Whether playing center for the Georgetown Hoyas or forging the most comprehensive substance abuse policy of any professional league, Paul Tagliabue's career in sports has been a success. After 17 years as commissioner of the National Football League, the Jersey City native is stepping down as the pro football's top executive. With a low-key style designed to ensure success and continuity while increasing league revenue, Tagliabue's track record is beyond reproach. Since taking the reins from Pete Rozelle in 1989, Tagliabue has turned the NFL into the world's most profitable sports league. He is credited with negotiating unprecedented network television contracts in addition to a labor deal that guarantees uninterrupted play. His other accomplishments include the launch of a 24-hour football network, the creation of a European developmental league, and the overhaul of the league's crown jewel, the Super Bowl. Bob Costas sits down with the commissioner to review his career and discuss the challenges that will test his successor.
Since reports first surfaced in March linking members of the Duke University Lacrosse team to the alleged rape of a 27-year-old North Carolina Central University student and exotic dancer, the scandal has been front-page news. And while the facts are a source of contention on both sides, Duke's sterling reputation as one of the country's top academic institutions is being impacted, along with the careers and reputations of a host of individuals tied to the incident. Real Sports correspondent Jon Frankel investigates the controversy in Durham and examines how it became a sensational story for the press.
There is no better example of hard work and dedication translating into success than Bev Kearney of the University of Texas. When Real Sports first profiled the women's track coach in February 2004, Kearney was rehabilitating from injuries sustained in a car accident while continuing to coach from her hospital bed. Since then, she has led the Longhorns to both indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, as well as being named the 2005 National Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year for the fourth time. Accolades are nothing new for Kearney, who was a standout athlete in her own right, qualifying for the 1980 U.S. Olympic trials in the 200-meter dash. But for all her personal success, it has been her ability to lead others in the face of adversity that makes Kearney the embodiment of the word "coach." Correspondent Mary Carillo reunites with the remarkable mentor who continues to make strides.
Tell us what you think about HBO GO. Sign up now to participate in the HBO GO Advisory Panel to share your opinions and for a chance to be entered into HBO sweepstakes and contests.