Real Sports (July)

The Real Real Sports Returns
Report On Accused NFL Agent Tops Latest Show

NEW YORK (AQB)--After a couple lackluster episodes, HBO's Emmy award-winning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel reclaims its title as television's best sports magazine with an above-average July program.

Bryan Burwell's look at accused NFL agent Tank Black leads a strong show, supported by Armen Keteyian's probe into Minnesota's academic scandal and Mary Carillo's profile of track star Marion Jones. The only segment I had major issues with was James Brown's piece on Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.

But it's Burwell's investigation into Black's dispute with the NFL Players Association that will have people talking after they see this program. The NFL players agent, who had five No. 1 picks and seven of the top 46 selections in this year's draft, lost four of his clients - all University of Florida defensive players - after it was revealed that the NFL players union was investigating him for alleged illegal activity.

Black, a black man, denies the charges of providing cash and gifts as incentives to sign players and has sued the NFL Players Association, saying the union's investigation is racially motivated.

The problem, as Burwell points out so well, is that the agent bringing the charges against Black is black, the two known players who signed the sworn affidavits incriminating the agent are black, and the head of the NFL players union, Gene Upshaw, is black.

"I don't see where the racism is in this process. Enlighten me. Show me where it is," said Burwell, who is also black.

I won't tell what Black and his lawyer says, except that it's not the most convincing of arguments.

Overall, Burwell did an excellent job, but I have two minor complaints about the piece. First, Burwell and HBO did not show any interviews with Black's current clients, such as those who have stayed with him since the draft or Green Bay Packer star Robert Brooks, whom Black is overheard talking about in the piece.

However, the preview copy that the media sees does not include the studio segments between Gumbel and the reporters, so those issues may be addressed at that time.

Second, before Burwell asks Black to show him the racism, he badgers the witness by forcing Black to tell him what color the agent, players and union chief are. While it makes for dramatic television, it is unnecessarily demeaning to Black.

Keteyian's look at the University of Minnesota academic scandal doesn't add anything new to the shocking story, which the newspaper St. Paul Pioneer Press ably reported, but it does provide a terrific overview of the entire scandal.

You can't blame Keteyian for not breaking anything new on the story because no one from the school would talk to him. Former Coach Clem Haskins, Minnesota President Mark Yudof, Vice President McKinley Boston, men's athletic director Mark Dienhart and former academic counselor Alonzo Newby all turned down interview requests.

Their silence shows either tremendous respect for Keteyian and Real Sports or fear of further self-incrimination.

Keteyian does talk to, among others, former academic counselor Jan Gangelhoff, who claims to have written more than 400 papers for players from 1993 to 1998, and former Gopher A.J. Whaley, who flunked out of school despite Gangelhoff's help.

What Gangelhoff and Whaley say only confirms the feelings of many who question the legitimacy of major college athletics, and forces college basketball lovers to once again put on their blinders.

This month's show also includes profiles of the two of the country's best young athletes. The profiles are done in typical Real Sports fashion with a heavy emphasis on quotes from the person being profiled, and few others. The style works for the show's piece on track star Marion Jones, but it fails for Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Reporter James Brown talks to Jeter, his father and - of all people - Reggie Jackson. That's all that is shown. Among the missing in action are Jeter's sister, with whom he reportedly is very close to and talks about during the piece; his mother, who is white (Jeter's father is black); and his teammates or coaches (What's wrong with Joe Torre or Don Zimmer, whom Jeter is often shown kidding with on the bench?)

Hell, even Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and singer Mariah Carey, with whom Jeter had been romantically linked, would have been better than Jackson, who certainly doesn't know Jeter as well as any of those other people mentioned.

Jeter's piece would have been much, much better if it was done like one of ESPN's SportsCentury profiles, which often feature 20-30 interviews in a half-hour show. I would have preferred hearing more people talk about who Jeter is than Jeter humbly deflecting any self-revealing questions.

However, the Real Sports modus operandi for profiles works well for Mary Carillo's piece on Jones, who is aiming for an unprecedented five track and field gold medals at the Summer Olympics next year. Showing more of the 23-year-old talking about herself increases her recognition with viewers, who should know more about the first American track star to be ranked No. 1 in three different events in a year.

Building national awareness is certainly not needed for Jeter, who is one of the most marketable sports stars in the country. Because of that, HBO should have treated his piece differently.

Grade: B+. Jeter piece was the only major blemish on an otherwise solid show.

Play dates: 10 p.m. Monday; 5:30 p.m. Thursday; 1:30 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Aug. 3; 4 p.m. Aug. 6; and 9:45 a.m. Aug. 9.