Real Sports (November)

Short On Substance
November's Real Sports Falls Short

NEW YORK (AQB)--The latest episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is long on inspiration but short on investigation.

The show, which airs at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, includes a segment on the 1966 tie between Notre Dame and Michigan State and stories about Houston Comets star Cynthia Cooper, paralyzed would-be Maryland quarterback Tim Strachan and the mysterious death of former NFL linebacker Demetrius Dubose.

The Dubose piece is the only investigative part of the program and Jim Lampley does a pretty good job of checking out the scene of the crime and giving viewers an idea of the events that led up to Dubose's shooting. However, the reporter is much tougher on law enforcement than he is on those who tell Dubose's side of the story.

For example, a toxicology report that shows Dubose had three drugs in his body, including cocaine and ecstasy, is brushed aside. In fact, when Lampley talks with the Dubose family's lawyer, he doesn't challenge the attorney's assertion that the former Notre Dame player had no drugs in his system. He also doesn't get tough with anyone about why Dubose was found sleeping in a neighbor's apartment.

Throw in the fact that the one "eyewitness" that Lampley interviewed was down the street from where the crime was committed and refused to talk to police and I wind up curious why Real Sports put a piece that was so short on substance on the air in the first place.

When a black man is shot by white police officers, it seems the normal reaction of the media is to doubt authority and to side with the "victim." Perhaps Dubose was shot by overzealous police officers. Maybe he wasn't. Watching Lampley's piece doesn't bring us one step closer to the truth.

The story of the 10-10 deadlock between the Fighting Irish and Spartans is a potentially interesting one, but Real Sports' effort isn't particularly inspiring. Sure there are quotes from Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian and many others, such as Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith and Notre Dame tailback Rocky Bleier, but the Jack Whitaker piece isn't as good as it could've been.

How about some perspective from fans who watched the game? Or announcers who broadcast it? What did some of the AP or UPI pollsters think about No. 1 Notre Dame taking the tie instead of going for the win? The comments from the players and coaches were fairly predictable, though Smith said he understood why Parseghian did what he did. Overall, I thought Real Sports could've done a little more digging.

The other two pieces - on Cooper and Strachan - are stories about people who are inspirations to many of those around them. Cooper has emerged a stronger person after dealing with her mother's death and the loss of best friend Kim Perrot. Strachan, who broke his neck while a star schoolboy quarterback, says he thinks he's a better person as a result of his paralysis.

These stories are nice - in fact, I enjoyed them both quite a bit - but they're not the investigative works that Real Sports is known for. Then again, the item about Demitrius Dubose isn't the kind of work the program is proud of, either.

Grade: C. The Dubose piece was very disappointing.

Play dates: 1:30 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. Saturday; 4:45 p.m. Monday; 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 25; 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30.