball grows to more than 6,000 programs.

1974 Girls participate in Little League as Little League Softball programs are created.

1985 For the first time, ABC carries the Little League World Series Championship game live on "ABC's Wide World of Sports." For the first time in baseball history, ABC mounts a miniature camera on the mask of the home plate umpire.

1989 Carl Yastrzemski becomes the first Little League graduate to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1990 Little League Baseball launches first full season of the Challenger Division for mentally and physically challenged children.

1993 Long Beach Little League of Long Beach, California becomes the first U.S. team in history to win consecutive Little League Baseball World Series Championships, with a sixth-inning 3-2 win over Chiquiri, Panama.

1998 New Jersey brings back the first Championship in five years to the United States, as Toms River wins in dramatic fashion.

1999 Osaka, Japan captured the Little League World Series Championship with a 5-0 win over Phoenix City, Alabama. Osaka became the fourth Japanese team to win the series.

2000 Sierra Maestra-Maracaibo, Venezuela, which arrived in central Pennsylvania with only one bat, went on to beat Bellaire Texas in a 3-2 victory.

2001 George W. Bush becomes the first U.S. President to visit the Little League Baseball World Series, watching as Japan defeats the Apopka, Florida team 2-1 in the final game. This marked the first time that ABC televised the World Championship game in primetime.

2004 Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) returns to the Little League World Series for the first time since 1996.

THE LITTLE LEAGUE PLEDGE:
I trust in God.
I love my country and will respect its laws.
I will play fair and strive to win.
But win or lose, I will always do my best.

CREDITS:
Curt Gowdy, Jr. is producing the Little League World Series for the 16th consecutive year. Doug Holmes is the director.