Sports Icons and Today’s Hottest Celebrities Kick Off Super Bowl Weekend at DIRECTV’s 3rd Annual Celebrity Beach Bowl

The nation’s number one satellite TV service kicks off Super Bowl weekend in style once again with DIRECTV’s 3^rd Annual Celebrity Beach Bowl. The celebrity-filled old school flag football grudge match will be held January 31, the day before Super Bowl XLIII, at Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The game will be televised live on DIRECTV’s The 101® Network and simulcast on WGN America. It all starts at 1:30 PM EST with a pre-game show featuring appearances by James Brown, Phil Simms, Warren Sapp and Jenn Brown from Inside The NFL and Chris Myers (Fox Sports Network). The main event begins at 2:30 PM EST with a flag football game featuring over 25 sports icons and celebrities battling for supremacy. The event concludes with LL Cool J taking the stage and performing a live set after the game.

Celebrities playing in the game include Kevin Dillon (Entourage), Christian Slater (Lies & Illusions), Blake Lively and Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Odette Yustman (The Unborn, Cloverfield), Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters), Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights), Brody Jenner and Frankie Delgado (The Hills, Bromance), Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian (Keeping up with the Kardashians), Playboy Playmates Jayde Nicole (2008 Playmate of the Year) and Pilar Lastra.

Athletes playing in the game include NFL greats Eddie George, Merril Hoge, Jamal Anderson, John Kidd and NASCAR’s Kasey Kahne. Reggie Bush (New Orleans Saints) will coach Team NFL Sunday Ticket with quarterback Steve Young while Eli Manning (New York Giants) will coach Team Superfan with quarterback Warren Moon.

The DIRECTV Celebrity Beach Bowl will be played out over two, 20-minute halves with all the action being called by Andrew Siciliano (NFL Sunday Ticket Red Zone Channel) and an all-star team of sports analysts who will serve as the official play-by-play announcers and sideline correspondents. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Matt Forte (Chicago Bears) will officiate the game.

Pepsi-Cola North America will serve as an on site sponsor for the event which is free to the public, with no tickets required. Stadium gates open at 1 PM. The first 1,000 fans through the gate have a chance to win one pair of tickets to Sunday’s big game in Tampa.

Editors please note: Contact Erica Rubin at The Lippin Group (212-986-7080 or erubin@lippingroup.com) for day-of press credentials and post-event images.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.3 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed national cable companies for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.