Here’s what HBO’s Real Sports is covering this Tuesday. Some fascinating stories.
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL
CONDUCTS A JOINT INTERVIEW WITH ICONS JIM BROWN AND BILL RUSSELL, EXAMINES THERAPEUTIC SCUBA DIVING FOR INJURED WAR VETERANS AND UPDATES ITS 2008 PROFILE OF LENNY DYKSTRA WHEN THE EMMY®-WINNING SHOW RETURNS TUESDAY, JUNE 23
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 147th edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, JUNE 23 (10:00 p.m. ET/PT & 9:00 p.m. CT), exclusively on HBO.
Segments include:
*Legends. In an exclusive joint interview, REAL SPORTS host Bryant Gumbel sits down with two icons of the 1960s: gridiron great Jim Brown and basketball immortal Bill Russell. Beyond their hall of fame achievements, both were also outspoken figures in a turbulent period of racism, social activism and profound change. For this expanded segment, Brown and Russell reflect together on the extraordinary events of the era they helped shape, provide candid insights into present-day athletes and reveal the depth and importance of a previously untold friendship they’ve shared for nearly 50 years.
Producer: David Scott.
*Underwater Heroes. For many injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the road to recovery and reintegration into everyday society can be a daunting challenge. But for some, rehabilitation has been made a little bit easier and a lot more adventurous thanks to an unexpected and somewhat unorthodox activity: scuba diving. In this REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated report, correspondent Jon Frankel visits Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the culture of scuba diving plays an important role in facilitating an innovative and inspirational therapeutic program that’s helping some of the country’s wounded warriors through their rehabilitation, as well as providing other troops an escape from the stresses of the job.
Producer: Joe Perskie.
*Broken Nails. If ever a major leaguer perfectly fit the personality of his team, it was animated outfielder Lenny Dykstra, who served as the “Energizer bunny” of two freewheeling World Series squads: the 1986 New York Mets and the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies. When his baseball career ended in 1996, Dykstra took the high-energy, hard-work mentality he employed on the field and plunged head-first into the business world, embarking on another winning career as a remarkably successful stock investor, consultant and entrepreneur. In March 2008, correspondent Bernard Goldberg profiled this unlikely, high-flying business mogul in one of REAL SPORTS’ most popular pieces ever. Now, more than a year later, Goldberg takes another look at Dykstra, discovering that last year’s economic crisis significantly changed his life.
Producers: Lauren Gaffney, Tim Walker.
REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL recently won the Sports Emmy® Award in the category of Outstanding Sports Journalism for Bernard Goldberg’s piece “Running for Their Lives.” REAL SPORTS has won the Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism 12 of the last 14 years, in addition to being the first sports program honored with the duPont Award for excellence in broadcast journalism.
The executive producers of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; Kirby Bradley is senior producer.
I haven’t done a real time review in a long time. I hope to do one this month.
