Omar narrating really put it over the top. Would love if they had spent some more time on his antics in the pros, but still very solid.
30 for 30
- Thread starter CJM
- Start date
Cool short on John Wensink is up on Grantland:
http://grantland.com/features/30-for-30-shorts-our-tough-guy/
I debated starting a new thread in RMPS on it, but figured I'd just leave it here for now. I was six and a half when that game was played and I swear I remember watching it on TV, which is probably impossible. But goes to show how memorable that bench challenge was.
http://grantland.com/features/30-for-30-shorts-our-tough-guy/
I debated starting a new thread in RMPS on it, but figured I'd just leave it here for now. I was six and a half when that game was played and I swear I remember watching it on TV, which is probably impossible. But goes to show how memorable that bench challenge was.
The U Part 2 airs tomorrow night after the Heisman award show. Can't wait for this one. Just recently saw Brian and the Boz which was pretty solid.
My wife and I both really enjoyed the latest 30 for 30 short on Reggie Ho, the 5'5"/130-pound walk-on placekicker who won the national championship with Notre Dame in 1988:
http://grantland.com/features/30-for-30-shorts-studentathlete/
http://grantland.com/features/30-for-30-shorts-studentathlete/
The only time in my life that I've ever been tempted to steal something is when I was at Penn and while doing a room inspection of an apartment that I later learned belonged to Reggie Ho, I saw his 1988 National Championship ring on his desk. I gazed at it for a while but never tried it on for fear of it getting stuck on my finger. Thanks to countless sitcoms that have featured that trite plot, and to some degree, Jesus, I resisted temptation.
I'm glad that I never made such a terrific person doubt the goodness of this world.
I'm glad that I never made such a terrific person doubt the goodness of this world.
Near theft gets you emotional? I keed I keed.
Can't wait for the next installment about the Soviet hockey team. Just seems like a fascinating topic that hasn't gotten a ton of in depth play.
Can't wait for the next installment about the Soviet hockey team. Just seems like a fascinating topic that hasn't gotten a ton of in depth play.
I'm looking forward to that one, too. The reactions of the former Soviet players to the Miracle on Ice were among the best parts of the documentary HBO did a few years ago on the 1980 team's run to the gold.
[media]http://youtu.be/huokfPgsZok[/media]
[media]http://youtu.be/huokfPgsZok[/media]
Yup, definitely as good as Survive and Advance, which isn't surprising since Jonathan Hock directed them both. The scene where Fetisov walks onto the arena ice in Lake Placid all alone, gazing over at where the US team had celebrated, paralleled Whittenberg doing the same at NC State as he remembered Valvano.Two poignant portraits of immense loss.
I thought it was terrific. Really gives you some insight as to how that powerhouse program developed. And I can't believe they actually housed athletes in a low-security penitentiary at Lake Placid!The Four Peters said:
Not surprisingly, some of those Russian guys still can't believe they lost.
Delayed reply, but...Humphrey said:
Yeah, we are so conditioned to the Al Michaels soundtrack that it's very intriguing to hear the SAP version. And that episode was streaming on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.
Bear in mind that Lake Placid picked up the pieces of I believe Denver's pull out of the Olympics. They had to pull it together on a real short timeline and had to be creative. The ski jumps, bobsled run and the now medium security Raybrook Federal Prison are the permanent structures left from the Games. If you have ever been there you have to just shake your head to think they actually held a modern Olympics in a place that tiny and remote. You'll never see an Olympics in Lake Placid or similar locale again as the Winter Games are now being hosted by places like Salt Lake City, Vancouver and other similar sized cities around the world. IMHO, If Boston/New England really wanted to host an Olympics and not break the bank, they should have pursued a winter Olympics. Everything except the alpine events could have taken place in the greater Boston/Providence/Manchester areas and those events could arguably have been held in Vermont. The alpine events in Vancouver were 80 miles away. Stowe is 200 miles away from Boston but if they made it a New England Olympics and spread events around the region, it could have worked. Just an opinion.DegenerateSoxFan said:
They wouldn't even have to go to Stowe. Killington is only a 2.5-3 hour drive from Boston. They are holding a World Cup event there next year.berniecarbo1 said:
1. Four Days in October (duh...) - Honestly, if I take off my biased blinders and acknowledge how much Lenny Clarke's omnipresence sucks ass, Four Days probably ranks 5th. But the way the producers packaged so much into a short time span without compromising any of the tension or drama was extremely well done. Yes, I'm still pissed that neither of Bellhorn's shots made the final cut (I mean, come on, not even 5 seconds so we can hear his Game 7 HR rattle off the RF foul pole?), but this nevertheless remains the best documentary by far on the '04 Sox.
2. Survive and Advance (1983 NC State) - Flawless. The way they weave the timeline together so seamlessly while jumping back & forth between retrospectives and the reunion dinner?
3. Of Miracles and Men (1980 Olympics USSR Hockey) - Easily the most revealing of all the 30 for 30s thus far.
4. Once Brothers (Drazen Petrovic & Vlade Divac) - Emotionally charged, and a riveting perspective on how a war-torn nation shaped their careers and their relationship.
5. The Announcement (Magic has HIV) - Great job extrapolating the ripple effects of that brief moment when Magic stepped to the microphone.
6. The Two Escobars (soccer) - Gut-wrenching at times, but so well done.
7. Winning Time (Reggie Miller vs Knicks) - I always despised Reggie -- except when he played New York. But this was an eye-opening look at the man.
8. Catching Hell (Bartman & the Cubs) - The producers dug really deep into this one, exposing the heinous ways this guy was mistreated.
9. Unguarded (Chris Herren's drug battle) - No holds barred.
10. Bad Boys (late 80s Pistons) - A great profile of a team I loathed (and still do) but whose tenacity I always respected. It also illustrates how criminally underrated Chuck Daly remains as a coach.
2. Survive and Advance (1983 NC State) - Flawless. The way they weave the timeline together so seamlessly while jumping back & forth between retrospectives and the reunion dinner?
3. Of Miracles and Men (1980 Olympics USSR Hockey) - Easily the most revealing of all the 30 for 30s thus far.
4. Once Brothers (Drazen Petrovic & Vlade Divac) - Emotionally charged, and a riveting perspective on how a war-torn nation shaped their careers and their relationship.
5. The Announcement (Magic has HIV) - Great job extrapolating the ripple effects of that brief moment when Magic stepped to the microphone.
6. The Two Escobars (soccer) - Gut-wrenching at times, but so well done.
7. Winning Time (Reggie Miller vs Knicks) - I always despised Reggie -- except when he played New York. But this was an eye-opening look at the man.
8. Catching Hell (Bartman & the Cubs) - The producers dug really deep into this one, exposing the heinous ways this guy was mistreated.
9. Unguarded (Chris Herren's drug battle) - No holds barred.
10. Bad Boys (late 80s Pistons) - A great profile of a team I loathed (and still do) but whose tenacity I always respected. It also illustrates how criminally underrated Chuck Daly remains as a coach.
Innsbruck was the Denver step in, Lake Placid won at a time when people really weren't interested in hosting the Olympics (kinda like now). Nobody else bid!berniecarbo1 said:
I like your list Browndog. The one I'd throw in there somewhere was the Best That Never Was about Marcus Dupree.
The Marcus Dupree and Two Escobars docs are firmly in my top three, but the clear number one for me is June 17th, 1994. The way it jumps around from six or seven different captivating sports events happening simultaneously was excellent.
edit: oh yeah, 4 Days in October is a clear #1. Everything else is competing for second place.
edit: oh yeah, 4 Days in October is a clear #1. Everything else is competing for second place.
Yeah I think 6/17/94 was pretty amazing and that came to mind first other than 4 Days In October.Dollar said:
Thanks, Mark - great list. Dupree was one and I also was quite moved by the Terry Fox documentary.
I loved this too and have a new found respect for Laettner. He was an asshole but damn if he wasn't one of the 10 greatest college players of all-time and a bad mother fucker on the court. One question though: Why the hell was Rob Lowe narrating thats special?Vandalman said:
Browndog's list, Dupree and Terry Fox as Jack says, and then I'd add in:
"Brothers in Exile" about Livan and Orlando Hernandez and what they had to face defecting from Cuba
"Youngstown Boys" about Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel, with Clarett's transformation from incredible running back to being shafted because of the NCAA, being jailed and then turning his life around
"Benji", about Ben Wilson becoming the top HS basketball star pegged for greatness and then being gunned down. Doubly powerful if you watch the one about Len Bias right before like I did.
Thats probably a good solid 15. Really hard to pick as all the 30 for 30s are pretty well done.
"Brothers in Exile" about Livan and Orlando Hernandez and what they had to face defecting from Cuba
"Youngstown Boys" about Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel, with Clarett's transformation from incredible running back to being shafted because of the NCAA, being jailed and then turning his life around
"Benji", about Ben Wilson becoming the top HS basketball star pegged for greatness and then being gunned down. Doubly powerful if you watch the one about Len Bias right before like I did.
Thats probably a good solid 15. Really hard to pick as all the 30 for 30s are pretty well done.
Little Big Men, the story of the Kirkland National Little League team at the 1982 Little League World Series, was very good.
So were The Marinovich Project, Tommy and Frank (Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe), Without Bias and Run Ricky Run.
Really hard to pick 10!
So were The Marinovich Project, Tommy and Frank (Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe), Without Bias and Run Ricky Run.
Really hard to pick 10!
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned "No Mas". The dynamic between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran has always been fascinating, and the documentary effectively brought that tension back to life. Seeing the denouement of the two warriors standing in a ring together in Panama and testifying to their own history was especially compelling to anyone who remembered what these two men represented in their time. The idea for a documentary was a worthwhile pursuit, and I think it was executed quite well.
I like BrownDog's list but, yeah, it's really hard to pick a top ten. So many of these are awesome.
Completely slipped my mind. So many that are good but that one is also excellent.JohnnyTheBone said:
The Marcus Dupree episode is one of my favorites for sure.
Also liked the episode about Brian Bosworth and the other one about Randy Moss.
Fact is the majority of these really are terrific and so well done.
Also liked the episode about Brian Bosworth and the other one about Randy Moss.
Fact is the majority of these really are terrific and so well done.
valentinscycle said:
It was tremendous, but I didn't include it because it wasn't really under the 30-for-30 banner. It was originally slated to be part of a separate ESPN Films production set called "Soccer Stories". But after the rousing success of the 30-for-30 series, ESPN moved "Soccer Stories" under that banner to capitalize on the popularity and branding. The same thing happened with their "Nine for IX" series on women's sports.
I really enjoyed the "Spirits of St. Louis" episode and the first one, where Gretzky was traded. The Bo Jackson episode was really excellent too.
Yeah, I watched "You Don't Know Bo" yesterday with my kids just to give them an idea who he was, it's a great episode.
It annoys me to no end that Netflix lists these individually. It would be much easier to browse them if "30 for 30" just pulled them all up and then you could check out the whole lot.