BRISTOL, Conn., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- "ESPN The Weekend Presented by Speed Stick 24/7" -- the third annual ESPN special event at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. -- will give sports fans the opportunity to see many of their favorite athletes and ESPN personalities up-close and personal at the Disney-MGM Studios March 3-5, 2006.

More than 30 professional and world-class athletes, representing MLB, NBA, NFL, the Olympics and the world of action sports, are scheduled to appear, including Brian Urlacher (Chicago Bears), Chad Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals), NFL legend and current star of ABC-TV's hit show "Dancing with the Stars" Jerry Rice and other Pro Bowl football players; basketball legends Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Karl Malone and David Robinson; pitchers Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte of the defending National League champion Houston Astros; Olympic champions Amanda Beard (swimming) and Dorothy Hamill (figure skating); and perennial X Games and action sports stars Bucky Lasek and Mike Metzger.

Many of the most recognizable ESPN television and radio personalities will also participate in "ESPN The Weekend," including Chris Berman, Linda Cohn, Stuart Scott, Trey Wingo and ESPN Radio hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic.

"ESPN The Weekend" also will feature on-site ESPN telecasts including SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight and Cold Pizza; star motorcades and Q&A sessions featuring athletes and ESPN personalities; sports shows in the ESPN Theater with ESPN personalities and athletes; a visit from ESPN The Truck; live ESPN Radio broadcasts; ESPN Deportes Fuera de Juego telecasts; the ESPN Sports Zone interactive area, including an ESPN Play Your Way playground and a Mobile ESPN demonstration area, where guests will be able to check out a phone to use in the park; and a special sports edition of the game show attraction "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire - Play It!," where guests will have the opportunity to win a Mobile ESPN phone and six months of service. Guests will also be able to enjoy all the popular shows and attractions, including the new "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show."

Event activities are included in regular admission to the Disney-MGM Studios.

Guests may receive more information, see photos and videos (including the popular TV spots for this year's event starring Brian Urlacher and Julius "Dr. J" Erving) play sports trivia games, see an interactive map of the theme park and book a vacation to this year's event at espntheweekend.com .

Sports celebrities scheduled to appear, listed alphabetically by sport. (List current as of Feb. 22, 2006):

BASEBALL: Brad Ausmus - MLB catcher (Houston Astros) Brandon Backe - MLB pitcher (Houston Astros) Roy Oswalt - MLB pitcher (Houston Astros) Andy Pettitte - MLB pitcher (Houston Astros) Mike Schmidt - MLB Hall of Famer (Philadelphia Phillies) John Smoltz - MLB pitcher (Atlanta Braves) BASKETBALL: Dee Brown - Former NBA player (Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic); winner of ESPN's Dream Job 3; ESPN NBA analyst Julius "Dr. J" Erving - NBA Hall of Famer (Philadelphia 76ers) Karl Malone - NBA legend (Utah Jazz) David Robinson - NBA legend (San Antonio Spurs) FOOTBALL: Anquan Bolden - NFL wide receiver (Arizona Cardinals) Brian Dawkins - All Pro NFL defensive back (Philadelphia Eagles) Jake Delhomme - All Pro NFL quarterback (Carolina Panthers) Donnie Edwards - NFL linebacker (San Diego Chargers) Tony Gonzalez - All Pro NFL tight end (Kansas City Chiefs) Priest Holmes - NFL running back (Kansas City Chiefs) Chad Johnson - All Pro NFL wide receiver (Cincinnati Bengals) Ty Law - All Pro NFL defensive back (free agent) Santana Moss - All Pro NFL wide receiver (Washington Redskins) Joey Porter - All Pro NFL linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers) Clinton Portis - NFL running back (Washington Redskins) Jerry Rice - NFL legend (San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks) Takeo Spikes - NFL linebacker (Buffalo Bills) Kenny Stabler - NFL legend (Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers, New Orleans Saints) Ike Taylor - NFL defensive back (Pittsburgh Steelers) Charles Tillman - NFL cornerback (Chicago Bears) Brian Urlacher - All Pro NFL linebacker (Chicago Bears) Adam Vinatieri - NFL kicker (New England Patriots) OLYMPICS: Tai Babilonia - Former U.S. figure skater (1980 Olympian) Amanda Beard - U.S. swimmer (world record-holder in 200m breast stroke) Dorothy Hamill - Former U.S. figure skater (Gold Medal winner, 1976) Bruce Jenner - Former U.S. decathlete (Gold Medal winner, 1976) ACTION SPORTS: Bucky Lasek - Skateboarding (four-time X Games Vert Gold Medal winner) Mike Metzger - Moto X (eight-time X Games Gold Medal winner) ESPN personalities scheduled to appear: Baseball Tonight: Karl Ravech - host, SportsCenter anchor and on-site host for SportsCenter's golf coverage Peter Gammons - baseball analyst, writer (2005 Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum inductee) John Kruk - former MLB All Star player, analyst Harold Reynolds - former MLB All Star, analyst for ESPN's MLB, Little League and College World Series coverage Cold Pizza: Jay Crawford - Cold Pizza co-host Dana Jacobson - Cold Pizza co-host Woody Paige - national sports columnist and star of ESPN2's Cold Pizza ESPN Anchors/Personalities: Chris Berman - SportsCenter anchor, host of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL PrimeTime, MLB play-by-play commentator Linda Cohn - SportsCenter and ESPNEWS anchor, host of ESPN X Games and Winter X Games Josh Elliot - host of ESPN Classic's Classic Now Jay Harris - SportsCenter and ESPNEWS anchor Al Jaffe - Dream Job judge and ESPN on-air talent recruiter Sal Paolantonio - SportsCenter correspondent, Sunday NFL Countdown reporter Howie Schwab - ESPN's resident sports trivia guru and star of the ESPN quiz show Stump the Schwab Stuart Scott - SportsCenter anchor, host of ESPN's DreamJob and Monday Night Countdown Jason and Randy Sklar - Co-hosts of ESPN Classic's Cheap Seats Trey Wingo - SportsCenter anchor, host of ESPN's NFL Live and ESPNEWS Monday Quarterback ESPN Radio: Colin Cowherd - host of ESPN Radio's The Herd Mike Greenberg - co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, SportsCenter anchor Mike Golic - co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, NFL Live analyst, former NFL lineman John Kincade - host of ESPN Radio's The John Kincade Show Erik Kuselias - host of ESPN Radio's SportsBash ESPN Deportes: Mario Kempes - soccer analyst for ESPN Deportes; also calls games for ESPN International Luis Omar Tapia - Spanish-language soccer play-by-play commentator for ESPN Deportes and ESPN International

Note: Not all athletes and ESPN personalities will appear all days; all appearances subject to change

CONTACT: Walt Disney World Media Relations, +1-407-566-6397

Web site: http://www.espntheweekend.com/