Two Non Moaning Posts In A Row

I've often meant to post about the ESPN series '30 for 30', the documentary series by the U.S. TV channel ESPN to commemorate their 30th birthday. Every time I watch one, I think "I can't believe the UK doesn't do something like this", before I realise such a program would end up in the hands of the BBC or ITV, be presented by Gary Lineker or Alan Hansen or something, and the unmitigated levels of crapness that would ensue.

I've just finished watching The Best That Never Was, a story about a much vaunted high school football prospect that was seemingly led astray by people eager for a cut of the action, before injury robbed him of his livelihood altogether. Most of the ones that I've seen have been football related (of the North American variety); the last in the series, Pony Exce$$ and the application of the NCAA 'death penalty' for Southern Methodist University in Dallas was an absorbing way to spend two hours. All manner of sports are covered: including Michael Jordan retiring from basketball to play baseball instead; the story of The Two Escobars and the tragic shooting that followed Colombia's elimination from the 1994 World Cup; and the sporting events surrounding the day of June 17, 1994 when OJ Simpson was pursued live on TV by the LAPD.

I don't mind telling you that I got a little, er, something in my eye watching Into The Wind on Christmas Day, which told the story of Terry Fox, a Canadian amputee who, upon being diagnosed with terminal cancer,  decided to run a marathon a day across Canada from east to west to raise money, capturing the imagination of the nation into the process, before his deteriorating health robbed him of the opportunity about halfway, and ultimately took his life. Superb television.