TUBE TALK: Ready, set, action; ESPN delving heavily into the film business
By John Maffei - Staff Writer | ∞
Former major-league manager and player Bobby Valentine will be the subject on an ESPN movie next month. Before prices at the theaters jumped into the $10 range, and a tub of popcorn and a soda cost more than a major car repair, you would regularly grab your friends or significant other and head to the movies on a Friday or Saturday.
ESPN thinks it has found a solution to the movie blues.
Starting Tuesday, and running the next four Tuesdays, ESPN2 ---- as part of the new ESPN Films division ---- will present a sports-themed, world-TV premiere film at 6 p.m.
The lineup includes:
+ "Hellfighters" ---- about an against all-odds high school football team;
+ "The Streak" ---- about a high school wrestling team with a 34-year winning streak;
+ "Bud Greenspan: At the Heart of the Games" ---- exploring the famed Olympic filmographer;
+ "The Zen of Bobby V" ---- about former major league player and manager Bobby Valentine and baseball in Japan.
And while all are great films, "Hellfighters" has a San Diego twist.
The film, directed by Jon Frankel, follows Harlem's only high school football team ---- The Harlem Hellfighters.
The team was named after a famous World War I fighting unit.
The coach of that team is Duke Fergerson, the former San Diego State receiver, who caught 57 passes for 886 yards and four touchdowns for the Aztecs in 1976.
Fergerson, who graduated from SDSU with a degree in political science, was a third-round draft pick of the Cowboys, was traded to the Seahawks and played three seasons with the Seahawks and one with the Bills before retiring.
He left football in his rearview mirror for two decades while he worked on political campaigns and did graduate work at Harvard.
But in 2003, while working for The Staubach Company ---- a corporate and retail real estate firm owned by former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach ---- Fergerson was working on development projects in Harlem.
It was there Fergerson got the football bug again, putting together 70 athletes from Harlem's 13 schools to form a team.
Two years later, and buoyed by contributions from the NFL's Youth Football Foundation and the NFL's New York Jets, the Hellfighters were accepted into New York's Public School Athletic League.
New York City has 305 high schools and only 43 play football.
Frankel followed the Hellfighters through their third season.
"I must tell you right off the bat that Duke didn't like the film," Frankel said. "He didn't think it was accurate, fair or honest.
"After he saw it, Duke asked, 'Did you make the film you wanted to make?'
"I told him 'I made the film the camera saw.' "
Attempts to contact Fergerson proved a dead end as several phone numbers for him were bad.
"Still, Duke deserves an immense amount of credit for his vision," Frankel said. "Duke did the hard part. He was there for those kids every day, and he deserves a lot of respect for that.
"And he cut through the bureaucracy to get this thing off the ground.
"And last year, his team went 9-1 and won the city championship in their division.
"But I think Duke could have been more receptive to people who wanted to lend him a hand."
The film was critically acclaimed at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Frankel has added 30 minutes to update viewers on the players.
"Hopefully, Duke will watch this and change his thinking," Frankel said. "So many people ---- black and white ---- gave him credit at the screening and applauded him."
More on the movies and sports TV
+ "The Streak" is scheduled for April 29 on ESPN2 with "Bud Greenspan: The Heart of the Games" on May 6 and "The Zen of Bobby V" on May 13. Of all the films, Bobby V is the most-critically acclaimed.
+ ESPN Films has agreed to co-produce a film planned for theatrical release on Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier. The untitled project will be produced by Robert Redford and Tracy Falco, Howard and Karen Baldwin and Andrew Cohen. It's being produced with the approval of Robinson's widow, Rachel.
+ "The Express" ---- a true story of former Syracuse University running back Ernie Davis ---- is set to debut in theaters on Oct.. 3.
Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, Davis became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. The record-setting running back was drafted in the first round by the Washington Redskins, then traded to the Cleveland Browns. But he never played a down in the NFL, dying of leukemia in 1963 at age 23.
+ "Friday Night Lights" will be back on NBC for a third season, but with a twist. All 13 new episodes in the fall will be broadcast first on DirecTV, starting Oct. 1. They'll be repeated on NBC, starting in midseason.
NFL notes
+ The Cowboys and Chargers are slated for six national TV appearances with the Eagles, Patriots, Giants, Bears, Colts and Browns set for five appearances.
+ The Thanksgiving Day games are Titans-Lions at 9:30 a.m., Seahawks-Cowboys at 1:15 and the Cardinals-Eagles at 5:15 p.m.
+ The NFL took nearly the same number of games from both the CBS and Fox Sunday afternoon packages in choosing primetime contests for NBC and ESPN. NBC has eight CBS games and eight Fox games. ESPN has nine CBS games and eight from Fox on its 17-game schedule.
+ Six of the NFL Network's games are CBS contests.
+ The Web site bodoglife.com says the five lowest-rated games in 2008 will be 49ers-Cardinals, Browns-Bills, Bucs-Panthers, Vikings-Saints and Jaguars-Texas.
+ Bryant Gumbel resigned as the NFL Network's lead play-by-play man. I have one word for his departure: Thanks! Gumbel is a talented guy, a smooth veteran announcer. Play-by-play, however, wasn't his thing.
+ Bodog says the favorites to replace Gumbel are Tom Hammond, Marv Albert, Rich Eisen, Gus Johnson, Joe Buck and Bob Costas.
Hoop scoop
+ The NBA playoffs open Saturday on ABC and ESPN with four games. ABC has the first game at noon with the other three games on ESPN. ABC's noon Sunday contest features the Nuggets and Lakers.
Today at 4 p.m., ESPN has an "NBA Playoff Preview Special." ESPN's broadcast teams will be Dave Pasch-Rick Carlisle-Holly Rowe, Mike Breen-Mark Jackson-Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Tirico-Hubie Brown-Lisa Salters, Dan Shulman-Doris Burke-Heather Cox.
+ TNT's "40 Games in 40 Nights" coverage tips off with a Sunday tripleheader.
TNT's lead announce team is Mark Albert-Reggie Miller. Kevin Harlan-Doug Collins and Dick Stockton-Mike Fratello are the other teams. The sideline reporters include Craig Sager, David Aldridge, Cheryl Miller, Pam Oliver, Marty Snider, Dei Lynam, Stacy Paetz and Stephanie Ready. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley work the studio show. TNT has exclusive coverage of the Western Conference finals.
+ The 52 regular-season NBA games on TNT during the 2007-08 season posted a 1.1 rating, up 13 percent from last season.
+ Ian Eagle-Bill Raftery and Steve Martin-Quinn Buckner will handle the announcing duties for playoff games on NBA-TV.
Local notes
+ Matt Vasgersian, the TV voice of the Padres, will be in Minnesota on Saturday to work the Indians-Twins game for Fox. Vasgersian will work with long-time Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone.
Southern California gets the Dodgers-Braves from Atlanta with Dick Stockton and Eric Karros working the game. With Vasgersian out of town, Steve Quis will call the play-by-play for the Padres series in Arizona. The April 26 Diamondbacks-Padres game will be on Fox with Vasgersian and Mark Grace in the booth.
Scully honored
Dodgers announcer Vin Scully will be honored by Fordham University ---- his alma mater ---- on April 29 with the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting at the WFUV Spring Gala in New York City.
Around the dial
+ ESPN's Jack Arute will cover two hemispheres and more than 5,000 miles in two days as he works as a pit reporter for ESPN2's coverage of IndyCar Series races in Japan and Long Beach. The first race is at 9 tonight ---- the IRL Japan 300. He then hops in a jet for Sunday's coverage of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
+ Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre will make an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" at 11:35 p.m. Thursday.
+ The MEAC/SWAC Challenge, featuring historically black college football teams Hampton University of the MEAC and Jackson State of the SWAC is set for 11 a.m. Aug. 31 at the Citrus Bowl in Florida.
+ ESPNU's college lacrosse doubleheader Saturday features a pair of games from Manhasset High in New York. The headliner is No. 1-ranked Duke vs. Army at 9 a.m. The second game at 3 p.m. features Chaminade High from Southern California against Manhasset High. The games are being played at Manhasset High as a tribute to Sgt. James J. Regan, a former Manhasset resident and Duke lacrosse player who was killed in Iraq in 2007.
+ The CBS College Sports Network, formerly CSTV, is in San Diego this weekend for the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship. The participating teams include Clemson, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, USC and USD. The USD team features former Rancho Buena Vista High star Andrea Csaszi. Chis McGee and Holly McPeak are the announcers for the event that won't air until May 25.
+ CBS College Sports Network is also in Reno, Nev., this weekend for the 2008 Collegiate Boxing Championships. Lock Haven is the defending national champion. The top contenders include Nevada, Air Force, Navy and UNLV. The event will air the week of May 25.
+ NBC has added 30 minutes to its coverage of the May 3 Kentucky Derby. NBC will now be on the air 2 1/2 hours, starting at 1 p.m.
Staff writer John Maffei's Tube Talk column appears every Friday. He can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.
Macrob wrote on Apr 29, 2008 5:51 PM:Last May (2007), I attended the Tribeca film screening of Jon Frankel's film Harlem Hellfighters. It was a moving experience. As a viewer, though, I was confused by the intention of Mr. Frankel. He begins by telling the noble story of the Harlem Hellfighters but then loses his story's focus as he seems to become obsessed with the coach, Duke Fergerson. After the screening, when the question was posed to Mr. Frankel and his invited guests, an assistant coach, as to what the point of the film was, the entire theatre fell silent. They were unable to answer, mumbling something about the players. Just prior, they had incited a really odd, mean spirited heckling of the coach. I just didn't get it and neither did many of the players' parents who were also present. As a result, I don't get the film review posted here. All that text should have been talking about the players' lives and, once again, all it can do is talk about distracting non-issues, like whether phone numbers were good or bad. Something's not being said about the intent of the film and/or the filmmaker. The original Harlem Hellfighters unit would be bereft at the misguided focus of the narrative. Pity. It's a story of recovery that needs telling all over this country in areas where black male youth are neglected - except by the prison system.
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