HBO Sports Presents A Summer Festival Of Acclaimed Documentaries, Featuring A Different Film Every Monday From June 8 To July 27

HBO Sports Presents A Summer Festival Of Acclaimed Documentaries, Featuring A Different Film Every Monday From June 8 To July 27

NEW YORK, April 27, 2009 – Recognized as sports television’s best storyteller, HBO Sports presents eight of its pioneering documentary films this summer on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The collection of acclaimed documentaries, which feature HBO Sports’ trademark blend of archival footage, home movies, revealing interviews and unique storytelling, launches June 8 with “:03 From Gold” and concludes July 27 with the “Breaking The Huddle: The Integration of College Football.”

“We’re delighted to present this collection of documentaries as a series and provide HBO viewers the opportunity to revisit some of the most provocative moments from a very diverse range of sports events and personalities,” says Ross Greenburg, HBO Sports president, who along with Rick Bernstein, HBO Sports senior vice president and executive producer, serves as an executive producer of the series.

Films include:

• June 8: “:03 From Gold,” the shocking story of the 1972 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. To this day the American players who went to Munich refuse to accept their second place silver medals from the IOC.

• June 15: “Back Nine at Cherry Hills: Legends of the 1960 U.S. Open,” which revisits the 1960 U.S. Open, where Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan battled for the championship down to the final day, setting the stage for the sport’s growth. The film airs three days before the first round of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage, Long Island.

• June 22: “Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush,” celebrating the love affair between the team and the borough’s residents, which ended with owner Walter O’Malley’s controversial decision to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles in 1958. The Sports Emmy® winner will be seen at 6:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

• June 29: “Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina,” documenting the fiercest rivalry in college basketball and spotlighting the stars who have made ACC powerhouses Duke and North Carolina the most compelling rivalry on hardwood.

• July 6: “Jim McKay: My World in My Words,” the acclaimed biography of the longtime host of ABC’s Olympic coverage. The Sports Emmy® winner was written and voiced by McKay, who passed away last summer.

• July 13: “Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” recounting the incredible 1951 playoff showdown between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The film will be seen one day before baseball’s All-Star Game in St. Louis.

• July 20: “Barbaro,” recalling the thoroughbred who captured America’s imagination in 2006 and the extraordinary attempts to save him after the tragic injury at the Preakness.

• July 27: “Breaking The Huddle: The Integration of College Football,” chronicling the heyday of football programs at historically black colleges and universities, and exploring the profound effect of the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s on the racial status quo of college athletics.

Following its Monday night presentation, each film will replay three nights later on Thursday at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on HBO2. The films will also be available on HBO On Demand during the festival.