WILL TO SUCCEED

AS COACH AND MENTOR, JAY WILLIAMS DRAWS ON HIS STRUGGLES, TO INSPIRE A TEAM

BEST SHOT

STREAM

July 18, YouTube

The story of an inner-city youth basketball team is well-worn sports documentary territory, but when it's done well—as it is in this eight-part series—it can be a moving testament to the power of sports and community. Best Shot, from executive producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter, follows the 2017--18 Central (Newark) Blue Devils and their coach Shawn McCray, who got a little sideline assistance from another Blue Devil, former Duke star Jay Williams. Acting as both assistant coach and mentor, the ESPN hoops analyst, whose NBA career ended after a motorcycle accident in 2003, led the team through drills and even took them to his alma mater. "I want this experience to change lives," Williams says in one episode. He'd be the first to admit it indeed changed his own.

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TED WILLIAMS

July 23, 9 p.m. on PBS

In honor of what would have been Teddy Ballgame's 100th birthday, this American Masters doc, narrated by Jon Hamm, explores the Kid's remarkable career on the field and his fraught personal relationships off it.

VISIT

COMEBACK SEASON

9/11 Memorial & Museum, NYC

A new exhibit, which will run through the summer of 2019, revisits the days and weeks after the tragedy and the role sports played in the nation's healing process.

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TOUR DE FRANCE

July 7--29, on NBCSN

Recently cleared after a nine-month-long doping investigation, four-time champion Chris Froome of Great Britain is again the favorite to be wearing yellow when the race concludes in Paris.