Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football
The struggle for racial equality was fought on the college football gridiron as well as in the streets, with athletes such as Darryl Hill, the first African-American player in the Atlantic Coast Conference, braving abuse to integrate the sport. Hill is just one of many trailblazers who give first-person accounts in this stirring documentary, which climaxes with the 1970 showdown between USC and “Bear” Bryant’s legendary Crimson Tide. Monday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m., HBO
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Sixteen marksmen (two of them female)—including a former Navy SEAL, two Homeland Security agents, and a couple of self-taught enthusiasts—compete for a $100,000 prize as the competition series returns. In the Season 3 opener, they divide into pairs for shoot-offs with one of the most powerful handguns ever made. And in the elimination challenge, two contestants attempt to shoot accurately while “riding shotgun” atop a bouncing stagecoach. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 10 p.m., History
Big Law: Deputy Butterbean
Eric Esch, the super-heavyweight boxer better known as Butterbean, is a sheriff’s deputy in his hometown of Jasper, Ala. Investigation Discovery’s first foray into docuseries follows him on patrol with the narcotics unit, where he cuts an imposing figure with his shaved head and 400-plus-pound frame. In the premiere, he helps to close in on a suspected meth lab. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 10 p.m., Investigation Discovery
Superheroes
This offbeat but compassionate documentary looks at the phenomenon of “real-life” superheroes: ordinary (albeit eccentric) people who don makeshift masks and costumes and set out to right wrongs in their communities. Some are basically charity volunteers in spandex, distributing help to the poor. But others risk their safety as unarmed vigilantes—and skate perilously close to entrapment by trying to lure muggers. Thursday, Aug. 11, at 11:30 a.m., HBO
Strike Back
Brisk and often bloody, this British action series follows the testosterone-laced adventures of a soldier of fortune who joins a covert intelligence unit. In the premiere, they battle terrorists who have seized control of a New Delhi hotel. Based on a novel by former soldier Chris Ryan, the series is about as plausible (and violent) as a combat video game, but good production values and colorful locations make it quite watchable. Friday, Aug. 12, at 10 p.m., Cinemax
Other highlights
Dirty Money
Two brothers scour the flea markets and dumpsters of New York City in search of cast-offs that can be transformed into accessories in this new docuseries. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 10 p.m., Discovery
Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers
With the NFL lockout settled, the preseason begins. Thursday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m., ESPN
Naked Science: Make Me Superhuman
A look at the latest advances in mechanical suits, which can enable ordinary people to perform extraordinary feats of strength and speed. Thursday, Aug. 11, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel
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August 23 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include deficit dimness, steamroller-in-chief, and more
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5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
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Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
