I remember visiting my divorced father on weekends. He’d be cradled in his recliner, eyes fixed on two smallish televisions on at once, each tuned to a different football game – college on Saturdays, pro on Sundays, natch. No remote control. No wall-covering screen. No high definition.

It’s clear ESPN gives directors complete control over their 30 for 30 documentaries because there are so many ways that each story can be presented. Co-directors Josh Swade and Maura Mandt's There's No Place Like Home was presented as what I like to call a “popcorn doc.” And that's fine by me.

"Late last night …"
Early Sunday morning, the Aggies eked a red-eye win from their trip to Shreveport, beating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 59-57 in regulation. The final whistle didn’t sound until 12:45am, nearly four and a half hours after Saturday's kickoff. It was an agonizing win for the Aggies, who take a 5-1 record into this week's matchup with LSU.

Savannah State was laughing their asses off during the Horns’ 36-2 first half loss to Oklahoma. Horns halftime motivational speaker Joel Osteen was seen slinking out of the Cotton Bowl late in the second quarter, when OU had already amassed over 400 yards of offense to UT's single first down. Mrs. John Wayne Gacy had a better half.

When Wade Phillips was hired as defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans he poured over game film of the putrid 2010 defense. What he saw was a poorly coached defense with incredible athletic ability and this one guy, Brian Cushing, who was a “holy phenom."

Regular marchers to "The Beat" know that one-half of my double-life is compromised of pounding out quarter, eighth, and occasionally sixteenth notes. This weekend, worlds collide. I have never attended an ACL festival that Alpha Rev has not performed, because honestly, I don't like paying to go to concerts when I spend 75 days a year playing them.

Editor's note: Joe O’Connell claims to have intercepted this message left by OU Coach Bob Stoops in Dennis Franchione’s voicemail box, but O’Connell also claims to have the power to steal elections and to understand the inner thoughts of Gruyere cheese. We don’t believe a word of it and neither should you.

The Football Prophecies foretell the outcomes of each week’s slate of NFL games. Pigskin prophet, Russ Espinoza, acquired his clairvoyance at age 9 when he was conked on the head by an errant John Elway pass at Mile High Stadium in 1992.

This is what a 30 for 30 documentary should be. ESPN’s second volume of documentaries gets back on track by focusing on a singular story, in this case the 1988 controversy surrounding the men’s 100-meter final in Daniel Gordon's 9.79*.