Crew Releases 2008 Schedule

The Columbus Crew released their 2008 schedule today.

I took the step of setting up a Google Calendar for the Crew's schedule. I'll keep it updated with changes, etc.

If you want to link to the schedule I made, just click here (I believe this requires a Google Account):



Here's their press release if you like that sort of thing:

COLUMBUS CREW PRESS RELEASE

CREW ANNOUNCES 2008 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE, WHICH FEATURES 12 SATURDAY HOME GAMES
Single-game tickets scheduled to go on sale Friday, Feb. 15, at Noon;
Crew to appear on national TV 14 times, local TV info to be released later
For Immediate Release: Thursday, Feb. 8, 2008
Contact: Dave Stephany, 614-447-4190, or Jason Smith, 614-447-4176

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Crew today announced its schedule for the 2008 Major League Soccer season, which it opens at home on March 29 vs. Toronto FC and features a home date against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 4.

The Crew’s home schedule features a total of 12 Saturday games, two ESPN2 Primetime Thursdays and one Sunday. The two Thursday games, as well as one more to be announced, will be the popular “Bob Evans Buck-A-Brat Nights” at Crew Stadium.

Single-game tickets are scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Friday, Feb. 15, at Noon, at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. In the meantime, the both the Home Opener and Oct. 4 game against L.A. are part of all full-season, half-season and 5-pack ticket plans, which are currently available by calling 614-447-CREW (2739) and at TheCrew.com. Both of those matches are also currently available through group packages.

In the league’s 13th season, each of the 14 clubs – including the expansion San Jose Earthquakes, who return after a two-year hiatus – will play 30 Regular Season games over 31 weeks, 15 at home and 15 on the road, between March 29 and Oct. 26. All 14 teams will play each other twice (home and away), for 26 games. The remaining four games will be played against different intra-conference teams (two home and two away), with consideration given to rivalries. The Crew’s additional intra-conference games are against New England and Kansas City at home and at New York and Toronto.

MLS and its national television partners, ABC/ESPN, Univision, Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports en Español and HDNet, also unveiled the national TV schedule today. The Crew is currently scheduled to appear on national television 14 times, three times on ESPN2 Primetime Thursday, six times on FSC (with five of those also on FSE), four times on HDNet and once on Univision’s TeleFutura. The Crew’s local TV information will be released at a later date.

The 2008 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game is scheduled for Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and TeleFutura, when the MLS stars will play host to an international opponent to be announced at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. MLS Cup 2008 will cap year 13 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC and TeleFutura.

The complete 2008 Crew regular-season schedule follows, with all national broadcasts noted:

2008 Columbus Crew Schedule
Date Day Opponent Time (ET) TV

3/29 Sat. Toronto FC* 4 p.m.

4/5 Sat. New York Red Bulls* 7:30 p.m. FSC/FSE

4/12 Sat. Chivas USA 7:30 p.m.

4/17 Thurs. D.C. United* 8 p.m. ESPN2

4/26 Sat. Houston Dynamo 7:30 p.m.

5/3 Sat. Kansas City Wizards* 7:30 p.m. FSC

5/10 Sat. San Jose Earthquakes 10 p.m.

5/17 Sat. Toronto FC* 3:30 p.m.

5/24 Sat. New England Revolution* 7:30 p.m. FSC/FSE

5/31 Sat. Chivas USA 10:30 p.m.

6/7 Sat. San Jose Earthquakes 7:30 p.m. HDNet

6/14 Sat. Kansas City Wizards* 8 p.m.

6/21 Sat. Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m.

6/28 Sat. Colorado Rapids 7:30 p.m. FSC/FSE

7/5 Sat. Chicago Fire* 8 p.m. FSC/FSE

7/12 Sat. Real Salt Lake 9 p.m. HDNet

7/17 Thurs. Kansas City Wizards* 8 p.m. ESPN2

7/27 Sun. Colorado Rapids 9:30 p.m.

8/2 Sat. Houston Dynamo 8:30 p.m.

8/16 Sat. FC Dallas 7:30 p.m. FSC/FSE

8/23 Sat. Real Salt Lake 7:30 p.m.

8/30 Sat. FC Dallas 8:30 p.m.

9/6 Sat. New England Revolution* 7:30 p.m. HDNet

9/13 Sat. Toronto FC* 3:30 p.m.

9/18 Thurs. New York Red Bulls* 7 p.m. ESPN2

9/28 Sun. New England Revolution* 7:30 p.m.

10/4 Sat. Los Angeles Galaxy 7:30 p.m. HDNet

10/12 Sun. Chicago Fire* 3 p.m. TeleFutura

10/18 Sat. New York Red Bulls* 7:30 p.m.

10/26 Sun. D.C. United* 5 p.m.

HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPS

* Eastern Conference Opponent

— Eastern Times listed, Schedule is Subject to Change

2008 MLS National Broadcast & Schedule Highlights:
· Four national broadcast partners scheduled to air 113 Regular Season matches.

· Every regular season game will be televised, either through national or regional broadcasts and MLSnet.com.

· ESPN2 is scheduled to air 27 MLS Primetime Thursday Regular Season contests, beginning with a doubleheader on April 3. ESPN2 will also broadcast three playoff games and the MLS All-Star game, all on Thursdays. With the exceptions of the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup, all Primetime Thursday games are exclusive telecasts.

• All MLS Primetime Thursday games on ESPN2 will also be broadcast live on ESPN Deportes (save All-Star) and ESPN360.com.
• All games on ABC and ESPN2 will be offered in high definition. · On June 29, ABC is scheduled to broadcast a unique soccer doubleheader: Los Angeles Galaxy at D.C. United at Noon ET, followed by the UEFA European Championship 2008 title match. ABC will also broadcast MLS Cup 2008 on Nov. 23 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
  

· Fox Soccer Channel is scheduled to broadcast its complete slate of 32 Regular Season games with 30-minute pre- and postgame shows for a standard three-hour programming window called “MLS Saturday on FSC.” The same format will be utilized during Fox Soccer Channel’s three playoff match telecasts, also on Saturdays.

· Most Fox Soccer Channel MLS games are also scheduled to air live in Spanish in two-hour programming windows on sister network Fox Sports en Español – the largest Spanish-language all-sports network in the United States – with several airing on a tape-delayed basis. · HDNet is scheduled to air 29 games of its 30-game broadcast schedule on Saturday, and one game on Friday (July 4).

· TeleFutura is scheduled to broadcast 24 Regular Season games live on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. TeleFutura’s MLS game will be book-ended with Mexican First Division games, Univision’s successful and popular sports programming.

· The MLS Direct Kick television package will return in 2008. The schedule will be announced at a later date.

About the Crew

Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members and U.S. Open Cup champion in 2002, it will open its 13th season overall and 10th in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday, March 29, when it plays host to Eastern Conference-rival Toronto FC.