Documentary Review: I Hate Christian Laettner

I Hate Christian Laettner, directed by Rory Karpf, ESPN 30 for 30, 2015
This is a fascinating look at the rise of Duke basketball, and the man who was the NCAA basketball player of the year his senior year, 1992.  I remember watching some of the games presented, and how Laettner seemed to always come through.  even when he played against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal.  Duke went to the final four in the tournament each year Laettner was at Duke, and Laettner holds the record for most points in the NCAA tournament.  Of course Laettner wasn't the only player, but he was the player who consistently came through at the end of games and carried the team.  Other players included Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Thomas Hill.  However for some reason, people loved to hate Laettner.
There was one game when he stepped on another player out of frustration, and wasn't ejected, and then made the last second shot.  But the venom expressed towards Laettner was not deserved.  This movie postulates on what.  Perhaps it was Laettner's good looks, and that women seemed to adore him.  Perhaps his hard-nosed play.  At one point people threw homosexual slurs at him.  He thrived in this environment, and talked with his play.
The part I like best about this show, is the end, when it shows his family.  Laettner is a family man, and this seems to be his most important role; and I like that.

Documentary Review: The Price of Gold: ESPN Documentary 2014

The Price of Gold, ESPN: 30 for 30 2014.
This tells the story of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who competed in women's figure skating at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.  Just a few weeks previous, Nancy Kerrigan was brutally hit in the knee by an unknown assailant with a metal bar.  Turns out this attack was initiated by Tonya Harding's ex husband, Jeff Gillooly.  Although Harding, appears to have not known about the attack before hand, the question is when did she know.  She was allowed to compete in the Olympics that year, and the scene of here and the broken lace took place.  She did not place.  On the other hand, nancy Kerrigan took silver.  She had to rehab her knee, and work hard, and overcame the diversity.
After the event, Tonya Harding was banned from the sport.  She plead guilty to a conspiring to hinder prosecution.  There is still controversy over how much she knew.  For some the Olympics are more than sport.

ESPN Documentary:Jordan Rides the Bus: 30 for 30

I have often wondered why Michael Jordan gave up a year of play basketball for baseball.  He really wasn’t that good at baseball, because it was something he had not been doing every day.  After a year of playing ball, riding the bus, he was getting better.  He played right field, and played in the Autumn League.  This was a league for the best of double AA.   He really started to come into his stride.  He stole bases, fielded ok.  And brought his batting average up to 250.  It is possible for Michael Jordan to have made the majors in a couple more years if he continued to improve.  However a threatened baseball strike loomed large, and Jordan likely would have been in the middle.  He decided to return to basketball instead. 

An interesting point of Jordan’s baseball career centers around the murder of his father.  His father was murdered in a botched robbery.  Jordan’s father always wanted Michael to play baseball, and so he did.

Documentary Review: 30 30 Fernando Nation

This ESPN documentary tells the story of Fernando Valenzuela, Mexican man who had a dream of pitching in major league baseball; and was actually doing so at the age of 18 when he was rookie of the year and the Cy Young Award winner.  He rode his screw ball to pitch in the World Series in the third game, which game they won, and went on to become champions.  This movie is presented over the backdrop of the construction of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Canyon, which was the home of many Mexican Americans.  They were evicted to make way for the stadium.  In 1981,  the Dodgers made amends with the Latino community with Fernando being part of the team, and the opening day starter.  Fernando had other career high lights, including a no-hitter in 1990; but nothing was like that first year.  His career record was 173-153 with and ERA of 3.54 and his career spanned 17 years.  His first ten years were with the Dodgers, and then several teams after this including the Jalisco Charros in Mexico.  He retired in 1997  but still plays independent ball or Mexican ball at times.

Documentary Review: 30 for 30 June 17th, 1994

Directory Brett Morgan; ESPN Documentary on the arrest of O.J. Simpson for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.  This documentary using only footage from news sources, and covers the hysteria over O.J. Simpson.  It deals with other sports events happening at the same time; the retirement of Arnold Palmer, the New York Rangers winning the Stanley Cup, and the New York Knicks winning game five of the NBA Finals.  But the big news was O.J. Simpson in his Bronco being chased by more and more policemen and 20 media helicopters.  People lined the freeway to wave to Simpson.  He reportedly had a gun to his head.  After he stopped it took a long time for police to convince him to throw the gun away.  Crazy good job of editing and putting this together.

ESPN 30 for 30: Brave in the Attempt (History of Special Olympics)

This is the history of Special Olympics, and the story of Eunice Shriver.  Eunice Shriver was the sister of John F. Kennedy.  Unknown to most is that her older sister, Rosemary Kennedy, was a woman with special needs.  As such she took up the cause of those with special needs.  And in doing so,  started an international movement, and brought the cause of these people into the public light.  She started with a day camp on her back lawn in 1962 where children with intellectual disability could attend.  These children were usually hidden, and now they were welcomed.  This was a world of shame for these people.
When her brother was in the White House, she lobbied for these people.  The first legislation recognizing them was signed by her brother and committed federal funding to people with disabilities.
1968 was the first Special Olympics.  this was only a couple months after the assassination of her brother Bobby Kennedy.  This was held in Chicago, where there were over 1000 participants, and not that many spectators.  The Special Olympians quote at each meet: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." 

When Special Olympics was featured on Wide World of Sports in 1973, the movement gained a broader audience, as many were introduced for the first time.  This was initially a mostly American event, but is now truly international.  Many celebrities, and many more volunteers have lead to this success.

Movie Review: ESPN: 30 for 30: The Two Escobars

 This documentary made by ESPN 30 for 30 and directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist.  It tells one of the most tragic stories in sports history.  The own goal of Andres Escobar, and his murder less than a month later.  It also tells the story of Pablo Escobor, not a relation to Andres, but the head of the Medelin Drug Cartel.
Pablo had started as a small time thief, stealing cars form the rich, but became rich in running producing and running drugs, especially cocaine.  Pablo Escobar, despite being a drug runner and murderer; also thought of himself as a Peter Pan.  He was a billionaire, and used his to help the poor.  He made lighted soccer fields in many communities.  In a slum he made everyone homes.  The community was called Pablo Escobar.
The rise of the Colombian team was phenomenal.  They went from being  a team that never had any success, to being ranked fourth in the world.  The cause of this, to a great extent, was drug money.  Many cartels found soccer clubs to be a great way to launder money.  As the drug cartels put money into soccer, there was great rivalry between clubs, and also more money to pay players, and to form a nucleus of soccer players with great talent, who stayed at home to play.  One of these was Andres Escobar, who played defender for Atletico Nacional, the team owned by Pablo Escobar.  They won the Copa Libertador (South American Championship) in 1989.  After a controversial call in the Colombian finals, Pablo had ordered the death of a referree who was murdered. 
One of Pablo Escobar's main positions is that criminals should not be deported to other countries, especially the United States.  He ran for congress and won, getting the vote of the poor.  He had the goal of changing the deportation law, so he could not be deported.  However, as a member of congress he had diplomatic immunity.   However the congress kicked him out because of his past. 
Pablo Escobar began a war with the government.  He murdered politicians who favored the deportation.  He planted bombs to influence people against the government, proving they could not keep people safe.  He was responsible for the murder of assorted judges, politicians, over 500 policemen, at least one referee and thousands of rival cartel members who displeased him.  His men would ask politicians, do you want silver or lead, meaning take our bribes or we kill you.  Most would take the bribes.  In this way, Pablo had great influence.  He finally influenced enough so the constitution was changed, and no longer would criminals be deported.  He then gave himself up, and was imprisoned at Catedral Prison, a prison of his choice, and where he could continue running his organization.  Two rival drug runners were murdered in the prison after he arrived.
At the same time Colombia had become on of the most successful teams in the world, qualifying for the World Cup by defeating Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires.  Their 26 matches leading up to the World Cup, they had lost only two.  Pele had them as favorites.  They were ranked fourth in the world. 
Pablo Escobar insisted on visits by the team while he was in prison, and they were too scared not to go, including Andres.  However, their keeper, Rene Higuita, was too public in his visits, and got himself arrested.  The government said for his involvement in a kidnapping, but he said they only asked him about Pablo Escobar.
The government became embarrassed by the situation, and arranged for the U.S. to invade the prison and take Pablo Escobar to the U.S.  However he was forewarned, and the prison was empty when the got there, Pablo was free again.  However, while he was in prison, things had changed.  An organization, PEPEs (People persecuted by Pablo Escobar) with made of of rival cartels, and people from his own cartel who had been threatened to change, and government officials.  This organization threatened Pablo to turn himself in or his family would be killed.  Several members of his family were executed, and then Pablo himself.
The government had felt with Pablo killed, violence would decrease.  However, the opposite happened.  There was more violence.  Pablo had kept a lid off of some violence, disallowing kidnappings etc.
In this environment Colombia traveled to the U.S. in 1994 for the World Cup.  They keeper was in jail and he was replaced.  They lived constantly under threat of murder, or their families could be kidnapped.  They unexpectedly lost their first match to Romania 3-1.  Romania relied mostly on defense, and counter attacks. 
Their second match was against the U.S.  Colombia still played under threat of murder.  In fact the entire team was threatened by one of the drug cartels if a certain player played in midfield.  The rival cartel wanted their own players to be seen.  The coach relented and sat the player.
Colombia  outplayed the Americans, but the ball never reached the net.  At one time the U.S. almost ceded an own goal, hitting their own goal post, but then making the save.  Later in the game John Harkes, U.S. midfielder controlled the ball up the left side, and then crossed to an American player in front of the net.  Andres Escobar intervened to kick the ball away, but he careened it into his own goal.  The U.S. won 1-0.  If Andres had not intercepted the ball, the American player would have had the ball in front of the net with only the keeper to beat, likely a goal anyway. 
The Colombia side won their next match with Switzerland, but were eliminated from the tournament.  Upon returning to Colombia, the entire squad was wary for their safety.  However, Andres decided he wanted to see his fans face to face.  He was bothered at a bar by someone saying, "nice goal."  Andres tried to smooth things over, but they had none of it so they decided to leave.  While in the car, he was approached from behind and six shots were fired.  He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The truck the murderers left in belonged to drug runners, but only their body guard was arrested.  Andres had been invited to write in the paper after the own goal.  This was published a couple days before his death 

"Life doesn't end here. We have to go on. Life cannot end here. No matter how difficult, we must stand back up. We only have two options: either allow anger to paralyse us and the violence continues, or we overcome and try our best to help others. It's our choice. Let us please maintain respect. My warmest regards to everyone. [A Great hug for all]  It's been a most amazing and rare experience. [It's been a great opportunity and phenomenally rare experience.]  We'll see each other again soon because life does not end here"

This movie is available on You Tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EilV9vgaEY