Much has been written about the Miracle on Ice. We’ve had a fantastic Hollywood dramatization, along with a definitive HBO documentary. But this remains one of the greatest and most memorable sporting events of the 20th century, and certainly one of the most important, if not the most important, sporting moments in American history. As a result, there will always be a thirst for more.

Given the subject matter, it shouldn’t be difficult to make a good documentary. Still, one should aim much higher. This iconic sports moment deserves a documentary worthy of its legacy, and Netflix delivers exactly that with “Miracle: The Boys of ’80.”

The film is directed by Max Gershberg and Jacob (Jake) Rogal, who faced the challenge of bringing a fresh perspective to a story that has been told many times, while also reintroducing this classic underdog tale to a new generation. They succeed by incorporating never-before-seen 16mm footage from the era, paired with firsthand reflections and interviews with surviving players, many of whom returned to Lake Placid for the filming. The audience watches as these men react to and process moments from their past, often seeing themselves and their families in footage they had never encountered before. In effect, we travel back in time with them as they relive this extraordinary journey 45 years later. The result is a powerful blend of historical footage and intimate, present-day interviews that humanizes a legendary achievement.

The documentary explores familiar themes, but with added depth. It offers insight into the intense preparation overseen by legendary coach Herb Brooks, whose demanding and innovative approach forged a cohesive team from a group of very different young men. Brooks was famously hard on his players and maintained an emotional distance from them—one he was never able to overcome before his tragic death.

The dominance of the Soviet team is also examined in detail, with Al Michaels providing perspective along the way. Notably, the filmmakers resist the temptation to linger on his iconic call (“Do you believe in miracles? YES!”), allowing the moment to speak for itself and maintaining the focus on the players.

The film also places the victory within its broader historical and cultural context, emphasizing the Cold War backdrop and the way the win briefly united a divided nation. The filmmakers vividly capture the unrestrained joy of fans and ordinary Americans celebrating both the upset over the Soviets and the eventual gold medal. It truly was a special moment, and one the country desperately needed.

Captain Mike Eruzione delivers the film’s final line: “We could use a 1980 now.” Well said.

Ehlo took no offense by anything in the documentary but didn’t remember Harper saying anything like that, though Ehlo concedes that Harper may have said something directly to Jordan.

It’s a great interview, as Ehlo is a class act, and he tells some great Jordan stories that show a good side of Jordan.

Having lived through this, the documentary brought back some great memories. I wasn’t a Bulls fan, but like everyone I respected the brilliance of Michael Jordan. I always rooted for him in The Finals.

“The Last Dance” covers the drama of this last title run while also telling the backstory of the key figures like Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson. And of course it covers all the drama surrounding Jerry Krause and the tension between the front office, Jackson, Jordan and Pippen.

So many things stand out from the first two episodes. Of course, the whole Michael Jordan backstory is always fun to watch. I had forgotten about Jordan’s offensive explosion against Larry Bird and the 1986 Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Pippen’s backstory was also fascinating, seeing his challenging family situation and how he managed to work hard at a small college and get to the NBA.

I remember at the time how ridiculous the situation seemed when the Bulls made it clear that season would be Jackson’s last season. In some way it was a relief for the rest of the NBA. Now we get to see the behind the scenes look at how it all played out . . . the rest of this documentary series should be just as fun.

One of the true boxing legends passed away yesterday. Joe Frazier was a great fighter and a class act.

– Every boxing fans should watch the documentary Thrilla in Manilla. You’ll see Frazier’s class along with how despicable Ali was in his racist taunts against Frazier. It’s no wonder Frazier hated Ali’s guts until he recently said he forgave him.

– Bill Simmons addresses the Thrilla in Manilla.

– Ray Ratto discusses Ali and Frazier.

– Bullz-Eye.com interviewed Joe Frazier two years ago and he discussed Muhammad Ali, George Forman and Mike Tyson.

– Dan Rafael looks back on Frazier’s career.

– Frazier was a true winner.

My teammates at Duke — all of them, black and white — were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. I know most of the black players who preceded and followed me at Duke. They all contribute to our tradition of excellence on the court.

It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men like Johnny Dawkins (coach at Stanford), Tommy Amaker (coach at Harvard), Billy King (general manager of the Nets), Tony Lang (coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan), Thomas Hill (small-business owner in Texas), Jeff Capel (former coach at Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth), Kenny Blakeney (assistant coach at Harvard), Jay Williams (ESPN analyst), Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) and Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) ever sold out their race.

To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous. All of us are extremely proud of the current Duke team, especially Nolan Smith. He was raised by his mother, plays in memory of his late father and carries himself with the pride and confidence that they instilled in him.

Well said, Grant.

In a recent column, FoxSports columnist Jason Whitlock took the Fab Five to task for saying such things:

The Fab Five clearly believe Coach K and Duke didn’t and don’t recruit inner-city black kids, and they believe race/racism/elitism are the driving forces behind the philosophy.

Let’s go back to the Fab Five era and Duke’s philosophy then. Coach K recruited kids who had every intention of staying in school for four years. He recruited kids who had a good chance of competing academically at Duke and could meet the standardized test score qualifications for entrance.

The Fab Five stated it was their intention to win a national championship and turn pro as a group after their sophomore season. Webber, who was recruited by Duke, left Michigan after two years. Rose and Howard left as juniors. Impoverished inner-city kids have good reason to turn pro early. I’m not knocking Webber, Howard and Rose for their decisions. They didn’t fit the Duke profile at the time.

During the three-year run of the Fab Five (one season without Webber), Duke beat Michigan all four times the schools met while winning two ACC titles and one NCAA title. During the same span, Michigan won zero conference or national titles. In addition, Webber’s interactions with booster Ed Martin put the program on probation and caused Michigan to forfeit all its games.

I think Coach K recruited and recruits the right kids for Duke.

It turns out that Jalen Rose was the executive producer of the documentary, so it would be tough to argue that his words were taken out of context.

ESPN is currently running a two-hour documentary about Michigan’s Fab Five (Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, and if you haven’t seen it, I’d definitely recommend it. Webber didn’t agree to participate, but the interviews with the other four members along with members of the coaching staff were quite compelling.

Yesterday, the internet was abuzz with comments made by the former Michigan players about Duke and especially Christian Laettner, whom Rose thought was an “overrated pu**y,” until he actually played against him and saw that he had some serious game. I’ll leave those comments alone since Rose eventually gave Laettner credit, but there are a few other moments in the documentary that jumped out at me:

1. Rose hated Duke because they wouldn’t recruit someone like him; they only recruited “Uncle Tom”-type black players. He also admitted he hated Grant Hill because Hill grew up in a great home while Rose grew up poor with an absentee father. Rose probably hit the nail on the head with regard to why many inner city blacks resent/criticize suburban blacks; it’s out of envy. They see lives that are more comfortable than theirs, and they lash out in anger. The Fab Five translated this to a hatred of the Duke players, including guys like Grant Hill and Thomas Hill.

I suspect if Mike Krzyzewski were asked about his recruiting habits and answered honestly, he’d say that he had the luxury of recruiting players (of whatever race) that he thought would fit into his team-first concept. He already had a successful college program, so why recruit a ‘risky’ player like Rose who may or may not fit into what he’s trying to build? The last thing he wants is to have a to battle a player on a daily basis.

In the end, Duke was 3-0 against the Fab Five, so I’d say the Blue Devils got the last laugh.

2. Forget the shorts, shoes, socks or even the style of play. The thing that bothered me about the Fab Five was the in-your-face taunting. The film was great because it reminded me of what I didn’t like about the Fab Five. Their play was outstanding. Nobody hogged the ball and winning was paramount, so from a pure basketball respect, they were wonderful. It was all the antics that drove me nuts. There were several highlights that showed the players getting into the face of the opponent after the guy was just dunked on. It’s one thing to over-celebrate with your teammates, but to show up an opponent like that is just bad sportsmanship. This was explained away as being part of the inner city playground culture, but my guess is that if they would have gotten into someone’s face on the playground, they would have been punched in the nose (or worse). At the time, officials didn’t really call taunting technicals, so there were no consequences to those actions. Oh, and Juwan Howard was the worst. Webber or Rose would dunk and there comes Howard, getting into the grill of the guy who just got dunked on. It was no surprise that against Ohio St. in their first Final Four, Howard got headbutt to the nose at one point in the game.

3. The Fab Five felt entitled to the money they were generating. This is understandable given their relative upbringings, but the Fab Five obviously didn’t value education very much if they didn’t think they were getting anything in return for their basketball prowess. They were also receiving free coaching, which improved their games and helped Webber, Rose and Howard have long and very profitable careers. What’s funny is that Rose came to this conclusion during a 16-day tour of Europe where the Wolverines traveled around and played a few professional teams in exhibition games. He looked around to the packed gym and said, “Somebody’s getting paid, and it isn’t us.” Keep in mind that the team got a FREE TRIP TO EUROPE, complete with food and board. This mentality is a little strange to me.

4. Rose brags about his trash talking, but then is surprised with Illinois fans return the favor. Rose freely admits do doing research about a player and then using that research against him. He might bring up the player’s mom or something that happened in the player’s family in an attempt to get into the player’s head. But when Rose got in trouble for being at a “crack house” (even though it wasn’t really a crack house), and the Illinois fans started chanting “Craaaaaack House” and “Just Say No,” Rose was surprised. He went on to have a great game, but shouldn’t he have respected what the Orange Crush was doing?

5. UNC/Michigan was a really weird game for me. As a long-time Duke fan, the 1992 title win over Michigan was obviously a great night. The documentary was cut in a way to make the game seem closer than it was, but the Blue Devils beat the Wolverines by 20 points even though Michigan held a one-point lead at halftime. The 1993 title game was a different story, because it was probably the only time I’ve ever rooted for North Carolina to win a basketball game. The documentary did a great job breaking down everything that led to Webber’s notorious timeout, including what was said in the huddle before the play and what might have happened along the Michigan bench to prompt Webber to ask for a timeout. There was a great, long shot of Webber walking off the court and the filmmakers also included the pretty painful post game press conference.

6. Webber was indicted for lying under oath about taking money from a Michigan booster. Rose didn’t get in trouble because he admitted to taking cash while in school. It’s estimated (alleged) that Webber took $280 K from a Michigan booster who was also an admitted bookmaker. Mitch Albom says that he got to know the Fab Five as well as or better than any writer during that time, and he doesn’t see how Webber could possibly have that much money stashed away without flaunting it in one way or another. He argues that Webber may have taken it after he declared for the draft, but that doesn’t jive with Rose’s accounts that he took money throughout college. Something’s not adding up. Regardless, the university made the decision to vacate the two Final Four appearances and those banners are sitting in storage somewhere.

7. “Our legacy is that we were bigger than the final score.” — Jalen Rose
This is exactly why so many people were turned off by the Fab Five. It’s a style versus substance argument, and what kills me is that this group had plenty of both. The only reason Rose says this about their legacy is because they never won a national championship. They were blown out by a better team in 1992 and Webber’s timeout (along with countless other plays throughout the game) cost them a chance to win it all in 1993. While it’s true that the Fab Five will always be remembered, it’s not always for good reasons. Many people associate the Fab Five with taunting or the rise of the hip-hop culture, when they should be remembered for playing really good basketball.

ESPN is replaying “The Fab Five” throughout next week. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.