Do you feel sorry for Dennis Rodman? Mark Schwarz interviewed him for Outside the Lines Sunday at 9 a.m.

Rodman breaks down in this clip talking about his 24-year old daughter, who he’s seen only five times in his life.

Here’s the preview from ESPN

In March, headlines described former NBA star Dennis Rodman as “broke” and “extremely sick.” At 51, and now a dozen years removed from his last NBA rebound, he often boasts he hasn’t had a steady job since being waived by the Dallas Mavericks in 2000. For Rodman, who has had issues with alcohol, life has never come as easily as professional basketball. Sunday, the flamboyant Hall of Famer speaks candidly about life after basketball, and about allegations that he’s an alcoholic. Mark Schwarz reports.

Sunday’s guests will include Kurt Rambis, who coached Rodman on the Lakers in 1999, and Tim Keown who co-wrote “Bad As I Wanna Be,” the 1997 best-selling autobiography.

“I been hearing that for years — I’ve been hearing that   I’m a cokehead, I’m a drug head.  Everyone knows that I like to have a good time. If you see me drinking, ok great. I drink! If you see me having sex every day, oh, I’m an addict. I’ve looked death in the eyes. And I say one day I could probably drink to a point where it’s like I won’t wake up.” — Dennis Rodman

“I started to go out to dinner for free. I started to get cars and stuff like that for free. I started to get a lot of things around the country. All of a sudden I land the big one, Madonna, so it’s like, ‘Hello!!’ I started to get stuff like that.” — Dennis Rodman

Perhaps inspired by Charles Barkley’s rant about Mitt Romney on TNT a few weeks ago, ESPN has posted its policies on coverage of the presidential election.

Written by Patrick Stiegman, vice-president and editor-in-chief of ESPN.com, the network wants to make sure its on-air personalities remain neutral.

Too bad Rush Limbaugh no longer works for the network. I would have loved to see ESPN enforce these guidelines for him.

Stiegman writes:

We should refrain from political editorializing and gratuitous references to the candidates, their campaigns or their political positions. This means no personal attacks or “drive-by” remarks in columns or on-air segments. Approved commentaries on sports-specificissues, or seeking responses from both candidates on relevant news issues, are appropriate. However, sarcasm, one-liners, perceived endorsements, attempts at humor or political criticism should be avoided.

And there’s more:

Should a candidate appear at or attend a live event on our air (e.g. MLB game, college football game, etc.), announcers should avoid any political commentary, prolonged references to or live interviews with candidates. A brief mention accompanying video of the candidate is appropriate. If approved by senior news managers, interviews may be conducted or taped for reference or airing either later in the same program or at a later date.

Coming soon, updated ESPN’s policies on coverage of Tim Tebow.

Interesting to note that ESPN isn’t trying to stifle Laurie Fine’s libel suit against the network. The news appears among the headlines on ESPN.com and there’s a lengthy wire story.

She held a press conference this morning. Here’s a passage from the story:

“I’m here today as a wife and a mother who has had to endure the trauma of being smeared in the public as a monster,” Laurie Fine said,  reading quickly from a statement. “My life has been destroyed.”

Federal investigators opened an investigation into Bernie Fine following  the allegations of a third man, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli of  Lewiston, Maine, who has since said he lied. The local prosecutor  has called Davis and Lang credible but said the alleged crimes  occurred too long ago to pursue.

Laurie Fine, with her two daughters at her side, said her husband called to wish her luck Wednesday. She would not address  whether they are still together.

“Bernie does support this lawsuit, and he’s behind me 100 percent,” Laurie Fine said.

She said the attention has forced her to live in seclusion for the past six months and give up charity work she enjoyed.

“They should apologize and retract these horrible lies reported about me,” she said.

Fine said the network was motivated by the unfolding child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State University involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

“Although these defendants have known me to be a decent and honorable woman, they have maliciously attacked me in order to attack my husband and to boost television ratings in the wake of the Penn State scandal,” she said.

ESPN said the suit has no merit and is standing by its reporting of the story.

Now it’s about to get real interesting.

USA Today reports that Laurie Fine, the wife of former Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, is suing ESPN for libel. She is announcing the suit in a press conference in Geneva, N.Y. now.

Laurie Fine’s lawyers gave a copy of the complaint to USA Today. According to the suit, Mrs. Fine says ESPN falsely accused her of:

• Creating a space in which children could be sexually molested in secret;

• Witnessing her husband sexually molest children, but not doing anything to

stop it;

• Knowingly permitting the sexual molestation of children in her home;

• Telling (former ballboy) Robert Davis that she knew her husband was sexually molesting him;

• Having adulterous sex with Robert Davis while he was still in high school;

• Betraying Robert Davis’ trust by not protecting him from sexual molestation;

• Having adulterous and dysfunctional sexual relationships with Syracuse basketball team players over the course of many years.

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said: “We haven’t had an opportunity to review the complaint. We stand by our reporting.”

More to come.

ESPN went 1 for 2 Tuesday.

Scott Van Pelt decided to stay with ESPN. Meanwhile, the network confirmed what had been expected: Michelle Beadle is leaving for greener pastures at NBC Universal.

In ESPN’s Front and Center, Van Pelt discusses his decision:

On the decision-making process: “It was more stressful than I would’ve imagined. I always wondered what it would be like to be the pretty girl at the dance, so to speak, and to have people interested was something I never really imagined would happen, at least not like this.”

On reaction from friends and fans: “It’s all very humbling. You have a lot of people that you call friends who are just reaching out to say ‘Congrats’ and that they’re happy. From the people that listen and watch, there’s a lot of that too. And like I said, it’s all very gratifying to feel like you’ve made some connection with people and that they’re glad that you’re going to keep doing what you’re doing, that’s good to know because I am [happy, too].”

On why SportsCenter suits him so well: “If the person watching me knows nothing else, I think they know I’m genuinely as passionate about what is happening as they are. I don’t say anything thats not authentic. My enthusiasm for what we are doing is real.”

On how things have turned out for him: “I’ve always been a guy who was kind of on the wave wherever it took me. And somehow it took me to where it did and I’m thankful. I’m happy to stay in this boat, on this wave, until they’re done with me. . . None of this was even thinkable but here we are. It’s baffling to me.”

As for Beadle, she is moving to NBC Universal, where she’ll work on Olympic coverage and Access Hollywood.

ESPN president John Skipper told USA Today:

“Michelle did a great job. We love Michelle. We wish her well. We’re sorry she’s leaving,” said Skipper about Beadle, who hosted the Disney-owned sports network’s annual upfront presentation to advertisers last year. “We worked hard to try to keep her but she has some different aspirations.”

As for ESPN’s other big-name free agent, Erin Andrews, Skipper said she hopes she stays.

“We’re in discussions with Erin. Erin does a great job for us. Our preference would be for her to stay.”

As part of its latest 30 for 30 series announced earlier today, ESPN also is going to feature 30 for 30 Shorts – a 30-part digital short film series.

ESPN posted the first video Tuesday, titled, Here Now. Here’s the link.

The short film shows Pete Rose signing autographs at his store in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Now 71, Rose tries to put a happy face on his life. But you watch the video and then tell me whether that’s a happy man.

The film is powerful and well worth your time. Check it out.

This is the best television news I’ve heard in a long time.

ESPN announced this morning that it is bringing back its wildly successful 30 for 30 franchise with a series of new films in the fall. This was a no-brainer for the network given the incredible quality of the first set of films. I can’t wait for the next installments.

From the release, including a round-up of the new films:

“30 for 30 was conceived as a finite collection and when the original series ended in December of 2010 with Pony Excess, we had underestimated the strength of the connection fans had made between sports documentaries and the 30 for 30 brand,” said Connor Schell, vice president of ESPN Films. “We’re proud to have created a brand that has become synonymous with quality sports storytelling and we see value in bringing back a second collection of 30 films.”

In addition to a second slate of 30 feature-length documentaries, ESPN Films will broaden its scope to support a whole new crop of stories with the creation of 30 for 30 Shorts – a 30-part digital short film series. 30 for 30 Shorts will be similar to the feature-length films in that each piece will represent a specific point of view of the filmmaker and will be a reflection of how they blend the narrative with their own visual style. Beginning in September, a new short film will debut monthly on Bill Simmons’ Grantland.com. A 30 for 30 Short entitled “Here Now” about Pete Rose is currently online as preview of the series.

Schell continued: “Launching the new 30 for 30 Shorts brand will give us the chance to widen the array of talented storytellers we can work with who are passionate about sports and have something to say.  The short film genre frees the filmmaker from some of the constraints common with long-form projects.”

The new season of 30 for 30 will have a much more defined multimedia component through closer integration with Grantland.com by featuring filmmaker podcasts with Bill Simmons, topical oral histories, in-depth features and more.  Each of the feature-length films and digital shorts will be complemented with a long-form written piece on Grantland.com that will deepen the experience for the viewer by providing them with additional context.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we created 30 for 30, but the response wildly exceeded our expectations,” said Grantland.com editor-in-chief Bill Simmons, who is a co-creator of the series. “We learned through social media and word of mouth, that each film seemed to provoke a broader conversation about the topic, so with these digital extensions on Grantland, we’re giving fans the opportunity to dive deeper into each film subject. It’s the logical next step for the 30 for 30 series – to make it the most ambitious multi-media storytelling project that we could imagine while continuing to innovate the genre with each new film.”

Films scheduled to air as part of 30 for 30 Vol. II include:

Benji (Coodie and Chike)

In 1984, 17-year-old Ben Wilson was a symbol of everything promising about Chicago: a sweet-natured youngster from the city’s fabled South Side, and America’s top high school basketball prospect. Nicknamed “Magic Johnson with a jump shot,” Wilson’s natural talents and drive assured his best years were yet to come. Then, in November of his senior year, the life of this exceptional youngster was abruptly and tragically cut short. Wilson’s grim fate sent ripples of horror through the city and the country.

Broke (Billy Corben)

Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, most pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life. Drawing surprisingly vulnerable confessions from retired stars like Keith McCants, Bernie Kosar, Leon Searcy and Andre Rison, as well as commentary from Marvin Miller, the former executive director of the MLB Players Association, Bart Scott of the New York Jets and many other informed voices, this fascinating documentary digs into the psychology of men whose competitive nature carries them to victory on the field and ruin off it.

Bo Knows (Mike Bonfiglio)

A close look at the legendary sports figure Bo Jackson and the marketing campaign that shaped his legacy and redefined the role of the athlete in the pop cultural conversation. Even without winning a Super Bowl or World Series, Bo will forever be known as one of the most famous athletes of all time. This film will look at the marketing of athletes, impossible expectations and the legend of Bo Jackson.

The Season of Their Lives (Jonathan Hock)

When the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his North Carolina State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations. But with ten losses for the season, the Wolfpack’s only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference’s automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of Sampson, Jordan, Olajuwon and Drexler, N.C. State had “survived and advanced” its way to a national championship. In The Season of Their Lives, director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled and explores what at times has been a tragic and heartbreaking aftermath in the 30 years since.