Given his recitation of the lyrics on Tuesday night, wonder if Tim McCarver will actually sing “Sandman” for Fox Sports 1’s upcoming documentary on Mariano Rivera?
Not mention here in the official release:
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Cue the music … Metallica’s Enter Sandman.
FOX Sports’ award-winning, all-access original documentary series BEING: goes on an extraordinary journey with New York Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera as he marches toward Cooperstown in the final season of an epic, record-setting career.
In production since Spring Training, the unprecedented goal is for BEING: MARIANO RIVERA to premiere on FOX Sports 1 — the nation’s new sports network, launching Aug. 17 — within days of the unparalleled pitcher throwing the final trademark cutter of his monumental career.
“There is incredible opportunity here to chronicle the real human story behind the final stretch of the most dominant pitcher in modern baseball history,” said Michael Bloom, FOX Sports Senior Vice President of Original Programming. “Mariano has opened the doors completely to our cameras. We’re going to be able to see and feel, in his voice and through his eyes, what it’s like to be a legendary Yankee and wrap up a Hall-of-Fame career and take off the pinstripes for the last time. We’ll also be there as he wakes up the next morning and starts the next chapter of his life.”
One of the greatest Yankees of all-time, Rivera is an intensely private and spiritual man; his unique aura both on and off the field only enhances his mystique. BEING: MARIANO RIVERA affords viewers an intimate look into his life and takes the fan and viewer from his early childhood in Puerto Caimito, Panama to his current-day status as a living legend; all told within BEING:’S cinematic framework of Rivera’s final season. Major League Baseball Productions has had camera crews embedded behind the scenes with Rivera at multiple key points since filming began prior to Opening Day.
Universally regarded as the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball, using his signature cut fastball to score an all-time record 638 saves (and counting), five World Series rings (including the World Series MVP award in 1999) and countless single-season and career pitching marks, Rivera’s story is the stuff of legends. For more information on Rivera, please visit: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/player/mariano-rivera/85269?q=mariano-rivera
FOX Sports Originals’ BEING: series sets the tone for FOX Sports 1 original programming with a number of other high-profile, unprecedented, all-access projects in different stages of development and production, including BEING: MIKE TYSON and BEING: THE FINEST.
“It’s important for the team at FOX Sports to connect fans and viewers with today’s heroes and show them the human side of sport,” Bloom added. “Our BEING: franchise does just that. It puts the viewer/fan in a position to walk a mile in the shoes of today’s icons and hear, see and feel what they do during the most critical times and the simplest moments.”
“Mariano Rivera’s retirement isn’t just a story for Yankee fans, or even baseball fans,” said Tom Forman, CEO of Relativity Television. “This is a story about champions, determination and going out on top. It’s about as universal as it gets.”
“Given how closely Mariano guards his privacy, we’re extremely appreciative of the access he has granted us these past few months,” said Chris Tully, Senior Vice President, Broadcasting, Major League Baseball. “This special will be a rare glimpse behind the curtain with one of the truly legendary figures in the game.”
Co-produced by Relativity Television, Relativity Sports and Major League Baseball Productions, BEING: MARIANO RIVERA is directed by Jeff Spaulding. Relativity Television’s team of Executive Producers includes Tom Forman, Happy Walters, Fernando Cuza, Matt Weaver and Brad Bishop. David Gavant serves as Vice President of Production, and David Check is Executive Producer for Major League Baseball.
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ESPN is planning to examine the life of the original Manning, Archie. If he played for a better team and had more support, he would have joined his sons in the Hall of Fame.
From ESPN:
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ESPN Films’ SEC Storied series will launch its third season this fall with The Book of Manning, premiering Tuesday, Sept. 24
, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The film will explore the personal and professional life of former NFL and Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning and how the sudden loss of his father impacted his life and the way he and his wife Olivia raised their three sons.
About The Book of Manning:
A father-and-son story written into the pages of football folklore, it can be argued that no family has had more influence on a sport than the Mannings. Archie – the patriarch – a star quarterback at the University of Mississippi and then with the New Orleans Saints, followed by oldest son Cooper, whose football dreams were cut short by a spinal condition, then sons Peyton and Eli – both of them quarterbacks, All-SEC, number one draft picks, back-to-back Super Bowl champions and MVPs.
Narrated by actor John Goodman, The Book of Manning features revealing interviews with Archie, Olivia, Cooper, Peyton and Eli Manning along with other family members, friends, former teammates and coaches as well as never-before-seen photos and home movie footage of Archie and his sons. Through it all, director Rory Karpf explores how a tragedy shaped the course of not only Archie’s life, but his family’s as well.
“This film offers the kind of personal and poignant look at Archie Manning and his family that hasn’t been seen before,” said ESPN Films executive producer John Dahl. “Through intimate details and insights to previously unseen material, viewers will gain a powerful understanding of how this has arguably become one of the most influential families ever in any sport.”
“I feel honored and a privileged that Archie Manning has entrusted me to tell his story,” said The Book of Manning director Rory Karpf. “We expected to make a film about football’s most famous family, but instead made a film simply about family. Making The Book of Manning has been one of the most educational and enriching experiences in my career.”
Quotes from The Book of Manning:
Robert Khayat (former Ole Miss Chancellor) on Archie as a star QB at Ole Miss:
“Archie…he put on a show. He just did. He ran everywhere, he threw everywhere. When a fella starts out to the right and gets boxed and turns back to the left and then throws it back to the right, that gets your attention.”
Archie Manning on his remarkable junior season at Ole Miss following the sudden loss of his father that August:
“You know I thought about him a lot. How much he would have enjoyed that. We had some huge wins, some exciting games, and probably the best year I ever had in football – the fall of 1969. You know I wish he could have seen that…missing my dad, that was pretty tough.”
Archie Manning on the football success of sons Peyton and Eli:
“I mean for them to be number one picks in the draft? Win Super Bowls, MVP? Yeah we pinch ourselves. We [Olivia and Archie] just tried to raise kids. We tried to raise good kids and have a good family. I don’t like the perception that it was a plan. You know that I was an NFL quarterback for a while and then I’ve got these boys and I’m going to mold them into being NFL quarterbacks. Not so. You might can do that and they might can be an NFL quarterback I’m not sure you’re going to have a great father-son relationship. That’s what I wanted.”
Eli Manning on growing up a Manning:
“We [Eli, Peyton and Cooper] loved sports; that’s what we loved to do. We loved being outside, we loved running around. So whatever sport was in season, I wanted to play it. All my flag football games growing up, he [Archie] always had a video camera. You know, whatever we chose, he wanted us to go all-out.”
Peyton Manning on not following his father and older brother Cooper to Ole Miss:
(If Cooper didn’t have to quit football due to a spinal condition) “I probably would have gone to Ole Miss, just to have the opportunity to play with him again, especially at my parents’ alma mater…Had my dad told me to go to Ole Miss, I would have gone to Ole Miss. I’m thankful that my dad let me make my own decision.”
Update:
