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NEW YORK JETS AT WASHINGTON TO KICK OFF NFL
SEASON The 2003 NFL regular season will open with an ABC primetime game – the New York Jets at the Washington Redskins -- on Thursday night, September 4 at 9:00 PM ET, the NFL announced today. The NFL season opened last year for the first time on a Thursday night with ESPN televising the San Francisco 49ers’ 16-13 victory over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. This year’s Thursday night kickoff will include pregame specials on both ABC and ESPN. ESPN’s “NFL Countdown” will originate from the site of the game. The September 4 pregame specials will include live coverage of the NFL’s “Kickoff Celebration II,” which again will be a featured entertainment component of Kickoff Weekend. Last year’s NFL Kickoff extravaganza was held in New York City’s Times Square. Further details will be announced shortly. ABC will have two primetime games on Kickoff Weekend (Thursday, September 4 and Monday, September 8) for a season total of 17 primetime games (the opening Thursday night kickoff and 16 Monday Night Football games). As a result, no Monday night game will be scheduled for the league’s final weekend of December 27-28 (Week 17). The elimination of the final Monday night game will, in turn, serve to enhance the flexibility of scheduling the opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs. ESPN will televise Saturday night and Sunday night games in Weeks 16 and 17 this year, resulting in Saturday and Sunday TV triple-headers on those weekends. The rest of the 2003 playing schedule will be announced at a later date. # # # |