HBO's Summer Documentary Festival

From HBO Sports -

HBO SPORTS® PRESENTS A SUMMER FESTIVAL OF ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARIES, FEATURING A DIFFERENT FILM EVERY MONDAY FROM JULY 11 TO AUG. 15 ON HBO

NEW YORK, June 15, 2011 – Recognized as sports television’s best storyteller, HBO Sports presents six of its pioneering documentary films consecutive Monday evenings this summer on HBO. The collection of acclaimed documentaries, which feature HBO Sports’ trademark blend of archival footage, home movies, revealing interviews and unique storytelling, launches July 11 with the Peabody-winning “Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals” and concludes Aug. 15 with “Nine Innings from Ground Zero.”

Films include:

MAGIC & BIRD: A COURTSHIP OF RIVALS (July 11, 6:30 p.m. ET/PT) chronicles the fierce rivalry between basketball legends Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers. The George Foster Peabody Award-winning film examines the different cultures that helped shape them and the unlikely friendship that was forged.

SUGAR RAY ROBINSON: THE BRIGHT LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF A CHAMPION (July 18, 7:00 p.m.) tells the fascinating story of the prizefighter cited by many as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history. The film explores Robinson’s unparalleled ring career, which included 202 professional fights, the innovations he brought to the business side of the sport and his intriguing lifestyle.

BROAD STREET BULLIES (July 25, 7:00 p.m.) reveals the back stories of the engaging and colorful members of the legendary Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup championship squads of the 1970s. As one of pro sport’s most polarizing teams, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and ’75, they dominated the NHL with a bold, aggressive style that sparked controversy and criticism.

NINE INNINGS FROM GROUND ZERO (Aug. 1, 6:45 p.m.) recalls the role of baseball in New York’s recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks that occurred on 9/11, revisiting the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees.

BREAKING THE HUDDLE: THE INTEGRATION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL (Aug. 8, 7:00 p.m.) chronicles the heyday of football programs at historically black colleges and universities while exploring the profound effect of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s on the racial status quo of college athletics. Winner of a Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Documentary, the film spotlights the student-athletes who blazed a trail in the southeast and reshaped the major college football landscape.

MANTLE (Aug. 15, 6:15 p.m.) explores the life and career of one of baseball’s most enduring icons, Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle, celebrating his prowess as one of the game’s best switch-hitters and exploring his troubled life off the diamond.

Following its Monday night presentation on HBO, each documentary will also be seen the following Thursday on HBO2 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The films will also be available on HBO On Demand during the festival’s run.