Tangled Up In Blue: HBO Docu To Capture Carolina-Duke Rivalry

HBO To Examine North Carolina-Duke Basketball Rivalry In One-Hour Documentary

HBO Sports next February will examine the North Carolina-Duke men’s college basketball rivalry “in a one-hour documentary tentatively titled 'Duke vs. North Carolina,'” according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. The documentary follows the “critical success” of the '07 documentary on the Michigan-Ohio State college football rivalry, which "prompted network executives to greenlight an exploration into the hoops version of the Hatfield's and McCoy's." HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg: “Jim Lampley (a UNC graduate) has been telling me about the rivalry for 20 years or so. I was also aware of the subculture of both universities, and even though UNC was the state school, they think of themselves as the dignified force in the rivalry. ... Unbelievable iconic names have floated through both places and it makes for a great documentary." Deitsch reported the net has "already completed most of the interviews," including sitdowns with current Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, former UNC coach Dean Smith and other "famous basketball alums." Greenburg said that he would like “to have an advanced screening in Raleigh where HBO would split an auditorium in half between Blue Devil and Tar Heel supporters.” Greenburg: “It’d be great to have each side chanting the fight song before we showed the film.” Meanwhile, HBO on December 16 is set to debut “The Integration of College Football,” an hour-long documentary that “traces the emergence of the black athlete in the 1970s among major college football in the South” (SI.com, 6/23).