REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL Returns to HBO, 12/16

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL caps its 20th season with a special roundtable review of the show's most memorable moments this year when the series' 213th edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, DEC. 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO.

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Departing from the show's regular format, host Bryant Gumbel leads correspondents Mary Carillo, Frank Deford, Jon Frankel, Bernard Goldberg, Andrea Kremer, Soledad O'Brien, Carl Quintanilla and David Scott in a spirited roundtable discussion of 2014, touching on everything from favorite stories of the year to the interviews and segments that had the greatest impact on them.

The REAL SPORTS team traveled the globe in 2014 in pursuit of high-impact stories that resonate on a worldwide level, visiting: Athens, Greece and Manaus and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to examine "white elephants," world-class stadiums built for events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, which often remain unused and serve as symbols of financial incompetence afterward; Qatar, the tiny Middle Eastern nation that secured the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but has been dogged by scandal, including accusations of bribery and inhumane, even deadly, labor practices in connection with its winning bid; and Italy, France, Germany and the Far East to investigate an elaborate, multi-continental network of match-fixing in professional soccer.

REAL SPORTS looked at hot-button issues, covering: marijuana use in the NFL as an alternative to opiate-based painkillers; the marketing of shooting sports to children in the U.S. in order to build the next generation of firearm consumers and gun supporters; alleged unsafe breeding practices in the world of competitive dog shows and their affect on canine health; the NCAA student-athlete academic reform that was mandated in 2003 to promote better education practices at big-time universities such as the University of North Carolina, and subsequent reports of fraud; a widespread and dangerous drug culture that's killing dozens of race horses every week in the U.S.; and the radical ideas being proposed to reverse the declining popularity of golf.

The show met inspiring and memorable people, among them: Gunnar Esiason and his father, former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst Boomer Esiason, who shares an incredible bond with correspondent Frank Deford as a father to a child with cystic fibrosis; and Fallon Fox, who became the first openly transgender MMA fighter in 2013.

REAL SPORTS was there when computer-based sport activities took center stage, revealing how eSports, one of the fastest-growing spectator sports, has infiltrated the college landscape, and exploring the rapid growth of daily fantasy sports into a billion-dollar industry.

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 19 (10:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m.), 21 (11:00 a.m., 3:45 a.m.), 23 (11:30 p.m.), 26 (2:15 p.m., 8:00 p.m.), 27 (8:15 a.m.) and 30 (7:00 p.m., 3:30 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Dec. 17 (4:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.) and 31 (8:45 a.m., 10:30 p.m.), and Jan. 2 (2:30 p.m., 3:00 a.m.), 4 (8:40 a.m.) and 17 (2:00 p.m.)

HBO On Demand® availability: Dec. 17-Jan. 7

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is available on multiple platforms, including HBO On Demand® and HBO GO®.

The executive producer of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is Rick Bernstein; senior producer, Joe Perskie; senior coordinating producer, Nick Dolin; coordinating producer, Tim Walker; producers, Lisa Bennett, Maggie Burbank, Chapman Downes, Josh Fine, Jordan Kronick and Jason Samuels; associate producers, Nisreen Habbal, Katie Melone, Beret Remak and Jake Rosenwasser; production associates, Adam Berkowitz, Max Gershberg and Naimah Jabali-Nash.