Bob Costas
Follow Willie Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars. He left an indelible mark in New York City and San Francisco, building a love affair with both cities’ fans.
A look behind the scenes revealing the courage and resilience of caregivers, patients, and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is ultimately a story of hope and healing.
MLB Network showcases the greatest calls and moments from iconic Major League Baseball play-by-play broadcasters.
The Cubs-Cardinals game on June 23, 1984, served as a national coming-out party for Ryne Sandberg, the Cubs’ 2nd baseman who later earned National League MVP honors following that ’84 season. Twice, Sandberg faced future Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter as the tying run in the Cubs’ last at-bat. Twice, he homered to the bleachers in left field to extend the game, which was later won on a walk-off single by Dave Owen. Subsequently, the game became known by a simple yet infamous moniker: "The Sandberg Game."
This unprecedented cinematic production is an in-depth look at Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which saw the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz go head to head in one of the most iconic games in NBA history. Game 6: The Movie features exclusive, never-before-seen game footage captured by five different NBA Entertainment cameras and a presentation of the historic game in new innovative ways. It is accompanied by original commentary from Bob Costas, Isiah Thomas, Doug Collins, Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray.
Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #2: LATER IN L.A. is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our second tape, we’ve returned to the hallowed halls of “behind the scenes” horror for another hour-long joyride of F-U-N. Thank you for your incredible support during these difficult times. And remember: “Do what your spirit tells you.”
A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies -- NBC and WWE -- captured headlines and a sense of undeniable anticipation about what was to come.
Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician with her own plan to win, inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn't through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!
During the Chicago Cubs’ 108-year championship drought, the franchise endured its fair share of heartache. Ranging from a billy goat curse to a black cat running onto the field, Chicago’s time without a championship brought some of the most historic moments in sports history.
Depicting a year in the life of a small town caught in the center of the high-profile Penn State scandal, this powerful film reveals how it affected the community: showcasing the strength and resolve of those who live in and cherish what is known as "Happy Valley."
A father, who has trained his son all his life to play football, pauses when his son turns twelve and is about to play tackle football. Journalist Sean Pamphilon went out on a mission to decide when it was appropriate to let his son play the game he's loved all his life.
Before Marv Albert and Bob Costas, there was Marty Glickman. A gifted Jewish-American athlete who was denied the chance to represent the U.S. at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he went on to become one of the most revered and influential sportscasters in history, pioneering many of the techniques, phrases and programming innovations that are commonplace in sports reporting today.
Schooled: The Price of College Sports is a comprehensive look at the business, history and culture of big-time college football and basketball in America. It is an adaptation of “The Cartel” by Pulitzer Prize Winning civil rights scholar Taylor Branch, and his October 2011 article in The Atlantic, “The Shame of College Sports.” Schooled presents a hard-hitting examination of the NCAA’s treatment of its athletes and amateurism in collegiate athletics; weaving interviews, archival and verité footage to tell a story of how college sports became a billion dollar industry built on the backs of athletes who are deprived of numerous rights.
MLB Network counts down its version of the 20 greatest games played since about 1950. The network first came up with 50 games and a "blue ribbon panel" -- aided by fan votes -- whittled that to 20. Hosts Bob Costas and Tom Verducci dissect each game, and given the format, with each episode running at least one hour, there's plenty of time to delve into nuances such as pitch selection, defensive alignment, managerial moves and so on. Also making each episode must-see TV for longtime baseball fans is the ex-players and managers who join Costas and Verducci to provide insight. Bucky Dent, for example, talks about his famous home run in the 1978 American League tiebreak game, and Johnny Bench and Fred Lynn reminisce about Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, the No. 1 game on the list.
Few cities love their baseball team as much as Chicago loves the Cubs, and this documentary attempts to explain the close bond between the Windy City and their National League squad by interviewing some of the team's most-beloved players as well as celebrities who have been die heard fans of the Cubbies their entire lives. In addition to offering archival footage of many of the team's biggest stars, this program contains interviews with Bob Costas, Dennis Franz, Scott Turow, and Budd Selig.
After the Chicago Cubs blow an opportunity to reach the World Series in 2003, Cubs fans blame the team's misfortune on fellow fan Steve Bartman, who interfered with a foul ball and prevented Moises Alou from making a catch.
A history of the origin of National Baseball Hall of Fame and its first induction ceremony in 1939.
Thursday Night Baseball is the title of a presentation of Major League Baseball on cable and satellite channel MLB Network, that premiered on April 9, 2009. Longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts. Matt Vasgersian also does play-by-play on some games. Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Mitch Williams and Jim Kaat provide color commentary. The new network produces 26 non-exclusive live games a year on Thursday nights. Since one or both teams' local TV rights holders also carry the games, the MLB Network feed is subject to local blackouts. In that event, the cities in the blacked-out markets will instead see a simulcast of another scheduled game via one team's local TV rights holder.
Having stood on the gold medal podium a record 8 times during one Olympic Games, Michael Phelps now stands alone as the the greatest Olympic champion in history. With exclusive interviews and commentary, Michael takes us on his personal journey to Olympic stardom. Includes all his races and special behind-the-scenes footage.
The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will honor either a songwriter, interpreter, or singer/songwriter whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of artistic expression and cultural understanding. Paul Simon, one of America's most respected songwriters and musicians, was the recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, the award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world's culture.
Nestled between the Adirondacks and the Catskills in central New York State, the pastoral village of Cooperstown has a mighty mission: to preserve and protect the story of America’s Game at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball has been America’s national pastime for nearly 150 years. Founded in 1939, today’s museum preserves history, honors excellence and connects generations through the story of baseball and America, featuring more than 35,000 artifacts, two million documents, 500,000 historic photographs, and 10,000 hours of original TV and radio recordings. The adjoining Hall of Fame contains the plaques of more than 275 of baseball’s immortals, including the first five men elected in 1936 – Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson.
Using the frame of opening day, 2006, this documentary examines the Cubs' 100 years without a World Series title. Between conversations with a half-dozen selected Cubs fans in 2006, the film looks back at the Wrigley years, sale to the Tribune, and coming oh-so-close in 1945, 1969, 1984, and 2003.
Football Night in America is the studio pregame show usually preceding NBC's broadcasts of Sunday night and Wild Card Saturday National Football League games starting in the 2006 National Football League season. The program always airs at 7 PM Eastern live from Studio 8G in the GE Building at Rockefeller Center in New York, where the NBC network has its headquarters.
Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters.
The almost mythic career of Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle is the subject of this acclaimed HBO Sports documentary special. Over 18 seasons with the Bronx Bombers, despite constant nagging injuries, Mantle managed to hit 536 home runs, twice hitting more than 50 in a season. He finished ten seasons with a batting average of .300 or more and suited up for seven World Series. To this day, ?The Mick? remains the greatest switch-hitter in baseball history; however, behind his country charm and good looks there was his wayward lifestyle that harmed his marriage, his relationship with his four sons and ultimately his health.
Costas Now is an American monthly sports television show hosted by Bob Costas on HBO.
For 17 days the eyes of the world were on Salt Lake City as athletes from across the globe competed in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Team USA won a record 34 medals, and now you can relive all the golden moments again and again. Highlights of this two hour DVD treasure include: memorable moments from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies; America's figure skating sweetheart, Sarah Hughes; Jim Shea's emotional victory on the Skeleton; Janica Kostelic, the Croatian Sensation; flamboyant speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno; the US medal sweep in the Men's Halfpipe; Co-Olypic Pair's Figure Skating Champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada; plus a recap of every sport from the XIX Olympic Winder Games.
One hundred years in the making, the 'Major League Baseball All-Century Team' was an all-time roster chosen from the more than 15,000 men who played Major League Baseball in the 20th Century.
This documentary showcases basketball player Michael Jordan's awe-inspiring moves, providing behind-the-scenes and on-the-court action, including footage of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls going head-to-head against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. Phil Jackson and Bob Costas are interviewed (among others), and the awesome soundtrack includes songs by Earth, Wind and Fire, Fatboy Slim and Freddie King.
Two losers from Milwaukee, Coop & Remer, invent a new game playing basketball, using baseball rules. When the game becomes a huge success, they, along with a billionaire's help, form the Professional Baseketball League where everyone gets the same pay and no team can change cities. Theirs is the only team standing in the way of major rule changes that the owner of a rival team wants to institute.
PBA Films and renowned bagging filmmaker Jonathan Buss bring the heart-pounding action of pro bagging to the screen in the inspiring story of a small town grocery bagger who emerges as one of the all-time bagging greats. The documentary follows bagging superstar Mark "Dizzy" Gillespie as he faces off against Food World "wonder-boy" Charlie Murphy at the Bag Boy World Championships.
Jack Elliot, a one-time MVP for the New York Yankees is now on the down side of his baseball career. With a falling batting average, does he have one good year left and can the manager of the Chunichi Dragons, a Japanese Central baseball league find it in him?
Later was a nightly half hour-long talk show that ran on NBC from 1988 until 2001. Later typically aired for half an hour at 1:30 a.m. following Late Night with David Letterman from 1988 to 1993, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2001. It was succeeded by Last Call with Carson Daly in 2002.
From the dirt-poor alleys of Anderson, Indiana, to a record-breaking career on a legendary team on the grandest stage in sports, Carl Erskine has lived the American dream — and spent a lifetime giving it to others. His life as a famed Brooklyn Dodger and human rights advocate is featured in this inspiring new documentary.
On the Record with Bob Costas is a 12-week long talk show hosted by sportscaster Bob Costas. The show ran for four seasons on HBO from 2001 to 2004 before being revamped into Costas Now. On the Record with Bob Costas was in a sense, similar to Costas' previous late night talk show, Later, which Costas hosted on NBC from 1988 to 1994. Both programs featured one-on-one interviews with guests ranging from the sports world to the show business world.
