When it comes to negotiating landmark sports television rights deals, Dick Ebersol is in a league of his own. Since 1989, he has been chief of NBC Sports, first as president of the division and then as chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics. Now, 58, Ebersol has acquired a series of high-profile properties that have left media observers and competitors in awe. His signature deal is the Olympics, which are locked up by NBC through at least 2012. Ebersol added a new chapter to his legacy in spring 2005 when he negotiated an agreement with the NFL to move its prime-time Monday night football package to Sunday beginning this year.
One of TV's most visible executives, Ebersol got his start at the burgeoning ABC Sports empire in 1967, serving as TV's first-ever Olympics researcher while attending Yale. From 1975 to 1985, he and Lorne Michaels conceived, developed and ran NBC's groundbreaking "Saturday Night Live" franchise. Along with success, Ebersol, who is married to actress Susan St. James, has also experienced tragedy. On Nov. 28, 2004, he was a passenger on a private plane that crashed on takeoff in Colorado, killing his teenage son Teddy; Ebersol's older son Charlie survived and pulled his father to safety. Frank Deford goes one-on-one with Ebersol to reflect on his professional accomplishments and private family moments.
While Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner hung up his spikes more than 85 years ago, he is still the hottest commodity in the sports collectible field. With only about 50 copies believed to exist, his 1909 T206 baseball card is the most sought-after baseball card in the world. This August, in Binghamton, NY, two Cincinnati men will attempt to sell one of those tiny pieces of cardboard for perhaps as much as one million dollars amidst questions about its authenticity. In collaboration with Sports Illustrated, Real Sports correspondent Bernard Goldberg examines the history of this tantalizing card and explores the current controversy. Is the new buyer really purchasing the holy grail of collectibles?
In November 2003, Real Sports reported the inspiring story of at-risk kids from the hardscrabble streets of Philadelphia who sought refuge in the unlikeliest of sports. Lezlie Hiner has run her "Work to Ride" program since 1994, welcoming dozens of disadvantaged youths to suburban Fairmount Park, where they learn to ride horses and play polo. Her charges, ranging in age from seven to 19, earn their keep by performing general maintenance in the stables, including cleaning and grooming the horses. The payoff comes when they get to compete against other teams, and they often hold their own against more privileged counterparts. Mary Carillo revisits this extraordinary Philadelphia team and the warm-hearted coach who founded and serves as executive director of the organization.
Learn more about Work to Ride. A non-profit organization dedicated to providing programming and access to the community through innovative equestrian activities.
Is this Josh Hamilton's last chance? Real Sports' Jon Frankel goes one on one with the former number one pick to discuss his troubled past and his fight to make it back to the top. When the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made Josh Hamilton the number one overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft ahead of Josh Beckett, they expected him to become a star. Seeing the future of their organization in his raw talent, they handed the high school prospect a $3.96 million dollar signing bonus. Almost seven years later, he has yet to spend a day in the big leagues. The 25-year-old outfielder was suspended in February 2004 for violating baseball's drug policy, and hadn't played since July 2002 because of injuries and unspecified personal issues. Despite these setbacks, Hamilton returned to the field in July playing class-A ball in the New York-Penn League, looking to turn his career around.
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