To tweet: http://es.pn/14mVS02
40 Years Later: Did Bobby Riggs fix the “Battle of the Sexes?”
Outside the Lines (Friday, 40 years to the day of the match, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
ESPN.com (Friday, updated from August 25 report)
espnW.com (Friday)
For 40 years, rumors have swirled about “The Battle of the Sexes,” one of the most iconic sporting events in American history. While Billie Jean King’s win at the Houston Astrodome on Sept. 20, 1973 over Bobby Riggs was a seminal moment for gender equality, some people in tennis have wondered whether Riggs, the 55-year-old hustler and con man, purposefully threw the match for a big pay day. A man who claims to have never-before-released information on what really happened comes forward to tell his story to Outside the Lines. Includes new material with “Where were you then?” comments from athletes/tennis players. Don Van Natta examines whether the “Battle of the Sexes” was Riggs’ greatest hustle.
What is it about Fargo?
College Gameday (Originates from Fargo, N.C., Saturday, 9 a.m., ESPN)
Athletes from Florida and Hawaii go to Fargo, North Dakota for football glory. Tom Rinaldi reports on North Dakota State, the best team in the country that much of the country has not heard of. The two-time FCS reigning national champions opened their season by going into Kansas State and winning.
The Doctor Will Save You Now
ESPN The Magazine
The pros turn to Dr. James Andrews when their careers are hanging by a tendon. Scott Eden reports.
“Mi Deseo” has “Patriotic” Feel
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
Reportajes Especiales piece (ESPNDeportes.com)
Sunday NFL Countdown (Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN)
The second story of this 4-piece “Mi Deseo” series, produced in partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and supporting ESPN’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, features 18-year-old Grand Rapids, Mich. native Eddie Martinez meeting New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
“I heard Tom Brady say that, ‘We win as a team and we lose as a team.’ One person cannot lose the game for the whole team, it is a team effort. And I just followed them every single game. ” – Eddie Martinez, on why he wanted to meet Tom Brady
“God puts the strongest people through the hardest things. So I was probably the one chosen.” – Martinez
Beat ‘em Bucs
As Bill Blazejowski in Night Shift, actor Michael Keaton was an “ideas guy” (“Take live tuna fish and feed ‘em mayonnaise”). When the Pittsburgh native was asked to express his Pirates passion through ESPN.com, it was Keaton’s idea how to do it.
“The Pirates were moving toward their first winning season since the Last Supper, and the dotcom baseball group was meeting and sort of collectively wondering how we might call out the long-awaited successful season,” explained Michael Knisley, senior deputy editor at ESPN.com. “I knew Michael Keaton was a fan, and suggested we reach out to gauge his interest. His publicist passed along my inquiry and got a quick, ‘Yes.’ After a lot of back-and-forth between myself and Michael, it was his suggestion to file periodic dispatches during the last couple of weeks of the pennant race and for as long as the Pirates stay alive in the postseason.”
And, for as long as Keaton doesn’t discover Knisley’s dirty little secret.
“At some point, I suppose I’m going to have to reveal to Keaton where my own passion lies,” Knisley said. “It’s with the team he’s hated ever since Sid Bream slid safely into home on Francisco Cabrera’s 9th-inning single in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS – the Pirates’ last postseason game. Keaton doesn’t know yet that I’m a lifelong Braves fan. Let’s hope it doesn’t damage the relationship when he finds out. Atlanta and Pittsburgh very possibly will meet in the playoffs.”