BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Newly crowned Bassmaster Classic champ Chris Lane is headed to the car wash.
Lane was invited to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to appear Friday in a round of interviews — “the car wash,” as it’s known at ESPN. He will be interviewed on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN2 at 9:45 a.m., participate in a live chat on ESPN.com at 3 p.m., do an ESPN the Magazine interview and appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter at 3:40 p.m. (All times are Eastern.)
Lane’s appearances kick off a weekend of television devoted to the Classic. How the pro from Guntersville, Ala., discovered his winning bass, and exactly how he caught them, will be revealed Saturday and Sunday on ESPN2 in three new episodes of The Bassmasters, a total of five hours of programming originating from the Feb. 24-26 Classic competition on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
The first of the three Classic shows will air from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday, March 3. The hour-long show will cover Day 1 of the competition out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. That was when Louisiana native Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala., led the field of 49 of the world’s best anglers. Alabamian Greg Vinson was only 1 ounce behind Poche. Eventual winner Lane ended Day 1 tied at sixth place with his brother, Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla.
How fared the Red River favorites? The Day 1 programming will include how defending champ Kevin VanDam and Michael Iaconelli, among other pros, tried their best for the win.
The complete Classic story will unfold Sunday, March 4, on ESPN2. First, from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., the Day 1 show will air again. It will lead directly into the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. episode centered on the second day of competition. That’s when Chris Lane snapped up the lead from Poche.
The finale, which will cover Day 3, will begin the same evening at 9:30 p.m., also on ESPN2. The two-hour segment will explore in depth how Lane closed on his first Bassmaster Classic victory and second tournament win of the 2012 Bassmaster season. His taking of the Classic trophy ranks as one of the most emotional moments in bass fishing history.
All air times are Eastern. Viewers should check local listings for ESPN2 channel numbers.
The five hours of 2012 Classic programming was produced in less than one week. Hundreds of tapes shot on the water, on stage inside Bossier City’s CenturyLink Center, and backstage in the arena were edited to create the shows.
The Bassmasters hosts, Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona, were on hand at the Classic to witness the action and interview anglers on the water, and later as soon as they stepped off stage. For the shows, the co-hosts will provide their expert commentary aided by new twists in tournament TV, such as slow-motion video that captured the splash of a jumping bass.
“There’s going to be things on this show that you’ve never seen in any fishing show, ever,” Zona says in a behind-the-scenes preview video on Bassmaster.com.
After this weekend, fans can catch the Classic again by tuning in to ESPN2 on Saturday, March 10, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., and on Sunday, March 11, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. In addition, ESPN Classic will air the three 2012 Bassmaster Classic shows back-to-back on Monday, March 12, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For a one-hour recap, viewers can tune in at ESPN2 for the Bassmaster Classic Highlight Show on Sunday, March 18, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.; and again on the same day from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., but on ESPN Classic.
Bassmaster Classic programming was created by JM Associates, a division of B.A.S.S. Inc. For other episodes of The Bassmasters, the producer was Mike McKinnis. In January, The Bassmasters, a year-long series that covers the Bassmaster Elite Series as well as the Bassmaster Classic, was voted top in the category “Fan Favorite Fishing Series” to win a Golden Moose Award from The Outdoor Channel, which offers additional air times of The Bassmasters.
Click to view the entire TV schedule.