espn's 30 for 30

[lmb]

I highly recommend you check out these documentary films that ESPN is producing for their 30th anniversary. I've seen 2 so far and they've both been awesome. One was telling the story of the Colts leaving Baltimore from the perspective of the marching band and the second one was about the USFL. It made Donald Trump look like a total douchebag.

The link below provides a listing of the movies along with a schedule. Set your dvr's and if you miss one, you can catch it multiple times on their other networks.

A movie on Len Bias is coming up in a few weeks. Should be great!

http://30for30.espn.com/

[Bostondevil]

Glad to hear some have been good. I was excited for this series until I watched the first one. Bored to tears with the Gretzky story. And I like both Gretzky and the filmmakter Peter Berg. But together, boring.

[A-Tex Devil]

Glad to hear some have been good. I was excited for this series until I watched the first one. Bored to tears with the Gretzky story. And I like both Gretzky and the filmmakter Peter Berg. But together, boring.

The second one was fairly boring two, but I thought both were well done and told the same story on many levels. Haven't seen the USFL one yet.

The one that's coming and grabbed my attention because a lot of people forget about it is the one on Iverson's bowling alley fight in Hampton VA when he was in high school.

THe Ali-Holmes one should be good too, if a little sad. Hopefully there are a few humorous ones in there because most of them seem to have a bit of a depressing edge/unhappy ending kinda feel to them.

[lmb]

I didn't think the Colts one was boring at all. Maybe because I lived along the Mason Dixon line and watched that stuff happen. Seeing the old news footage was cool to me too.

[juise]

I'm going to start looking like a Bill Simmons shill, but... he has done a podcast with each of the directors of the documentaries. The podcasts spend some time talking about the documentaries and some time on other things (specifically the directors' other work). The USFL one is pretty interesting because it talks about everything that went on behind the scenes with the Trump interview and how trump sent a letter to the director that ended with "P.S. - You're a loser."

30 for 30 Podcast

[lmb]

I forgot to mention that there's also going to be one on Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and the coach at Loyola Marymount. Sounds interesting.

[pfrduke]

I forgot to mention that there's also going to be one on Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and the coach at Loyola Marymount. Sounds interesting.

I'm looking forward to that one - I'll admit to getting goosebumps/choking up every time I see the footage of Bo Kimble shooting the left-handed free throws.

[Olympic Fan]

Tastes vary, but IMHO, ESPN is batting .667 on this series.

Hated the Gretsky documentary ... poorly done and focused on a subject I don't give a rat's behind about. That's just me, I hate ice hockey (although Slap Shot is my favorite sports movie and the Miracle on Ice is the No. 1 non-Duke sports moment of my lifetime).

Loved the Band That Wouldn't Die. So little sports journalism focuses on the impact that sports has on the community ... and what little is done in that area tends to point at the few idiots who do crazy things (like the father-son team that beat up the White Sox coach).

Loved the USFL story ... just some great stories, great interviews and a great hatchet job on Donald Trump (that never gets old).

I'm very much looking forward to some of the stories mentioned, especially the Len Bias story and the Bo Kimble story. Obviously, a few more will be clunkers, but you gotta love that batting average.

[lmb]

The Ali/Holmes one last night was okay. I thought the stuff about his medical tests before the fight was interesting. The idea that there were some people who saw warning signs of his decline and yet still couldn't stop him from fighting is a definite cautionary tale. It was also sad to see that Holmes has never really gotten his fair share of acclaim. So-so documentary. My least favorite so far, although I didn't see the Gretzky one.

[Bostondevil]

Watched the one on the USFL. Loved it! Donald Trump, what a wanker.

[greybeard]

"The Boys of 2nd Street Park," a Showtime documentary that still shows and is available on DVD, is not to be missed if you like a story of the 60s: sex, drugs, friendship, and rock and roll, in the context of childhood friends in Brooklyn's Coney Island who lived originally to play basketball. Compelling.

"The First Basket" is reputedly a winner of a documentary (2008) that has several of the guys featured from whom me and my boyz learned the game--they either coached and/or played with us. Now who would want to miss that.

[lmb]

So did anyone watch Without Bias? Impressions?

What stuck with me the most is that it blew away the idea that he only tried coke once. That was the prevailing idea at the time immediately after his death. Doesn't appear to have been that way. But it sadly underscores how naive people were about it.

Very tragic. Very sad.

[Tom B.]

So did anyone watch Without Bias? Impressions?

What stuck with me the most is that it blew away the idea that he only tried coke once. That was the prevailing idea at the time immediately after his death. Doesn't appear to have been that way. But it sadly underscores how naive people were about it.

Very tragic. Very sad.

I missed it and forgot to set the Tivo. Is ESPN going to re-air it? I'd really like to see it.

[lmb]

I missed it and forgot to set the Tivo. Is ESPN going to re-air it? I'd really like to see it.

All of the films are being aired multiple times on their various networks. I posted a link in one of my posts up above. It has a schedule for all of them.

I feel like a shill for ESPN, but I really am impressed so far and have enjoyed the ones I've watched. There's something about sports that is so compelling and I've always like documentaries. I'm so glad they're doing these.

[Billy Dat]

I've seen the first 4 and think only the Gretzky one was underwhelming...they say that an hour is not a lot of time to cover all angles of a story, but Peter Berg repeated the same shot of Gretzky walking in the empty LA Forum about 7x...he could have used that extra 1-2 minutes to mention that Edmonton won another cup without the Great One and to cover that angle a little.

I thought the Colts, USFL and Ali/Holmes ones were all excellent.

The USFL one is certainly light-hearted. I was a kid when the league existed and therefore didn't realize, remember that the year the league folded and all those players wound up in the NFL, something like 20 of them made the Pro Bowl! There are more than 10 guys from the USFL who wound up in the Hall of Fame...that's insane!

I have enjoyed Ali/Holmes the most, largely, I think, because I am a huge fan of Ali and, though it was tough to watch, I basically get into any topic about him. I also really liked Larry Holmes and was glad to see that his post boxing life seems so happy and normal.

Can't wait to see the Lenny Bias one (am taping it soon) and am also looking forward to the following; Iverson trial, LMU, Univ. Miami football in the 1980s, Knicks vs Reggie Miller, Jordan playing baseball, Steve Bartman and the Cubs, Terry Fox marathon across Canada...basically all of them!

[Olympic Fan]

I watched the Bias documentary last night and I have to admit, I was just a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was an excellent summary of Bias' life and tragic death and the impact that death had on the sports world and the nation at large. But I pretty much knew the story and didn't learn anything I didn't already know.

I guess my expectations were just too high. I was hoping for a little insight, a little new infirmation.

Still, it was a solid piece of sports journalism ... and if you are new to the Bias story, I'd strongly recommend it.

Grading the series so far:

A -- The Band That Wouldn't Die; Who [Donald Trump] Killed the USFL?

B -- Without Bias

C -- The Ali-Holmes Fight

D -- The Gretsky story

That's just my opinion, of course. It's a good enough average that I'll keep watching.

[JasonEvans]

I just got done watching "Silly Little Game" about the founding and creation of Rotisserie League Baseball.

Consider that there is zero video to tell this story. There are no game highlights to show, no cameras filming the action -- nothing but a few old nerds talking about how they came up with this numbers-laden idea. It should have been incredibly dull.

But it rocked. They did a great job and had fun re-creating some of the key moments. The people who invented it for the first time were delightful interviews. My favorite fact-- Dan Okrent, the man who invented the whole thing has never -- not once -- won in a fantasy league. That's awesome!!

If you missed it, this sucker is worth watching.

-Jason "really good directing-- even if you are not a Fantasy fan, watch it to appreciate how the show was done" Evans

[JohnGalt]

Anyone else getting pumped for 'Run Ricky Run'?!?

"I still don't know as I sit here talking to you whether this is a product of him being bipolar or mentally ill; or it's a product him being the only sane person out there and the rest of us all worshiping the wrong things."

interesting quote in the trailer from Dan LeBatard...

[arydolphin]

Anyone else getting pumped for 'Run Ricky Run'?!?

"I still don't know as I sit here talking to you whether this is a product of him being bipolar or mentally ill; or it's a product him being the only sane person out there and the rest of us all worshiping the wrong things."

interesting quote in the trailer from Dan LeBatard...

I will definitely be watching. As you can tell from my screenname, I was a Dolphins fan even before I became a Duke fan. When Ricky suddenly retired, I was really upset with him like a lot of other Dolphins fans. However, since he's come back to the Dolphins, he's been a model citizen and an important part of the team. I'm really interested to see this to learn more about why he made some of the decisions he did in his life.

[blazindw]

I will definitely be watching. As you can tell from my screenname, I was a Dolphins fan even before I became a Duke fan. When Ricky suddenly retired, I was really upset with him like a lot of other Dolphins fans. However, since he's come back to the Dolphins, he's been a model citizen and an important part of the team. I'm really interested to see this to learn more about why he made some of the decisions he did in his life.

I'm going to be watching too...we were living in Texas when Ricky started out there, and he remains among mine and my dad's favorite players ever to play in college. When he went to the Dolphins, my dad got an authentic Ricky jersey and it absolutely gutted him when he retired. When he came back, probably few fans happier to see him do well than my dad and I. Run Ricky Run!