ESPN releases next batch of 30 for 30 documentaries
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 7:32 am    Post subject: ESPN releases next batch of 30 for 30 documentaries

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/july/espn-releases-next-batch-of-30-for-30-documentaries.html

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The latest batch of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries have been officially announced and scheduled for the fall, and like always, there are some that look absolutely phenomenal. The first film will premiere on Tuesday, October 1 at 8 PM, and will continue in the same timeslot for six weeks.

October 1. Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau. This film will examine the tragic life of Hawaiian surfer Eddie Aikau, and is directed by Sam George.
October 8. Free Spirits. This one is going to look at the Spirits of St Louis leading into the NBA/ABA merger, and how the team is still existing and making money for their owners today. It's directed by Daniel H. Forer.
October 15. No Mas. The name should tell you all you need to know about this documentary: a look behind the scenes of the two fights between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. The director is Eric Drath.
October 22. Big Shot. Hey, another hockey documentary! Big Shot will break down the scandal involving John Spano's attempted purchase of the Islanders in 1996, and is directed by Kevin Connolly.
October 29. This is What They Want. Jimmy Connors' miraculous run in the 1991 US Open is examined, and is directed by Brian Koppleman and David Levien.
November 5. Tonya and Nancy. This is another one where the title makes it obvious what the subject matter will be: the incident between figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding in 1994. The director is Nanette Burstein.

It's a pretty solid crop of documentaries (as usual), and the only ones that don't immediately appeal to me are Hawaiian and This is What They Want. Drath previously directed the Renee 30 for 30 along with the 30 for 30 short about Pete Rose, but all of the other directors this go-around are newbies to the franchise.

Nothing has been announced for the traditional post-Heisman ceremony slot yet, but it's rumored that a film on former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett will be featured. The college documentaries in that timeslot (The U, Pony Excess, You Don't Know Bo) are generally the most entertaining of the 30 for 30 films, and hopefully this year's selection will continue that trend.
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:28 am    Post subject:

i absolutely loved the Escobar and Escobar one.. and the reggie miller one..

both were great!
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:27 pm    Post subject:

i bought the blu ray collection a few months ago. havent found the time to watch them yet but i heard great things about them
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:16 am    Post subject:

There's a documentary called, "Big Shot" and it's not about Robert Horry?!?

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:15 am    Post subject:

I'm surprised there hasn't been a Kobe Shaq one yet.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:33 am    Post subject:

kaoss128 wrote:
I'm surprised there hasn't been a Kobe Shaq one yet.



Maybe after they retire if Kobe agrees to it would be pointless to have one if both of them weren't a part of it.

I mean that's what made the Evert/Navitravola one effective.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:16 pm    Post subject:

The author of that article must not like tennis because that year that Connors made that run was incredible.

He almost did the impossible especially at his age.

I remember watching the tournament back then, it was the whole story of that tournament.

Tennis these days doesn't get as compelling from the older set.

Bye.
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PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 9:44 am    Post subject:

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/05/next-documentary-espn-films-30-30-series-believeland-premieres-may-14/

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Next Documentary in ESPN Films 30 for 30 Series, “Believeland,” Premieres May 14


ESPN Films’ award-winning 30 for 30 series will continue on Saturday, May 14, with “Believeland” at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The documentary will chronicle the struggles of Cleveland’s major sports franchises over the past 50 years and the impact it has all had on the psyche of a typical Cleveland sports fan.

There’s a special place on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Known as Cleveland, it is the site of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the home of the Indians, the Browns and the Cavaliers. But it’s also the home of an agonizing losing streak. Of all American cities that have at least three major sports franchises, Cleveland is the only one that has failed to win a championship in the last half-century. Those sports teams, and the hearts they’ve broken over and over again, have inspired a different name for the city, and the title for this 30 for 30 film: “Believeland.”

Directed by Ohio native Andy Billman, this evocative documentary will take you on a trip that goes back more than 50 years and captures the seminal ups and downs of the once-thriving metropolis. Despite the economic and athletic misfortunes, and the t-shirt that reads “God Hates Cleveland,” the people still believe and worship Jim Thome and Jim Brown, LeBron James and other Cleveland sports heroes. But they also can’t forget Edgar Renteria and John Elway and Michael Jordan, the men who extinguished their dreams of a long-awaited championship. Painful as it may be at times, “Believeland” is a celebration of faith, a testament to how much sports mean to Cleveland…and how much Cleveland means to sports.

“This film is a testament to the unique power of sports to create communal bonds, regardless of the final score,” says director Billman. “Having cheered for Cleveland teams my whole life, I understand what it is like to be a fan whose love and loyalty have endured despite half a century of heartache and I hope that everyone who sees “Believeland” will come away feeling some of that hard-earned love.”
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PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 10:50 am    Post subject:

the eddie one is going to be awesome.
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PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 10:54 am    Post subject:

Thugnomoe wrote:
the eddie one is going to be awesome.


they made it several years ago.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 9:28 am    Post subject:

I enjoyed "I Hate Christian Laettner", and the recent Orlando Magic episode with Shaq bolting town.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 5:47 pm    Post subject:

October 15. No Mas

That one was all right. Duran still can't explain No Mas. Pride is bleepin with him.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 6:16 pm    Post subject:

Thugnomoe wrote:
the eddie one is going to be awesome.




Eddie Would Go!



I would also love to see one done on Robbie Naish as well, just for the insanely eye-popping footage it would contain. Unfortunately though, Robbie wasn't blessed with an interesting enough personality to draw an audiences interest. It's really too bad, because he's one of the most amazing athletes of our times.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 6:49 pm    Post subject:

non-player zealot wrote:
October 15. No Mas

That one was all right. Duran still can't explain No Mas. Pride is bleepin with him.


That topic/fight has been beaten to death twice over. Not sure what new angle they can take on it.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 8:15 pm    Post subject:

Free_Kobe wrote:
There's a documentary called, "Big Shot" and it's not about Robert Horry?!?


I didn't realize this was an old post and when I read the "Big Shot" one... had the exact same sentiment!
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 3:33 am    Post subject:

jonnybravo wrote:
non-player zealot wrote:
October 15. No Mas

That one was all right. Duran still can't explain No Mas. Pride is bleepin with him.


That topic/fight has been beaten to death twice over. Not sure what new angle they can take on it.


The gimmick was Ray going to Panama to meet Duran for the first time since I think 81, iirc. Duran was calmer, but still a little passive-aggressively hostile if the right topic came up to whisk him back to 1980. The stark difference were their lifestyles. Ray in this palacial LA estate. Duran is well-off for his sphere of the world, but he had an older Mercedes that needed a tire change during shoot. Ray said he was nervous even to meet him today, but when he came away from it, he met a man who was unable to forgive himself and he went from feeling like the guy was an ahole to feeling sympathetic. Duran was still going with the tired excuses that he used back in 81. There were things about him that had never changed even in 35 yrs.

Saw the Larry/Muhammad one as well. That was probably more elucidating being that they showed a grip of footage from their training in 1980. One clip was of Holmes in his GoodFellas Cadillac with a prehistoric car phone, flossin, changin' tapes, listening to one of those early bad rap songs about him fighting Ali (along the lines of Lakers Just Say No or Rappin Rodney), etc. It was worth it just for this clip. Ali was (bleeped blup). He was WELL on his way to current state even in 80. Sad to see, but he wanted the money.
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 3:48 pm    Post subject:

non-player zealot wrote:
October 15. No Mas

That one was all right. Duran still can't explain No Mas. Pride is bleepin with him.


RBs approach to Durán/Leonard II was irresponsible to say the least. He figured he'd party hard after the first match (the worst whooping Leonard ever took), show up out of shape and collect his paycheck. He stopped the fight once he realized what a big mistake he'd made. But I think the biggest mistake he made was assuming Leonard would agree to a third match shortly, instead of waiting over a decade. Durán was lazy and shortsighted. Shame because a motivated and well conditioned RB would have produced the same result as the first encounter.

"No Mas" doc was an ok attempt to get Leonard back in the spotlight. It's a shame people view the incident as Durán's definitive moment. Altho it's hard to look away. But he did have a remarkable career as a lightweight, since the 60s and 70s. He later bulked up 12lbs to enter the middleweight division, where he again dominated. It's arguable that he was close to his swan song by the 80s (amazing that we would continue thru the 90s and 00s, mostly because of financial troubles). But his crowning achievement is still the Brawl in Monréal imo. Just a masterful display of boxing.
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PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2016 10:32 am    Post subject:

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/05/30-for-30-on-dwight-gooden-and-darryl-strawberry-co-directed-by-judd-apatow-and-michael-bonfiglio-to-premiere-july-14-on-espn/

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30 for 30 on Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, Co-Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, to

The next installment in ESPN Films’ Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series will be “Doc & Darryl,” premiering Thursday, July 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Directors Judd Apatow (“Trainwreck,” “This Is 40”) and Michael Bonfiglio (“You Don’t Know Bo”) will explore the lives and careers of former New York Mets superstars, the young flame thrower, Dwight “Doc” Gooden and feared power hitter Darryl Strawberry

When they were good, they were great; the biggest stars on a team that captured the imagination of New York City and won the 1986 World Series. But when life spiraled out of control for both men, Gooden and Strawberry inadvertently broke the hearts of Mets fans. “They were going to be our guys for years,” laments Jon Stewart in this evocative yet searing 30 for 30 documentary.

Reunited at a diner in Queens, the pitcher and the power hitter look back on the glory days of the mid-80s and the harrowing nights that turned them from surefire Hall of Famers into prisoners of their own addictions. Listening to Doc talk about missing the World Series parade down the Canyon of Heroes, or Darryl counseling others at his ministry, you can only wish that these two very different men had not followed the same destructive path. Watch the trailer: http://es.pn/1XwWhs4

“As a New Yorker and diehard Mets fan, it was an honor to be allowed to explore the lives of two men whose journeys defined my childhood,” says Apatow.

Added Bonfiglio: “Darryl and Dwight have both lived such extreme lives, and trying to understand what drove and continues to drive them has been a truly fascinating experience.”

“Doc & Darryl” will screen at AFI Docs on Sunday, June 26, prior to its broadcast debut in July. The film is executive produced by Radical Media’s Dave O’Connor and Justin Wilkes.

“Working with directors as talented as Judd and Mike is what drives 30 for 30 forward as the pre-eminent brand in documentary filmmaking,” said Connor Schell, Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of ESPN Films, “In ‘Doc & Darryl,’ they have told an incredible story about the personal struggles of two of baseball’s all-time brightest stars. It is a remarkable film that we are proud to showcase.”

Advance press screeners available upon request. Additional information including film clips and director statements and bios will be available on the 30 for 30 website espn.com/30for30; Follow 30 for 30 on Facebook (facebook.com/espn30for30) Twitter (@30for30) and Instagram (@30for30). 30 for 30 is presented by Mini Cooper.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 8:22 pm    Post subject:

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/10/espn-films-announces-next-three-documentaries-30-30-series/

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ESPN Films Announces Next Three Documentaries in 30 for 30 Series

“Phi Slama Jama” Premieres October 18; “Hit it Hard” Premieres November 1; “Catholics vs. Convicts” Premieres December 10

ESPN Films’ Peabody and Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series continues this fall with three new documentaries that will air in October, November and December. Currently in the midst of its third volume, the series is fresh off a summer which featured the popular and critically acclaimed premieres of both “O.J.: Made in America” and “Doc & Darryl.”

Providing the tip-off for the fall offerings on Tuesday, October 18, will be “Phi Slama Jama,” a brief yet captivating era at the University of Houston and a story ultimately captured for all it was and what might have been in the famous 1983 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game. Two weeks later, another intriguing narrative is revealed in “Hit It Hard,” a look back at the rags-to-riches-to-rags saga of golfer John Daly. Then, following the Heisman Trophy presentation on Saturday, December 10, ESPN will debut “Catholics vs. Convicts,” a return to the unforgettable 1988 football game between Notre Dame and the University of Miami that sparked far more than just a t-shirt.

“With each of our 30 for 30 films this fall, there’s a level of rebelliousness, controversy and intrigue in the main characters,” says ESPN Films Vice President and Executive Producer John Dahl. “That desire to do it their own way brought along a fair share of criticism, but also helped fuel the pursuit of their goals.”

30 for 30 is presented by MINI. Advance press screeners available upon request. Additional information, including film clips and director statements and bios, are available on the 30 for 30 website espn.com/30for30; Follow 30 for 30 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and join the conversation with hashtags #PhiSlamaJama, #HitItHard and #CatholicsVsConvicts.

30 for 30 Film Summaries and Dates:

“Phi Slama Jama” directed by Chip Rives

Tuesday, October 18, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

They were the most popular fraternity on the campus of college basketball in the early 1980s. Led by a Nigerian soccer player named Hakeem Olajuwon and a lightly recruited hometown kid named Clyde Drexler, the University of Houston Cougars not only electrified the NCAA Final Four with three straight appearances (1982-84), but they also helped transform the game itself. In this 30 for 30 film, director Chip Rives brings back the high-flying circus act under ringmaster Guy V. Lewis and spins a tale of true greatness and crushing heartbreak. But while exploring that larger narrative, Rives also focuses on the disappearance of enigmatic role player Benny Anders and the lasting brotherhood that compels teammates and 1981-82 co-captains Eric Davis and Lynden Rose to try and find him after more than two decades of mystery. Trailer: http://es.pn/2dBdDVi

“Hit It Hard” directed by David Terry Fine and Gabe Spitzer

Tuesday, November 1, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

If professional golf were put to country music, then the song would be about John Daly. Ever since he shocked the sports world by winning the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick 25 years ago, the blond bomber from Dardanelle, Arkansas, has been one of the most popular—and polarizing—figures in a sport that cherishes its traditions and minds its manners. In this revealing and rollicking 30 for 30 film, 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. They also uncover a person whose story runs much deeper than his motto of “Sip It, Grip It, Rip It.” Trailer: http://es.pn/2d0bLnN

“Catholics vs. Convicts” directed by Patrick Creadon

Saturday, December 10, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

On October 15, 1988, Notre Dame hosted the University of Miami in what would become one of the greatest games in college football history. It was tradition vs. swagger, the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish versus the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes, one coaching star, Lou Holtz, versus another, Jimmy Johnson. But the name still attached to the contest came from a t-shirt manufactured by a few Notre Dame students: “Catholics vs. Convicts.” In this 30 for 30 documentary, director and narrator Patrick Creadon (Wordplay, I.O.U.S.A.) doesn’t just look back on the epic game. He explores the deeper narrative as a Notre Dame senior at the time, a close friend to the young men in the middle of the “Catholics vs. Convicts” controversy (Joe Fredrick and Pat Walsh) and a fellow classmate of the player behind center for the Fighting Irish (quarterback Tony Rice). 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 t-shirt. As compelling as the tale of Notre Dame’s dramatic victory is—even losing quarterback Steve Walsh calls it “a helluva ballgame”—the backstory is just as riveting. Trailer: http://es.pn/2d0amh6
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 6:05 pm    Post subject:

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/11/espn-films-30-30-xfl-premiere-february/

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ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 “This Was the XFL” to Premiere in February

Documentary, directed by Charlie Ebersol and featuring Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon, to debut on February 2 at 9 p.m. ET; World Premiere to Take Place at DOC NYC Tomorrow

Three days before Super Bowl LI, ESPN Films will premiere the 30 for 30 documentary “This Was the XFL,” directed by Charlie Ebersol, chronicling the short-lived, ill-fated pro football league. The documentary, airing on February 2 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, tells the story in fascinating, candid, and often rollicking fashion featuring fellow television legends and close friends – Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon.

A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but 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.

Bringing together a cast of characters ranging from the boardrooms of General Electric to the practice fields of Las Vegas, “This Was the XFL” is the tale of — yes — all that went wrong, but also, how the XFL ended up influencing the way professional team sports are broadcast today. And at the center of it all – a decades long friendship between one of the most significant television executives in media history and the one-of-a-kind WWE impresario. This film will explore how Ebersol and McMahon brought the XFL to life, and why they had to let it go.

“I grew up on the sidelines watching my father and Vince enjoy incredible success with just about everything they touched, and then, along came the XFL,” said director Charlie Ebersol. “I saw them take bold creative risks, face unparalleled success and failure with dignity, but most importantly they maintained and celebrated a friendship where most would have cut and run. I learned more about integrity and character in those 18 months than just about any other time in my life, so when ESPN Films asked if I wanted to tell the story of the XFL, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that the real story was that of an unbreakable friendship.”

John Dahl, Vice President and Executive Producer, ESPN Films said: “We felt that the colorful personalities and storylines featured throughout the rise and fall of the XFL deserved a more detailed examination, and as Dick Ebersol’s son, Charlie provided a personal understanding of it all. The XFL was a gamble, and even though the league didn’t ultimately succeed, we think audiences will really enjoy this tale of risk and ambition.”

“This Was the XFL” will have its world premiere tomorrow at the DOC NYC film festival in Manhattan. Additional details and ticket information can be found here: http://www.docnyc.net/film/this-was-the-xfl/
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:07 pm    Post subject:

http://www.si.com/tech-media/2016/12/05/john-calipari-30-for-30-espn-documentary-kentucky-memphis-umass

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John Calipari 30 for 30 will explore all angles of polarizing coach



There are few bigger personalities in the world of basketball than Calipari. ESPN's 30 for 30 will tackle the Kentucky coach's complex career and his larger life story.

His detractors like to point out he’s long been one step ahead of the basketball law, a coach who presided over two Final Four runs vacated by the NCAA (at Massachusetts in 1996 and Memphis in 2008).

His supporters, former assistants and players will tell you no one is better at developing young players. If recruiting and growing NBA talent is any guide, he’s unmatched among current college coaches.

Few college basketball coaches are more polarizing than Kentucky's John Calipari, which makes him a tremendous subject for a documentary. There have been previous reports of ESPN working on a 30 for 30 on Calapari—including this Louisville Courier-Journal piece from last May—and this week the network will announce the premiere date. The documentary is titled One and Not Done and will air on April 13, 11 days after the conclusion of the college basketball season and two days before the start of the NBA playoffs. The film will be produced and directed by Jonathan Hock, a multiple Emmy Award-winning producer and director whose previous 30 for 30s include The Best That Never Was (2010), Unguarded (2011), Survive and Advance (2013) and Of Miracles and Men (2015).


In an interview with Sports Illustrated last week, Hock called Calipari (whom he met on a previous project) the most complicated subject he has ever dealt with for a project. He also said few subjects have ever given him better access. Hock and his crew made 10 visits to Lexington in 2015 for the documentary, which included watching seven games and many Kentucky practices. The premise of the film is to weave the 2015–16 season around Calipari’s larger life story.


“I think the most important thing the film does is embrace the antipathy to Calipari as part of who he is,” Hock said. “You can’t be John Calipari without the haters. I have had more fun filming Calipari than I can remember having following any team. He is so unfiltered and entertaining and real when you are embedded with him. He has been wide open. Making the film has been a really great experience.

“The thing I find most interesting about Calipari and what makes this film fit within the personality-driven films I have done about Marcus Dupree (the lead subject of The Best That Never Was) or Chris Herren (Unguarded) is that Cal comes from a working-class world. He is of the laborers. His mom worked at a cafeteria and his dad handled bags at airports. His grandparents were coal miners. So I think when Cal wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror, he doesn’t see this super-wealthy, successful, famous coach. He sees those coal miners looking back at him, and that is what keeps him going and motivated.”


The film is expected to run two hours and chronicles Calipari’s life, from growing up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, to his assistant coaching jobs at Kansas and Pitt, to top jobs at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky. Both Hock and John Dahl, ESPN's vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and original content, promised that the film is not a one-sided presentation of Calipari. The UMass years are featured more than the Kentucky years, according to Hock. “As the writer Marty Dobrow said in the film, there are some people who love him and some people who think he is Satan on the sidelines, and we look at both sides of that,” said Hock. “You have to understand UMass before you can understand Calipari at Kentucky.”


The film features long interviews with those drafted No. 1 overall after being coached by Calipari, including Derrick Rose, John Wall, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns. Former UMass and NBA star Marcus Camby is also interviewed. (Camby admitted in 1996 to taking thousands of dollars in cash and gifts from agents, in violation of NCAA rules, while he was an All-America at UMass. That same week Calipari left for a job with the New Jersey Nets.)


“I anticipated that John Wall and Derrick Rose would be a little bit closed off, or maybe not trusting, but both of those interviews were so warm and heartfelt,” Hock said. “They brought so much to the film with not only their personal recollections and emotions, but amazing insight into how Calipari does it. The thing about all of Cal’s great players is they have all butted heads with Cal, where he wore them out and they had enough with him. But Cal does not yield with them. It’s an interesting dynamic.”
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 9:39 pm    Post subject:

Basketball Fan wrote:
http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/11/espn-films-30-30-xfl-premiere-february/

Quote:
ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 “This Was the XFL” to Premiere in February

Documentary, directed by Charlie Ebersol and featuring Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon, to debut on February 2 at 9 p.m. ET; World Premiere to Take Place at DOC NYC Tomorrow

Three days before Super Bowl LI, ESPN Films will premiere the 30 for 30 documentary “This Was the XFL,” directed by Charlie Ebersol, chronicling the short-lived, ill-fated pro football league. The documentary, airing on February 2 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, tells the story in fascinating, candid, and often rollicking fashion featuring fellow television legends and close friends – Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon.

A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but 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.

Bringing together a cast of characters ranging from the boardrooms of General Electric to the practice fields of Las Vegas, “This Was the XFL” is the tale of — yes — all that went wrong, but also, how the XFL ended up influencing the way professional team sports are broadcast today. And at the center of it all – a decades long friendship between one of the most significant television executives in media history and the one-of-a-kind WWE impresario. This film will explore how Ebersol and McMahon brought the XFL to life, and why they had to let it go.

“I grew up on the sidelines watching my father and Vince enjoy incredible success with just about everything they touched, and then, along came the XFL,” said director Charlie Ebersol. “I saw them take bold creative risks, face unparalleled success and failure with dignity, but most importantly they maintained and celebrated a friendship where most would have cut and run. I learned more about integrity and character in those 18 months than just about any other time in my life, so when ESPN Films asked if I wanted to tell the story of the XFL, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that the real story was that of an unbreakable friendship.”

John Dahl, Vice President and Executive Producer, ESPN Films said: “We felt that the colorful personalities and storylines featured throughout the rise and fall of the XFL deserved a more detailed examination, and as Dick Ebersol’s son, Charlie provided a personal understanding of it all. The XFL was a gamble, and even though the league didn’t ultimately succeed, we think audiences will really enjoy this tale of risk and ambition.”

“This Was the XFL” will have its world premiere tomorrow at the DOC NYC film festival in Manhattan. Additional details and ticket information can be found here: http://www.docnyc.net/film/this-was-the-xfl/


Problem is the US has only 1 room for a pro sports league from particular sport sport....for pro football thats the NFL.....all the up and comers have tried and failed to capture the audience from the USFL, XFL to the UFL. The XFL did come up with the overhead camera which is now used in the NFL
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 4:48 pm    Post subject:

http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/year-of-the-scab-30-for-30-strike-team.html

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Year of the Scab 30 for 30 on replacement players, plus Strike Team short, to air Sept. 12

Both Year of the Scab and Strike Team involve the 1980s Washington Redskins, but in very different ways.

ESPN has announced another 30 for 30 documentary’s air date, and it will be accompanied by a 30 for 30 short. Year of the Scab, which is directed by John Dorsey (who previously directed The Marinovich Project and was an executive producer on Pony Excess) and tells the story of the replacement players who suited up for the Washington Redskins during the 1987 NFL strike, will air Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Dorsey (seen at left above at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere, with executive producer David George) presents this as a look at the real story that inspired the fictionalized 2000 film The Replacements. It will then be followed at 9:30 p.m. Eastern by 25-minute short Strike Team, which discusses a U.S. Marshals’ sting to lure fugitives with free Redskins’ tickets. Here are more details on Year of the Scab from ESPN’s release:

ADVERTISING

“Year of the Scab,” which has screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York as well as closing night at AFI Docs in D.C., looks at the men who served as replacements for the Redskins in 1987 when NFL players went on strike to gain bargaining power in their struggle with the team owners. Crossing the picket line to play in the NFL changed their lives, but not in the way they’d expected or hoped. For most of them, what was billed as the last shot at a dream became the final blow to their careers. This group, who were called “scabs,” braved ridicule and threats of violence for one last chance at glory.

Now 30 years later, director John Dorsey introduces viewers to some of these players and their stories, as well as the men whose jobs they took and other participants in one of sports’ strangest chapters. The replacement squad won all three games before the strike ended, and the Redskins went on to win the Super Bowl that season. Yet most of the “scabs” were watching from home as the team they had helped get to the playoffs won the biggest game of the year.

…“In 1987, a bunch of nobodies were offered a second shot a dream they thought had died,” said director John Dorsey. “What they didn’t know was that their golden ticket would become a scarlet letter. For 30 years, an experience that should have been a badge of honor has been the scab that never healed, and I hope that through this film their story will be given the recognition it deserves.”
And some information on Strike Team, which focuses on the U.S. Marshals’ December 15, 1985 sting to lure fugitives to the Washington Convention Center for free tickets to the Redskins’ game that day against the Cincinnati Bengals:

Director Willie Ebersol retells the story of the operation, from the planning stages when it was met with skepticism, through the comical dress rehearsal, and on to its suspenseful execution. All in all, more than 100 fugitives were arrested that day without a shot being fired.

“It’s so rare for a documentary to actually place an audience inside an event from over 30 years ago,” said Willie Ebersol, director. “But after discovering a treasure trove of never-before-seen footage, we were able to give viewers a front row seat to this fun and wild operation, from conception to execution, making sure to not miss a single epic 80’s mustache along the way.”

He added, ”‘Strike Team’ gives a truly behind-the-scenes look into the most elaborate, can’t-believe-it-actually-happened sting in U.S. law enforcement history — all without ever breaking tension or era by cutting away to interviews.”
Both of these sound like pretty remarkable stories, and it makes sense to pair them up given how they’re both covering the Redskins in the 1980s. The timing also makes sense, as Sept. 12 is a Tuesday, just after the first week of the NFL season wraps up; that’s probably a good time to attract viewers looking for more NFL-related content. Both of these stories could be pretty interesting, too, as they’re covering events that haven’t often been discussed in great detail (unlike some recent 30 for 30s like the one on the Lakers-Celtics rivalry).

Many are certainly aware of the 1987 player strike (and the fictionalized portrayal it received in The Replacements, which also focused on the Washington team and the three of four games it won to make the playoffs), but the details aren’t necessarily common knowledge. The reality of what happened to these players could make for a good story. And as Redskins.com’s Jake King-Schriefels explored in a May article talking to Dorsey and some of the players involved, the team’s approach to that strike was particularly unique:

What made the Redskins a worthy subject throughout this forgotten period in time – besides the fact that the team would eventually win the Super Bowl – was the way it managed those three weeks of league-wide chaos. Unlike other teams, which eventually saw several of their star players cross the picket line to collect their paychecks and play again, the Redskins fielded a team comprised of replacement players for the duration of the strike – and to the surprise of everyone, they won all three of their games.

“I realized there was this irony in valuing team cohesion as a methodology to survive the strike, and ultimately that philosophy paid dividends in the Super Bowl run,” Dorsey told Redskins.com. “It was pretty clear that Washington was the only team to focus on during the strike.”

…This was only the beginning. Even as the replacements practiced and played, they faced the stigma associated with breaking a strike, an unpopular act, especially in a major city of working people. The film captures archival footage of fans protesting their entry into RFK Stadium on their first game against the Cardinals, one they would win and turn wide receiver Anthony Allen into a replacement star. The animosity was understandable. It also informs the way these replacements have lived the rest of their lives, burdened with guilt for fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

“They thought they had the golden ticket but it ended up being a scarlet letter,” Dorsey said. “That kind of emotional whiplash left them emotionally tender when it came to the memories of their experience. The indignity of being cast aside and forgotten largely en route to a Super Bowl and not getting rings is something that many of them just wanted to forget. They never really had the forum to present their accomplishments in the proper context.”
So, that could definitely be interesting, and could present a side of this that hasn’t been frequently told. And Strike Team is definitely an off-the-radar story, too, and one with some potential to be entertaining. We’ll see how these turn out.

[Correction: this piece initially said Dorsey directed Pony Excess. He was an executive producer; Thaddeus Matula directed it.]
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 5:41 pm    Post subject:

http://www.espn.com/30for30/film?page=Seau

Quote:
Seau
Film Summary
Long before Junior Seau finally hung up his NFL spikes for good, he was a legend. Seau had everything an athlete could ever want: the adoration of millions, the admiration of his peers, the love of a beautiful family, and a sense of purpose beyond the playing field. And yet, on May 2nd, 2012, at the age of 43, Seau, alone in his bedroom at his home in Oceanside, California, shot himself in the heart. He left no suicide note, offering no clear answers to why he'd take his own life. Now, Seau, a searing, revealing portrait of the Hall of Famer's life and death, seeks those answers, exploring his remarkable path out of an immigrant Samoan family to NFL stardom, and the many complications that ensued through two decades spent at the heart of a brutal and unforgiving game. Directed by Kirby Bradley, Junior Seau's tale of one of modern football's great icons, with a tragic end still reverberating through the sports world all these years later.

Director's Take
After dropping out of graduate school, I moved to San Diego where I sold encyclopedias door-to-door and pumped gas. I had a much more successful roommate who was a young sports reporter assigned to cover high school sports north of San Diego - he told me about this massive but incredibly agile Samoan basketball player from Oceanside named Junior Seau.

I promptly forgot about him, but a few years later, I noticed Junior again during his crazy breakout season playing football at USC, and by the time he was drafted by his hometown Chargers, I was a researcher on HBO's Inside the NFL series. I was drawn to him because of his passionate love of the game, his joy in playing it, and his competitive instinct. I couldn't believe he was able to keep playing past the age of 40, and I felt bad he never won a Super Bowl. And when he retired, I figured with his personality, he'd be a broadcaster, or a public speaker, or do a bunch of endorsements - Junior seemed like one of the guys who would land on his feet with no problem.

But then the year after he retired, we all heard the story of him driving off the cliff after being arrested for domestic violence. We heard whispers of erratic behavior, of money problems, of violent outbursts. Stuff that just didn't sync with the image of the Junior we thought we knew. And then in 2012, just two years after retiring, he shot himself in the heart.

I had done a lot of reporting on concussions and CTE in the NFL while I was the showrunner for the HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. CTE is a brain disease caused by blows to the head, and at that time, researchers were finding it in the brains of more and more NFL players who had died. Seau was, by far, the most famous of these players, and I knew I had to tell his story.

I didn't set out to explain CTE, or to blame anyone for Junior's death. It's clear now that NFL players put themselves at risk, as do hockey players, boxers, soccer players and others. I feel as long as the athletes are informed of all the scientific and medical information available, it's their choice whether to participate or not. But I felt Junior's story would illustrate the human side of CTE, and how it impacts the lives of players, as well as their families and friends.

Junior Seau would have been voted the NFL player least likely to commit suicide - he just seemed to love life too much. But he did. And it's worthwhile looking at how and why his life spiraled downward.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:37 am    Post subject:

Basketball Fan wrote:

Seau


Thanks for the reminder BF. It's airing again on Tue on ESPN for those interested.
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