US
Director Steve James returns to his home town of Hampton, Virginia to tell the story of how the trial of a young basketball star left a city divided.
Apr 2010
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.
Mar 2014
In 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?
Aug 2010
When they were good, they were the biggest stars on a team that captured New York City and the 1986 World Series. But when they were bad, Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry 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 directed by Judd Apatow ("Trainwreck") and Michael Bonfiglio ("You Don't Know Bo"). 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 parade down the Canyon of Heroes, or Darryl counsel others at his ministry, you can only wish that these two very different men had not followed the same destructive path.
Jul 2016
The continuing rivalry between Auburn University and the University of Alabama. This is the story of the history between the two programs, the bad blood between its fans and how this intense rivalry came to a pinnacle, just when they ended up needing each other most.
Nov 2011
Evander Holyfield knew he could never earn the respect he craved until he defeated Mike Tyson. When the two finally fought, the world witnessed not one, but two of the boxing's most memorable fights.
Nov 2015
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
May 2016
Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.
Oct 2011
The American Gladiators Documentary, a two-part 30 for 30 ESPN film directed by Ben Berman, takes an unconventional approach to the epic tale of the famed reality-competition show. From its humble beginnings in small-town Erie, PA to international stardom, the show's most charismatic figures finally tell their stories. But what begins as a traditional sports documentary soon gives way to bigger themes of greed, divergent narratives, and ultimately questions how history itself is written.
May 2023
Documentary following the life & career of 16 time world champion Ric "The Nature Boy" Flair.
Nov 2017
The Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early '90s seemed willing to do anything to win. That characteristic made them loved — and hated. It earned them the title: Bad Boys.
Apr 2014
A short documentary showing how Arnold Schwarzenegger's military service played a critical role in his fame.
Sep 2012
Co-directed by Gentry Kirby and Erin Leyden, “Tommy” examines Morrison’s remarkable rise to the spotlight, followed by a stunning, confounding, and ultimately tragic fall. He was one of the best heavyweights of his time; a handsome, charming, yet unsettled young star. Born into a troubled family in America’s heartland, Morrison’s initial emergence as a fighter was bolstered by a starring role in “Rocky V.” A few years later he beat George Foreman for the WBO heavyweight title, and seemed primed for more stardom, even in the face of blown opportunities and upset losses. But everything changed in early 1996 when he tested positive for HIV, abruptly forcing him into retirement at age 27. From there, Morrison’s life spiraled further and further downward, plagued by drug problems, jail time, and an eventual denial that he had the virus at all.
Sep 2017
Ruffian is an American made-for-television movie that tells the story of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion thoroughbred filly Ruffian who went undefeated until her death after breaking down in a nationally televised match race at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975 against the Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. Made by ESPN Original Entertainment, the film is directed by Yves Simoneau and stars Sam Shepard as Ruffian's trainer, Frank Whiteley. The producers used four different geldings in the role of Ruffian. Locations for the 2007 film included Louisiana Downs in Shreveport, Louisiana and Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Jun 2007
In the early 1990s, the future of basketball belonged to a young Dominican immigrant named Felipe Lopez. Featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 17, Lopez's story is the ultimate profile of the American dream.
Apr 2019
Rugby Union 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. Though they had only one non-white player, the South African Springboks gained supporters of all colors as they made an improbable run into the final match where they beat the heavily favored New Zealand team. When Mandela himself marched to the center of the pitch cloaked in a Springbok jersey and shook hands with the captain of the South African team, two nations became one. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and director Cliff Bestall will tell the emotional story of that cornerstone moment and what it meant to South Africa’s healing process.
May 2010
On Oct. 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PT, soon after Al Michaels and Tim McCarver started the ABC telecast for Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the ground began to shake beneath Candlestick Park. Even before that moment, this had promised to be a memorable matchup: the first in 33 years between teams from the same metropolitan area, a battle featuring larger-than-life characters and equally colorful fan bases. But after the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rolled through, bringing death and destruction, the Bay Area pulled together, and baseball took a backseat.
Oct 2014
Without the Tuck Rule, Tom Brady wouldn't have won his first playoff game – and who knows where his destiny might have gone from there. But whether what happened on January 19, 2002 was the right call or a terrible call, divine providence or deep conspiracy, one thing is certain: The life of Tom Brady, as well as the life of the Hall of Famer who hit him on the play, Brady's college teammate Charles Woodson, was forever changed that night.
Feb 2022
The end of Bob Knight’s storied tenure at Indiana. The film will focus on Knight’s downfall at Indiana and an incident in which Knight allegedly choked former Hoosier Neil Reed. Knight was ousted from Indiana in the fall of 2000, a few months after CNN ran a report about Reed with video of the incident. Knight began coaching the Hoosiers during the 1971-72 season, and he won 662 games and three national championships with the program.
Mar 2018
When Pete Carroll took over the football program at USC after the 2000 season, the once-great Trojans were under siege. But thanks to his football knowledge, upbeat personality and recruiting skills, Southern Cal was soon back atop the college football world as home attendance skyrocketed, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush won Heismans 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, victories and one of those Heismans. But those revelations didn’t come until after the national championship game in the 2006 Rose Bowl between USC and the University of Texas. Featuring interviews with Carroll, Leinart and others inside the USC program at the time, “Trojan War” looks at Carroll’s nine-year USC reign through the prism of that game, considered one of the greatest in college football history. It was also the beginning of the end.
Oct 2015