I know they have been discussed in different parts of the forum, but just thought it should have its own thread.
I have been watching most of these as they have come on ESPN. I downloaded the first few and watched them, and they have since been coming on weekly. Some cracking series of shows. A few misses alright, but the vast majority of them are really well documented stories and gives a huge insight to the story they are covering.
The 2 Escobars one is unreal. The depth it goes into to get the history of the whole Columbian situation with drugs and soccer, and getting first hand accounts of people directly involved. A lot of times documentaries talk about the person to randomers, but these talk directly to them and to family members and close friends.
They are mostly, nearly all, American based, but no one does sports films or docos like Americans. The first 20 ( I think ) have been shown already. All that have been shown are available on torrent sites easily enough. The full list of all 30 is below.
Anyone else have any favorites or watched many of them?
1 “King’s Ransom”
The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on both Gretzky and Edmonton.
2 "The Band that Wouldn’t Die"
A profile of Baltimore’s love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the team decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band remained in Baltimore and helped promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.
3 “Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?”
Fresh interviews and archival footage track the life and demise of the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. One interview, conducted by Tollin, is with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.
4 “Muhammad and Larry”
A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali-Larry Holmes fight and its impact, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters’ camps.
5 “Without Bias”
The death of Len Bias, from a cocaine overdose, two days after Boston selected him in the 1986 NBA Draft.
6 “The Legend of Jimmy the Greek”
The life of Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.
7 “The U”
The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.
8 “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks”
The impact of Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the 1995 NBA Playoffs and Miller’s interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.
9 “Guru of Go”
Paul Westhead’s coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985-1990) features his high-scoring run-and-gun offense and players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers.
10 “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson”
The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high-school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially-tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson’s life.
11 "Silly Little Game"
Meeting at New York City’s La Rotisserie Francaise, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off and leave them behind.
12 "Run Ricky Run"
Facing media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use, Ricky Williams steps back from the NFL, in 2004, in an effort toward self-redemption.
13 “The 16th Man”
How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Nelson Mandela’s support of the Springboks national team affected post-apartheid South Africa.
14 “Straight Outta L.A.”
The relationship between the Raiders and the gangsta rap culture in Los Angeles during the team’s 13 seasons in L.A. (1982-1994).
15 “June 17, 1994”
Quick-cut archival montages capture the various sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, with O. J. Simpson’s run from the police overshadowing all else.
16 “The Two Escobars”
The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the murders of both men.
17 “The Birth of Big Air”
The life of Mat Hoffman and his career, since 1985, of advancing, both creatively and promotionally, BMX riding.
18 “Jordan Rides the Bus”
Michael Jordan retires from basketball on October 6, 1993, and has a brief career in minor league baseball.
19 “Little Big Men”
The Kirkland National Little League team from Kirkland, Washington wins the 1982 Little League World Series, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the event’s history.
20 “One Night in Vegas”
The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.
21 “Unmatched”
The friendship and rivalry of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
22 “The House of Steinbrenner”
The tenure of George Steinbrenner as owner of the New York Yankees.
23 “Into the Wind”
How Terry Fox’s attempt to run across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captured the attention of his fellow Canadians.
24 “Four Days In October”
The story of the Boston Red Sox coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
25 “Once Brothers”
The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how the civil war in their homeland adversely affected their friendship.
26 “Tim Richmond: To the Limit”
The life of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond and his 1989 death from AIDS.
27 “Steve Bartman: Catching Hell”
The relationship between Chicago Cubs fans and Steve Bartman following Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series.
28 “Marion Jones: Press Pause”
The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.
29 “Pony Excess”
Chronicles the Southern Methodist University football scandal and the rise, fall, and rebirth of the Southern Methodist University Mustangs .
30 “The Best That Never Was”
The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting career, and how his recruitment changed the recruiting process