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Turk
09-28-2018, 10:51 AM
The other night, I stayed up way too late watching "Basketball - A Love Story" on the worldwide leader. Anybody check this out?

It's a random series of classic basketball segments almost like mini "30 for 30's" with no chronology or pattern I could discern.
Topics included Frank McGuire's first batch of cheaters, Maurice Stokes, Connie Hawkins, Russell, the 72 Olympics, etc.

https://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...-a-love-story/

Gonna have to buy the book / download DVDs; I'm hooked.

Billy Dat
09-28-2018, 11:25 AM
I first heard about this project when Zach Lowe interviewed Jackie MacMullen and Rafe Bartholomew on his podcast last week.
http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=24717393

This project is the baby of Dan Klores, the guy who did the "30 for 30" on Reggie Miller and the Knicks and is also a famous PR guru and producer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKC_(company)

Klores produced video interviews with dozens of the most famous people connected to the entire history of (mostly US) basketball and the result is the sprawling docuseries Turk posted about.

MacMullen and Bartholomew took Klores' interview transcripts and edited them into an oral history book. I am reading it right now. It's pretty good. If you know a lot about the topic the are focused on (e.g. "The Dream Team") you won't learn a ton but there are so many topics and eras covered in the book that you'll come away with some good nuggets. There are 3 pages on Coach K and Duke but an entire chapter devoted to Dean Smith and the Carolina family (barf).

I am going to start watching the videos as I suspect they are better than the book.

Billy Dat
09-28-2018, 03:50 PM
Turk - inspired by your post, I went to the on-demand section of my cable and there are all of the videos, ready for watching in whatever order one chooses. I guess this is ESPN's version of a binge watch series. I watched the one called "Born to Coach" which starts with 5 Star Basketball camp and segues into Rick Pitino's early career and mentorship of Billy Donovan. Very cool. I, too, will try and crank through all of these.

Turk
09-28-2018, 06:37 PM
So I did it again last night - stayed up to 1:30AM for another batch of "Love Story" on the telly. Bits included David Stern's takeover as commish of NBA in the 80's, including a bunch of "NBA - It's FANNNN-tastic!" promos featuring Hollywood celebrities. (Would they dare include OJ and Bill Cosby back-to-back? Oh yes, they would!).

I also liked the Pitino / Donovan / Providence and Five Star segments too (personal aside: my brother was good enough to go; he remembers Seth Greenberg as a crazy loon). The Magic / HIV retirement / un-retirement / re-retirement in 1991 was very powerful, bringing back vivid memories of the paranoia and hysteria of the time. I learned something new about story of Nike and Air Jordans - MJ actually wanted to sign with Adidas and had no interest in Nike; credit evidently goes to David Falk.

My favorite was the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic bronze medal basketball team bankrolled by the Grateful Dead, which segued into the Euros beginning to play in the NBA, with riffs on Vlade Divac flopping, the tragedy of Drazen Petrovic, and the legend of Arvydas Sabonis: (Bill Walton: "Imagine if Kareem could pass like Pete Maravich and shoot like Larry Bird.")

As for the talking heads, the short segments help keep their comments to a minimum. For those who can only endure 10 seconds of the usual suspects like Coach Vitale, Stephen A., Walton, and (a surprisingly cheerful) Billy Packer, you are in luck! And somehow, favorite DBR punching bag Bill Simmons earned the caption "Journalist" for his sound bites; that will get a few people around here choking on their oatmeal.

For me, this series is like someone parked a DeLorean with a fully charged flux capacitor in my driveway. Or maybe it's like one of those Brazilian steak places where they keep bringing juicy morsels of deliciousness that you can't say no to, until you pass out in an overstuffed food coma.

I hate to be such a shill, but this is must watch TV for anyone who considers themselves a hoophead. I do wonder how it's resonating with younger viewers who aren't actually reliving this stuff. My young Turks have always had a hard time getting past the short shorts, mullets, fades, and other interesting hairstyles, grainy non-HD video clips, and primitive graphics.

Lord Ash
07-27-2019, 01:35 PM
Just have to bump this. The family is out of town, and I am binging like crazy.

I just enjoy all of these little stories discussed in such focused ways... its like you get a huge history one little bit at a time, but it all comes together? I'm home without the fam for a few days, so I am binging like crazy... just watched The First Lottery, which focuses on the invention of the lottery, the Knicks, and Pat Ewing... watched one about Walton and Portland winning the title, one about Pat Summitt, one on Lenny Wilkens, one about the idea of genius in sports, one about Georgetown, one about the NBA: It's Fantastic PR campaign and David Stern, and one about Pat Riley and the LA/Boston rivalry.

Yesterday I watched one on NC State vs UCLA, one on Bobby Knight, one on the INSANE deal that the Silna brothers worked with the NBA (basically they were ABA owners who allowed themselves to get bought out in exchange for 1/7th of the TV rights for the NBA, back when there WERE no TV rights... in perpetuity. INSANE. They made a lot of money:) ) one about the Warriors first title, one on the George Gervin/David Thompson chase for the NBA scoring title in 1978, and one on drugs in the league in the 70s and 80s, and how the NBA managed to pull themselves out of last place in the pros. F'ing fantastic.

Gotta admit, I did cheat and go ahead to watch the College Coaches one and the USA/Larry Brown/Coach K one ahead of time:)

The Munich/USA vs Russia one was tough.

Watching Rick Barry shoot free throws is nuts. And man, seeing so much of Walton... wow, what an insane talent.

And holy cow, the "Brotherly Love" one, about Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes... that was heartbreaking, and also heartwarming. I didn't know that story. If you don't, check this link out. Insane. Stokes had a series of seizures that basically left him unable to do nearly anything, and his teammate, Jack Twyman, just dropped his entire life and became his steadfast friend and companion for life, simply out of a sense of decency. It's insane.

https://www.si.com/vault/1960/02/01/670330/a-brave-man-and-a-good-friend

Anyway... if you like basketball and you HAVEN'T watched this, you are SERIOUSLY missing out.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
07-27-2019, 03:46 PM
Where can one stream this? Looks like good entertainment.

Reilly
07-28-2019, 05:59 AM
... I also liked the Pitino / Donovan / Providence and Five Star segments too (personal aside: my brother was good enough to go; he remembers Seth Greenberg as a crazy loon). ...

An interesting tidbit, to me, in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings involved his Five Star attendance in the summer of 1982.

Lord Ash
07-31-2019, 06:54 PM
Sorry, I missed the responses!

I am watching streaming on ESPN.

subzero02
08-01-2019, 05:17 AM
An interesting tidbit, to me, in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings involved his Five Star attendance in the summer of 1982.



9651

Spanarkel
08-01-2019, 01:55 PM
An interesting tidbit, to me, in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings involved his Five Star attendance in the summer of 1982.


Thoroughly enjoyed the book Basketball: A Love Story!

Always wondered how the Five Star camps "worked" and it appears from the below referenced article and other sources that campers paid to attend(not sure of the amount), and would ask their HS coaches to write a letter of recommendation to Howard Garfinkel and staff to allow their participation.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/4/27/11501618/five-star-basketball-camp-howard-garfinkel-recruiting-john-calipari

(don't worry, the article just shows one picture of Cal as a Five Star camp staffer)