Sports to Buy

In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was a top-ranked middleweight boxer whom many fight fans expected to become world champion. When three people were shot to death in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey, Carter and his friend John Artis, driving home from another club in Paterson, were stopped and questioned by police. Although the police asserted that Carter and Artis "were never suspects," a man named Alfred Bello, himself a suspect in the killings, claimed that Carter and Artis were present at the time of the murders. On the basis of Bello's testimony, Carter and Artis were convicted of murder, and Carter was given three consecutive life sentences. Throughout the trial, Carter proclaimed his innocence, saying that his African-American race and work as a civil rights activist were the real reasons for his conviction. In 1974, Bello and Arthur Bradley, who also claimed that Carter was present at the scene of the crimes, recanted their testimony, but Carter and Artis were reconvicted. In the early 1980s, Brooklyn teenager Lesra Martin worked with a trio of Canadian activists to push the State of New Jersey to reinvestigate Carter's case; in 1985, a Federal District Court ruled that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" and that his conviction was based on racism rather than facts. Carter was finally freed, and he summed up his story by saying, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out." The Hurricane is based on Carter's incredible true story and stars Denzel Washington as Carter, Vicellous Shannon as Lesra Martin, and John Hannah, Liev Schreiber and Deborah Unger as the Canadian activists. Veteran filmmaker Norman Jewison directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"If you build it, he will come." That's the ethereal message that inspires Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. At first, "he" seems to be the ghost of disgraced ballplayer Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), who materializes on the ballfield and plays a few games with the awestruck Ray. But as the weeks go by, Ray receives several other messages from a disembodied voice, one of which is "Ease his pain." He realizes that his ballfield has been divinely ordained to give a second chance to people who have sacrificed certain valuable aspects of their lives. One of these folks is Salingeresque writer Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), whom Ray kidnaps and takes to a ball game and then to his farm. Another is Doc Graham (Burt Lancaster), a beloved general practitioner who gave up a burgeoning baseball career in favor of medicine. The final "second-chancer" turns out to be much closer to Ray. That "magical" field in Dyersville, Iowa still draws thousands of baseball-happy tourists each year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the 1960's, Nick Bollettieri gave tennis lessons on two dilapidated courts in North Miami Beach. He envisioned opening a school that specialized in providing contestants not just tennis, but life lessons to manage the fame and fortune that come in the wake of success. Flash forward to the new century where the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida stands as the incubator of champions, with talented prospects seeking his services from around the globe. Bollettieri not only revolutionized the way tennis champions learn their craft, he guides his young students through the peaks and valleys that championship athletes encounter in the high pressure, media intensive world of professional sports.

His ability and willingness to inflict pain on himself in unusual ways made Jackass cast member Steve-O second only to series creator Johnny Knoxville in popularity. The Early Years features Steve-O performing new stunts interspersed with information about his childhood and his formative years. The documentary features appearances from some of his Jackass cast mates. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Unconsciousness comes in a flash as the most outrageous stunts-gone-wrong ever captured on camera come together in a wild collection of cringe-worthy clips that will have more squeamish viewers watching through their fingers. From race cars careening into crowds of spectators to skateboard wipeouts, disgruntled athletes, wild women, and street brawls where the rules of the ring simply don't apply, hosts Tiny "Zeus" Lister and Anthony "AJ" Johnson offer their own hilariously twisted commentary as the bones keep snapping and the skulls keep cracking ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide