Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: Season 9
Season 9 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel Season 8.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 9 Progress Shield
Episode 70
Jan 14, 2003 · 60 min
Included: a look at health concerns for retired NFL linemen in the wake of a fatal heart attack suffered by former Saints player Frank Warren; and a profile of former NBA star Bob
Episode 71
Feb 11, 2003 · 60 min
Included: an interview with five-time world champion boxer Johnny Tapia; a look at drug-testing policies in high-school athletics; a report on safety concerns at ski resorts; and a
Episode 72
Mar 18, 2003 · 60 min
A look at the impact of this year's Masters controversy on Augusta, Ga.; profiles of former high-school-to-NBA phenom Darryl Dawkins and state trooper turned NBA referee Bob Delane
Episode 73
Apr 15, 2003 · 60 min
Reports on Toughman competitions, the frequency of head injuries in soccer, and law suits in youth sports. Also: a look at Carver Academy, a private school founded by the NBA's Dav
Episode 74
May 20, 2003 · 60 min
Bob Costas interviews baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Also: a look at the sports-talk program "Pardon the Interruption," an interview with Terry Bradshaw and a look at the treatme
Episode 75
Jun 24, 2003 · 60 min
A look back at the controversy surrounding the remains of baseball legend Ted Williams; a report on the emergence of international basketball talent; and an examination of the live
Episode 76
Jul 22, 2003 · 60 min
Included: profiles of auto racer Alex Zanardi and soccer player David Beckham; and a report on Mark Roberts, Britain's so-called "serial streaker." Correspondents include Frank Def
Episode 77
Aug 19, 2003 · 60 min
A profile of 13-year-old golfer Michelle Wie; an update on former heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe; a visit with former NFL TE Johnnie Mitchell; and a report on a soccer team compris
Episode 78
Sep 23, 2003 · 60 min
Included: a look at the Yankees' Jorge Posada, his son and his father, who was a promising prospect himself before being jailed in Cuba in the 1960s. Also: a profile of Tampa Bay L
Episode 79
Oct 28, 2003 · 60 min
Segments include a profile of Ed Agre, sole reporter for a small-market TV station in Montana; a look at the sport of freediving; a visit with an NFL-lineman-turned-minister; and a
Episode 80
Nov 25, 2003 · 60 min
Included: a look at the controversial ESPN series "Playmakers;" a report on the lack of black golfers on the PGA Tour; a profile of former UCLA hoops coach John Wooden; a look at a
Episode 81
Dec 30, 2003 · 60 min
A report on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's search for an NBA coaching job; a look at a harrowing mountain-climbing expedition in Peru; a report on the popularity of throwback jerseys; and a