Sports

Director Darren Aronofsky talks about making a realistic film about a notoriously fake sport. His Oscar-nominated film, starring Mickey Rourke as a professional wrestler well past his prime, will be released on DVD next week. (Segment)

Author Larry Tye discusses Satchel Paige, a negro league pitcher who helped integrate baseball by touring the country and playing exhibition games with white players.

In his new book Are You Kidding Me? journalist John Feinstein chronicles the dramatic showdown that occured at the 2008 U.S. Open when Rocco Mediate, a pro-golfer with a ranking of 158th, challenged Tiger Woods to a sudden-death playoff.

When Rocco Mediate, a low-ranking journeyman golfer, challenged Tiger Woods to a sudden-death playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open, it became the subject of the new book Are You Kidding Me?

Journalist Elmer Smith continues his assessment of the ups and downs of the boxing champ's career.

In his new documentary, the director of Two Girls and a Guy turns his camera on Mike Tyson — who's been his friend since the former boxer was 19.

Journalist Elmer Smith first met Mike Tyson when the future heavyweight champion was just turning 18. Smith, who worked as a boxing writer, a general sports columnist and a general news columnist, went on to cover the ups and downs of the boxer's career.

James Toback has created a new documentary about Mike Tyson, the ex-boxing world champ. Movie critic David Edelstein says that Toback's mix of old and new footage "flows seamlessly" and that the stream-of-consciousness movie is "revelatory."

In his new book As They See 'Em, the journalist provides an insider's perspective on the dedicated umpires who face angry fans, disgruntled coaches and poor pay for the game they love.

Hailed as "the best baseball movie ever," Sugar follows one young man's journey from a village in the Dominican Republic to a minor league baseball team in Iowa. Filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck talk about creating the film.

Comic actor Danny McBride stars in Eastbound and Down, a new HBO series about a washed-up baseball star who becomes a substitute gym teacher.

Kevin Rafferty's film Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 chronicles the famous 1968 football game between the two rivals. Rafferty's other movies include The Atomic Cafe and The Last Cigarette.

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, the new documentary about the famous 1968 game.

Jose Torres-- the former light-heavyweight boxing champion-- died from a heart attack on Jan. 19 at the age of 72. Fresh Air remembers him with an interview from 1989.

The Wrestler is predictable, corny and heavy-handed, says critic David Edelstein, but with Mickey Rourke acting his heart out, the sheer adrenaline-pumping violence of the film gets into your bloodstream.

Fans of NBC's Friday Night Lights might want to look into DirecTV; the show, about a small Texas town and its high-school football team, begins its third season exclusively on DirecTV's "The 101," and won't hit broadcast TV until 2009. David Bianculli has a review.

Female athletes suffer a higher rate of injuries than males, particularly to their knees. But some people are reluctant to talk about this "injury epidemic" out of fear of jeopardizing Title IX. Warrior Girls author Michael Sokolove discusses injury risk and prevention.

Fresh Air film critic David Edelstein reviews Redbelt, the new martial-arts film written and directed by David Mamet. The film tells the story of a principled martial-arts master who steps into the professional fighting ring to save his business.

Kyle Chandler plays Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, the NBC-TV series about the big drama of small-town Texas high-school football. The third season of the series will be shown on DirecTV before airing on NBC in 2009.

When a Portland teenager accidentally kills a security guard at the local skate park, he pulls into himself rather than talking to the police. Gus Van Sant's film explores the teen's thoughts and actions in a free-form style that critic David Edelstein calls "a raging success."