New Season of REAL SPORTS Kicks Off Tuesday on HBO

By: Jan. 25, 2018
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New Season of REAL SPORTS Kicks Off Tuesday on HBO

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL, TV's most-honored sports journalism series, with a record 18 Sports Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Sports Journalism, returns for more enterprising features and reporting when the show's 250th edition kicks off a new season TUESDAY, JAN. 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO.

The show is also available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

Segments include:

*Going For Broke. Athletes around the world are heading to PyeongChang, South Korea for the Winter Games next month, capping years of blood, sweat and tears. But unlike almost every other country, where Olympic programs deem athletes full-time paid government employees, the majority of American athletes receive little monetary assistance from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), with more than a few living on or below the poverty line, funding their training and equipment through part-time jobs and online crowdfunding.

REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel examines why so many U.S. Olympic hopefuls are going broke in the pursuit of gold and finds that for every blue-chip star like Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, countless athletes struggle to get by, despite the USOC reaping hundreds of millions of dollars per Olympic cycle.

Producer: Tim Walker.

*Going For Broke. Athletes around the world are heading to PyeongChang, South Korea for the Winter Games next month, capping years of blood, sweat and tears. But unlike almost every other country, where Olympic programs deem athletes full-time paid government employees, the majority of American athletes receive little monetary assistance from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), with more than a few living on or below the poverty line, funding their training and equipment through part-time jobs and online crowdfunding.

REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel examines why so many U.S. Olympic hopefuls are going broke in the pursuit of gold and finds that for every blue-chip star like Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, countless athletes struggle to get by, despite the USOC reaping hundreds of millions of dollars per Olympic cycle.

Producer: Tim Walker.

*A Body Builder. Under the Southern California sunshine, a bombastic entrepreneur and father has spent the better part of two decades developing his three sons into world-class athletes. That might sound like basketball's Ball family, but this is the St. Brown family of football. Father John, a two-time Mr. Universe, set his plan in motion by marrying a tall, strong German woman, intending to create supreme athletes. Then, he meticulously controlled his boys' caloric intake and weight training to fine-tune their bodies, while mother Miriam exercised their minds, encouraging them to speak three different languages.

Their diligence paid off, with each son becoming a Division 1-caliber wide receiver. Equanimeous, the oldest, has led Notre Dame's aerial assault for the past two seasons and will enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Osiris, the middle child, is entering his second year at Stanford University and Amon-Ra, a high school senior, recently committed to the University of Southern California. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg meets the St. Browns and finds them to be everything the Balls are not.

Producer: Maggie Burbank.

*The Believer. Tennis legend Margaret Court is the most decorated tennis player - male or female - in history, with 24 Grand Slam Singles titles and 64 total Grand Slam titles, including Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Court is celebrated each January when her home country hosts the Australian Open, where she won 11 titles and has been honored with a showcase court bearing her name. But her SECOND ACT as a pastor and leader of a sizable congregation has incited a furor among some fans, advocates, players and pundits, due to her outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage and comments on LGBTQ+ issues.

REAL SPORTS correspondent Mary Carillo traveled Down Under prior to this year's Australian Open and spoke with Court, 75, about the controversy over the call for her name to be removed from Margaret Court Arena, among other topics. Also interviewed are fellow International Tennis Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.

Producer: Beret Remak.

On Jan. 16, the duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism honored REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL for its expansive investigative story on the International Olympic Committee, which debuted in July 2016, days before the start of the Summer Games in Rio. This marked the fourth time the series has been honored with a prestigious duPont Award, the most of any sports television show in history.

The executive producers of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL are Rick Bernstein and Joe Perskie.

Watch the trailer here:



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