Monthly Archives: May 2012

Yes: ESPN announces return of 30 for 30 films

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This is the best television news I’ve heard in a long time.

ESPN announced this morning that it is bringing back its wildly successful 30 for 30 franchise with a series of new films in the fall. This was a no-brainer for the network given the incredible quality of the first set of films. I can’t wait for the next installments.

From the release, including a round-up of the new films:

“30 for 30 was conceived as a finite collection and when the original series ended in December of 2010 with Pony Excess, we had underestimated the strength of the connection fans had made between sports documentaries and the 30 for 30 brand,” said Connor Schell, vice president of ESPN Films. “We’re proud to have created a brand that has become synonymous with quality sports storytelling and we see value in bringing back a second collection of 30 films.”

In addition to a second slate of 30 feature-length documentaries, ESPN Films will broaden its scope to support a whole new crop of stories with the creation of 30 for 30 Shorts – a 30-part digital short film series. 30 for 30 Shorts will be similar to the feature-length films in that each piece will represent a specific point of view of the filmmaker and will be a reflection of how they blend the narrative with their own visual style. Beginning in September, a new short film will debut monthly on Bill Simmons’ Grantland.com. A 30 for 30 Short entitled “Here Now” about Pete Rose is currently online as preview of the series.

Schell continued: “Launching the new 30 for 30 Shorts brand will give us the chance to widen the array of talented storytellers we can work with who are passionate about sports and have something to say.  The short film genre frees the filmmaker from some of the constraints common with long-form projects.”

The new season of 30 for 30 will have a much more defined multimedia component through closer integration with Grantland.com by featuring filmmaker podcasts with Bill Simmons, topical oral histories, in-depth features and more.  Each of the feature-length films and digital shorts will be complemented with a long-form written piece on Grantland.com that will deepen the experience for the viewer by providing them with additional context.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we created 30 for 30, but the response wildly exceeded our expectations,” said Grantland.com editor-in-chief Bill Simmons, who is a co-creator of the series. “We learned through social media and word of mouth, that each film seemed to provoke a broader conversation about the topic, so with these digital extensions on Grantland, we’re giving fans the opportunity to dive deeper into each film subject. It’s the logical next step for the 30 for 30 series – to make it the most ambitious multi-media storytelling project that we could imagine while continuing to innovate the genre with each new film.”

Films scheduled to air as part of 30 for 30 Vol. II include:

Benji (Coodie and Chike)

In 1984, 17-year-old Ben Wilson was a symbol of everything promising about Chicago: a sweet-natured youngster from the city’s fabled South Side, and America’s top high school basketball prospect. Nicknamed “Magic Johnson with a jump shot,” Wilson’s natural talents and drive assured his best years were yet to come. Then, in November of his senior year, the life of this exceptional youngster was abruptly and tragically cut short. Wilson’s grim fate sent ripples of horror through the city and the country.

Broke (Billy Corben)

Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, most pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life. Drawing surprisingly vulnerable confessions from retired stars like Keith McCants, Bernie Kosar, Leon Searcy and Andre Rison, as well as commentary from Marvin Miller, the former executive director of the MLB Players Association, Bart Scott of the New York Jets and many other informed voices, this fascinating documentary digs into the psychology of men whose competitive nature carries them to victory on the field and ruin off it.

Bo Knows (Mike Bonfiglio)

A close look at the legendary sports figure Bo Jackson and the marketing campaign that shaped his legacy and redefined the role of the athlete in the pop cultural conversation. Even without winning a Super Bowl or World Series, Bo will forever be known as one of the most famous athletes of all time. This film will look at the marketing of athletes, impossible expectations and the legend of Bo Jackson.

The Season of Their Lives (Jonathan Hock)

When the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his North Carolina State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations. But with ten losses for the season, the Wolfpack’s only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference’s automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of Sampson, Jordan, Olajuwon and Drexler, N.C. State had “survived and advanced” its way to a national championship. In The Season of Their Lives, director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled and explores what at times has been a tragic and heartbreaking aftermath in the 30 years since.

 

Scott Van Pelt staying at ESPN

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ESPN is keeping at least one big-name free agent.

Last night, Scott Van Pelt confirmed that he is staying in beautiful Bristol via a Tweet. Isn’t that how it’s done these days?

Appreciate the interest and support here.  Feel very fortunate to have gone through process but glad it’s over. Ultimately, ESPN is my home

It’s a good move for Van Pelt. He loves his midday radio show on the network and it’s hard to beat the power of ESPN.

Regarding ESPN’s other free agents, it appears as if Michelle Beadle is leaving to become a co-host of Access Hollywood along with having duties at NBC. Still no word on the fate of Erin Andrews.

 

Profile:60 focuses on Patrick Willis’ difficult childhood

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Tonight’s Profile:60 will give you a different perspective of 49ers’ linebacker Patrick Willis.

From the release:

In Tuesday’s PROFILE:60 (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET), Willis visits his hometown of Bruceton, Tenn., and openly discusses an unimaginable childhood where he had no running water, no electricity and, worst of all, no compassion from the family who around him. At an early age he was forced to fend for himself and his siblings in the face of beatings and neglect by an abusive father. ESPN senior writer Jeff Chadiha speaks with Willis about the harrowing journey, the unexpected loss of a brother and his new life in San Francisco.

Excerpts:

“He’s a guy that has every reason to quit. He’s a guy that has every reason to hate everybody. Greatness is not about the guy that has all the skill and talent. Greatness is measured by the setbacks that you had in life — have you been able to fight through them and be stronger.” – Mike Singletary, 49ers head coach 2008-2010

“He looked back at me and he was like, ‘Boy, if you get in between my business like that again I’ll kill you.’” – Patrick Willis, on confronting his abusive father.

Q/A with Feherty on his unconventional interview with Clinton; Norman helped arrange

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David Feherty laughed at the notion.

Monday morning, I asked him: “When you were growing up in Northern Ireland during all the troubles, did you ever imagine you would interview a former U.S. President who helped negotiate a peace deal?”

“I never thought about it,” Feherty said. “It just shows the six degrees of separation, right?”

It also shows how far Feherty has come not only as a broadcast personality, but as a person. Monday night, the former assistant pro from Northern Ireland has a very personal interview with Bill Clinton on the latest episode of Feherty (10 p.m. ET, the Golf Channel). Don’t worry if you miss it, because the program will re-air about a million times.

Feherty hardly does his Wolf Blitzer impression in probing the former president. As you would expect, the approach is uniquely Feherty right from the opening question.

“What the hell possessed you to do this interview?” Feherty said.

Clinton replied that he likes Feherty and the show. And he isn’t just giving lip service about the show. During the interview, Clinton references a Feherty episode on Sergio Garcia.

Typically, the interview veers into golf and gets loose at times. Noting Clinton’s gray hair, Feherty wonders if there is a “Grecian Formula 5000 for former presidents.”

The interview, though, does have some serious moments. He talks to Clinton about Northern Ireland, a subject close to Feherty’s heart. And there’s a poignant moment in which Clinton discusses making decisions on sending soldiers into battle. He said he always asked his advisors, “Can I kill them (the enemy) tomorrow?” Clinton hoped one more day of talk would result in a peaceful settlement.

Here’s my Q/A with Feherty about the interview and what it meant to him:

How did the interview come about?

Feherty: We both have a mutual friend by the name of Norman. Greg made a call for me, and the next thing I knew I heard from his people. It took a while, but it was Greg who helped get it done.

Were you nervous prior to the interview?

Feherty: I’m nervous, not because of the subject, but because of the concept. I don’t want to do something that’s been beaten to death. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t want to interview Tiger Woods at the moment. That would make me nervous. I don’t want to get the same, predictable answers.

I might take some flak for not (asking Clinton) about Lewinsky. My view at the time was, ‘Do I really need some self-righteous, conservative Christian attorney spending $42 million of taxpayer money to answer a question that has no bearing on the running of this country?’

Haven’t we heard enough about it? It would be like me asking Tiger Woods one more question about the fire hydrant. If anybody’s upset that I didn’t ask Clinton (about Lewinsky), that’s the sort of person I’m trying to upset.

What was it like to interview Clinton?

Feherty: He’s the kind of person who makes you feel like you’re the only person in his world. You’ve got 100 percent of his attention at that moment. It’s a tremendous talent and a nice character trait.

There was a personal moment when you asked him about Northern Ireland. What was that like for you?

Feherty: I was an assistant in Northern Ireland in the war zone. The sheer idiocy of it all. I watched troops on the street fight an enemy that didn’t wear uniforms who hid behind women and children.

Here was Clinton, who had enough problems of his own, getting interested in brokering an agreement between two warring factions thousands of miles away. It showed a great generosity of spirit.

How did you view his response to your questions about golf?

Feherty: I think he has that roguish ‘one of the boys’ sense of fun. He doesn’t take the game too seriously. It’s a diversion. The witch hunters criticized him because he would drop a ball or take a ‘Billigan.’ But he wasn’t playing for the club championship. The guys he was playing with would do the same thing. But there weren’t photographers taking pictures of them. He plays the way I play, if I still played.

How do you think people will view this interview?

Feherty: My objective for this show is not for people to go, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that.’ That’s always nice, but I want people to come away knowing more about the person and why they are the way they are.

With Clinton, so many people have an embedded dislike and self-righteous sort of anger toward him. I wanted to show more of the human side of him. He is incredibly generous, and he might be the smartest man I ever met.

Outside of Gary McCord, right?

Feherty: Of course.

What did it mean to you to land an interview with a former president?

Feherty: One of the reasons why I was sitting in front of a former president is that 5 1/2 years ago when I decided to become (an American citizen), I thought I did not want to be another fucked up American (Feherty confronted his alcoholism). We have a quota of those, and many of them appear to be running for office.

It makes me feel good that somebody I genuinely admire wanted to come on our show and he watches our show. That’s one more episode than I’ve watched. It can’t watch it. It’s too creepy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survival Sunday: Concept scores, but where’s the Man City game, Fox?

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Being a casual soccer fan at best and a non-fan at worst, I wasn’t up to speed on the implications for Manchester United and Manchester City Sunday. I soon found out when I tuned into the United game on FX. The telecast showed highlights of the Man City game, but it never told me where to find the actual game.

I then spent several minutes frantically trying to locate the right Fox outlet. Finally, I realized Man City was on ESPN2. Even though I wrote about the coverage, I was so conditioned to think that Survival Sunday was a Fox extravaganza, I completely forgot about the ESPN2 component; Fox channels had 9 of the 10 games.

Fox should have told viewers the Man City game was on ESPN2. Even after the United game ended, Fox still didn’t direct viewers to ESPN2 so they could catch the final minutes of the Man City game. I wonder how many people missed that unbelievable comeback. I almost did.

This wasn’t about ratings for Fox Sunday. This was about building interest for soccer and the Premier League in the U.S. Fox needs to reconsider that policy if it does this again.

GOOALLL: Having said that, the fact that I tuned in shows the power of presenting something in a package.  Usually, my Sunday mornings are spent watching the news shows.

But all the promotion and the idea that this day was unique in the Premier League piqued my curiosity. I’m sure I wasn’t alone.

I found myself getting into the games, and marveling at the passion of the English crowds. It feels like an outdoor version of Duke’s Cameron Indoor.

So mission accomplished, Fox, ESPN and the Premier League. Expect an encore next year.

 

 

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Sunday bookshelf: Jim Abbott’s Imperfect has perfect feel

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It’s hard to think of a more incredible story than Jim Abbott’s career in baseball. Born without a right arm, he defied the odds with a highly successful career that peaked with a no-hitter when he was with the Yankees.

Abbott, along with Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown, wrote about his experiences in a new book: Imperfect: An Improbable Life.

In an interview with Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News, Abbott talks about the meaning of using imperfect in the book’s title.

Q:I wondered that if, in dealing with so many people now in and out of baseball, have you figured out that most, if not everyone, is imperfect and may be leading their own improbable lives?

A:Yes, yes. That’s a great observation. It goes back to the title, and how the no-hitter (in ’93 against Cleveland) was far from perfect. There were five walks.

There were some hard-hit balls. It was a struggle and a fight. And it encompasses my family story, physically how I grew up.

Really what’s striking to me, in talking to friends and people close to me who have read it: Everyone deals with imperfection and how we sometimes look back on things and our lives and have these harsh tones.

That was the discovery for me with being “imperfect,” you know, sometimes I just kept moving on with the experience and thinking back on my career as being less than what I wanted it to be.

The no-hitter was great, but not perfect. And examining it even closer through the book, it was worth looking at in a more gentle way. A more accepting way. The effort was there, and I did my best.

Q:And in the end, who really is perfect? No one.

A: Exactly. Aren’t we all?

If you live in Chicago, Abbott will be making an appearance Tuesday with ChicagoSide editor Jonathan Eig. Here is a link with the details.

The book has received much praise. Here are some of the comments on Amazon:

“Jim Abbott is the embodiment of perseverance.  The obstacles that he was able to overcome to play the game at the highest level are remarkable and his story can teach all of us valuable lessons.  Jim was a fierce competitor. He never viewed his disability as a disadvantage and, as a result, it wasn’t.  Imperfect is a terrific story and the best part is that it’s true.” —Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr.

“As I read Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Jim Abbott’s love for the game jumped off the pages. It was like Jim was right in front of me telling me his life’s journey. I felt his pain, hurt, joy, exhilaration, disappointment and accomplishments throughout his life. Jim has always been and continues to be an inspiration for all of us.”—Don Mattingly, former New York Yankee captain and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager

“The story of Jim Abbott—wonderfully crafted by Tim Brown—is everything you’d expect from a baseball life: funny, heartbreaking, and triumphant, though not necessarily in that order. Still, to label this fine book ‘an inspiration’ almost misses the larger point. Imperfect isn’t about learning to cope with a disability. It’s about becoming a man in America.”—Mark Kriegel, author of Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich and Namath: A Biography


“Jim Abbott was 20–22 as a pitcher for the Yankees, and yet, as a man who played the game with one hand, an argument should be made that he belongs among the greatest players of all time. In Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Abbott and one of America’s leading sports journalists, Tim Brown, tell the amazing story of a man’s dignity and grace in overcoming a forbidding physical hurdle to pitch 10 big-league seasons and to throw a no-hitter. Abbott won every day he took the mound. This book is required inspirational reading for all fans of the human spirit.”—Ian O’Connor, New York Times bestselling author of The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter and Arnie & Jack

“If you think you knew the inspirational story of Jim Abbott, think again. With Tim Brown, Abbott gives an unflinching account of his remarkable baseball life—the joys and the pains. With each chapter you know him better and root even harder for him.”—Tom Verducci, senior writer for Sports Illustrated and New York Times bestselling co-author of The Yankee Years

“Imperfect is one of the finest baseball memoirs ever written, an honest, touching, and beautifully rendered story that will remind even the most jaded fans why they loved the game. It is far more than a book about baseball; it is a deeply felt story of triumph and failure, dreams and disappointments. Jim Abbott has hurled another gem.”—Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season

Sunday funnies: Jordan-Spike Lee “Is it the shoes?” commercial

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In the tradition of the Sunday comics, here’s the debut of the ShermanReport’s Sunday Funnies. Each week, I’ll feature a classic TV commercial featuring an athlete; a vintage Saturday Night Live skit with an athlete host; or perhaps a classic cartoon.

Today, we’ll kick off where it pretty much exploded for Michael Jordan with the early Nike ads featuring Mars Blackmon, aka Spike Lee.

Saturday flashback: ESPN first telecast of LeBron in high school

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Since you’re going to be seeing plenty of LeBron James (the networks hope) in the upcoming weeks, I thought it would be fun to dig up the first time he was exposed on the national stage.

The hype was so great for James that ESPN televised one of his high school games on Dec. 12, 2002.

This clip features the open and some early action from the game. ESPN brought in all its big guns: Dick Vitale, Bill Walton and Jay Bilas. Dan Shulman handled the play-by-play.

Vitale: “If he’s half as good as I’ve heard about him, he’s going to be one special athlete.”

Bilas: “He’s the best high school player I’ve ever seen.”

Turned out James lived up to the hype.

 

 

Unlikely pairing: Feherty interviews Clinton for Golf Channel show

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“One of my great dreams in life is to do an interview with Feherty. He’s one of the funniest men alive.” – Former President Bill Clinton

Apparently, the former president has lowered his dreams quite a bit since leaving office. I’m pretty sure Gary McCord wouldn’t rank hanging out with David Feherty among his top lifetime dreams.

Oh, we kid because we love, David.

Still, it has to be pretty heady stuff for a lad from Northern Ireland to be talking to a former U.S. president. Here’s a sneak preview and the release from the Golf Channel. I’m hoping to have more with Feherty on Monday.

*****

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 10, 2012) – Golf Channel’s hit primetime series, Feherty, has landed former U.S President Bill Clinton to lead a stellar lineup of top personalities across sports, entertainment and politics to round out its second season.  Series host David Feherty sits with the former president and avid golfer for a candid conversation, Monday at 10 p.m. ET.  The next wave of guests announced today by the network also includes business magnate Donald Trump; golfers John Daly, Graeme McDowell and Fuzzy Zoeller; and golf commentators Peter Alliss and Roger Maltbie.

Political establishment meets political incorrectness as former President Bill Clinton sits down for a frank and fresh discussion with Golf’s Channel’s irreverent Feherty.

“You obviously don’t have as many advisors as you had when you were in office.  My first question is, ‘What the hell would possess you to do this (interview)?’”  Feherty when greeting Clinton on the set

They cover a host of topics that range from the difficulty of keeping focus inside the beltway to the almost equally hard challenge of keeping your ball inside the fairway, as Clinton talks about the formative moments of his childhood, the pressures of the presidency and his lifelong love of golf.

Clinton about his role as president:  “I loved it.  I loved every day of it.  It’s a good thing we had a two term limit, I’d have made them vote me out or take me out in a pine box.”

Feherty:  “Well, there’s a lot of people wishing you were still there.”

Clinton (laughing):  “And some wishing they’d taken me out in that pine box.”

Highlights from the political end of the conversation include frames of reference Clinton used to make life and death decisions as commander-in-chief, the insatiable need for some people to elevate themselves by destroying the reputations of their rivals, and the impact that race relations and the civil rights movement had on him as a young man and how those led to his role in helping to bring peace to Feherty’s native Northern Ireland.

Golf highlights include the role that golf has played in Clinton’s health and in developing friendships with the likes of George H.W. Bush.  He revisits a surreal round of golf on the Irish links course of Ballybunion during which the president had to navigate a cemetery, found out that most of the caddies at the course had bet against him and tried to figure out why the local town had built a statue in his honor.

“So, I thought to myself, I’m going to desecrate an Irish cemetery and it will be my enduring image in Ireland.  Not my work for peace.”  Bill Clinton on teeing off on a windy day in front of 12,000 residents of Ballybunion

 

The Beat: Missed opportunity for NBA; Bayless loves Thunder; KCAL farewell to Lakers

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Making the rounds on the NBA, Skip Bayless, Lakers and KCAL, and Jason La Canfora.

The NBA nearly had a big weekend with three game 7s. Instead, it has only one with Lakers-Denver after Chicago and Atlanta blew opportunities to take their series home for the grand finale.

Losing Chicago, the No. 1 seed, was a big blow for the networks and the NBA. Even without Derrick Rose, the Bulls have more drawing power than Philadelphia. Also, I don’t see the 76ers giving Boston much of a series. The 76ers might be the worst team ever to win a playoff series. Yes, I’m bitter in Chicago.

Go Heat: Let’s see, which team will the networks and the NBA be rooting for in the Miami-Indiana series? I expect commissioner David Stern to show up in a Heat jersey.

More Skip: Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman has an interview with native son Skip Bayless. The First Take star insists he loves the Thunder even though his hometown thinks otherwise:

I want to make it very clear that contrary to unpopular opinion in the state  of Oklahoma,  I am a huge Thunder fan. I’m obviously a native Oklahoman born and bred, and  when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead. I still love the state as much as I love my  mother who lives in Oklahoma City.

I root for the Thunder, and yet from the distance I offer constructive  criticism. I don’t trust the Westbrook-Durant dynamic in crucial playoff games. Russell  Westbrook seems like a fine kid but he is a two guard masquerading as a  point guard. I don’t think he wants to do it, and I think in their heart of  hearts, they don’t want him to be their point guard, and it just happened and he  has to try to be. And yet in pivotal situations, I don’t trust his instincts  because his instincts are mainly to shoot it.

Good-bye: Jim Carlisle of the Ventura County-Star writes that after 35 years, the Lakers will be leaving KCAL. Next year, they begin their deal with the new Time-Warner sports outlet in LA.

Carlisle writes:

It’s still sad to see the Lakers leave broadcast TV altogether by dumping KCAL,  and leaving its original cable TV home, a network that came into being primarily  to show the Lakers.

Carlisle also writes how Fox Sports West is handling the break-up. Not well:

While KCAL has remained rather civil about its breakup, Fox’s relationship  with the Lakers has been on the rocks most of the season. Earlier this season,  Fox did what heretofore would have been unthinkable: It showed two Angels games  on FS West and farmed the Lakers out to Prime Ticket (the channel originally  known as Fox Sports West 2 and was later given the name of FSW’s  predecessor).

The Lakers had always taken precedence over any other team when Fox had  conflicts. But now, since the Angels have a contract with FS West and the Lakers  no longer do, Fox had few qualms about sending Kobe Bryant and his friends off  to another network.

Not only that, but have you noticed how the little watermark logo in the  upper-right corner of the screen that used to say “FS Lakers” has been replaced  with the more generic “FS West”?

It’s like an estranged father saying “I have no son! You are dead to me!”

Decision: CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus tells Michael Hiestand why the network decided to hire Jason La Canfora as its insider, dumping Charley Casserly in the process. Hiestand writes:

“Charley was terrific,” says CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “But when I watched Jason, I was amazed at the information he developed. I was looking to be more aggressive seven days a week.” La Canfora also will work on the CBS Sports Network cable channel and cbssports.com. CBSSN, says McManus, “will relatively shortly be doing greatly expanded NFL programming” — with a Sunday pregame show “a possibility.” As for La Canfora’s role on CBS’ pregame show, “we haven’t decided yet. We’re not locked into anything.