REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL Returns to HBO Tuesday

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL, TV's most honored sports journalism series, returns with more enterprising features and reporting when its all-new 228th edition debuts TUESDAY, MARCH 22 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

For up-to-the-minute updates about REAL SPORTS, follow on Twitter at @RealSportsHBO or join the conversation using #RealSports.

Segments include:

*Craig Sager. Over the last four decades, Craig Sager has a been a mainstay in sports broadcasting, reporting from such major events as the World Series, Olympics and NBA Finals. The 64-year-old is best known these days for his signature work on Turner's "NBA on TNT," where he is a popular fixture with his engaging interview style and eccentric wardrobe of colorful custom suits. In 2014, however, Sager was forced to take a leave of absence after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. REAL SPORTS correspondent Bernard Goldberg speaks with Sager and his family about his illustrious career and nearly two-year battle against cancer, which has included painful chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant from his son.

Producer: Chapman Downes.

*Titans of Mavericks. Just south of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay usually seems like any other beach town along the Golden Coast. But on rare occasions, after heavy winter storms occur thousands of miles offshore, it becomes surfing's Mecca, generating some of the most powerful and treacherous waves known to man. Called Mavericks, these waves can rise 50 feet or more and come with ice-cold temperatures, lurking sharks and jagged rocks.

After riding Mavericks alone for 15 years, big-wave surfer Jeff Clark was joined by others in 1990 and the legend of this preeminent SURFING location grew. Nine years later, the first official SURFING competition - restricted to the top-24 big-wave surfers - was held there, with ten events organized to date. The competition can only be held when conditions are right, requiring participants to descend on the site as quickly as possible.

REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel heads to Northern California and learns more about this year's special event, known as "Titans of Mavericks," considered one of the most dangerous in surfing.

Producer: Jordan Kronick.

A third segment will be announced when it is confirmed.

Other HBO playdates: March 22 (2:55 a.m.), 24 (10:30 a.m., 7:00 p.m.), 26 (11:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m.), 28 (noon) and 31 (8:00 p.m.), and April 3 (9:15 a.m.), 6 (6:30 a.m.) and 8 (4:45 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: March 25 (2:05 p.m., 4:00 a.m.), 27 (2:00 p.m.) and 28 (9:00 p.m.), and April 7 (9:00 p.m.), 9 (11:45 a.m.), 12 (7:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m.) and 15 (10:30 a.m.)

The show is also available on HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO On Demand.

On Jan. 19, REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL received its third duPont Award for broadcast excellence from Columbia University. Previously honored in 2006 and 2012, the show was recognized for its eye-opening reporting on Qatar, which was awarded the 2022 World Cup amid a storm of controversy and corruption charges. In addition to receiving duPont Awards and the George. F. Peabody Award, REAL SPORTS has won Outstanding Sports Journalism Emmys® 16 times and earned 28 Sports Emmy® Awards overall since debuting in 1995.

Follow REAL SPORTS updates on HBO.com/realsports and facebook.com/realsports. Immediately following the debut of this month's show onMarch 22, log on to HBO.com/realsports for a special overtime session hosted by Bryant Gumbel.

The executive producer of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is Rick Bernstein; Joe Perskie is senior producer.

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