30 for 30
Volume I
200930 episodes
Episode 1
King's Ransom
Oct 6, 200951m
TMDB rating 6.7TMDB
The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.
Episode 2
The Band That Wouldn't Die
Oct 13, 200953m
TMDB rating 5.0TMDB
A profile of Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band stayed behind to help promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.
Episode 3
Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
Oct 20, 200951m
TMDB rating 6.5TMDB
Fresh interviews and archival footage track the life and demise of the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. A highlight is Tollin's interview with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.
Episode 4
Muhammad and Larry
Oct 27, 200952m
A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali–Larry Holmes fight and its impact on both fighters, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters' camps.
Episode 5
Without Bias
Nov 3, 200951m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
The death of Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack, two days after Boston selected him as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, and its impact on casual drug use, especially by the sports community.
Episode 6
The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
Nov 10, 200951m
The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.
Episode 7
The U
Dec 12, 20091h 42m
TMDB rating 7.5TMDB
The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.
Episode 8
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
Mar 14, 20101h 9m
TMDB rating 9.0TMDB
The impact of Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the Pacers/Knicks battles in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Playoffs and on Miller's interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.
Episode 9
Guru of Go
Apr 3, 201052m
A profile of Paul Westhead's coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985–1990), where his Lions' team was known for its high-scoring run-and-gun offense, use of talented players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and a pall cast by Gathers's on-court death in 1990.
Episode 10
No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
Apr 13, 20101h 21m
TMDB rating 9.0TMDB
The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson's life.
Episode 11
Silly Little Game
Apr 20, 201051m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.
Episode 12
Run Ricky Run
Apr 27, 201052m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
A profile of Ricky Williams focuses on his brief 2004 departure from the NFL, when he sought self-redemption amidst media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use.
Episode 13
The 16th Man
May 4, 201052m
How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup, combined with Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks national team, affected post-apartheid South Africa.
Episode 14
Straight Outta L.A.
May 11, 201051m
TMDB rating 5.0TMDB
The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A.
Episode 15
June 17, 1994
Jun 16, 201051m
TMDB rating 7.6TMDB
Quick-cut archival footage captures the various US sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, including the opening of the World Cup soccer tournament, the Knicks/Rockets NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer's last round in the U.S. Open, and the New York Rangers' Stanley Cup victory celebration. One event, however, overshadows them all: O. J. Simpson's run from the police.
Episode 16
The Two Escobars
Jun 22, 20101h 43m
TMDB rating 9.0TMDB
The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the deaths of both men. (2 hours in length)
Episode 17
The Birth of Big Air
Jul 29, 201051m
TMDB rating 6.0TMDB
The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25-year career of advancing, in creative and promotional avenues, BMX riding.
Episode 18
Jordan Rides the Bus
Aug 24, 201051m
TMDB rating 7.3TMDB
Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.
Episode 19
Little Big Men
Aug 31, 201050m
A look at the Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.
Episode 20
One Night in Vegas
Sep 7, 201053m
TMDB rating 8.5TMDB
The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.
Episode 21
Unmatched
Sep 14, 201052m
A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
Episode 22
The House of Steinbrenner
Sep 21, 201051m
The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.
Episode 23
Into the Wind
Sep 28, 201051m
TMDB rating 8.7TMDB
Terry Fox's attempt to run 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi) across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captures the attention of his fellow Canadians and the world.
Episode 24
Four Days In October
Oct 5, 201051m
The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Episode 25
Once Brothers
Oct 12, 20101h 20m
The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how upheaval in their homeland adversely and irretrievably affected their friendship. (90 minutes in length)
Episode 26
Tim Richmond: To the Limit
Oct 19, 201051m
TMDB rating 7.3TMDB
The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.
Episode 27
Fernando Nation
Oct 26, 201051m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
The euphoria created by Fernando Valenzuela's 1981 arrival with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Episode 28
Marion Jones: Press Pause
Nov 2, 201051m
The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.
Episode 29
The Best that Never Was
Nov 9, 20101h 41m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting injury-prone college and professional career, and how his pursuit by college and USFL teams changed the recruiting process. (2 hours in length)
Episode 30
Pony Excess
Dec 11, 20101h 42m
TMDB rating 7.0TMDB
The rise, fall, and rebirth of the SMU Mustangs football program, which received a 1-year "death penalty" for major infractions after former SMU player David Stanley blew the whistle on the long-suspected program. Patrick Duffy, known for starring in TV's Dallas at the time of the scandal, narrates. (2 hours in length)