Real Sports returns April 14 on HBO

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL

PROFILES PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES MANAGER CHARLIE MANUEL,

EXAMINES A DEVASTATING STRING OF SHOOTINGS OF YOUNG ATHLETES AND

REVISITS THE MOVEMENT TO BAN DODGE BALL IN SCHOOLS

WHEN ITS LATEST EDITION DEBUTS APRIL 14, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 145th edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, APRIL 14 (10:00 p.m. ET/PT & 9:00 p.m. CT), exclusively on HBO.

Segments include:

*Hands Off. In 2002, REAL SPORTS took an in-depth look at the fevered debate over the nationwide movement to ban dodge ball in schools.  Critics of the game argued that it teaches an excessively violent message to kids, while opponents of the movement feared that banning dodge ball is the first step down a slippery slope to an over-sensitized world where kids aren’t allowed to be kids. Now, seven years later, correspondent Bernard Goldberg takes another look at the issue, only to discover that the debate has moved far beyond dodge ball and now includes efforts to ban games like tag and, in some cases, physical contact between students altogether.

Producers:  Elizabeth Carp, Jill Leibowitz.

Writer Matt Labash of The Weekly Standard told Real Sports seven years ago that as the movement to ban dodge ball was gaining traction, it was signaling “the wussification of America.”  He added:  “I think a little bit of humiliation is a good thing actually. You can learn a lot from being humiliated.  You can learn a lot from losing.”

The piece reports that some physical education programs are phasing out musical chairs and having children jump rope without the rope.  Labash says: “You can’t ever screw up if you jump rope without a rope.”

Bernie Goldberg talks with Christine Hollingsworth, a principal at Acacia Elementary in Phoenix, AZ, where she introduced “shawdow tag.”  In this game, children step on the shadow without tagging each other.

Says Hollingsworth: “We have a no touching rule at this school.”  This includes no high-fives.  The students there “air-five.”

*You’re a Good Man, Charlie Manuel. Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been called every name in the book – most of them by his own fans.  But he can look forward to a little less heckling now that he sports a 2008 World Series Championship ring.  In this REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated profile, correspondent Frank Deford sits down with the newly beloved Phillies skipper to discuss his unlikely path to success, the loss of his parents and the down-home style his players have come to love.  Interviews include Manuel and Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

Producer:  Lisa Bennett.

*Hard 2 Live, Easy 2 Die. This story begins with a single stunning statistic:  Seven football players from Hampton Roads, Va. were gunned down in a ten-month period between March 2008 and January 2009, and now a desperate search for answers is underway.  For many African-American kids in this part of Virginia, sports has long been a safe haven from violence and a way out of poverty.  But amidst a current scourge of gang and youth violence, the shootings of so many promising student-athletes are raising questions.  Were they targeted, or are these cases mere coincidence?  And is it now harder than ever before for young athletes to run the gauntlet of the inner city?  REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel follows the trail of these cases and reports a story of gangs, guns and the grip of fear that has left most of them unsolved.

Producer:  David Scott.

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL recently received four Sports Emmy^® nominations for the 2008 programming year, including Outstanding Studio Host and Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthologies.  In addition, the show received two nominations in the category of Outstanding Sports Journalism for host Bryant Gumbel’s piece on excessive drinking at NFL stadiums and Bernard Goldberg’s investigation of thoroughbred horse slaughter.  Winners will be announced April 27.

The executive producers of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; Kirby Bradley is senior producer.

###