Can You Name the Quarterback for the 1987 Orangemen? How About the Player Who Succeeded Patrick Ewing at Center at His Alma Mater?

College football teams are making their final push toward bowl games. The NBA and college hoop seasons are under way.  In other words, it's the perfect time for a national sports trivia competition.

Now, any broadband customer can take the Verizon ESPN Trivia Challenge and compete for a chance to be an instant winner to be named each day.  On Jan. 11, a grand champion will be chosen and receive a grand prize that includes a VIP trip for two to the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., to meet network personalities and take a behind-the-scenes tour.  The grand champion will also receive a $500 cash prize.

The more points fans earn during the challenge, the better their chance to win the grand prize.

After answering the three daily trivia questions, Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet broadband customers can then simply click on the ESPN360.com link at www.verizon.net/sports to enjoy the sports entertainment channel's thousands of live sporting events, game replays and other sports programming 24 hours a day, at no additional charge. Broadband customers, regardless of their Internet provider, can register to take the challenge at www.verizon.net/sports. 

The Verizon ESPN Trivia Challenge competition will pose questions formulated by Howie Schwab, sports trivia master and host of ESPN's "Stump the Schwab."  The questions will test fans' general sports knowledge and highlight live sports programming on ESPN360.com.  (As for the questions posed in the headline of this news release, Don McPherson was the quarterback of the Syracuse Orangemen in 1987, and Ralph Dalton succeeded Patrick Ewing as center of Georgetown's basketball team.) 

"Verizon is the place to be for the ultimate sports-entertainment experience, whether it's on TV or on the Internet," said Patrick McLean, executive director of Verizon corporate marketing.  "From college football to cricket matches, we're delivering the world of sports with the best picture-and-sound quality and lightning speed."

During the regular college football season, Verizon broadband customers have access to more than 350 live games through ESPN360.com, while the upcoming college basketball programming will feature more than 1,000 live games over the Internet.  Annually, more than 3,500 live events are streamed online via ESPN360.com to Verizon broadband customers, who also have the option of watching up to five live games simultaneously on their computer or laptop anywhere there's a broadband connection.

In addition to a Pro Football Widget, FiOS TV offers fantasy football fans registered with ESPN Fantasy Football online or on-screen access to personalized Fantasy Football points and football statistics, including rosters, box scores, scoring leaders and player information - all with FiOS TV's Fantasy Football Widget.

FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet also provide a gateway to other valuable Verizon services, including free Wi-Fi connections for qualifying customers, Verizon Internet Security Suite, Verizon Online Backup & Sharing and Premium Technical Support.

For more information about service offerings and availability, visit www.verizon.com or call 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966).

More information about the Verizon ESPN Trivia Challenge is available at Verizon.net or at ESPN360.com. 

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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