With the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century just days away, the CBS Sports Network last night aired a special on the historical significance of the contest. Filmed on November 3, the hour-long show was hosted by Jim Nantz, the longtime lead college-basketball announcer for CBS and UH grad. The on-stage panel consisted of GOTC announcer Dick Enberg (who died, sadly, less than two months after the taping); Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, who played in the game for the Houston Cougars; and Seth Davis, who was not even born when the game was played, but wrote a major biography of Coach John Wooden and thus could provide a UCLA perspective.
Interspersed between the November 3 panel discussion were segments of GOTC game footage and filmed interviews with several of the participating players. These included former Bruin Lynn Shackelford, and former Cougars Billy Bane, Larry Cooper, Vern Lewis, Carlos Bell, and Melvin Bell (Melvin Bell was not listed in the game-program, as he missed the season due to a knee injury). There were also interview clips with the UH trainer and student-manager, journalists, and others. Several Cougar players from 1968 were in attendance at the taping and came on stage at the end.
Overall, I liked the show. It was well-paced and crafted to appeal both to viewers not that familiar with the GOTC (by providing considerable background information) and to those, like myself, who know the basics and crave every additional detail and anecdote. Enberg's passing obviously lent the broadcast an added poignancy, as Nantz discussed with the Houston Chronicle.
There are some Twitter tweets from CBS Sports Network featuring clips from the show: here, here, and here. I expect that clips from the special or even the whole show will find their way onto YouTube or other online venues.
