Since throwing out the idea Thursday for a column on best/worst sports-themed TV shows, I've gotten more excited about the idea.
So let's really concentrate on this, people, and get together a good list I can steal.
I'll take care of some non-blog duties this morning and check back in with you this afternoon.
Thanks for doing my job for me.
Comments (11)
Bay City Blues was the best of the batch, but not because of Sharon Stone. Kelly Harmon, the Tick girl and the daughter of Michigan football great Tom Harmon was the attraction for me. She had the acting skills of a wildebeast, but I dug her.
Ball Four was both horrible and memorable. When it debuted, I was 15 and had practically memorized the book. I also loved Jim Bouton from his days as a sportscaster on channels 7 and 2. History and co creator Marvin Kitman himself have judged the show as an unmitigated disaster, but there were some moments to remember. What other TV show featured an entire segment about former Yankee pitcher Fred Talbot? Ball Four recreated the entire Talbot grand slam anecdote form the book - not well, but they recreated it.
If ever an idea begged for an HBO remake, it's Ball Four. Imagine scripting the same Fred Talbot's reaction to Bouton's fake paternity letter, Larry Dierker leading the 69 Houston team in the unedited version of Proud to be and Astro, and Doug Rader hitting golf balls in a crowded locker room with a driver. What's Marvin Kitman doing in his retirement? It's time to redo Ball Four the right way.
I only ever saw "White Shadow" and that was only a few episodes. Alright but a bit TV-formulaic. Never saw any of the others mentioned even once: Bay City Blues, Sports Night, Ball Four (John Phillips is right about HBO should remake it), Arliss. The one NFL show on ESPN , Playmakers, that Mushnick and the NFL went ballistic over because it showed NFL players swearing and using drugs. Completely fictitious stuff I am sure. Anyone ever see the British one about soccer.."Football Wives"??? I meant to catch the A & E show about dragster John Force and his family but never did.
I don't think sports-themed tv shows are very prevalent because they are too narrow TV shows are usually aimed at a wide group, not fans of one sport.
It's more of a documentary but there was one on TLC a few years ago that followed Eddie ("most F1 races by an American", a record that will last longer than Cy Young's victory total) Cheever's Red Bull that was pretty good. What made it interesting is the team was struggling to compete which gave it some rooting interest. It is now out of the IRL, a great relief to the three generations of Andrettis that Cheever played rough with on the track.
I wonder if Ken Howard ever delivered Newsday?
He once had Ann Landers as a mother-in-law. What a Buttinsky she must have been.....
Perhaps the best of the worst: Arli$, purely on cameo-power
SportsNight gave us the immortal dialogue:
Dan: Y'know, sometimes it's worth it, taking all the pies in the face, sometimes you come through it feeling good.
Casey: Yes.
Dan: And how was your day?
Casey: Sometimes you just stand there, hip deep in pie.
Arl$$ was pretty bad. Seeing it on ESPN Classic doesn't help me erasing the half-hours wasted on that show from my memory.
Playmakers on ESPN wasn't as bad as critics made it out to be.
Friday Night Lights is pretty good, too.
Here's a little 90s nostalgia for all your Baby Boomers. I'd like to nominate "Hang Time," which was a Saturday morning show on right after "Saved by the Bell." It featured former athletes Dick Butkus and Reggie Theus (who is now a real NBA coach!) as the coaches of a high school team. It was pretty cheesy, but for a young kid at the time, it was pure greatness.
Neil, I really like this idea, so I'm going to try hard to think of some more for you.
How about Baywatch? Swimming and surfing and running down the beach in a swimsuit should qualify as sports! Ok, this fits in the worst if it fits at all.....:)
In fact, the list for the worst will be a LOT longer than the list for the best......
HBO had a show with a young and slender Delta Burke called "First and 10" which was pretty good.
TV version of The Bad News Bears was pretty bad.
The White Shadow was a must watch on Monday nights in it's day. Recently on YES they aired a show where Salami sleeps with his teacher and it was hardly a big deal. I think the teacher ended up leaving, but nothing was made of it by the principal. Interesting.
How about Speed Racer?
What about the Odd Couple? Howard Cosell, Garo Yepremian, and a few other sports celebrities appeared on the show. Granted, the show wasn't entirely about sports, but Oscar Madison's background was a sports writer. Can that be considered for Best Show?
This is a tricky area. Obviously "Everybody Loves Raymond" doesn't count, because he never seems to work on the show.
I'd say "Odd Couple" and TBS's underrated "My Boys," two other shows about sportswriters, are in a gray area because they often are about sports but mostly not.
Hmmm.
Love My Boys! I thought TBS wasted a great opportunity to promote the show nationally when it got the MLB playoffs for more viewers but some suits decided showing Frank TV promos every half-inning would not be overkill. Ick!