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30 stories for 30 years of ESPN

By Bruce Schwartz, USA TODAY
Updated

ESPN has that thirtysomething feeling.

Marionjonesx To celebrate its 30th birthday, the network is launching 30 for 30, a series of 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers covering the biggest sports stories over the network's first 30 years. The project ranges from Ice Cube's documentary about the Raiders' battle to move to Los Angeles and Peter Berg's movie about Wayne Gretzky, to John Singleton's film about the rise and steroid-induced fall of Olympic track star Marion Jones (left), who spent six months in prison for lying to federal investigators about her use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Jones says when she was approached to make the film, Marion Jones: Press Pause, she was "a bit hesitant to want to have to open the door again to so much drama and pain." In the end, though, she says she decided making the film could be "part of healing as well."

"It's an opportunity for me to be able to share my story and allow people to somehow maybe understand, maybe not agree with, but understand how there were certain choices and decisions that I made." -- Robert Bianco

Photo by Michael Probst, AP

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