ESPN 30 for 30

ESPN has done this documentary series called 30 for 30, where they released a bunch of amazing sports docs. I've only seen a few of the 30 episodes so far, but they're all amazing. I've posted those that I have seen below:

Watch The Two Escobars

This episode is an amazing story chronicling the lives of Pablo Escobar, the ballin Columbian drug dealer, and Andres Escobar, a famous Colombian soccer player. The two Escobars are not related, but their lives are actually related in a lot of ways. There are lots of awesome soccer highlights and some fucked up politics. Although reading some Spanish is a bit annoying, I still think this is one of the best ones that I've seen so far

9.5/10

Watch Once Brothers

This episode is made by Vlade Divac and it follows his crazy relationship with Drazen Petrovic as they make their transitions from European basketball to life in the NBA. For those who don't know, Petrovic was called the European Michael Jordan by many, and they even had a few heated battles. He and Divac dominated European and even battled the US in a few heated battles. Just like in Winning Time there are lots of good interviews, this time with guys like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, even more old-school.

9.5/10

Watch Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks

As the title explains, this episode is about Reggie Miller's epic battle against the New York Knicks in the NBA Playoffs. I knew Reggie Miller was good, but some of the shots that he makes are actually crazy. He's also a sick trash-talker, and just all around a jokes guy. There are some great interviews with Patrick Ewing, Pat Riley, Larry Brown, and lots of other old-school ballers.

9/10

Watch Straight Outta LA

This Episode is narrated by Ice Cube and it discusses the connection that gangster rap had with the LA Raiders during their up-and-down 13 year stay in Hollywood. In the 80's Los Angeles fell in love with the Raiders and gangster rap, almost simultaneously. I never knew the Raiders even played in LA, let alone the impact that they had on NWA, gangster rap in general, and the clothing people wore. There are appearances from rappers like Snoop Dogg and Ice T, as well as football icons like Howie Long and Al Davis. And needless to say, the music is sick.

9/10

Watch Muhammad and Larry

This episode centres around a fight between Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, Ali's final fight in the US. They go further back and chronicle Ali's and Holmes' careers, both of which feature some incredible boxing matches. There are interviews with greats like Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier, and obviously Ali and Holmes themselves. It was pretty insane to watch the progression in Ali's speed, ability, and even speech, as the Parkinson's disease began setting in.

8.5/10

Watch Without Bias

This episode is about the death of Boston Celtics' draft pick Len Bias. I had heard of Bias, the 2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, but I never knew that he died before ever playing an NBA game. The man was definitely a baller; staring for Maryland in college, and then having Celtics' star Larry Bird and coach Red Auerbach praying for him to go to Boston. Len's overdose at the age of 22 was extremely unexpected and would have a huge impact on how the US deals with drugs in sports. Many credit him with saving the lives of countless future athletes.

8.5/10

Watch No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

This is by far the least entertaining episode that I've watched so far, but it's still pretty good. It's about Allen Iverson back in his Virginia high school days, when he was convicted of assault following a racial brawl. I didn't know much about AI, but he was definitely an amazing athlete. There are some great highlights and some funny interviews; still worth watching. Sadly I haven't found a good version yet that has it all in one clip, but for now this one will have to do.

7.5/10

Watch The House that Steinbrenner Built

This episode documents the transition that the Yankees made from Old Yankee Stadium to New Yankee Stadium in 2009. George Steinbrenner was the most prolific Yankees owner, a man who truly loved the team, the fans, and the game. His death in July 2010 shocked the Pinstripe faithful as well as the entire baseball community. It is amazing to look back at just how historic the New York Yankees really are.

8/10

Watch Into The Wind

This episode, about Terry Fox's cross-Canada run for Cancer, is directed and partially narrated by Steve Nash. The doc discusses Terry's childhood and the amputation of his leg, before covering the entirety of his run. It is amazing to see how his run developed, from cars trying to run him off the road in Quebec to a huge parade blocking traffic in Toronto. Before his tragic death in June 1928, Terry inspired millions of Canadians and many others worldwide, and still does today.

8.5/10

A: Head B: Body

Watch A:Head B:Body

It sounds like bullshit but head transplants are a real thing. First, they take a monkey brain and keep it alive outside of the body for 12 hours by hooking it up to machines. Then, they figure they can chop off a monkey's head and pop it onto another monkey's body. Sew that shit back together and the monkey is good to go. The only problem is they can't hook the spinal cord up so the monkey is crippled. There's video of that shit and other questionable shit like multi-headed dogs. This is only 15 min,

9/10

The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

Watch The Fog of War

Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for best documentary with 98% and 8.1/10 at rotten tomatoes. The film is almost entirely one conversation with the controversial guy, with an original score and historical footage and audio added. Although his life was full of crazy shit (President of Ford Motor Company, President of the World Bank) his biggest moments were during the Cuban missile crisis and dealing with Vietnam as the US Secretary of Defense. He did some questionable things in his time but he is incredibly open and honest about mistakes that were made. Very cool if you're interested in war/politics/foreign policy. 145min.

8.5/10

The Battle of Chernobyl

Watch The Battle of Chernobyl

This is an awesome one about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the Ukraine. Basically, this idiot wanted to do these tests at dangerously low power levels and fucked the whole thing up. More than 200 people died or were seriously injured by radiation exposure immediately after the explosion. 161,000 people had to be evacuated from a 30 kilometer radius of the reactor and 25,000 square km of land were contaminated. As time went on millions of people suffered radiation related health problems such as leukemia and thyroid cancer and around 4,000 people have died as a result of the long-term effects of the accident.

My heart goes out to the guys who had no idea how bad the radiation was and just started trying to clean up the place. Most of them died. Also, guys flying overhead in choppers that were trying to put out the fires died. If there is one thing that everyone should take away from this, it's that nuclear accidents are always human error, never the technology.

8.3/10