An unprecedented documentary series featuring thirty films from some of today’s finest storytellers. Each filmmaker will bring their passion and personal point of view to their film detailing the issues, trends, athletes, teams, rivalries, games and events that transformed the sports landscape from 1979 to 2009.
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Kings Ransom
by Peter Berg
Premiered on
Oct 6, 2009 -
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On 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 that sent 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.
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The Band That Wouldn't Die
by Barry Levinson
Premiered on
Oct 13, 2009 -
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In 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.
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Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
by Mike Tollin
Premiered on
Oct 20, 2009 -
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In 1983 the upstart United States Football League (USFL) had the audacity to challenge the almighty NFL.
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Muhammad and Larry
by Albert Maysles
Premiered on
Oct 27, 2009 -
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In 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
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Without Bias
by Kirk Fraser
Premiered on
Nov 3, 2009 -
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More 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-80's. Instead of becoming an NBA star, he became a one-man deterrent, the athlete who reminded everyone just how dangerous drug use can be.
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The Legend of Jimmy The Greek
by Fritz Mitchell
Premiered on
Nov 10, 2009 -
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“The NFL Today” on CBS was one of the preeminent sports programs on television in the early 1980s. It was a perfect combination of reporting, analysis, predictions, humor and talent. But there was no personality on the show more popular than Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder.
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The U
by Billy Corben
Premiered on
Dec 12, 2009 -
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Throughout the 1980s, Miami, Florida, was at the center of a racial and cultural shift taking place throughout the country. Overwhelmed by riots and tensions, Miami was a city in flux, and the University of Miami football team served as a microcosm for this evolution.
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Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
by Dan Klores
Premiered on
Mar 14, 2010 -
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Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals that solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City.
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No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
by Steve James
Premieres
Apr 13, 2010 -
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On 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.
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Silly Little Game
by Adam Kurland and Lucas Jansen
Premieres
Apr 20, 2010 -
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Fantasy 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.
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Run Ricky Run
by Sean Pamphilon and Royce Toni
Premieres
Apr 27, 2010 -
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Through personal footage recorded with Williams during his year away from football and beyond, this doc will give this misunderstood athlete the opportunity to tell his intriguing story in his own words.
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The Sixteenth Man
by Cliff Bestall, Morgan Freeman, and Lori McCreary
Premieres
May 4, 2010 -
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Rugby has long been viewed in South Africa as a game for the white population, and the country’s success in the sport has been a true source of Afrikaner pride. When the 50-year-old policies and entrenched injustices of apartheid were finally overthrown in 1994, Nelson Mandela’s new government began rebuilding a nation badly in need of racial unity. So the world was watching when South Africa played host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
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Straight Outta L.A.
by Ice Cube
Premieres
May 11, 2010 -
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In 1982 Raiders owner Al Davis beat the NFL in court and moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. With a squad as colorful as its owner, the Raiders captivated a large number of black and Hispanic fans in L.A. at a time when gang warfare, immigration and the real estate boom were rapidly changing the city.
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June 17, 1994
by Brett Morgen
Premieres
Jun 16, 2010 -
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Do 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.
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The Two Escobars
by Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist
Premieres
Jun 21, 2010 -
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Born with the same last name in the same city in Colombia, Andrés Escobar and Pablo Escobar shared a fanatical childhood love for soccer. The former would abandon his studies to pursue his dream, becoming the most beloved defender in the history of Colombian soccer, while the latter would climb through the ranks of the criminal underground to become not only the most notorious drug baron of all time, but also the secret weapon responsible for Colombian soccer’s unprecedented rise from obscurity to greatness.
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Guru of Go
by Bill Couturie
Premieres
Apr 3, 2010 -
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By 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.
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Into the Wind
by Steve Nash
Coming 2010
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In 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.
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Jordan Rides the Bus
by Ron Shelton
Coming 2010
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In the fall of 1993, in his prime and at the summit of the sports world, Michael Jordan walked away from pro basketball to rekindle a childhood ambition of playing baseball.
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Charismatic
by Steven Michaels, Joel Surnow, Jonathan Koch
Coming 2010
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In June of 1999 an unlikely chestnut colt named Charismatic, with jockey Chris Antley aboard, headed down the stretch at the Belmont Stakes, just seconds away from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in nearly 21 years.
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Birth of Big Air
by Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, and Spike Jonze
Coming 2010
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In 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."
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Steve Bartman: Catching Hell
by Alex Gibney
Coming 2010
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With five outs remaining in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, a foul ball descended from the cold Chicago sky, destined for the glove of left fielder Moises Alou. But it was not meant to be, as one inconspicuous hand reached down from the left field stands at Wrigley Field and seized the potential out.
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Unmatched
by Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern with Hannah Storm
Coming 2010
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Through a series of personal conversations, filmmakers Nancy Stern and Lisa Lax, along with producer Hannah Storm, will tell the story of one of the greatest one-on-one sports rivalries and capture these two extraordinary athletes’ views on tennis and an ever-changing world.
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One Night in Vegas
by Reggie Rock Bythewood
Coming 2010
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On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop
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Marion Jones: Press Pause
by John Singleton
Coming 2010
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Few athletes in Olympic history have reached such heights and depths as Marion Jones. But in October 2007, she finally admitted what so many had long suspected -- that she had indeed used steroids. Calling herself a liar and a cheat in a federal courtroom, Jones was sentenced to six months in prison. Now a free woman, Jones is running in a new direction in life and taking time to reflect.
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The House that George Built
by Barbara Kopple
Coming 2010
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Love 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.
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Right To Play
by Frank Marshall
Coming 2010
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He has won four Olympic gold medals, graced the cover of Time magazine and been honored as Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Yet if you say the name Johann Olav Koss in this country, you’ll usually be met with a casual shrug. “Oh yeah, speed skater . . . Norwegian . . . what’s he doing now?” Instead of cashing in on his Olympic haul, Koss embarked on a remarkable journey that has established him as one of the world’s greatest ambassadors of sports.
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The Best That Never Was
by Jonathan Hock
Coming 2010
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In 1981, college athletic recruiting changed forever as a dozen big-time football programs sat waiting for the decision by a physically powerful and lightning-quick high school running back named Marcus Dupree.
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