E:60 on Tuesday, Sept. 18 Features Victor Cruz and Justin Verlander
E:60 (Tuesday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
ESPN’s award-winning news magazine, E:60, continues its Fall 2012 series with an episode that features profiles of improbable NFL star Victor Cruz and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, the story of how soccer saved the life of one of the world’s premier soccer players, and the Washington Nationals’ “Race of Presidents.”
https://youtu.be/Codae9v4CJk
Victor Cruz
Growing up in the violent Fourth Ward of Paterson, N.J., Cruz did not get a Division 1-A scholarship offer. He was kicked out of UMass for bad grades – twice – and suffered personal tragedy. An undrafted free agent, Cruz caught on with the New York Giants and spent his first season on the injured reserve list. Then, in 2011, Cruz caught 82 passes for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns, the best season ever by a Giants’ rookie wide receiver. In his highlight reel that included a 99-yard TD against the Jets, Cruz showcased a set of moves worthy of his “Silk City Salsa” touchdown dance. After he climaxed the season with a touchdown grab in the Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI victory, Cruz worked on his clothing line, wrote a memoir and embraced celebrity. E:60’s Rachel Nichols reports on the meteoric rise of Victor Cruz.
Kirby Wilson’s Return
NFL Countdown (Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN)
https://youtu.be/GtGF1gGMN4Q
Last January, as the Pittsburgh Steelers were being eliminated from the playoffs, running backs coach Kirby Wilson was fighting for his life. Forty-eight hours before the AFC Wild Card loss in Denver, a fire started while Wilson was sleeping in his Pittsburgh condo, and he suffered second and third degree burns to nearly 50% of his body. After 45 days in intensive care and enduring multiple surgeries, Wilson returned to coaching for the Steelers’ rookie camp. In his first national interview, Wilson speaks about his recovery with reporter Josina Anderson.
“I remember trying to get out of the bed — it felt like somebody was laying on my legs in the hospital. I couldn’t move myself. I couldn’t turn myself. I had pain from head to toe.” – Kirby Wilson, Steelers running backs coach, on how he felt after being badly burned
“When we saw his feet as badly burned as they were, I thought he’d lose both his feet. I really did. I thought he was going to at least lose half of both feet. Maybe below knee, amputation on at least one.” — Dr. Guy Strofman, Wilson’s plastic surgeon, on the severity of the burns.
“Doctors and nurses, they were very, very demanding. And it kind of started hitting me and dawning on me — they were coaches. They were driving me and pushing me to the limit.” –Wilson, on his rehabilitation process
One Sprinter, Many Hurdles
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPNEWS)
Just like any other freshman, 18-year old Latipha Cross is adjusting to a new life in a dorm room away from home at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich. Her full-ride track and field scholarship is an incredible accomplishment considering the road she traveled – being born to a teenage mother in Detroit, and overcoming homelessness and two bouts with cancer on way to becoming a record-setting high school sprinter. She recounts the heart-breaking details of her life hoping to let other Detroit youngsters know that they are not alone in their struggles. Jeremy Schaap reports.
“Track was the only thing that was good in my life. I think everything that I was going through, all my anger showed out on the track. It’s Detroit. I looked around there, and I finally figured out I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be a stereotype. I didn’t want to be a statistic.” — Latipha Cross
“I was homeless, and I didn’t have anywhere to go. I was bouncing from friend to friend’s house. And, after that, I was sleeping from park to park to park.” — Cross
“I’m staying completely committed to a girl that was homeless, had cancer twice, who most people would have been like, ‘What baggage are you bringing in?’ I knew that if a girl can get through that, what else can she achieve? The sky is the limit.” — Zach Glavash, Eastern Michigan assistant track coach
Time and Opportunity
College GameDay (Saturday, 10 a.m., ESPN)
https://youtu.be/W0Sgtf_0gl4
After seeing the ESPN film that chronicled Dewey Bozella’s story, Alabama coach Nick Saban invited him to speak with his team during training camp. Before Bozella’s murder conviction was overturned in 2009, the former amateur boxer had spent 26 years in prison – more time than any player on the Alabama football team had been alive. Bozella used the moment to talk about the weight of time and wonder of opportunity. Tom Rinaldi reports.
“I want them to see a man that was determined. I want them to see a man that never lost. Saying to himself he’d rather die, than admit to something he didn’t do.” – Dewey Bozella, on what he hoped Alabama players would hear in his message
“He is, to me, the epitome of someone who had a very, very difficult circumstance his whole life and had to overcome a lot.” –Nick Saban, Alabama football coach
Mi Deseo: Mark Sanchez and Jesus David Reyes
Reportaje Especial (Sunday, 11 p.m., ESPN Deportes)
https://youtu.be/c2YU65sM1kY
As part of ESPN’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, ESPN Deportes will air “Mi Deseo,” the first-ever “My Wish” series produced in Spanish in collaboration with The Make-A-Wish Foundation, and featuring Latino children. The series starts with the story of Jesus David Reyes, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when he was 12 years old. His favorite quarterback, Mark Sanchez, granted the 14-year-old football fan’s wish, giving him the opportunity to travel to New York where he got to toss the football around with the quarterback, and watch his favorite NFL team, the Jets, in action.