Paul Burmeister and former Cincinnati Bengal Solomon Wilcots
kick off 18-game slate beginning April 2
Fran Charles, Charles Davis, Tom Waddle and others call 'Game of the Week' telecasts
NFL Network personalities Paul Burmeister, a former University of Iowa quarterback, and Solomon Wilcots, a former Cincinnati Bengal, will be in the booth for the debut of the Arena Football League (AFL) "Game of the Week" on NFL Network Friday, April 2 at 8 p.m. ET. Burmeister splits play-by-play duty with Fran Charles on the network's 18-game schedule while Wilcots, Charles Davis, Tom Waddle and others who will be announced during the season will serve as analysts.
NFL Network's AFL "Game of the Week" telecasts are slated for Friday nights in primetime at 8 p.m. ET with Burmeister and Wilcots calling the inaugural April 2 game featuring the Chicago Rush vs. Iowa Barnstormers. Burmeister and Waddle pair up Week 2 with the Rush hosting the Cleveland Gladiators April 9, while Week 3 features Charles and Davis in Jacksonville with the Orlando Predators visiting the Sharks on April 16.
All AFL games on NFL Network will be telecast in high definition and feature special in-game audio techniques that capture the high-scoring action and fast paced intensity that is the hallmark of the AFL. Mark Teitelman, who produced NFL Network's 2009 Thursday Night Football game schedule, serves the same role for the network's "Game of the Week" telecasts, alongside director Bryan Hennessey.
Burmeister and Charles have previous football play-by-play experience on a variety of levels. Burmeister called the 2008 and 2009 Insight Bowl and has been the voice of Jacksonville Jaguars preseason football broadcasts for the past three years. In 2008, Charles served as the play-by-play voice for NFL Network's telecast of the Texas Bowl and a preseason matchup featuring Patriots vs. Buccaneers.
There will be a rotation of NFL Network analysts for the AFL games throughout the season. Wilcots recently completed his ninth season as a game analyst for the NFL on CBS. During the NFL season, Wilcots also contributes to Playbook on NFL Network and co-hosts a radio show on Sirius NFL Radio. Last season, Davis teamed with Dick Stockton calling matchups for the NFL on FOX and was the lead analyst for the FOX Sports' BCS national championship game and Big Ten Network for the past three years.
Waddle makes his first appearance in the broadcast booth as a game analyst on NFL Network's AFL telecasts. Following a six-year playing career with the Chicago Bears, Waddle became a regular within the Chicago sports media contingent, co-hosting a radio show on WMVP radio. For the past three seasons he has been an in-studio analyst each Sunday alongside Charles on NFL Network's NFL GameDay Scoreboard.
The analysts on the "Game of the Week" will be announced throughout the season.
AFL "Game of the Week" schedule on NFL Network (all games to start at 8 p.m. ET):
Week 1 -- April 2: Chicago Rush vs. Iowa Barnstormers
Week 2 -- April 9: Cleveland Gladiators vs. Chicago Rush
Week 3 -- April 16: Orlando Predators vs. Jacksonville Sharks
Week 4 -- April 24 (Saturday): Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs vs. Iowa Barnstormers
Week 5 -- April 30: Iowa Barnstormers vs. Orlando Predators
Week 6 -- May 7: Jacksonville Sharks vs. Tampa Bay Storm
Week 7 -- May 14: Utah Blaze vs. Milwaukee Iron
Week 8 -- May 21: Arizona Rattlers vs. Iowa Barnstormers
Week 9 -- May 28: Tampa Bay Storm vs. Orlando Predators
Week 10 -- June 4: Jacksonville Sharks vs. Chicago Rush
Week 11 -- June 11: Tulsa Talons vs. Dallas Vigilantes
Week 12 -- June 18: Jacksonville Sharks vs. Orlando Predators
Week 13 -- June 25: Bossier City/Shreveport Battlewings vs. Tampa Bay Storm
Week 14 -- July 2: Chicago Rush vs. Tampa Bay Storm
Week 15 -- July 9: Tampa Bay Storm vs. Dallas Vigilantes
Week 16 -- July 16: Spokane Shock vs. Iowa Barnstormers
Week 17 -- July 23: Chicago Rush vs. Spokane Shock
Week 18 -- July 30: Tulsa Talons vs. Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs
*NFL Network** airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log on to www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive internet home of NFL Network.*