Skip Bayless
During an NBA lockout, a sports agent, Ray Burke, presents his rookie client, Erick Scott, with an intriguing and controversial business opportunity.
From 1981-1984, a small private school in Dallas owned the best record in college football. The Mustangs of Southern Methodist University were riding high on the backs of the vaunted "Pony Express" backfield. But as the middle of the decade approached, the program was coming apart at the seams. Wins became the only thing that mattered as the University increasingly ceded power of the football program to the city's oil barons and real estate tycoons and flagrant and frequent NCAA violations became the norm. In 1987, the school and the sport were rocked, as the NCAA meted out "the death penalty" on a college football program for the first and only time in its history. SMU would be without football for two years, and the fan base would be without an identity for 20 more until the win in the 2009 Hawaii Bowl. This is the story of Dallas in the 1980's and the greed, power, and corruption that spilled from the oil fields onto the football field and all the way to the Governor's Mansion.
When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder, Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging Rocky to a nationally televised, 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior.
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.
Cold Pizza was a television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2. The show's style was more akin to Good Morning America than SportsCenter's straight news and highlights format. It included daily sports news, interviews with sports journalists, athletes, and personalities, and an assortment of other sports and non-sports topics. This show began airing on October 20, 2003. The show's launch team and daily production management was led by broadcast executives James Cohen, Joseph Maar and Todd Mason. Although Cold Pizza was simulcast on ESPN2HD, it was not produced or presented in high definition. On October 2, 2006, DirecTV became the presenting sponsor with the show titled as Cold Pizza presented by DirecTV. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes aired each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat at 12 p.m. ET. The show was hosted by former SportsCenter personality, Dana Jacobson, who joined the program in 2005, and Jay Crawford, who was with the show for its entire run. Skip Bayless contributed during the "1st and 10" segments. Woody Paige, who had been his antagonist during those segments, left after the November 28, 2006, episode, citing health and personal reasons, leaving New York to return to the Denver Post, where he had been a longtime writer.
Pardon the Interruption is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels, TSN, ESPN America, XM, and Sirius satellite radio services, and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories of the day in "sports... and other stuff". They had previously done this off-air in The Washington Post newsroom. Either Tony Reali or the uncredited "producer over the loudspeaker" serves as moderator for parts of the show, which is filmed in Washington, D.C.; Around The Horn also originates from the same studio. Similar in format to Siskel and Ebert, PTI is known for its humorous and often loud tone, as well as the "rundown" graphic which lists the topics yet to be discussed on the right-hand side of the screen. The show's popularity has led to the creation of similar shows on ESPN, and similar segments on other series, and the rundown graphic has since been implemented on the morning editions of SportsCenter among many imitators. The show won a Sports Emmy Award for best Daily Outstanding Studio Show for 2009.
