30 MORE? When the final dayenu is said for Bill Simmons' career, ESPN's 30 for 30 series will probably be the second verse. If all he did was bring a smart, pop culture-savvy fan's voice into sports commentary and executive produce and curate as fine a series of sports documentaries as we've ever seen -- that, indeed, would be enough for anyone.
At this just-past-halfway point, I'd say my favorites have been "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks," "June 17, 1994," "The Two Escobars" and "The U," with "The Guru of Go" (on Loyola Marymount) being a favorite for sentimental if not film-making reasons. The only two clunkers, IMHO, were the Jimmy the Greek and history of rotisserie baseball films, but even the former had its moments just from some of the archival footage.
The series resumes tonight with Ron Shelton's "Jordan Rides the Bus", about 23's year in Birmingham.
added: Alan Sepinwall was disappointed by tonight's entry: " The story ... is strong enough to carry even the most generic treatment. And in part because Jordan declined to be interviewed for the film, generic is about what Shelton provides."
