Off the Rez

Perhaps more than any other sport, basketball is a star-driven event: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O'Neal--the list could go on and on. But it's not necessarily these athletes' overall careers that we remember as much as the breathtaking individual plays these illustrious men have given us. Is it possible to break down a hundred of these greatest moments in NBA history? The NBA's 100 Greatest Plays certainly tries.

A massive effort is currently under way to reshape ground zero into an expansive 16-acre complex the likes of which has never been seen before. To document this historic effort, we are on the ground alongside the men and women who are making this vision a reality until the nationally televised unveiling of the new ground zero with President Barack Obama on Sept. 11, 2011.

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

An intimate profile of New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist's struggles to return to hockey after heart surgery.

This documentary showcases basketball player Michael Jordan's awe-inspiring moves, providing behind-the-scenes and on-the-court action, including footage of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls going head-to-head against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. Phil Jackson and Bob Costas are interviewed (among others), and the awesome soundtrack includes songs by Earth, Wind and Fire, Fatboy Slim and Freddie King.

The story of Florida's Brandon High School's wrestling program, which holds the longest winning streak in American sports history with a perfect record of 451-0 record spanning 34 years.

Documentary exploring the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team's success after being the underdogs in the competitions.

On a Friday evening in Lake Placid, New York, a plucky band of American collegians stunned the vaunted Soviet national team, 4-3 in the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympic hockey competition. Americans couldn't help but believe in miracles that night, and when the members of Team USA won the gold medal two days later, they became a team for the ages. This film explores the "Miracle on Ice" through the Soviet lens. While focused on the game itself, the journey of the stunned Soviet team didn't begin -- or end -- in Lake Placid.

Since 1912, baseball has been a game obsessed with statistics and speed. Thrown at upwards of 100 miles per hour, a fastball moves too quickly for human cognition and accelerates into the realm of intuition. Fastball is a look at how the game at its highest levels of achievement transcends logic and even skill, becoming the primal struggle for man to control the uncontrollable.

Chris Herren was a "can't miss" basketball superstar until drug addiction eventually destroyed his career. With the support of his wife and family, Herren struggles to conquer his demons and reclaim his life.

"Through the Fire" chronicles the journey of Coney Island basketball star, Sebastian Telfair, from famed Lincoln High School straight to the NBA.

Football is a religion to many people. But few know the depths of both faiths as well as Bill McCartney, the former head football coach of the University of Colorado and the founder of Promise Keepers, a Christian men’s ministry. “The Gospel According to Mac” tells the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story of Coach Mac’s controversial national championship run – two seasons that followed multiple arrests and strife between his mostly African-American players and the Boulder police, continued with McCartney’s own daughter becoming pregnant by the team’s quarterback before seeing that same quarterback struck by cancer, and culminated in consecutive Orange Bowl match-ups against Notre Dame. Bill McCartney’s passionate and often polarizing beliefs have made him many enemies and many admirers, but it’s difficult to deny that he embodies the essential issues facing football in America to this day.

In 1981, college athletic recruiting changed forever as a dozen big-time football programs sat waiting for the decision by a physically powerful and lightning-quick high school running back named Marcus Dupree. On his way to eclipsing Herschel Walker’s record for the most touchdowns in high school history, Dupree attracted recruiters from schools in every major conference to his hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. More than a decade removed from being a flashpoint in the civil-rights struggle, Philadelphia was once again thrust back into the national spotlight. Dupree took the attention in stride, and committed to Oklahoma. What followed, though, was a forgettable college career littered with conflict, injury and oversized expectations. Eight-time Emmy Award winner Jonathan Hock will examine why this star burned out so young and how he ultimately used football to redeem himself.

In the early 1990s, the future of basketball belonged to a young Dominican immigrant named Felipe Lopez. Featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 17, Lopez's story is the ultimate profile of the American dream.

Filmmaker Marc Fafard examines the historical and cultural significance of the seafaring Vikings.