SportsIn the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls begin their quest to a win a sixth NBA title in eight years. As the first episode of "The Last Dance" lays bare, the path to another ring would be paved with obstacles and subplots. And with the long-awaited unearthing of exclusive, extensive footage shot by a film crew that season, the tension and conflict that defined that final championship run is very much on up-close display. The episode chronicles the disintegrating relationship between the team and the front office; Jordan, his teammates, and coach Phil Jackson on one side, and general manager Jerry Krause on
SportsIn November of 2007, Michael Vick began serving what would be a nearly two-year sentence for crimes related to his involvement in a dog fighting ring. Vick had gone from superstar athlete to national pariah; from one of the most popular players in the NFL to a man as ostracized as virtually any public figure in America. The full story is chronicled in “Vick,” the two-part 30 for 30 directed by the award-winning documentarian Stanley Nelson. A comprehensive look back at each chapter of Michael Vick’s saga: the incredible rise, shocking fall, and polarizing return.
SportsHe made perhaps the most dramatic shot in the history of the NCAA basketball tournament. He's the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours, and was instrumental in Duke winning two national championships. He had looks, smarts and game. So why has Christian Laettner been disliked so intensely by so many for so long? Go beyond the polarizing persona to uncover the complete story behind this lightning rod of college basketball. Featuring extensive access to Laettner, previously unseen footage and perspectives from all sides, this film is a “gloves-off” examination of the man who has been seen by many as the
SportsIn 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland, Hong Kong. Over the next two years, he’d complete four iconic films that would define his legacy, a legacy cut short when he died, stunningly, in 1973. “Be Water” is a gripping and intimate look at not just those final, defining years of Lee’s life, but the complex, often difficult, and seismic journey that led to Lee’s ultimate emergence as a singular icon in the histories of film and martial arts. The film is told by the family, friends, and collaborators who knew Lee best, with an extraordinary trove of archive film prov
SportsFormer Raiders owner Al Davis and former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle were two of the most influential figures in the history of pro football. And for a quarter of a century, their long-running feud was a central storyline in the NFL's evolution into the most popular and successful league in sports. Beginning in the 1960s when Rozelle was the NFL's young commissioner and Davis led the rival AFL, and continuing through the 1980s when Davis waged a lawsuit against the league to allow him to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles, the two titans were constantly and very publicly at odds. This is the story of the colorf
SportsIn November of 2007, Michael Vick began serving what would be a nearly two-year sentence for crimes related to his involvement in a dog fighting ring. Vick had gone from superstar athlete to national pariah; from one of the most popular players in the NFL to a man as ostracized as virtually any public figure in America. The full story is chronicled in “Vick,” the two-part 30 for 30 directed by the award-winning documentarian Stanley Nelson. A comprehensive look back at each chapter of Michael Vick’s saga: the incredible rise, shocking fall, and polarizing return.
SportsIn Part Two, the Celtics and Lakers meet in the NBA Finals for the first time in 15 years. A culture clash is brewing on the hardwood and the stakes are huge. Beyond Magic and Bird, there is Abdul-Jabbar and Parish, Worthy and McHale, Scott and Ainge, Buss and Auerbach. Throw in the Forum and the Garden, Chick Hearn and Johnny Most, add a heavy dose of ill will, sprinkle in underlying racial tension, and you have a recipe for a battle royal.
SportsAfter the thrilling 1984 NBA Finals, Part Three explores the saga from 1985 to 1987 as the teams’ disdain for each other gradually turns to respect. The Celtics and Lakers - Bird and Magic in particular - transform the fans' view of the game from simple black-and-white to full-blown Technicolor. By the end of their last battle of the 80s, while there’s still animosity, there’s also a hard-earned respect for each other. It’s a rivalry that forced America to no longer view the league in black and white.
SportsChris Herren, Fall River, Massachusetts’ high school basketball superstar, played for Boston University, for Jerry Tarkanian’s Fresno State team, bounced around the NBA (once playing for his beloved Celtics) and around the globe. Chris failed drug tests wherever he played. Ultimately, Chris - the youngest and most talented of three generations of local heroes - has found redemption and personal fulfillment through the game, but only after it led him down a path of alcohol and drug addiction that nearly killed him.
SportsLANCE is a fascinating, revealing, comprehensive, chronicle of one of the most inspirational – and then infamous – athletes of all time. Based around extensive interviews and conversations with Lance Armstrong, the two-part, four-hour film tells the story of the cyclist’s rise out of Texas as a young superstar cyclist; his harrowing battle with testicular cancer; his recovery and emergence as a global icon with his seven 7 consecutive Tour de France titles; and then his massive fall after he was exposed in one of the largest doping scandals in history.
SportsWhen the night of October 6, 2004 came to a merciful end, the Curse of the Bambino was alive and well. The vaunted Yankee lineup, led by ARod, Jeter, and Sheffield, had just extended their ALCS lead to three games to none, pounding out 19 runs against their hated rivals. The next night, in Game 4, the Yankees took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, then turned the game over to Mariano Rivera, the best relief pitcher in postseason history, to secure yet another trip to the World Series. But after a walk and a hard-fought stolen base, the cold October winds of change began to blow. Over four consecutive days and
SportsIn the fall of 1993, in his prime and at the summit of the sports world, Michael Jordan walked away from pro basketball. After leading the Dream Team to an Olympic gold medal in 1992 and taking the Bulls to their third consecutive NBA championship the following year, Jordan was jolted by the murder of his father. Was it the brutal loss of such an anchor in his life that caused the world’s most famous athlete to rekindle a childhood ambition by playing baseball? Or some feeling that he had nothing left to prove or conquer in basketball? Or something deeper and perhaps not yet understood? Ron Shelton, a former minor league
SportsLong before hip hop superstars filled our airwaves and shopping malls, the Miami Hurricanes brought street values and hood bravado into America’s living room. Recruiting from some of the toughest ghettos in Florida, a football program on the verge of collapse was re-energized with some of the most controversial and brilliant players in football history. With a newly branded swagger, inspired and fueled by the quickly growing Miami hip hop culture, these Canes took on larger-than-life personalities, winning four national titles between 1983 and 1991. Filmmaker Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) tells the story of how these
SportsIn their own words, the Fab Five (Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) relive the story of one of the most famous – and infamous – teams in college basketball history: the recruitment process that got them to Ann Arbor, the two runs to the NCAA title game, the Webber “timeout” that cost them the 1993 championship and the scandal that eventually tarnished their accomplishments.
SportsOn March 13, 2006, a group of Duke University lacrosse players threw a team party that ended up changing lives, tarnishing a university's reputation, and jeopardizing the future of the sport at the school. A look at the party that ignited a national firestorm and resulted in a highly-charged legal investigation with its underlying themes of sex, race, class, and violence.
SportsPerhaps no family has had more influence on a sport than the Mannings. Written into the pages of football folklore is the Manning legend – a father and his sons. Patriarch Archie Manning, a star quarterback at the University of Mississippi and in the NFL, followed by oldest son Cooper, whose football dreams were cut short by a spinal condition, then sons Peyton and Eli – both of them quarterbacks, All-SEC, number one draft picks, back-to-back Super Bowl champions and MVPs. Director Rory Karpf explores how a tragedy shaped the course of not only Archie’s life, but his family’s as well.
SportsProduced in 2009 for the 30 for 30 series, “The U” took a look at all that was good and bad about the rise of the University of Miami’s football program in the 1980s. But that wasn’t the end of the story. “The U Part 2″ picks up where the original film left off, with the program trying to recover from the devastation left by NCAA sanctions and scandals that had some calling for the school to drop football. The Hurricanes rose from those ashes to win another national championship, only to face new controversies when a booster used a Ponzi scheme to win favor with the program.
SportsEver since he shocked the sports world by winning the PGA Championship 25 years ago, John Daly has been one of the most popular - and polarizing - figures in a sport that cherishes its traditions and minds its manners. Directors Gabe Spitzer and David Fine cover Daly's rise and fall, his redemption at the British Open in St. Andrews in 1995, and his struggles with booze, food, gambling, women, and depression.
SportsThere is another, unchronicled side to the "Miracle On Ice." The so-called bad guys from America’s ideological adversary were in reality good men and outstanding players, forged into the Big Red Machine by the genius and passion of Anatoli Tarasov. There was a reason they seemed unbeatable, especially after routing the Americans in an exhibition the week before the Winter Games began. And there was a certain shame in them having to live the rest of their lives with the results of February 22, 1980. Director Jonathan Hock ("The Best That Never Was" and "Survive and Advance") explores the scope of the “Miracle on Ice”
SportsThere are rivalries, and then there is the Celtics vs. the Lakers. In Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Part One, director Jim Podhoretz chronicles the storied franchises' epic clashes, tracing not only the history, but also presenting a fabulous cast of characters who would change the NBA and open America’s collective mind. At the center of it all in the 1980s was a pair of brilliant players - Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
SportsIn 1989, the Buffalo Bills were a talented team featuring four future hall of famers. Dysfunction and in-fighting ran deep in the locker room, but the team soon transformed into an elite force on the way to an unprecedented run of four AFC Championship victories, and four straight Super Bowl appearances. Of course, that isn't what the Bills are remembered for. This is the story of a team that went down in history for making four straight Super Bowls, and losing them all.
SportsThe Nets remind the Bulls in the first round of the 1998 NBA playoffs that the road to an NBA title isn't easy. Five years earlier, after the Bulls won their 3rd title, there was no doubt Michael Jordan was exhausted. That summer his father was murdered, and soon after, Jordan walked away from the NBA to fulfill the dream his father had – being a baseball player. While Jordan was toiling at the Double A level in Birmingham, the Bulls went on to win 55 games in the 1993-94 season before being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Knicks. As was clear throughout the Bulls dynasty, leadership is not easy
SportsIn June of 1998, Michael Jordan & the Chicago Bulls take on the Utah Jazz in an NBA Finals rematch, looking for a 6th championship and a perfect ending for "The Last Dance." They take a 3-1 series lead before the Jazz send it back to Utah. In Game 6, Chicago is down 3 with 41 seconds to go when Jordan turns in a masterful final tour de force. He made a layup to cut it to 1, stole the ball from Malone, and then, with 5 seconds left, hit a picture-perfect jumper to put his team ahead, giving him 45 points on the night. Moments later, the Bulls had their 6th title. The quest was complete. Jordan went back into retirement with
SportsThe incredible challenge of winning a 6th title in 8 years only grows more challenging the closer Michael Jordan & the Chicago Bulls get to the ultimate goal in the spring of 1998. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls face off against the Indiana Pacers – an opponent that Jordan would call the toughest out of all of Chicago's challengers in the East. Sure enough, after the Bulls win the first 2 games at home, Reggie Miller comes back to lead the Pacers to a Game 3 win, and then nails a 3-pointer in the final second of Game 4 to even the series. The Pacers would push the Bulls to just the 2nd seven-game series of t
SportsAfter rain delayed a joyous banner-raising ceremony for nearly two hours, the cubs weathered a late rally with clutch pitching before Anthony Rizzo hit a walk-off single for his first RBI of the season in the home opener. Kris Bryant hit an RBI double and Jon Lester had an RBI while pitching six strong innings. Corey Seager had an RBI double for the Dodgers, who tied it in the eighth on a reviewed force out.
SportsSole Man offers a snap-shot into how America's playground sport became a sophisticated and increasingly soulless business. Meet Sonny Vaccaro, a true original, whose motives and staggering set of relationships played a seminal role in creating the big-money, multimedia, international phenomenon called basketball.
SportsReggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals which solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City. With moments to go in Game 1, and facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 105-99, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to give his Indiana Pacers an astonishing victory. This career-defining performance, combined with his give-and-take with Knicks fan Spike Lee, made Miller and the Knicks a highlight of the 1995 NBA playoffs. Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores will explore how Miller proudly built his legend as "The Ga
SportsTo many observers, the story of the crime of the century is a story that began the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered outside her Brentwood condominium. But to truly grasp the significance of what happened not just that night, but the epic chronicle to follow, one has to travel back to much different, much earlier origin points.
SportsOn Valentine’s Day 1993, 17-year-old Bethel High School basketball star Allen Iverson was bowling in Hampton, Va., with five high school friends. It was supposed to be an ordinary evening, but it became a night that defined Iverson’s young life. A quarrel soon erupted into a brawl pitting Iverson’s young black friends against a group of white patrons. The fallout from the fight and the handling of the subsequent trial landed the teenager, which some considered the nation’s best high school athlete, in jail and sharply divided the city along racial lines. Oscar nominee Steve James (Hoop Dreams) returns to his hometo
SportsBroke explores the roads to fortune in American sports and eventually, the many detours to bankruptcy. Bernie Kosar, Andre Rison and Cliff Floyd are among the athletes who talk openly about the challenges of managing their money in an era when big contracts don’t necessarily support bigger lifestyles. Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders and saddled with medical problems, many pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life. A story of the dark side of success, Broke is an allegory for the financial woes haunting economies and individuals all over the world.
SportsBo Jackson hit 500 ft. home runs, ran over linebackers, and—for a small window—he was the best athlete we had ever seen. You Don’t Know Bo is a close look at the man and marketing campaign that shaped his legacy. Even without winning a Super Bowl or World Series, Bo redefined the role of the athlete in the pop cultural conversation. More than 20 years later, myths and legends still surround Bo Jackson, and his impossible feats still capture our collective imagination.
SportsFrom 1981-1984, a small private school in Dallas owned the best record in college football. The Mustangs of Southern Methodist University were riding high on the backs of the vaunted "Pony Express" backfield. But as the middle of the decade approached, the program was coming apart at the seams. Wins became the only thing that mattered as the University increasingly ceded power of the football program t o the city's oil barons and real estate tycoons and flagrant and frequent NCAA violations became the norm. On February 25th, 1987, the school and the sport were rocked, as the NCAA meted out "the death penalty" on a college
SportsOne was the world inhabited by OJ Simpson: wealthy, privileged, and predominantly white. A world where celebrity was power, and where OJ - race be damned - was one of the most popular figures around. But just a few miles away from his Rockingham estate in Brentwood was a very different reality. A reality lived by millions of other black people at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department and its chief, Daryl Gates.
SportsMore than two decades after his tragic cocaine overdose, the late Len Bias still leaves more questions than answers. When Bias dropped dead two days after the 1986 NBA Draft, he forever altered our perception of casual drug use and became the tipping point of America's drug crisis in the mid-80s. Future generations continue to face the harsh punishment of drug policies that were influenced by the public outcry after his heartbreaking death. Instead of becoming an NBA star, he became a one-man deterrent, the athlete who reminded everyone just how dangerous drug use can be. Amazingly, questions still linger about his death n
SportsFew teams in professional sports history elicit such a wide range of emotions as the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s. For some, the team was heroic– made up of gritty, hard-nosed players who didn’t back down from anyone. And for others, it was exactly that trait – the willingness to do seemingly anything to win – that made them the “Bad Boys”, the team fans loved to hate. Sandwiched between the Lakers’ and Celtics’ dominance of the 1980s and the Bulls' run in the 1990s, the Pistons’ two titles in 1989 and ’90 are often viewed as a transitional period in NBA history, rather than a dy
SportsThe police arrived at the condo on Bundy Drive at 4:25 a.m. on June 13th, 1994. It was a gruesome murder scene, clearly the result of a violent confrontation that had left two people dead - one of whom, they'd quickly discover, was the estranged wife of O.J. Simpson. It was just the start of a chapter of American history like none other, one that would lay bare the realities of race, power, the legal system, the media, and so much more in Los Angeles, California and far beyond.
SportsOn August 9, 1988, the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen. The Edmonton Oilers, fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years, signed a deal and exported Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings in a multi-player, multi-million dollar deal. As bewildered Oiler fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings box office. Overnight, a franchise largely overlooked in its 21-year existence was suddenly playing to
SportsIn 1981, college athletic recruiting changed forever as a dozen big time football programs sat waiting for the decision of a physically powerful and lightning-quick high school running back named Marcus Dupree. Having already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, Dupree attracted recruiters from schools in every major conference to his hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. More than a decade removed from being a flashpoint in the civil rights struggle, Philadelphia was once again thrust back into the national spotlight. Dupree took the attention in stride, and committed to Oklahoma. What followed, though, was a forgettable c
SportsIn 1983 the upstart United States Football League (USFL) had the audacity to challenge the almighty NFL. The new league did the unthinkable by playing in the spring and plucked three straight Heisman Trophy winners away from the NFL. The 12-team league USFL played before crowds that averaged 25,000, and started off with respectable TV ratings. But with success came expansion and new owners, including a certain high profile and impatient real estate baron whose vision was at odds with the league's founders. Soon, the USFL was reduced to waging a desperate anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, which yielded an ironic verdict t
SportsWhen the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his North Carolina State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations. But with ten losses for the season, the Wolfpack's only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference's automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of Sampson, Jordan, Olajuwon and Drexler, N.C. State had "survived and advanced" its way to a national championship. Director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled.
SportsDrazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac were two friends who grew up together sharing the common bond of basketball. Together, they lifted the Yugoslavian National team to unimaginable heights. After conquering Europe, they both went to America where they became the first two foreign players to attain NBA stardom. But with the fall of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991, Yugoslavia split up. A war broke out between Petrovic's Croatia and Divac's Serbia. Long buried ethnic tensions surfaced. And these two men, once blood brothers, were now on opposite sides of a deadly civil war. As Petrovic and Divac continued to face eac
SportsIn the spring of 1983, a new generation of superstars was poised to enter the NFL. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of that draft - still the most ever. Elway to Marino explores this landmark draft through the eyes of the players, head coaches, general managers, team owners and agents who participated - including Marvin Demoff, who represented both John Elway and Dan Marino, and kept a diary in the months leading up to the most dramatic draft day in NFL history. Learn the inside story of the draft picks, back room deals, and tension between the future Hall of Famers and the teams that selected them.
SportsBy the mid-1980s, Paul Westhead had worn out his welcome in the NBA. The best offer he could find came from an obscure small college with little history of basketball. In the same city where he had won an NBA championship with Magic and Kareem, Westhead was determined to perfect his non-stop run-and-gun offensive system at Loyola Marymount. His shoot-first offense appeared doomed to fail until Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, two talented players from Westhead’s hometown of Philadelphia, arrived gift wrapped at his doorstep. With Gathers and Kimble leading a record scoring charge, Westhead’s system suddenly dazzled the worl
SportsIn October of 1980, Muhammad Ali was preparing to fight for an unprecedented fourth heavyweight title against his friend and former sparring partner Larry Holmes. To say that the great Ali was in the twilight of his career would be generous: Most of his admiring fans, friends and fight scribes considered his bravado delusional. What was left for him to prove? In the weeks of training before the fight, documentarians Albert and David Maysles took an intimate look at Ali trying to convince the world and perhaps himself, that he was still "The Greatest". At the same time, they documented the mild-mannered and undervalued cham
SportsLove him or hate him, there is no denying that George Steinbrenner has been one of the most colorful and successful owners in contemporary sports. Heading up a group that bought the New York Yankees in 1973 for $10 million, “King George” emphatically branded the world’s most celebrated sports franchise as his own. The Boss has boasted 10 pennants, 6 World Series trophies and a corporate net worth more than $1 billion. But for all the glory and riches, the Steinbrenner legacy is also mixed with wasteful and embarrassing spending and countless episodes of tabloid-style soap. Now with George’s health seriously failing
SportsRelive Super Bowl 48 as the Seattle Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title in franchise history with a dominant 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos.
SportsOctober 29th, 2008: Tampa Bay Rays 3 at Philadelphia Phillies 4 F -- Phillies fans returned en masse to Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday for the historic conclusion of baseball's first-ever suspended World Series game, adding a breeze to the chilly October night by waving white towels and cheering without stop. When Game 5 was over, Philadelphia's title-starved fans were rewarded for their devotion with a World Series championship. They roared when closer Brad Lidge recorded the final out of a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay, a team whose own inspiring worst-to-first story ended with the Phillies gathered in a dogpile in front o
SportsVolcom Stone presents: Lets Live. A new Volcom skate flick dedicated to the memory of Shane Cross. Witness life viewed from down under through the eyes of Shane Cross, Dustin Dollin, Jake Duncombe, Chima Ferguson, Mark Appleyard, Rune Glifberg.
SportsIf at its essence, the popularity of professional wrestling has always been about its characters, there's never been a performer more original and more electrifying than Ric Flair. As a pure wrestler, he was beloved. His "Woooo" showmanship was imitated by athletes from other sports, as well as the hip-hop community. But as interviews with family members and Flair himself reveal, his frenzied lifestyle masked the loneliness of a man who could never please his physician father and ran away from his own wives and children, toward an almost unbearable tragedy. It was Ric Flair who popularized the boast, "If you want to be Th
SportsThe documentary focuses on a legendary cast of characters, including head coach Mike Ditka, QB Jim McMahon and the inimitable William "The Refrigerator" Perry who made Chicago Bears as riveting off the field as they were on it on their way to winning Super Bowl XX.
Sports11/04/09: Philadelphia Phillies 3 at New York Yankees 7, F -- With Series MVP Hideki Matsui's six RBIs and closer Mariano Rivera providing yet another patented finish, the Yankees hoisted the 27th World Series trophy in franchise history. The stirring win over the Phillies secured the Yankees' first Fall Classic triumph since 2000.
Sports“Eddie Would Go.” It’s a phrase that has long carried deep meaning with countless Hawaiians and surfers worldwide. Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau goes beyond those famous three words and chronicles the remarkable life and power of Eddie Aikau, the legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer, pioneering lifeguard and ultimately doomed crew member of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule’a. With a rich combination of archival imagery, contemporary interviews and meticulously researched historical source material, this film is a compelling exploration of the tragic decline and extraordinary re-birth of the Hawaiian cultu
SportsMLB.com takes you inside the Giants’ magical 2010 season with this in-depth look at the road to the franchise’s first World Championship in 56 years, and their first in San Francisco. While opponents “Feared The Beard,” fans cheered The Beard and the rest of the Giants through fifteen thrilling postseason games, culminating with The Freak’s 10K domination and Edgar Renteria’s MVP performance in Game 5. All the sound bites and highlights -- set to a pulse-pounding soundtrack from BansheeMusic.com -- add up to the Giants’ “Perfect ’10.”
SportsIt's the playoffs but instead of watching the games Pete and Kevin get stuck at a terrible Christmas party, while Ruxin and Taco go to Chinatown on a very special mission.
Sports’The Natural’ is supposed to be a blue-eyed boy who teethed on a 36-ounce Louisville Slugger. He should run like the wind and throw boysenberries through brick. He should come from California." – Steve Wulf, Sports Illustrated, 1981. So how was it that a pudgy 20-year-old, Mexican, left-handed pitcher from a remote village in the Sonoran desert, unable to speak a word of English, could sell out stadiums across America and become a rock star overnight? In Fernando Nation, Mexican-born and Los Angeles-raised director Cruz Angeles traces the history of a community that was torn apart when Dodger Stadium was built
SportsWhile rival drug cartels warred in the streets and the country's murder rate climbed to highest in the world, the Colombian national soccer team set out to blaze a new image for their country. What followed was a mysteriously rapid rise to glory, as the team catapulted out of decades of obscurity to become one of the best teams in the world. Central to this success were two men named Escobar: Andrés, the captain and poster child of the National Team, and Pablo, the infamous drug baron who pioneered the phenomenon known in the underworld as "Narco-soccer." But just when Colombia was expected to win the 1994 World Cup and t
SportsFrom birth, Todd Marinovich was raised with a defined purpose of creating the perfect athlete. Trained by his father Marv, a former pro football player, the young Marinovich was meticulously engineered and nurtured into a star quarterback. But three short years later he was out of the NFL. The “test tube athlete” was a full-blown drug addict; a cautionary tale of epic proportion. Now, almost two decades removed from the national spotlight, Marinovich tells the unvarnished story of his unique ascent to stardom and the dark descent into drugs and oblivion that followed. First-person accounts from Marinovich and
SportsThe sports world was mesmerized by two athletes at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer – Nancy Kerrigan, the elegant brunette and Tonya Harding, the feisty blonde engulfed in scandal. Several weeks prior, at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Kerrigan was shockingly clubbed on the right knee by an unknown assailant and left wailing, “Why, why, why?” As the bizarre “why” mystery unraveled, it was revealed that Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had plotted the attack with his friends to eliminate Kerrigan from the competition and increase Harding’s chance at a gold medal. Two decades later, The
SportsFantasy sports is estimated to be a $4 billion dollar industry that boasts over 30 million participants and a league for almost every sport imaginable. But for all this success, the story of the game’s inception is little known. The modern fantasy leagues can be traced back to a group of writers and academics who met at La Rotisserie Francaise in New York City to form a baseball league of their own: The Rotisserie League. The game quickly grew in popularity, and with the growing use and attractiveness of the internet, the “Founding Fathers” never foresaw how their creation would take off and ultimately leave them beh
SportsRequiem For The Big East chronicles the meteoric ascension of the Big East conference, and how in less than a decade, it became the most successful college basketball league in America. Told through the lens of the Big East’s famed coaches and its most iconic players, the film tells the story of an eccentric group of outsiders who rode the success of their teams on the court to become unlikely celebrities in their sport and beyond it.
SportsPete Carroll's football knowledge, upbeat personality and recruiting skills, propelled Southern Cal back atop the college football world as home attendance skyrocketed and the Trojans put together a 34-game winning streak. As it would be later discovered, though, the program was committing sins that would result in lost scholarships and victories. But those revelations didn't come until after the national championship game in the 2006 against the University of Texas. Featuring interviews with Carroll and others inside the USC program at the time, "Trojan War" looks at Carroll's nine-year USC reign through the prism of t
SportsIn late March of 1984, a moving company secretly packed up the Baltimore Colts' belongings and its fleet of vans snuck off in the darkness of the early morning. Leaving a city of deeply devoted fans in shock and disbelief. What caused owner Robert Irsay to turn his back on a town that was as closely linked to its team as any in the NFL? Academy-award winning filmmaker Barry Levinson (Diner, The Natural), himself a long-standing Baltimore Colts fanatic, will probe that question in light of the changing relationship of sports to community. Through the eyes of members of the Colts Marching Band, Levinson will illustrate how
SportsIn some ways, Barry Switzer and Brian Bosworth were made for each other. The Oklahoma coach and the linebacker he recruited to play for him were both outsized personalities who delighted in thumbing their noses at the establishment. And in their three seasons together (1984-86), the unique father-son dynamic resulted in 31 wins and two Orange Bowl victories, including a national championship, as Bosworth was awarded the first two Butkus Awards. But Bosworth's alter ego – “The Boz” – was taking over. Eventually, he went on a downward spiral and became known as an NFL bust. In "Brian and The Boz," the dual identitie
SportsBefore Lance Armstrong, there was Greg LeMond, who is now the first and only American to win the Tour de France. In this engrossing documentary, LeMond looks back at the pivotal 1986 Tour, and his increasingly vicious rivalry with friend, teammate, and mentor Bernard Hinault. The reigning Tour champion and brutal competitor known as “The Badger,” Hinault ‘promised’ to help LeMond to his first victory, in return for LeMond supporting him in the previous year. But in a sport that purports to reward teamwork, it’s really every man for himself.
SportsOn August 28, 1982, Cody Webster and a small group of schoolyard friends from Kirkland, Washington, sat anxiously in a dugout waiting to take the field for the championship game of the Little League World Series. Their focus was just about what you’d expect from any 12 year old: hit the ball, throw strikes, cross your fingers and then maybe – MAYBE – you’ll win. Adults in the stands and watching from home saw a much broader field of play. The memories of American hostages and a crippling oil crisis were still fresh; inflation and unemployment – the economic malaise of the late 1970s still lingered; and the ne
SportsIn 1985, at the tender age of 13, Mat Hoffman entered into the BMX circuit as an amateur, and by 16 he had risen to the professional level. Throughout his storied career, Hoffman has ignored conventional limitations, instead, focusing his efforts on the purity of the sport and the pursuit of “what’s next.” His motivations stem purely from his own ambitions, and even without endorsements, cameras, fame and fans, Hoffman would still be working to push the boundaries of gravity. Academy Award nominee Spike Jonze and extreme sport fanatic Johnny Knoxville, along with director Jeff Tremaine, will showcase the inner workin
SportsOctober 16, 2003: 2003 ALCS, Game 7: Boston Red Sox 5 at New York Yankees 6, F/11 -- All that was on the line was a trip to the World Series. The starting pitchers? Merely two of the greats of their generation in Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez, who brought a combined nine Cy Young Awards into this epic showdown. The teams? Just the Red Sox and Yankees, epic rivals for decades upon decades. When they met for Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at a juiced-up Yankee Stadium on the night of October 16, it seemed impossible that the Red Sox and Yankees could live up to a game that was hyped like few others. Tru
SportsOctober 27, 2004: 2004 World Series, Game 4: Boston Red Sox 3 at St. Louis Cardinals 0, F -- Behind a dominant, three-hit effort by Derek Lowe, the Red Sox completed their World Series sweep of the Cardinals, winning their first title since 1918. Johnny Damon's first-inning home run started the scoring for Boston, and Trot Nixon hit a two-run double in the third. Manny Ramirez was named series MVP.
SportsTime to step up your riding with round two of Transworld SNOWboarding’s 20 Tricks video—20 Tricks Volume II. Based on the same model as the first release, 20 Tricks Volume II highlights moves for every ability—from a method clinic with kicker-killer Pat Moore to the proper execution of Cab nosepresses to backside 180 out courtesy of Simon Chamberlain. It’s as easy as watching the maneuver go down and listening to the pros explain it step by step (divulging all sorts of secret tips and insider advice in the process). So you always wanted to learn one-footer airs? Josh Dirksen will show you how. Or maybe you’re rea
SportsIn the mid-1990s, Orlando was the center of excitement in the NBA. The young franchise, led by mega-stars Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, beat the mighty Bulls en route to the 1995 NBA Finals. While it was clear Orlando was a dynasty in the making, the Magic's moment on top was never fully realized.
SportsIn 1984, 17-year-old Ben Wilson was a symbol of everything promising about Chicago: a beloved, sweet-natured youngster from the city’s fabled South Side, and America’s most talented basketball prospect. His senseless murder the day before his senior season sent ripples through Chicago and the nation.
SportsThe Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots are the last teams standing as Super Bowl XLIX kicks off. Winner takes home the Lombardi trophy in this thrilling battle.
SportsGrowing up a skinny kid in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Derek Jeter dreamed of becoming the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. Little did he know that dream was only the beginning. Making his debut in pinstripes on May 29, 1995, Jeter’s career of firsts began when he became the first Yankee to win Rookie of the Year honors by unanimous vote in 1996. Thereafter, his path is littered with spectacular achievement: a dozen All-Star Games, five World Championships, the Captaincy of the New York Yankees. Iconic, legacy-defining moments such as “The Jeter Flip” and “Mr. November” are too numerous to catalog. In 200
SportsRandy Moss has long been an enigma known for his brilliance on the football field and his problems off it. “Rand University” gets to the intersection of those aspects of Moss by going back to where he came from – Rand, West Virginia – and exploring what almost derailed him before he ever became nationally known for his extraordinary abilities as a wide receiver.
SportsWhat happens when you combine "Goodfellas" with college basketball? You get "Playing for the Mob," the story of how mobster Henry Hill -- played by Ray Liotta in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic -- helped orchestrate the fixing of Boston College basketball games in the 1978-79 season. The details of that point-shaving scandal are revealed for the first time on film through the testimony of the players, the federal investigators and the actual fixers, including Hill, who died shortly after he was interviewed. "Playing for the Mob" may be set in the seemingly golden world of college basketball but, like "Goodfellas," this is
SportsThere's something for all abilities and learning styles; see the trick go down and hear the pros explain the moves step by step. Jeremy Jones teaches the fundamental ollie, while X Games gold medalist Steve Fisher runs through a backside 540 in the pipe, and fellow gold medalist Jamie Anderson breezes through tailslide 270s out on the rails. JP Walker's on handplants, Leanne Pelosi boardslides, Darrell Mathes tailpresses, Aaron Biittner frontside 360 nosebonks, and it goes on and on up to backside 900's with Chas Guldemond- only if you can master the first 19 of course… Featured riders include Jamie Anderson, Scotty Arno
SportsWitness Bruce Irons, Ozzie Wright, Dean Morrison, Gavin Beschen, Bol, Mike Morrissey, Nate Tyler, Jay Quinn, Alex Gray, Dusty Payne and more as "Creepy Fingers" winds its way through a cinematic foray of beauty, stupidity, seriousness, and the general debris of human existence.
SportsJeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May immerse themselves in the world of classic cars to find out if they really are, as the anoraks claim, more fun than modern machinery. Armed with a budget of £3000 each they attempt to buy a pre-1982 car at auction. Then the trio are sent off to Majorca to take part in one very big challenge - a seemingly unfathomable classic car rally. Bona fide rock God Brian Johnson is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
SportsOctober 18, 2004: 2004 ALCS, Game 5: New York Yankees 4 at Boston Red Sox 5, F/14 -- Fresh off a 12-inning epic the night before, in which the Sox were three outs away from being unceremoniously swept out from the ALCS, Game 5 itself is an all-time playoff classic. Back and forth all game long, the Sox entered the 8th inning down two runs, but stormed back behind a David Ortiz homer and a Jason Varitek sacrifice fly to tie it up. The game would remain that way until the 14th, when Ortiz would again step to the dish...
SportsIn 1996, the once-dominant New York Islanders were in serious trouble. Lousy performance and poor management were driving away the hockey franchise's loyal fan base. The team hit bottom. Then along came a Dallas businessman named John Spano, who swooped in and agreed to buy the team for 165 million dollars. Things began to look up for the Islanders - way up. But it was all smoke and mirrors. Big Shot goes inside an extraordinary scandal that engulfed the Islanders. Featuring the only interview Spano has ever given about the Islanders deal, this film is an unforgettable tale of a dream that became a lie -
SportsNatural. Rock star. Outsider. In the 1980s, race car driver Tim Richmond lived his life the way he raced cars – wide open. Born into a wealthy family, Richmond was the antithesis of the Southern blue-collar, dirt-track racers who dominated NASCAR. He also was a flamboyant showman who basked in the attention of the media and fans – especially the attention of female admirers. Nevertheless, it was Richmond’s on-track performances that ended up drawing comparisons to racing legends. And in 1986, when he won seven NASCAR races and finished third in the Winston Cup series points race, some believed he was on the verge of
SportsIn the midst of boxing’s contemporary golden age - the 1980’s - stood two fighters who established a captivating rivalry. Their pair of bouts within a span of just over 5 months in 1980 had all the trappings of instant classics. Sugar Ray Leonard, an American hero, who had become a household name after a Gold Medal-winning performance at the 1976 Summer Olympics that led to numerous corporate sponsorships, versus the Latino champion, Roberto Duran, the toughest - some said meanest - fighter of all time. It was not just the drama and action of these fights that would endure, but those two words uttered in the se
SportsFew athletes in Olympic history have reached such heights and depths as Marion Jones. After starring at the University of North Carolina and winning gold at the 1997 and '99 World Track and Field Championships, her rise to the top culminated at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. Jones captivated the world with her beauty, style and athletic dominance, sprinting and jumping to three gold medals and two bronze. Eventually though, her accomplishments and her reputation would be tarnished. For years, Jones denied the increasing speculation that she used performance-enhancing drugs. But in October 2007, she finally adm
SportsGot 10 minutes? Then you have time to get started on your health goals! If you want to lose weight, increase energy, slim legs, tone arms, trim waistline, and manage stress Fitness Walking can help!
SportsOn October 15, 1988, Notre Dame hosted the University of Miami in what would become one of the greatest games in college football history. The coaches and players open up about the fight that started the game, the highly debatable calls that are still being talked, about and the insensitive aspects of the irresistibly popular "Catholics vs. Convicts" t-shirt.
SportsWhen Jimmy Connors arrived in New York for the 1991 U.S. Open, the one-time tennis superstar was 8 years removed from his last Grand Slam singles title, ranked 174th in the world and approaching his 39th birthday. Not exactly a recipe for success. But on the verge of a quick first-round exit, Connors suddenly and unexpectedly re-captured the magic, embarking on a stirring and extraordinary run than included an epic contest with Aaron Krickstein on his way to the semifinals. This is What They Want not only illuminates this highly improbably march past a series of talented and youthful adversaries, it also explores how Conn
SportsOn Thursday, Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin "Magic" Johnson made people stop and watch at the Forum in Inglewood, California. But this time it wasn't his basketball brilliance as a perennial NBA All-Star and three-time MVP that was captivating audiences worldwide. Instead, the 32-year-old ground-breaking point guard was holding a press conference to make the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately. More than 20 years after the announcement, director Nelson George gets to the core of Magic’s incredible personal journey and explores how he continues to thrive two decades late
SportsThe Two Bills traces the relationship between coaching masters Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells that spans over four decades. They first worked side by side as assistants with the New York Giants, and after Parcells took over as head coach, they won two Super Bowls together. Buttressed by what he learned from Parcells, Belichick has won five Super Bowls of his own with the Patriots. Through all the ups and downs of their careers, including some memorable games when they were on opposite sides of the field, they forged a bond that few men of their stature have ever experienced.
SportsThere was a dream… The dream that vapor dreams of becoming solid and falling to meet whatever will catch and hold it. Thus begins "Escramble". Featuring Bjorn Leines, Terje Haakonsen, Mark Landvik, Wille Yli-Luoma, Shaun White, Seth Huot, Gigi Ruf, Erik Leines, Bryan Iguchi, Chris Demolski, Jamie Lynn and more.
SportsDo you remember where you were on June 17, 1994? Thanks to a wide array of unrelated, coast-to-coast occurrences, this Friday has come to be known for its firsts, lasts, triumphs and tragedy. Arnold Palmer played his last round at a U.S. Open, in Oakmont, Pa., the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Chicago, the Rangers celebrated on Broadway, Patrick Ewing desperately pursued a long evasive championship in the Garden and Donald Fehr stared down the baseball owners. And yet, all of that was a prelude to O.J. Simpson leading America on a slow speed chase in a white Ford Bronco around Los Angeles. Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award-
SportsIn 2001, sports entertainment titans Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon launched the XFL. The brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies — NBC and WWE — captured headlines and a sense of undeniable anticipation about what was to come. At the center of it all was a decades-long friendship between one of the most significant television executives in media history, and the one-of-a-kind WWE impresario.
SportsIn 1980, Terry Fox continued to fight bone cancer and deep despair in pursuit of a singular, motivating vision: to run across Canada. Three years after having his right leg amputated six inches above the knee, Fox set out to cover more than a marathon’s distance each day until he reached the shores of Victoria, British Columbia. Spreading awareness and raising funds for cancer research. Anonymous at the start of his journey, Fox steadily captured the heart of a nation with his marathon of hope. After 143 days and two-thirds of the way across Canada, with the eyes of a country watching, Fox’s journey came to an abrupt
SportsThe Dotted Line is an in-depth look at what it takes to be a big-time agent in the fiercely competitive world of major league sports. Agents Peter Greenberg and Eugene Lee are profiled along with their clients New York Mets’ pitcher Johan Santana (Greenberg’s) and NFL hopefuls Jacquian Williams and Robert Hughes (Lee’s).
SportsOn December 10, 2010, Sotheby’s auctioned off the most important historical document in sports history—James Naismith’s original rules of basketball. There’s No Place Like Home is the story of one fan’s obsessive quest to win this seminal American artifact at auction and bring the rules “home” to Lawrence, Kansas, where Naismith coached and taught for more than 40 years.
SportsThe Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry face off against the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown at Dodger Stadium, while Martin Brodeur’s Devils take on Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers in the first of two heavily anticipated outdoor games at Yankee Stadium.
Sports25 years ago, on April 15, 1989, the worst disaster in British football history occurred in an overcrowded stadium in Sheffield, England, 150 miles north of London. 3,000 fans flocked through the turnstiles to head to the area reserved for standing, despite a capacity of less than half of that. The result was a "human crush" that killed 96 people and injured 766. Initially the police blamed fans for the disaster, but a long investigation revealed that was not the truth. Prior to the disaster at Hillsborough, British football was known for the grime of its stadiums, hooligan fans and inadequate facilities, but great change
SportsWe'd like to say "Thanks In Advance" for checking out our movie! Circle the globe with the Burton Team and witness some of the best days of riding last season - from the snow-choked terrain of Greenland, Japan, Washington, Switzerland, Alaska, and New Zealand to the post-blizzard Denver streets. Hitch a ride with Mason, Danny, Luke, Jack, Mikey, Mikkel and Kevin on Burton's "Get off on the Bus" tour. Shred the pipe from Shaun White's POV as he drop in with camera in hand, and watch history unfold as Terje Haakonsen unleashes the highest QP air ever at The Arctic Challenge. Surf slides in the Whistler, BC backcountry with T
SportsThe 100-meter men’s final at the 1988 Seoul Games was the fastest and perhaps most thrilling sprint in Olympic history. But within 48 hours, gold medalist Ben Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids, and scandal reigned. This one race still haunts the eight men who took part. But what brought them to the starting line? And what happened to them since?
SportsYoungstown Boys is a feature documentary exploring class and power dynamics in college sports through the parallel, interconnected journeys of Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel. These two stars emerged from opposite sides of the tracks in Youngstown, Ohio. They joined together for a magic season at Ohio State University in 2002 and a national championship. Shortly thereafter, Clarett was banished from college football and began a downward spiral that ended with a prison term. Tressel continued at Ohio State for another eight years before his career there also ended in scandal. Now, both Youngstown Boys are attempting to