Usually, I'm just a baseball/football guy when it comes to my sporting pastimes. All the other professional sports and pastimes just don't interest me all that much. As such, I was a bit skeptical (despite the very positive reviews) of these documentaries considering their wide-ranging appeal. Boy, was I ever wrong! Simply put, these are some of the best sports documentaries ever produced...period. They are so varied and genre-diverse that describing them all would take too long for this kind of review forum, but most sucked me in from the beginning and made me truly care until the very end.Thus, if you have ANY doubts about whether or not you will enjoy this series, check them at the door RIGHT NOW! Even if you aren't a raging sports enthusiast, these documentaries will appeal to your very human nature with their drama and thought-provoking nature. As such, there really aren't too many people who I COULDN'T recommend "30 for 30" to.

The episode on Marion Jones is now available via Netflix streaming. That is how I saw it.I was a big track and field fan most of my life, and I recall in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s following Marion Jones's accomplishments on the track. Any time an athlete breaks out and rather quickly dominates you have to suspect the use of illegal performance enhancing substances. I believed Jones when she publicly denied cheating, then later was convicted of lying to federal officials. That earned her a 6-month jail term, and part of that in "solitary" for a fight in prison.So I was naturally disappointed but to her credit she accepted full responsibility, mostly avoiding the use of "mistake" and instead saying she made "decisions", and those were bad decisions. She has tried to redeem herself and be a positive force by speaking out, especially to children, of the importance of surrounding yourself with good people and making the right decisions.Whether you like Jones or not, the film itself is good, it goes right to the core of the issues. Are black athletes treated in a less-forgiving manner, as accused by Edwin Moses? I don't know, but it raises doubt.Of note, after her 3rd child was born, she began working hard to get into shape and at age 34 became a member of the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA, and performed well from the start. She had played college basketball, something many of us never knew.

Like ESPN's "Sports Century", the "30 for 30" stories get a lot of interviews from not just the athletes involved but coaches, media, family and friends to really get behind the scenes. I have enjoyed every episode I have watched but I have some personal favorites, like:"The Band That Wouldn't Die"- being an old Baltimore Colt fan, this story of a band that kept together after the Colts' departure really hit home. They are now the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band."The Best That Never Was"- a poignant story of the unfulfilled promise of Marcus Dupree. Great interviews in this one with Sooners coaches Barry Switzer and Lu cious Selmon and Dupree himself."The Fab Five"- the story of the U. of Michigan's men's basketball team of the early 1990's that started five freshmen. Their story of reaching the national championship game in consecutive years and the later penalties (including vacating their Final Four appearances) is must-see viewing for any college basketball fan.Other stories like "The U" and the one where Wayne Gretzky got traded to the LA Kings in 1988 were great, also. I give it 9 stars- it is simply a great show to watch!

I liked just about all of them but the Marion Jones one. As a Former Track stud, the whole documentary made me sick. I lost so much respect for the once talented John Singleton because of the way this was told. She is the definition of a loser. I don't care that she was a good basketball player or not, she helped destroy what Track & Field should & could have been here in the United States. Everything she says is complete BS. I hope she's a pariah for the rest of her pathetic life. It would have been one thing if she had just lied a few times, but the fact she lied FOR YEARS & constantly would go in front of cameras & say she wasn't using performance enhancing drugs destroys any sort of credibility she might have had. She's as bad as anything Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Jason Giambi, & Sammy Sosa did. Track & Field seems to still be trying to find an audience & she's a HUGE part of the reason why.On a happier note. I loved "The U, The 2 Escobars, Tim Richmond, Who Killed the USFL, & the Best that never was, the best. They were all pretty dang good documentaries & many of them could have been released theatrically they were that well done.