Latest news with #Rogal
CBC
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
More Songs the Radio Won't Play by Stan Rogal
The idea for More Songs the Radio Won't Play came to Stan Rogal while he listened to singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards's "One More Song the Radio Won't Like." In these poems, he takes formerly "popular" tunes (from various genres) and transforms them. Self-referentiality; mashups of the erudite and the profane; allusions to other arts and sciences; the insertion and bending of biographical and historical facts; problematic snippets of philosophy and literary theory, quotes, and bastardizations; deploying non- or a-poetical language to challenge notions of how a poem should work; sampling; and off-kilter humor work together to update Rogal's playlist for a present-day audience. While his poems unavoidably serve to comment on the world today, Rogal resists a central message; the true emphasis of this collection is on the process of creation. It's not the destination but the journey that is of significance. Not mere cover versions, not exactly parodies (though parodic), these poems are redactions, mutations, Frankensteins … they resemble the original — somewhat — yet are also grossly different. And it's Rogal's sincere hope that the originating artists, like his readers, accept these burnt offerings as tributes. Stan Rogal is a Vancouver-based author of 27 books and a playwright. His work has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. He was born in Vancouver.
New York Times
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Paris Olympics: A chat with the director of the Netflix doc ‘Court of Gold'
Last summer, the basketball world was treated to one of the most fiercely contested tournaments in Olympics history in Paris. Earlier this month, fans were able to relive it all again with the new Netflix series, 'Court of Gold.' The series offers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Team USA, with Kevin Durant taking center stage. 'Court of Gold' captures the shifting landscape in international basketball as it follows France, Serbia and Canada during their time in Paris and has already been labeled as the best sports series of 2025. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'NBA Daily,' director Jake Rogal chatted with Es Baraheni and Zena Keita about which team was the most fun to cover and the best bits that didn't make it to our screens. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in the 'NBA Daily' podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Keita: Which team was the most fun to be around? I have a thought, but I want your answer first. Rogal: I want to hear your thoughts first, and I can tell you whether it's true or not. Baraheni: Yeah, what's your bet? Keita: I'm thinking Serbia. I think they were a good time. Particularly because while the USA and France were battling for their lives, Serbia had been drunk for 24 hours (laughs). I want to know if Serbia was the most fun. Rogal: Max Gershberg was the lead producer on the show, and his job in Paris was to get the Serbians to warm up to him and the crew. It was the hardest assignment of the whole project because the Serbians were the most serious. Coach (Svetislav) Pešić ran a very tight ship, and Max had to do a lot of work to convince those guys that this was worth their time. So, the Serbians were one of the harder ones to crack because the tone that Coach Pešić set was, 'Nothing matters besides basketball. I don't care if you're in Paris and your family's here, you need to run on the track instead of having dinner with them.' Once they won a medal, they were fun, but that was one of the last days we were shooting. The Canadians were the loosest team. They had cool music playing during practice, and they had a swagger about them that just jumped out. Baraheni: It's what we do, true. Keita: OK, whatever, Es (laughs). Rogal: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led that, but they were cool. Shai set the tone, and coach Jordi (Fernández) is also really cool; he's very human. The French were also really fun to be around. We got really close with Boris Diaw. He's awesome. But they had a lot of pressure on them, and anytime they left where they were, the media around them was insane, so it was harder for them to let loose. Advertisement The USA basketball team was also fun to be around, but they had so much attention that it was hard to gain access there because everyone else was trying, and we were one of 100 people trying to get in with them. Each team had a different personality. Baraheni: That's awesome to hear, because I guess hanging out each day, you didn't know what you were going to get. There was this unexpected mystery: 'What does today have in store for us?' It's sort of a moving target, storytelling-wise. One of the cool things about it is, at least from watching it from the outside perspective, you're wondering what was left. What did you guys not put in the doc? There are so many moments that were captured with Steph, KD and LeBron celebrating and the incredible USA-Serbia game, but what was the moment you wish was in that doc that wasn't? Rogal: There are two that come to mind. One is we shot Greece qualifying for the Olympics, and that was cool because you saw Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in the locker room and they're all spraying champagne. It was awesome, but we needed to get to the Olympics early on because we had so much to cover, so we couldn't fit it in. Then the moment between Ant (Anthony Edwards) and President Obama. That night, we shot a dinner afterwards with the president and Team USA, which was amazing. But we didn't have room for it at that moment because, again, we just had to get to the Olympics. Those two moments come to mind. Our team did an awesome job of getting the best stuff in. With a lot of these docs we shoot, we normally shoot over two or three years, and you have a ton of footage to work with. While we did shoot a lot, it was only from June '24 to December '24, so it's not as much as you would think. We picked the best moments and tried to build the series around those moments and tentpole them throughout the series. Baraheni: Ant trash-talking Obama is amazing (laughs). Advertisement Keita: No, it was not. It was so awkward. I had such cringe at that moment. I was like, 'This is the president, Ant, what are you doing?' (laughs) Rogal: Let me take some of your cringes away, because it speaks volumes to who both of them are. President Obama is creating an environment where guys are comfortable enough being themselves. He could've easily come in and said, 'I'm the president, how dare you talk to me that way?' But he didn't, he was cool. He was actually getting more out of Ant by bringing LeBron in and saying, 'You hear what he said?' He was creating a comfortable environment for Ant, which shows how cool President Obama is. Then, Ant was being completely himself, because that's what makes Ant great. He's comfortable being himself no matter who he's in front of, whether it's us or the president; it shows how cool he is. While I understand it's shocking and uncomfortable, they're both so cool for creating that moment and doing it knowing we were there. I feel like it was a cool moment. You can listen to full episodes of NBA Daily for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
Fox News
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
'Court of Gold' director discusses NBA players' affinity for USA despite prior anthem protests
Four years prior to representing the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics, several members of that team - LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo - took part in kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice; Stephen Curry took part in 2021, hours after the Capitol riots. Upon doing so, there were calls that the two were disrespecting a country that they in fact did not want to be a part of. However, representing the Stars and Stripes on the biggest stage seems to say otherwise. James and Davis' quest for a gold medal this past summer was featured in a new Netflix documentary, titled "Court of Gold," that followed the American, French, Serbian and Canadian national teams out in Paris. The six-part doc was released last week. Director Jake Rogal said he never discussed politics with any of the players, but he was certainly able to tell that they did not take representing their country for granted, despite issues they may have had with it in the past. "I think you have pride in where you're from, even if you're not happy with how things are," Rogal said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "I think that we're in a polarizing, tumultuous environment. And I think that no matter what, whether you like it or not, this is where you're from, and you want to put your best foot forward in representing that." It sure seems like most American-born NBA players would prefer the league titles over gold medals, but in the moment, it sure looked hard to tell. In crunch time, especially in the semifinals and finals, anybody could easily see just how important those games were. However, Rogal said the players find it impossible to compare the two phenomenons. "I don't know if they compare them, because we asked a question that's similar, and the answer we got back pretty consistently was that they're two different experiences, so you can't compare them," Rogal said. "The NBA championship is a whole season, and you're building up to that, and it's your job. The Olympics are for your country, and it's a quick hit, and it's like, while it's the same sport, it's two different accomplishments … I don't think they're comparable. I think they're both special in their own right for their own reasons." The Olympics were a far cry from, say, the All-Star break. The closing minutes of the gold medal game, when Stephen Curry lit it up and carried the Americans to the gold, peaked at 22.7 million viewers. It was the most-watched gold medal game since 1996; however, this year's All-Star Game was the second-lowest rated since the turn of the century, with an average of just 4.7 million viewers. The NBA festivities were trumped by the NHL's 4 Nations tournament, as over 9 million took in the USA-Canada final (although fights and political tensions certainly played roles). Nonetheless, given the emotions of these past Olympics, Rogal does feel, though, that NBA players would be all for following the NHL's footsteps by introducing an international tournament for the All-Star break. "I think any time you include country, it raises the stakes. It makes things more appealing. It adds emotion right away. It adds competitiveness," said Rogal. "So, I think getting country competition in the mix at any point is smart. Whether that's at an All-Star Game or at an Olympics, I think that you would get a more competitive response if you do add country into it because it's so personal. I think it could be appealing to them." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's ‘Court of Gold' sets the standard for sports documentaries in 2025
Netflix's 'Court of Gold' sets the standard for sports documentaries in 2025 There is a scene in Episode 5 of the sensational new Netflix documentary 'Court of Gold' (debuting this week) that highlights the remarkable access the production team received while covering the Paris Olympics' men's basketball tournament. Inside the Serbian men's national basketball team's locker room at halftime of its semifinal against the United States, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić is furiously diagramming a play on a whiteboard. Using a magic marker, Jokić explains to his Serbian teammates about a two-man play that Steph Curry and Joel Embiid are running against Serbia. He is animated about how Embiid plans to screen for Curry and what Jokic wants to do to stop it. It is the kind of access NBA fans can only dream about. Advertisement 'I think if we framed it as 'We're going to shoot your scouting report,' they (Serbia) would be like 'Get out,' ' 'Court of Gold' director Jake Rogal said. 'But we got to a point where we learned how not to be noticed, how to jump in and how to hang back. You're able to capture those moments because you're not noticeable.' When the year is over, I think 'Court of Gold' will emerge as the year's best sports documentary. It's that good. Later in that same episode, there is footage of the USA Basketball men's national team coaches — including the Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr and the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra — and managing director Grant Hill sitting on the steps outside of Bercy Arena in Paris, enjoying a beer after the incredible comeback win over Serbia. Advertisement The camera pans to LeBron James, sitting on the steps alone, close to the coaches. Kerr turns to James: 'Want a cold beer?' James pauses and then says, 'Yeah, I'll take one. I'll take one for sure, absolutely. F—— cheers to y'all.' Rogal, who was the lead producer on 'The Last Dance' and part of the team that interviewed Michael Jordan for that documentary series, reflected on that moment: 'When teams have a euphoric moment like that Serbia game where they win, the access is amazing because they're happy.' Advertisement 'It's almost like they're blinded by their happiness,' he said. 'That was a moment where I don't even think they noticed our cameras were there, and I also don't think they would have cared. They were so happy in that moment that the access is incredible.' Rogal said that the IOC told the production team the organization could only offer credentials to be in the right places, and that 'from there it's up to the players and the coaches to let you into whatever they want to let you into. That's up to you to work out with them.' 'I know we're strangers,' Rogal said he told the players. 'This is a moment in your life that is cool, and we don't want to take away from that. We want to be additive. We want to capture it so in 20 years, you can show your grandkids this stuff.' Rogal noted the production team didn't 'ask for everything at once.' Advertisement 'You're like, 'Hey, dude, can I stand in that corner today and shoot you on the foul line?' The guy's like, 'Yeah, sure.' 'The next day, you're like, 'Hey, can I stand in that corner and that corner?' And he's like, 'Yeah, go ahead.' 'So you start to build that rapport and let them know I get this is your experience and your story.' There were four separate production teams, each assigned to the U.S., Canada, Serbia and France. The players that particularly stand out as far as going deep with the filmmakers include Curry, Kevin Durant (who broke down on camera about what playing in the Olympics meant to him), France's Nicolas Batum, Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanović and Canada's Dillon Brooks. There also is a lot of Victor Wembanyama, including his devastation outside the locker room after the gold medal loss to the Americans. Rogal landed the assignment thanks to the support of Connor Schell, the former ESPN executive who now is the head of his own production company, Words + Pictures, where Rogal works, and Jason Hehir, who directed 'The Last Dance.' Asked how he will judge success, Rogal said if the documentary series can have sustainability beyond this initial run: Advertisement 'That means it's speaking to something larger than being time-specific,' Rogal said. 'If people are still watching this thing in three months, given how much content is out there, I'll be excited.' The United States' 3-1 win over Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off on a rock 'em sock 'em Saturday night in Montreal averaged 4.4 million viewers. Viewership peaked at 5.2 million viewers in the 10:45 quarter-hour. That's the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since a Columbus Blue Jackets-Boston Bruins playoff game on NBC in 2019 that averaged 4.5 million. The company said the game was up 369 percent versus the current average for NHL games on ABC. To put things in perspective: NHL postseason games last year across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV averaged 1.54 million viewers, per Sports Business Journal. It's an incredible number and all eyes are now on the 8 p.m. ET Thursday rematch on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. 's David Aldridge wrote an excellent piece on the NBA All-Star Game and the underlying reasons why it's become an anachronistic product. Advertisement You don't cancel an event that still brings in millions of conventional viewers — and is a massive business trade show for your sport — but the product Sunday wasn't good (Saturday was better). I don't expect this to happen, but I would love an All-Star Game weekend featuring six teams broken down as such: Two United States teams, one from Canada, two teams from Europe and one team featuring stars from the rest of the world. Play it however you want after that, including different competitions. You saw how 'best-on-best' has given the NHL a pop. Indiana Fever coach and ESPN broadcaster Stephanie White was a guest on my 'Sports Media' podcast. I consider her one of the more interesting people in my world, given her prominent dual roles on and off the court. Advertisement As part of our 45-minute conversation, I asked her if working as a broadcaster has impacted how she deals with the media as a prominent WNBA coach. 'I'd like to think that I've always had a healthy respect for the media and what they do,' White said. 'I'm always a relationship person. But seeing behind the curtain, seeing how difficult the job is, really understanding it on a human level that this is what they do for a living and how they feed their families and that they care about the sport or they wouldn't be covering it, I think there are some coaches who view it as everybody's out to get me kind of thing, and it's not. 'Yes, there's a lot of information that we can find online and in other areas. But hearing it from players and coaches and getting their perspective is so important for the viewer or the listener. I feel like that has helped me get a different perspective and humanize it in a way probably some other other coaches don't. 'Tough questions, tough conversations, it's part of it. I don't always like answering the questions sometimes. None of us do. But I take a breath and think, 'OK, they're just doing their job.' Just answer the question.' Advertisement Some things I read recently that were interesting to me (note there are paywalls here): More than 3,000 pages of documents reveal how years of betrayals led to a messy court battle that threatens the future of Rupert Murdoch's empire. (Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg / The New York Times) Love, Abby: UConn Huskies' forever bond with one magical fan. (Sam Borden / ESPN) Reeves Wiedeman of Vulture has a deep profile of Lorne Michaels and what happens to 'Saturday Night Live' if and when he leaves. This Medal of Honor recipient became an ace pilot in a day. (Jon Guttman / Miltary Times) A champion snowboarder who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, he pivoted to a life of crime. Today, the FBI says, he's a cocaine dealer with ties to Mexican cartels — and he's on the run. (Jesse Hyde / Rolling Stone) Advertisement The NBA Dunk Contest is just as good as ever. What's changed is the world around it. (Katie Heindl / SB Nation) You can sign up here for 's weekly sports business newsletter, Money Call, written by Dan Shanoff. S.N.L. 'Weekend Update': 50 Seasons of Mocking News and Minting Stars. (Dave Itzoff / New York Times) Seven more massage therapists accuse Ravens' Justin Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior. (Julie Scharper, Brenna Smith and Justin Fenton / The Baltimore Banner) A New Spy Unit Is Leading Russia's Shadow War Against the West. (Bojan Pancevski / The Wall Street Journal) This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NBA, WNBA, Sports Business, Culture 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Netflix's ‘Court of Gold' sets the standard for sports documentaries in 2025
There is a scene in Episode 5 of the sensational new Netflix documentary 'Court of Gold' (debuting this week) that highlights the remarkable access the production team received while covering the Paris Olympics' men's basketball tournament. We are inside the Serbian men's national basketball team's locker room at halftime of its semifinal against the United States, as three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is furiously diagramming a play on a whiteboard. Advertisement Using a magic marker, Jokic explains to his Serbian teammates about a two-man play that Steph Curry and Joel Embiid are running against Serbia. He is animated about how Embiid plans to screen for Curry and what Jokic wants to do to stop it. It is the kind of access NBA fans can only dream about. 'I think if we framed it as 'We're going to shoot your scouting report,' they (Serbia) would be like 'Get out,'' 'Court of Gold' director Jake Rogal said. 'But we got to a point where we learned how not to be noticed, how to jump in and how to hang back. You're able to capture those moments because you're not noticeable.' When the year is over, I think 'Court of Gold' will emerge as the year's best sports documentary. It's that good. Later in that same episode, we see footage of the USA Basketball Men's National Team coaches — including the Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr and the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra — and USAB managing director Grant Hill sitting on the steps outside of Bercy Arena in Paris, enjoying a beer after the incredible comeback win over Serbia. The camera pans to LeBron James, who is sitting on the steps by himself, close to the coaches. Kerr turns to James: 'Want a cold beer?' James pauses and then says, 'Yeah, I'll take one. I'll take one for sure, absolutely. F—— cheers to y'all.' Rogal, who was the lead producer on 'The Last Dance' and part of the team that interviewed Michael Jordan for that documentary series, reflected on that moment: 'When teams have a euphoric moment like that Serbia game where they win, the access is amazing because they're happy.' 'It's almost like they're blinded by their happiness,' he said. 'That was a moment where I don't even think they noticed our cameras were there and I also don't think they would have cared. They were so happy in that moment that the access is incredible.' Advertisement Rogal said that the IOC told the production team the organization could only offer credentials to be in the right places, and that 'from there it's up to the players and the coaches to let you into whatever they want to let you into. That's up to you to work out with them.' 'I know we're strangers,' Rogal said he told the players. 'This is a moment in your life that is cool and we don't want to take away from that. We want to be additive. We want to capture it so in 20 years, you can show your grandkids this stuff.' Rogal noted the production team didn't 'ask for everything at once.' 'You're like, 'Hey, dude, can I stand in that corner today and shoot you on the foul line?' The guy's like, 'Yeah, sure.' 'The next day you're like, 'Hey, can I stand in that corner and that corner?' And he's like, 'Yeah, go ahead.' 'So you start to build that rapport and let them know I get this is your experience and your story.' There were four separate production teams, each assigned to the U.S., Canada, Serbia and France. The players that particularly stand out as far as going deep with the filmmakers include Curry, Kevin Durant (who broke down on camera about what playing in the Olympics meant to him) France's Nicolas Batum, Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanović and Canada's Dillon Brooks. We also see a lot of Victor Wembanyama, including his devastation outside the locker room after the gold medal loss to the Americans. Rogal landed the assignment thanks to the support of Connor Schell, the former ESPN executive who now is the head of his own production company, Words + Pictures, where Rogal works, and Jason Hehir, who directed 'The Last Dance.' Asked how he will judge success, Rogal said if the documentary series can have sustainability beyond this initial run: 'That means it's speaking to something larger than being time-specific,' Rogal said. 'If people are still watching this thing in three months, given how much content is out there, I'll be excited.' The United States' 3-1 win over Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off on a rock 'em sock 'em Saturday night in Montreal averaged 4.4 million viewers. Viewership peaked with 5.2 million viewers in the 10:45 quarter-hour. That's the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since a Blue Jackets-Bruins playoff game on NBC in 2019 that averaged 4.5 million. Advertisement The company said the game was up 369 percent versus the current average for NHL games on ABC. To put things in perspective: NHL postseason games last year across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV averaged 1.54 million viewers, per Sports Business Journal. It's an incredible number and all eyes are now on Thursday's rematch at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. The Athletic's David Aldridge wrote an excellent piece on the NBA All-Star Game and the underlying reasons why it's become an anachronistic product. You don't cancel an event that still brings in millions of conventional viewers — and is a massive business trade show for your sport — but the product Sunday wasn't good. (Saturday was better.) I don't expect this to happen, but I would love an All-Star Game weekend featuring six teams broken down as such: Two United States teams, one from Canada, two teams from Europe and one team featuring stars from the rest of the world. Play it however you want after that, including different competitions. You saw how 'best-on-best' has given the NHL a pop. Indiana Fever coach and ESPN broadcaster Stephanie White is my guest on the 'Sports Media' podcast. I consider her one of the more interesting people in my world given her prominent dual roles on and off the court. As part of our 45-minute conversation, I asked her if working as a broadcaster has impacted how she deals with the media as a prominent WNBA coach. 'I'd like to think that I've always had a healthy respect for the media and what they do,' White said. 'I'm always a relationship person. But seeing behind the curtain, seeing how difficult the job is, really understanding it on a human level that this is what they do for a living and how they feed their families and that they care about the sport or they wouldn't be covering it, I think there are some coaches who view it as everybody's out to get me kind of thing, and it's not. Advertisement 'Yes, there's a lot of information that we can find online and in other areas. But hearing it and from players and coaches and getting their perspective is so important for the viewer or the listener. I feel like that has helped me get a different perspective and humanize it in a way probably some other other coaches don't. 'Tough questions, tough conversations, it's part of it. I don't always like answering the questions sometimes. None of us do. But I take a breath and think, 'OK, they're just doing their job.' Just answer the question.' Some things I read recently that were interesting to me (note there are paywalls here): More than 3,000 pages of documents reveal how years of betrayals led to a messy court battle that threatens the future of Rupert Murdoch's empire. (Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg / The New York Times) Canada's 'mind-boggling' goalie crisis has been a decades-long descent. (James Mirtle and Dan Robson / The Athletic) Love, Abby: UConn Huskies' forever bond with one magical fan. (Sam Borden / ESPN) Reeves Wiedeman of Vulture has a deep profile of Lorne Michaels and what happens to 'Saturday Night Live' if and when he leaves. For women's college basketball coaches, motherhood is no longer something to keep quiet. (Chantel Jennings / The Athletic) This Medal of Honor recipient became an ace pilot in a day. (Jon Guttman / Miltary Times) A champion snowboarder who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, he pivoted to a life of crime. Today, the FBI says, he's a cocaine dealer with ties to Mexican cartels — and he's on the run. (Jesse Hyde / Rolling Stone) The NBA Dunk Contest is just as good as ever. What's changed is the world around it. (Katie Heindl / SB Nation) You can sign up here for The Athletic's weekly sports business newsletter, Money Call, written by Dan Shanoff. Advertisement S.N.L. 'Weekend Update': 50 Seasons of Mocking News and Minting Stars. (Dave Itzoff / New York Times) Seven more massage therapists accuse Ravens' Justin Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior. (Julie Scharper, Brenna Smith and Justin Fenton / The Baltimore Banner) A New Spy Unit Is Leading Russia's Shadow War Against the West. (Bojan Pancevski / The Wall Street Journal) The 'relationship of dependence' between a barred coach and a Wimbledon champion. (Matthew Futterman and Charlie Eccleshare / The Athletic)
