Towards the end of the 1994 season, campus bookmaker Benny Silman of New York teamed up with point guard Stevin “Hedake” Smith to conduct a point-shaving scheme. Smith, ASU’s fifth all-time leading scorer, was $10,000 in debt to Silman after gambling losses, and Silman concocted a plan of bribing Smith to fix games. Silman informed Smith of the spread before each game and received $20,000 for each successful dive. The story was later made into a TV movie, “Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie,” but a documentary could probably dive even deeper into the true story.
The XFL was developed in 2001 by WWF frontman Vince McMahon as a league that could mix the ever-increasing interest in professional wrestling with a market for off-season football. It was marketed to fans to have fewer rules and harder hits. Some of the league’s wild gimmicks included no coin toss (two players would run full speed for a ball placed at the 50 and wrestle to gain control of it), no “halo” runs on punt returns, and in-stadium trash-talking announcers. The league failed miserably. Vince McMahon can be viewed as a guy with a vision that ultimately didn’t pan out, but I’d love to hear from the NBC Sports execs that agreed to this. What were they thinking?
Lines still form around the block when Nike releases a new style of Air Jordans. The Marty McFly-inspired Air Mags went for over 75 grand on eBay last month. It’s clear that decades after His Airness ushered in a new obsession with athletic footwear that the world still loves its sneakers. But is it too much?
Sneaker heads like Jordy Gellar and the late DJ AM are all well and good, but back in 1990, sneaker obsession was at an even more intense level. As documented by Sports Illustrated in 1990, high-priced sneakers were the inspiration for at least one murder in Baltimore and countless other thefts and other sneaker-related crimes. “We told him not to wear the shoes to school,” the murder victim’s grandmother told SI. “We said somebody might like them, and he said, ‘Granny, before I let anyone take those shoes, they’ll have to kill me.’ “
This doc could also examine the lighter side of the subject with interviews with famous sneaker collectors and designers at Nike and other shoe companies. My dream director for the project would be DJ, ESPN personality, and sneakerhead Bobbito Garcia.
Crooked
The story of Tim Donaghy’s gambling scandal and his allegations against fellow officials rocked the NBA. Neither David Stern nor accused official Dick Bavetta nor anyone else from the league would ever agree to talk on the record about this subject. But with the NBA players on strike, now would be the perfect time to get them in a room, show them some game tapes, and get their unvarnished opinions.
The War
Described as “The War” by promoter Described as “The War” by promoter Bob Arum, this bout between “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler and Thomas “Hitman” Hearns in April 1985 would be named Ring Magazine’s fight of the year, even though it lasted just 3 rounds.
Watch the fight above: It’s a complete brawl from start to finish. Twenty-five years later, it would be fascinating to hear the fighters break down each round and also discuss the state of boxing today.
So if you could produce only one of these movies, which one would you want to see made?
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