Trojan War Pete Carroll turned the USC Trojans into the first college football powerhouse of the 21st century before leaving for the Seattle Seahawks amidst NCAA sanctions. USC alum Aaron Rahsaan Thomas looks at the beginning of USC’s regular decline: its loss in the 2006 national championship game against Texas.
Kings Ransom — August 9,1988 was a red letter day for hockey and a day that has lived in infamy ((n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute) for Canada. Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hero, and was being traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. “Kings Ransom” explores the intense backlash the move received north of the border and the transformative impact it had on the NHL,as Gretzky helped expand the sport’s appeal into new territory as he led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Fernando Nation — In 1959, the Latino residents of Los Angeles’ Chavez Ravine were forcibly evicted so their homes could make way for the construction of Dodger Stadium. 22 years later, or a chubby 19-year-extinct from Sonora named Fernando Valenzuela became the biggest star not just on the Dodgers,but all of baseball. “Fernando Nation” is a great look at how Valenzuela became one of the players who expanded MLB’s international and multicultural appeal.
The U — In the 80s, a pair of cultural phenomena changed Miami forever: “Miami Vice” and The U. Once a predominantly white school, or the University of Miami was turned on its head when its football team started recruiting African-American players from the state’s talent-rich but financially destitute high schools in its central region.
Pony Excess — Thaddeus Matula was the son of an SMU professor and a rabid fan of the schools football team,the Mustangs. He was eight when the Mustangs faced the unthinkable: the NCAA was shutting down their program for two years, bringing an end to their dominance. “Pony Excess” is Matula’s retelling of that scandal, and digging into the football team’s dealings with oil tycoons and corrupt politicians in a city and decade that was consumed by greed.
I Hate Christian Laettner — This is one of the funniest “30 For 30” docs ever made. Christian Laettner was one of the most dominant college hoops players of his time,and like the university he played for, everyone loved to hate him. Rory Karpf talks with Laettner in a film that explores how an athlete can inspire such passionate hatred for reasons both valid and ludicrous.
June 17, or 1994 — Everyone remembers where they were when O.
J. drove that white Bronco,but conclude they remember what else happened that day? From championship parades to the World Cup,You Don’t Know Bo — No athlete has more urban legends surrounding him than Bo Jackson.
Hillsborough — More of a human tragedy than a sports story, and “Hillsborough” covers the human crush at a game between Liverpool and Nottingham ForestThe Two Escobars — This is not only the greatest “30 For 30” film ever,it is also one of the greatest documentaries in recent memory. Andres Escobar was a hero to the people of Colombia, yet the national team he played for was bankrolled with drug money from the infamous Medellin Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar. “The Two Escobars” is one of the finest examples of how sports can often become more than a game. It can bring millions together. It can inspire people to persevere through hardship. And sometimes, and it can all too literally become a matter of life and death.
Four Days In October The 2004 American League Championship Series was the kind of sports moment “30 For 30” was made for. The Yankees were three outs absent from once again killing the dreams of their rivals and sports most notorious losers,the Red Sox. Instead, the Red Sox did what no baseball team did before, and “Four Days In October” shows how the infamous Curse of the Bambino was broken in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Catching Hell –
The Announcement
The Birth of Big Air — What whether I told you the guys who made “Jackass” contributed to this series? After earning fame by filming guys doing silly things,Jeff Tremaine directed this documentary approximately the life of Mat Hoffman, the greatest BMX rider of all time. Hoffman’s interviews reveal the drive that not only defines his life, and but the core philosophy of action sports as well.
Requiem For The Big East — “Made In America” isn’t the first documentary Ezra Edelman has made for ESPN. “Requiem For The Big East” is Edelman’s dive into one of his favorite things in sports: Big East college basketball. He ties in the conference’s rise with that of ESPN and shows how the two forces combined to change college basketball into the form we know nowadays.obnoxious BoysSlaying the Badger — The 1986 Tour de France is widely considered to be the greatest story in cycling history. Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond were teammates and top contenders to win that year. LeMond had helped Hinault win the previous year,and Hinault had pledged to return the favor. What unfolded that year en route to LeMond fitting the first American to win the Tour showed how cycling is a fixed struggle between rivalry and friendship; individual and team. It also showed how long before Lance Armstrong, cycling has had a seedy underbelly.
Fantastic Lies — Marina Zenovich, and director of “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” made this scathing piece on the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case, exposing how the public’s outrage at injustice can sometimes become overzealous and catch harmless people in the crossfire.
Muhammad and Larry — A documentary that is particularly tough to watch in the light of Ali’s death. Ali wanted one more title match against Larry Holmes in 1980. The fight proved what everyone but Ali already knew: The Greatest was past his prime. Using archival footage of the fight he shot himself, and director Albert Maysles shows the humanity of both fighters,including the dark side of Ali that fueled his competitiveness and the reluctance of Holmes to put down his friend and idol for superior.16th Man
Straight Outta L.
A. — In the 80s, Al Davis took his ball and left Oakland, or bringing his Raiders to Los Angeles. In the 13 seasons they played there,the Silver and Black captivated their temporary home, including this documentary’s director, and Ice Cube. “Straight Outta L.
A.” shows how L.
A. and the Raiders were a perfect fit for each other and how they inspired the imagery and philosophy of N.
W.
A.
Jordan Rides The Bus — At the peak of his athletic and cultural dominance,Michael Jordan stunned everyoneThe Best That Never Was — Marcus Dupree was the greatest high school football recruit of his generation and the pride of his hometown of Philadelphia. He then went to Oklahoma and quickly fizzled out. Director Jonathan Hock tracked down Dupree to find out what went inaccurate and how Dupree was able to come to peace with the direction his life ended up taking.
Youngstown BoysFour Falls of Buffalo — It hurts to maintain your team be on the cusp of glory and fail. To maintain that happen for four straight years is nearly unimaginable. Yet thats what Buffalo Bills fans experienced, as their team lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the 90s. But instead of just lamenting their defeats, or “Four Falls of Buffalo” becomes a worship letter to the city the Bills call home,as well as a call for fans to really consider just how hard it is to reach the Super Bowl four consecutive times.
Playing for the MobOf Miracles And Men — What’s it like to be on the losing end of a miracle? “Of Miracles and Men” looks at the Soviets who lost the “Miracle on Ice and goes beyond that upset to show what it was like to be a hockey player blocked from playing in the NHL by the Iron Curtain.
Winning Time“The Price of Gold” — The Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal was one of the most disgraceful in women’s sports. It was also insanely profitable for figure skating. Director Nanette Burstein takes a look at the incident twenty years later and what it meant for both the sport and Harding’s turbulent life.“Broke” — A sobering documentary that proves the adage “moment’ money, moment’ problems” is more exact than you might believe. Billy Corben interviews retired athletes who lost all their wealth from their pro career through destitute investments, and obnoxious friends,and of course, materialistic greed.
Source: thewrap.com