Title: Sports and TV Week: Our 50 favorite scripted sports episodes and scenes
Date: May 28, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: At The Athletic, I wrote a few blurbs on Frasier, Friends, and Married…with Children for our collection of the best sports-themed TV episodes.
Was there really a second spitter? How many bolts are in the old Boston Garden parquet floor? How did they get Arnold to meet Muhammad Ali? Will J.D. ever be able to hit the right notes of the “SportsCenter” theme?
From the moment people welcomed television into their homes, they have relied on the irresistible nexus of Hollywood star power and sports for entertainment. With Major League Baseball reaching L.A. in 1958 and Leo Durocher leading the way, writers and producers saw the potential for guest appearances from the sports world to enhance the small screen.
And that’s what we have here: our 50 favorite sports episodes and scenes in shows that aren’t normally about sports. You’ll find everything from Joe Namath on “The Brady Bunch” to Michael Vick on “Atlanta” and a lot of television history in between. You will find a lot of shows from NBC, HBO and Fox/FX and not so many from CBS.
Continue reading at The Athletic.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 