Also the "Guru of Go" was a goodn'.

(02-25-2014 11:27 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  Also the "Guru of Go" was a goodn'.

Completely forgot about that one...loved that one for sure!

(02-24-2014 07:30 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I think my favorite was The Two Escobars, but I've missed several of them.

The Two Escobars was by far my favorite as well. I also liked the SMU (Pony Excess), The Yugoslavia one (Vlade Divac, Drazan Petrovich story)and the U one. The worst one I've seen was the Marion Jones one. But then again I had zero interest in her story from the get go.

(02-25-2014 12:01 PM)Marcus Wrote:  

(02-24-2014 07:30 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I think my favorite was The Two Escobars, but I've missed several of them.

The Two Escobars was by far my favorite as well. I also liked the SMU (Pony Excess), The Yugoslavia one (Vlade Divac, Drazan Petrovich story)and the U one. The worst one I've seen was the Marion Jones one. But then again I had zero interest in her story from the get go.

Ron Meyer told me multiple hilarious stories about his days at SMU.
He told me about his interview at SMU, you had Lamar Hunt, another billionaire,
the AD etc., and Meyer was going on about graduating players and bringing good kids, and they said knock it off Ron.

"No Mas" was decent. But only because I like boxing. It was completely one sided from Sugar Ray Leonard's point of view.

"Youngstown Boys" was good only because it shed some light on how corrupt and hypocritical the O$U program really is.

"You don't know Bo" was good because I had forgotten how superior of an athlete Bo Jackson was. That dude may have went down as the greatest athlete ever if he wouldn't have got hurt. He was unreal.

"The Price of Gold" was some good comic relief because of Tonya Harding's trailer park trash personality (then and now).

They're all really good. Most of the filmmakers are Hollywood directors.

I liked the one Barry Levinson made about the Colts leaving Baltimore. They weren't huge movies, but I loved Diner, Avalon and Liberty Heights, which all took place in Baltimore in the 1950s, so it was really cool to see him make that movie about the Colts.

Having said that, I'm very curious about this "Requiem of the Big East." It has a ton of potential, but if it isn't done right, I think they can really ruin it.

I have very weird tastes when it comes to what I'm passionate about. Soccer, old movies, old music, college sports and History are all things that I have a border lined unhealthy interest in. I really feel like the history of college basketball isn't chronicled, and understood, and appreciated nearly as much as it needs to be. Baseball and football definitely are, and college football is to a degree (although not nearly as many people know it like they know the history of baseball, at the very least college football has a rich history and it is well documented). College basketball is not.

It's my opinion that the formation of the Big East conference is one of the most important contributors to what made the sports as popular as it is today. Basketball was big at the time, but not nearly as big as football on a national scale. I equate it to the formation of "Hockey East." Hockey is not a premier revenue sport most places, but it is those schools, so they formed their own conference where hockey was the main focal point. The Big East was that with basketball, and it became the first conference that provided weekly showcase games that were of national interest. That REALLY helped grow the sport.

I never thought of Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul as being classic Big East programs, but since most of the classic lineup was still there, it still felt like the old Big East most of the time. Now it's completely crushed. Syracuse and Georgetown will continue to play, but it won't be the same. From 1979 to 1995 when it was a single division conference that played a balanced schedule, the BE really was, along with the ACC, one of the greatest and most exciting hoops conferences of all time, and it did a lot for the sport throughout the 1980s.

I'm not saying it's the only thing that contributed. CBS getting the tournament and marketing it as the showcase even that it is today certainly helped. Eddie Einhorn and his weekly national broadcasts throughout the 60s and 70s helped. But, I feel the Big East CERTAINLY deserves credit in the role it played in making college basketball a major national sport.

(02-25-2014 01:07 PM)3rd Wise Man Wrote:  I never thought of Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul as being classic Big East programs, but since most of the classic lineup was still there, it still felt like the old Big East most of the time. Now it's completely crushed. Syracuse and Georgetown will continue to play, but it won't be the same.

I don't disagree. While I was honored to be a part of it the heart of the BE was Syracuse, Georgetown, UCONN, etc. When Syracuse and UConn left I felt like the private Catholics should have dropped the name, it's just a reminder of what was and that can't be recaptured. Hard to believe a school in the middle of Nebraska is going to be BE champs this year.

(02-25-2014 01:18 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(02-25-2014 01:07 PM)3rd Wise Man Wrote:  I never thought of Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul as being classic Big East programs, but since most of the classic lineup was still there, it still felt like the old Big East most of the time. Now it's completely crushed. Syracuse and Georgetown will continue to play, but it won't be the same.

I don't disagree. While I was honored to be a part of it the heart of the BE was Syracuse, Georgetown, UCONN, etc. When Syracuse and UConn left I felt like the private Catholics should have dropped the name, it's just a reminder of what was and that can't be recaptured. Hard to believe a school in the middle of Nebraska is going to be BE champs this year.

The Big East may follow in the footsteps of the Missouri Valley--at one time the most respected basketball conference that produced national championship teams. Those schools left, others were invited from outside the original geographic footprint and the Valley faded into a mid-major afterthought.

Times are different. The new Big East may have more staying power. But there is no mistaking the darlings of Fox Sports1 for what was once the greatest basketball conference ever.

The Bo Jackson one was really good...

The Marcus Dupree 30/30 spoke to me due to nostalgia. I was just beginning to love college football at the young age of 12, and I was repeatedly told that he was a star. I was a Buckeye fan at the time, and they played his team in his sophomore year. The Buckeyes made Marcus a non-factor, and he left the game with an injury. Ohio state upset the Sooners, and the Sooners lost Marcus. He was replaced by my all time favorite Sooner tailback Spencer Tillman(the commentator). I think the series is popular due to its reliance on the audience strong positive memories of the topic.

Unguarded is probably my favorite. It follows the story of basketball star Chris Herren and hie ensuing drug issues. Also, Marinovich is great. Really mind-boggling to see the life he had growing up with his obsessive father.

ESPN does a great job on the 30 for 30s. There has only been a few I haven't liked.

My favorites
1) Once Brothers- Vlade & Petrovic
2) Two Escobars
3) Big Shot

You can watch most of them on Netflix

This show seems to be another effort by ESPN to discredit the new
Big East.. I have noticed that they don't run the Big East scores
on their score update stream at bottom of the screen... It's like they
don't exist...

(02-26-2014 11:59 AM)KCat Wrote:  This show seems to be another effort by ESPN to discredit the new
Big East.. I have noticed that they don't run the Big East scores
on their score update stream at bottom of the screen... It's like they
don't exist...

If I am not mistaken they run all top 25 scores in their scroll and on their website score page regardless of ESPN or "other" media contract/affilliation. And on their website score home page they list all 25 scores and all other scores involving teams contracted in the ESPN "family" of networks.

So yeah - they aren't exactly looking to promote any non ESPN contracted conferences unless they are compelled to (teams that are top 25).

(02-26-2014 11:59 AM)KCat Wrote:  This show seems to be another effort by ESPN to discredit the new
Big East.. I have noticed that they don't run the Big East scores
on their score update stream at bottom of the screen... It's like they
don't exist...

I do have to laugh at a couple of things...

1) The New-new-Big East adopted the stance that the new conference was, in-fact, just a continuation of the old even though the legal stance was that the American is, in fact, the continuation of the old conference. But ESPN is taking the view that I think most "popular" opinion holds: the Big East died last year.

2) The documentary apparently is mainly concerned with the Big East BASKETBALL conference, also echoing the popular opinion that the Big East was a basketball conference, some of whose members also happened to play football. But I wouldn't expect UC to feature in the documentary since our years in the conference featured mainly in football, the basketball program largely going through rebuilding... though we did have that run to the Sweet 16 a couple of years back under the Big East banner.

http://www.nunesmagician.com/2014/3/10/5...ocumentary

Sounds like mostly early league history and then the last couple years.

(02-24-2014 02:21 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Coming up on 3/16. Show we discuss the rise and fall of the Big East Conference. Wonder if we will be mentioned.

ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 series will continue with “Requiem For The Big East,” premiering Sunday, March 16, at 9 p.m. ET after Bracketology on ESPN. The film, directed by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman, explores the meteoric ascension of the Big East Conference, and how in less than a decade under the innovative leadership of founder and Commissioner Dave Gavitt, it became the most successful college sports league in America.

The film is told primarily through the lens of famed Big East coaches such as Jim Boeheim, Lou Carnesecca, Rick Pitino and John Thompson, former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, and some of its most iconic players like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Ed Pinckney. It chronicles the rivalries and successes that led many of them to become household names.

The Big East was a groundbreaking athletic and business creation that encapsulated the era and region in which it was born – from the toughness of the players and coaches hailing from some of the Northeast’s most storied cities, to the executives and Wall Street brokers who thrived because of it. Launched in 1979—the same year that ESPN was born—the Big East used the burgeoning cable TV network and the media as a whole to help spread its gospel to fans and future players across the nation. But “Requiem For The Big East” is also a tale of change as the super conference eventually found itself in a new era fighting for survival.

“From its creation, the Big East had a dramatic impact on the college basketball landscape,” said John Dahl, Executive Producer, ESPN Films. “’Requiem For The Big East’ explores what made it so extraordinary and how the hurdles to keep it thriving became more and more challenging to overcome.”

“Having grown up on the East Coast, I’ve spent most of my life as a dedicated fan of the Big East and I, like so many others, was saddened by its split last year,” said director Ezra Edelman. “In setting out to make a film about the league, I hoped to not simply tell a story about the rise of a great basketball conference but also understand and ultimately convey the causes of its fall. “

Following the premiere of “Requiem For The Big East” on ESPN, ESPNU will air “Big East Extras,” a special featuring bonus material such as extended highlights and interviews from the film.

*Advance film screener available upon request*

30 for 30-related updates are available at http://www.facebook.com/espn30for30 and http://www.twitter.com/30for30. Fans can join the conversation with hashtag #BigEast.

About ESPN Films

Created in March 2008, ESPN Films produces high-quality films showcasing some of the most compelling stories in sports. In October 2009, ESPN Films launched the Peabody Award-winning, Producer’s Guild Award-winning and Emmy-nominated 30 for 30 film series. Inspired by ESPN’s 30th Anniversary, the films that made up the series were a thoughtful and innovative reflection on the past three decades told through the lens of diverse and interesting sports fans and social commentators. The strong reaction from both critics and fans led to the launch of 30 for 30 Volume II, which is currently underway. Additional projects from ESPN Films include the critically acclaimed Nine for IX series, SEC Storied and the webby award winning 30 for 30 Shorts.



http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releas...-big-east/

The Big East was always better then ESPN gave credit. ESPN just want to get rid of the Big East and consolidate and take control of college football

The Big East was the best basketball conference of all time and an absolute meat grinder of a season. Basically its the best of the new Big East, the ACC, and the AAC. Some things are just too good to last.

(03-10-2014 09:23 PM)kyucat Wrote:  The Big East was always better then ESPN gave credit. ESPN just want to get rid of the Big East and consolidate and take control of college football

Think how different things would be if the Big East had signed the contract with ESPN instead of holding out.

(03-11-2014 08:59 PM)back2vinyl Wrote:  

(03-10-2014 09:23 PM)kyucat Wrote:  The Big East was always better then ESPN gave credit. ESPN just want to get rid of the Big East and consolidate and take control of college football

Think how different things would be if the Big East had signed the contract with ESPN instead of holding out.

You can thank the Pitt chancellor for that one. ESPN had Pitt already lined up to head to the ACC so he was not interested in signing the deal (the Panthers were in the ACC three months later).