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January 1, 2005

Season 1

01. Wrist Wrestling / Lama Kunga

Wrist Wrestling

The national wrist wrestling tournament in Reno, Nevada brings together athletes from across the country to compete in an event based on brute strength. Focusing on a father and son team, we watch them train and the son competes under the watchful eye of his father.

Lama Kunga

The spiritual reincarnation of an 11th century Buddhist monk, Lama Kunga Rinpoche was taken from his home in Tibet at the age of six to enter the monastery. In 1959, he was sent to the United States by the Dalai Lama as a spiritual guide to the unenlightened in this country. Playing in his traditional Buddhist garb, Lama Kunga plays 18 holes two to three times a week. We followed him through a lesson with a local pro and a round of 18 holes to explore the connections between golf and enlightenment.

30min
January 1, 2005

02. McFarland Cross Country / Senior Hockey

McFarland Cross Country

This boys' cross country team from central California is comprised completely of kids from Mexican immigrant families. The community is terribly poor and to support their families, the runners and their parents pick grapes in nearby fields. Though neighboring schools and teams are more financially secure, McFarland's runners are the class of California winning nine state championships and dominating nearly every year.

Senior Hockey

John Burnofsky, aka "Mr. B", claims at 93-years-old to be the oldest living active hockey player. We follow his team at the National Senior Olympics on their quest for gold.

30min
January 8, 2005

03. Easton vs. Phillipsburg

Easton vs. Phillipsburg

For nearly a century these two bordering towns that are separated by the Delaware River have been playing their annual Thanksgiving day football game. This monumental game highlights the heated rivalry, tradition and history between the two communities. This year's game marks only the second time in the game's history that both teams enter the game undefeated.

30min
January 22, 2005

04. Prison Chess / Barton Football

Prison Chess

Each year, Princeton's top chess players travel to the Trenton State Penitentiary to take on inmates at the maximum security prison. The tournament pits fifty felons against three of the Ivy League's finest.

Barton Football

Barton, Arkansas is town so small that it cannot be found on most maps. Fielding a football team at a school with only a handful of students is a challenge, but Coach Frank McClellan has still managed to win eight state championships and has never had a losing season in his 34 years at Barton High School.

30min
January 29, 2005

05. Willie McQueen / Bench Press

Willie McQueen

A junior defensive tackle at Flint Southwestern Academy, Willie McQueen has played football since seventh grade. The loss of his legs in a train accident at age seven hasn't dampened his spirits or stopped Willie from stuffing the run.

Bench Press

Devan Doan is your typical teenage girl – who happens to be able to bench press well over 200 pounds. Devan and her family travel to Cleveland, Ohio for the World Bench Press Championships.

30min
February 5, 2005

06. Pop Warner / Table Tennis

Pop Warner

Driven by intense coaches and cheering parents, the nation's best Pop Warner teams compete for the right to be called national champions.

Table Tennis

Hall of Famer Lily Yip is the matriarch of the first family of American table tennis. Her clan travels to Las Vegas to vie for spots on the US national team.

30min
February 12, 2005

07. Metro Academy / Ice Climbing

Metro Academy

The students on Lookout Mountain are not here by choice. This school within a maximum security prison hopes that basketball can help rehabilitate its juvenile offenders.

Ice Climbing

Driven by adrenaline, climbers at the Ouray Ice Festival attempt to scale the Uncompahgre Gorge's icy face as fast as humanly possible.

30min
February 19, 2005

08. Bull Riding / Toboggan Championships

Bull Riding

What drives a modern day cowboy? We ride with Tony Mendes, a third generation Bull Rider in search of the million dollar PBR title..

Toboggan Championships

In Camden, Maine, the annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships pits local competitors against out of town newcomers in a battle to determine who's got the fastest sled on Ragged Mountain.

30min
March 5, 2005

09. Roller Derby / Willie McQueen

Roller Derby

Decked out in skirts and skates, the LA Derby Dolls are reviving roller derby in Los Angeles. The featured match pits Puncherello and the Tough Cookies against Suzy Snakeyes and the Sirens.

Willie McQueen

A junior defensive tackle at Flint Southwestern Academy, Willie McQueen has played football since seventh grade. The loss of his legs in a train accident at age seven hasn¹t dampened his spirits or stopped Willie from stuffing the run.

30min
March 12, 2005

10. World Pond Hockey Championships / Ice Fishing

World Pond Hockey Championships

Facing temperatures below zero and opponents from around the world, 96 teams converge on the town of Plaster Rock in New Brunswick, Canada. The teams compete on local ponds for a shot at glory and replica of the Stanley Cup.

Ice Fishing

Characters hardened from years of fishing in frigid weather compete in two-man teams to claim their sport's most prestigious prize. Spread across Lake Mary's 2,000 acres, they endure winter in Minnesota while using all sorts of gimmicks to coax fish out of the frozen water.

30min
March 19, 2005

11. Westminster Dog Show / Mr. B

Westminster Dog Show

Dog enthusiasts from around the world parade their meticulously groomed pets before the judges at Madison Square Garden. The dogs come in all shapes and sizes, just as their handlers come from all walks of life.

Mr. B

John Burnosky, aka "Mr. B", claims at 93-years-old to be the world's oldest active hockey player. We follow his team at the National Senior Olympics on their quest for gold.

30min
March 26, 2005

12. U.P. 200 / Ice Climbing

U.P. 200

Mushers endure frigid temperatures and sleep deprivation while racing their dog teams across 260 miles of Michigan's frozen Upper Peninsula.

Ice Climbing

Driven by adrenaline, climbers at the Ouray Ice Festival attempt to scale the Uncompahgre Gorge's icy face as fast as humanly possible.

30min
April 2, 2005

13. Ann Wolfe / Lama Kunga

Ann Wolfe

After living with her children for two years under a tree in Austin, Texas, Ann Wolfe was discovered by a local trainer who molded her into a ferocious boxer. Wolfe has parlayed her innate toughness and brawler instincts into a super middleweight world title. Will Laila Ali dare to take her on?

Lama Kunga

The spiritual reincarnation of an 11th century Buddhist monk, Lama Kunga Rinpoche was taken from his home in Tibet at the age of six to enter the monastery. Now living in the Bay Area, Lama Kunga plays 18 holes two to three times a week, searching for the connection between golf and enlightenment.

30min
April 9, 2005

14. Navy brigades / Fencing

Navy brigades

In Annapolis, Maryland, the US Naval Academy holds its 64th annual brigade boxing championship. America's future leaders battle to have their names engraved as brigade champion.

Fencing

Carlton Henry is a member of the Peter Westbrook fencing foundation. The free foundation which caters to inner city children, produces olympians and saves lives alike.

30min
April 16, 2005

15. Rattlesnake Roundup / McFarland Cross Country

Rattlesnake Roundup

Snake hunters from across the Southwest converge on Sweetwater, Texas to weigh in a winter's worth of deadly rattlers. Brought in by the barrelful, the hunters compete to see who colleted the most.

McFarland Cross Country

This boys' cross country team from central California is comprised completely of kids from Mexican immigrant families. The community is terribly poor and to support their families, the runners and their parents pick grapes in nearby fields. Though neighboring teams are more financially secure, McFarland's runners are the class of California, winning nine state championships and dominating nearly every year.

30min
April 23, 2005

16. Handicappers / Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins

Handicappers

Ever dream of hitting a trifecta? Los Angeles handicappers Jack Karlik and Jimmy “The Hat” Allard set the odds and know a thing or two about what it takes to win at the track.

Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins

Former super stock driver Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins has revolutionized drag racing with his engine building techniques. The cantankerous NHRA legend is a mechanical mad scientist who fuels the sport he helped build.

30min
April 30, 2005

17. Tony Kanaan / Wrist Wrestling

Tony Kanaan

Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan won three races on his way to the 2004 Indy Car Series Championship. Go into pit row with Kanaan and his Andretti/Green racing team at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Wrist Wrestling

The national wrist wrestling tournament in Reno, Nevada brings together athletes from across the country to compete in an event of brute strength. Under the watchful eye of his father, Boomer Reagan takes his shot at the title.

30min
May 14, 2005

18. James "Bubba" Stewart / Table Tennis

James "Bubba" Stewart

Since he started riding at age three, James Stewart has been a phenom on a dirt bike. Having graduated to the 250cc class, Stewart goes toe to toe with the elite of the Supercross circuit.

Table Tennis

Hall of Famer Lily Yip is the matriarch of the first family of American table tennis. Her clan travels to Las Vegas to vie for spots on the US national team.

30min
June 4, 2005

19. Ohio Wrestling / Metro Academy

Ohio Wrestling

Ohio's Grade School Wrestling Championships showcase the future of the sport in one of the most competitive states in the country. Mario Guillen and his teammates from the East Toledo Wrestling Club give it everything they have.

Metro Academy

The students on Lookout Mountain are not here by choice. This school within a maximum security prison hopes that basketball can help rehabilitate its juvenile offenders.

30min
June 11, 2005

20. Quad Rugby / Rattlesnake Roundup

Quad Rugby

Most people could not fathom quadriplegics speeding around in wheelchairs playing a game that was once called "murderball." But at the Quad Rugby National Championships, competitors vie for the national title while proving their true athleticism and strength of spirit.

Rattlesnake Roundup

Snake hunters from across the Southwest converge on Sweetwater, Texas to weigh in a winter's worth of deadly rattlers. Brought in by the barrelful, the hunters compete to see who colleted the most.

30min
June 18, 2005

21. Show 21

No details

30min
June 25, 2005

22. ET / Alan Zinter

ET

3,600+ consecutive games and counting. Meet Ernie Tyler, the Baltimore Orioles “Real Iron Man”.

Alan Zinter

What is life like in the Minor Leagues- one step from reaching your life’s goal. Ask Alan Zinter, he’s been chasing his dream since 1989.

30min
July 2, 2005

23. Compton Cricket / Navy Brigades

Compton Cricket

The city of Compton and the game of cricket hardly go hand in hand. But for area activist Ted Hayes, that was all the more reason to bring the two together.

Navy Brigades

In Annapolis, Maryland, the US Naval Academy holds its 64th annual brigade boxing championship. America's future leaders battle to have their names engraved as brigade champion.

30min
July 9, 2005

24. Aerobatics / Westminster Dog Show

Aerobatics

Continental pilot Ron Sheradin takes his single prop plane to barrel roll against the aviation aces at the Northeast Aerobatic Championships.

Westminster Dog Show

Dog enthusiasts from around the world parade their meticulously groomed pets before the judges at Madison Square Garden. The dogs come in all shapes and sizes, just as their handlers come from all walks of life.

30min
July 16, 2005

25. Lawn Bowling / Bull Riding

Lawn Bowling

Jonathan and Joshua Burnoski team up with their father to take on the old timers at the 2005 Southwest Open.

Bull Riding

What drives a modern day cowboy? We ride with Tony Mendes, a third generation Bull Rider in search of the million dollar PBR title.

30min
July 23, 2005

26. Demolition Derby / Handicappers

Demolition Derby

This is the National Championship of the Demolition Derby. 113 vicious male drivers and one female- meet Cindy Regimbald, Vermont's finest.

Handicappers

Ever dream of hitting a trifecta? Los Angeles handicappers Jack Karlik and Jimmy “The Hat” Allard set the odds and know a thing or two about what it takes to win at the track.

30min
July 30, 2005

27. Ryan McGarry / Ann Wolfe

Ryan McGarry

Who's that three foot tall kid hitting golf balls at 6:30 in the morning? It's five-year-old phenom Ryan McGarry, who takes his golf rather seriously.

Ann Wolfe

After living with her children for two years under a tree in Austin, Texas, Ann Wolfe was discovered by a local trainer who molded her into a ferocious boxer. Wolfe has parlayed her innate toughness and brawler instincts into a super middleweight world title. Will Laila Ali dare to take her on?

30min
August 6, 2005

28. Quad Rugby / Tony Kanaan

Quad Rugby

Most people could not fathom quadriplegics speeding around in wheelchairs playing a game that was once called "murderball." But at the Quad Rugby National Championships, competitors vie for the national title while proving their true athleticism and strength of spirit.

Tony Kanaan

Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan won three races on his way to the 2004 Indy Car Series Championship. Go into pit row with Kanaan and his Andretti/Green racing team at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

30min
August 13, 2005

29. Noodling / James "Bubba" Stewart

Noodling

No Rods, no reels, no fear. Oklahoma fishermen battle massive catfish with their bare hands at the 6th annual Okie Noodling Tournament.

James "Bubba" Stewart

Since he started riding at age three, James Stewart has been a phenom on a dirt bike. Having graduated to the 250cc class, Stewart goes toe to toe with the elite of the Supercross circuit.

30min
August 27, 2005

30. Prison Chess / Pop Warner

Prison Chess

Each year, Princeton's top chess players travel to the Trenton State Penitentiary to take on inmates at the maximum security prison. The tournament pits fifty felons against three of the Ivy League's finest.

Pop Warner

Driven by intense coaches and cheering parents, the nation's best Pop Warner teams compete for the right to be called national champions..

30min
August 27, 2005