THIS WEEK’S INSIDE THE NFL ON SHOWTIME®

INSIDE THE NFL REMEMBERS THE ICONIC AL DAVIS

Plus An Exclusive Interview with New England Patriots’ Eric Kettani Regarding His Potential Naval Deployment

NEW YORK (Oct. 12, 2011) –INSIDE THE NFL pays homage to the legendary Oakland Raiders Owner Al Davis on this week’s edition—tonight, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.  James Brown, Phil Simms, Warren Sapp and Michael Lombardi share their personal experiences and stories about Davis recalling the immense impact he had on the NFL.

Also in this week’s program Brown and Cris Collinsworth speak with New England Patriots’ practice squad running-back and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Eric Kettani, about his potential deployment and the appeal he filed after being called back to active duty.  

INSIDE THE NFL, now in its 33rd season, airs every Wednesday night through the NFL season on SHOWTIME for a total of 23 episodes, with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME® and availability on SHOWTIME On Demand.  

INSIDE THE NFL is produced by CBS Sports and NFL Films. The executive producers are CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and NFL Films President Steve Sabol.  Pete Radovich Jr., the Emmy Award-winning Creative Director for CBS Sports, serves as coordinating producer.

Following are excerpts from the interview with Kettani:

Brown: You are in the Navy. You signed up for a five-year commitment.  As all grads know, they must perform. You have already done two-and-a half years, yet you are appealing the fact that you have been called back to active duty.  Why?

Kettani: There is a department of defense policy that states you can serve two years of active duty and six years of reserve time if you have a case that will represent and benefit the Navy in any means

of public relations. I believe that playing for the New England Patriots is a great organization that can benefit the Navy for recruiting and any other events. Also there are two other players in the league; Caleb Campbell and Chad Hall, with their respective teams are playing in the NFL.

Collinsworth: What did Bill Belichick tell you?

Kettani: Coach Belichick, he is a great coach. He said he could do anything for me. If he needs to write a letter or speak to anyone, he would love to do it.

Collinsworth: Eric you’ve talked about some of the negative emails you’ve gotten, what are some of the complaints of people who know your situation?

Kettani: Some of the complaints are that they want me to finish my tour and finish my duty. Some of them don’t understand that I already did a two-year deployment. I did a two-year service already. I did a six-month deployment down to South America, circumnavigated South America doing drug interdiction and military-to-military relations. Some of the people with the comments, I try not to read them. It’s tough not to. But they say I should go back and serve. The thing is, I am not leaving the Navy. If I go to the Patriots, I’ll do a great job recruiting, doing public affairs, public relations. I would love to do that, help out. Same thing with David Robinson, Napoleon McCallumand Roger Staubach.

Collinsworth: Do you feel at all conflicted yourself? You signed up.  You are a part of the military. You served your country already. Are there any mixed emotions on your part now?

Kettani: That is a double-sided sword question. I love my country.  I love serving. But like I said before, I love playing football and I love the New England Patriots organization. I think I can do a great job with the New England Patriots and represent the Navy at the same time. There are mixed emotions. It’s been a rollercoaster all week. Like today, last week I was in practice. Now, right behind me you can see the naval station.  Those are the ships I’ll be on.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™  XTRA.  SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™ and FLIX ON DEMAND®.  SNI also manages Smithsonian Channel™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution.  All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

CONTACT:

SHOWTIME Sports                                       CBS Sports

Chris DeBlasio                                                Jen Sabatelle

(212) 708-1633                                               (212) 975-4120

Chris.DeBlasio@Showtime.net                      JSabatelle@cbs.com

Annie Van Tornhout

(212) 708-1663

Annie.Vantornhout@showtime.net