3 of a Kind

Winning is never a slam dunk. They were the most popular fraternity on the campus of college basketball in the early 1980's. Led by a Nigerian soccer player named Hakeem Olajuwon and a lightly recruited hometown kid named Clyde Drexler, the University of Houston Cougars not only electrified the NCAA Final Four with three straight appearances (1982-84), but they also helped transform the game itself. Director Chip Rives brings back the high-flying circus act under ringmaster Guy V. Lewis and spins a tale of true greatness and crushing heartbreak.

Mike Sheahan looks at the Tigers' premiership drought and why they went from a powerhouse in the 70s to playing just 6 finals matches in the last 32 years.

This is the story of one of the most well known but perhaps least understood moments of conflict and controversy in the history of sport: the infamous Bodyline test cricket series of 1932 and 1933. Self-confessed cricket tragic and comedian Adam Zwar will try to discover what happened at the crease and chart the wider social and cultural implications of the controversy by enlisting historians, sports scientists, and cricket stars to simulate the actual events. Is there more to the legend of Bodyline than we think? Adam is going back in time to live out a childhood fantasy or two. He is going to use machines, fancy cameras, and the latest in computer graphics. Modern day players will help him prepare. Adam will witness the real damage a high speed cricket ball can do. In the end, Adam will be on his own - with no helmet, no modern padding, and just a bat for protection. How will he handle this ultimate test?

A cinematic journey into the secrets of genius as told through the greatest athletes of all time. It includes original interviews with Wayne Gretzky, Pelé, Jerry Rice, and features Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan, among others.

This program includes three of Bruce Brown's short films: "The Wet Set," featuring the Hobie-MacGregor Surf Team; "America's Newest Sport," presenting the Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard Team; and an early television special which includes the first surfing trip to Japan with 12-year-old Peter Johnson and Del Cannon in a segment filmed, but not used for, "The Endless Summer."

Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens.

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

"Youngstown Boys" explores class and power dynamics in college sports through the parallel, interconnected journeys of one-time dynamic running back Maurice Clarett and former elite head coach Jim Tressel. Clarett and Tressel emerged from opposite sides of the tracks in Youngstown, Ohio, and then joined for a magical season at Ohio State University in 2002 that produced the first national football championship for the school in over 30 years. Shortly thereafter, though, Clarett was suspended from college football and began a downward spiral that ended with a prison term. Tressel continued at Ohio State for another eight years before his career there also ended in scandal.

They were the bad boys of hockey — a team bought by a man with mob ties, run by his 17-year-old son, and with a rep for being as violent as they were good.

This documentary film examines how NBA star Kevin Durant’s hometown of Prince George’s County, Maryland, has recently produced more elite basketball players than anywhere else in the world.

To die-hard fans of NBA franchise, the Vancouver Grizzlies, like filmmaker Kat Jayme, the team’s abrupt move to Memphis in 2001 is much more than a sore spot, it’s an unsolved mystery and possibly a criminal conspiracy. What begins as a superfan’s investigation into her hometown team’s disappearance, becomes a love letter to the worst professional sports franchise in history, and an exploration of the deep roots of fandom.

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

24 years later, America Football Club competes for a title again.

Alex Horne tries to discover why some games survived, and examines the best of those that did not. Whilst revisiting his own childhood haunts, he attempts to relaunch the ancient sport of the Quintain, horseless jousting, and tries his damnedest to understand the rules of the Jingling Match. Not forgetting his attempt to restage the forgotten spectacle of Cricket on Horseback. This might just be a journey to the very heart of sport itself, but if not, it will be a lot of fun playing games that have not been seen for hundreds of years and even more fun discovering why.

How could a German Wehrmacht soldier become a celebrated soccer idol of the Britons in the post-war period? The documentary by Radio Bremen shows the moving life story of the soccer star of the 1950s in a torn Europe and how an enemy became a friend. With his legendary appearance in the English Cup Final 1956, in which he played until the end despite a broken neck, Bert Trautmann set up a memorial for himself in the history of sport. Already in the same year, he is chosen as England’s footballer of the year, and by his club Manchester City even as best player of all times. Bernhard “Bert” Trautmann is one of the most popular and best-known soccer players in England.

A championship high school basketball team provides pride, tradition and hope for an African American community struggling to survive in the middle of one of the wealthiest communities in America - The Hamptons.

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Agressivity and the will to compete are also part of childhood. At a poor district’s boxing club the kids live a close friendship and find a place to express a fury that is violent but liberating.

Shot over more than two years, the official film of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing goes behind the scenes to share the stories of international and Chinese athletes, volunteers, medical personnel and officials - against the backdrop of a global pandemic.

"The Team that Changed the World," investigates the Globetrotters' impact socially and culturally, as well as their lasting effect on the NBA. Featuring interviews with basketball players, celebrities, politicians, and more, the documentary also shows how the Globetrotters continue to serve as "Ambassadors of Goodwill" and touch audiences around the world today.