For a good cause and some good television, read on.Dreams in Motion
In December I did a feature on Dreams in Motion, a Mandan organization planning to provide athletic opportunities to mobility challenged youth.
Their dreams are starting to become a reality.
Dreams will begin its wheelchair curling season Saturday. This is the first major activity by the group, which is hoping to eventually expand to offer a variety of sports.
Registration for the season, which runs for five weeks, will begin at 1:30 at the Capital Curling Club at the VFW Sports Center. The games start at 2 p.m.
The wheelchair curling, which is free, is open to youths ages 2 through 25 who have mobility challenges and their friends and families.
That's one of the things that makes Dreams so special - the opportunity it provides for the mobility challenged to participate in sports side by side with their loved ones.
For more information, email dreamsinmotioninc@yahoo.com or check out their Facebook page, Dreams in Motion.
It's not TV, it's HBO
HBO has a long history of top-notch programming, and its sports coverage has been among the best.
There are a couple of things worth checking out on the pay cable channel now.
First is a six-part series on boxing trainer Freddie Roach. With the great Peter Berg of "Friday Night Lights" fame at the helm, "On Freddie Roach" lives up to its promise.
In the two episodes that have aired Berg lets the details - including the silences - tell the story, and they speak powerfully as Roach not only runs his gym, but copes with Parkinson's disease.
Roach has trained many world champions, and his first was Virgil Hill, whom he discusses in the opening episode. As with most HBO shows, if you missed the first couple of installments you can watch them On Demand. You should.
The other piece worth checking out is the 90-minute documentary on legendary former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath. "Namath" is a mostly light-hearted look back on one of the most colorful characters in NFL history.
I have a soft spot for Namath. His book, "I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow ... 'Cause I Get Better Looking Every Day" was the first sports autobiography I ever read, and one I pored over countless times growing up.
Unfortunately, I was just young enough that I only got to see him play once. It was Oct. 10, 1977, when Namath - a shell of himself while playing out the string with the Los Angeles Rams -was roughed up by my Chicago Bears on a Monday night. He never played another game.
Part of what makes "Namath" so much fun is all the great footage of Namath in his prime. It's amazing to see how mobile he was at Alabama. Considering he suffered his first serious knee injury before he even turned pro, and more in the NFL, it's remarkable how much he accomplished with the Jets.
Although Namath's flamboyance is well-documented, it's interesting that he not only coexisted, but thrived, under the guidance of Bear Bryant, perhaps the hardest of the old school coaches.
Some revisionist history has tried to paint Namath as overrated. But more advanced statistical analysis that takes into account context of era, makes the case for his greatness.
But Broadway Joe was never about the numbers, anyway. He was about excitement, and "Namath" captures that.
(Lou Babiarz is the Tribune Sports Editor.)
Read more: http://bismarcktribune.com/sports/local/lou-babiarz-dreams-ready-to-go-in-motion/article_642f9970-4e04-11e1-9b67-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1lK5UOhsS
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