The "Unofficial" Sports Documentaries Thread

Often with the magical voice of Liev Schreiber

 

With ESPN+ seemingly having an unlimited amount of bandwidth, they are no longer making these strictly to fit in a 90-minute/two-hour TV window. That's the only explanation I can have why Walton or the American Gladiators needed multiple parts to tell those stories.

 

I also want to put out a recommendation for the G-League documentary on Prime Video that was done by The Ringer group. It's a good two-hour watch and you really start to root for the featured guys a little bit as they are trying to chase that dream.

 

In a post 30-for-30 world, these aren't documentaries.

They're brand strategies.

 

I loved the 30 for 30s. Fav was Jordan on the bud or Connors one.

Inside stories have always been interesting for me. Read Feinstein books all the time. (Tennis one severely underrated)

Ii think Netflix ones on PGA and tennis this year were well done.

Drive to Survive is gold standard ( but I stopped after Season 4)

I even don’t mind Swamp Kings, saw things I didn’t know before.

Mardy Fish one was fantastic.

 

Hockey ... "Making CoCo" about Grant Fuhr. Terrific work.

 

Haven't seen the Netflix one, but this makes me want to. Thanks.

I was similarly unimpressed with the 30-for-30 one. Waste of time.

 

This is a part of a terrific doc on the career of boxing great Emile Griffith but this clip, where Griffith meets the son of Benny (Kid) Paret, who died after their third fight in 1962, is probably the best part of the whole thing.

I spent an incredible evening in the bar at a Buffalo airport hotel after a Top Rank show in the late 1980s listening to Griffith tell stories about his life and career. At the time he was working with Riddick Bowe who'd been on the card.

The whole thing for those interested:

 

I generally like the Untold series. But the more they put out, the more misses there will be.

Danbury is #1.

 

Two more docs worth watching: Joe Montana on Peacock and Bill Russell on Netflix.

 

Oh yeah the Russell one is nice.

 

Him showing up at the Jets' camp in Hard Knocks was great.