Sports TV Series We'll Never Forget

Truth be told, television is one of our favorite things. It's been a guide for countless hours of creativity and entertainment. And when sports is involved, TV swells up and becomes an unbreakable addiction.

Since the inception of the silver screen, we've been super-blessed with a ton of excellent shows. Sitcoms, documentaries and dramas have all swooped in at one point in time and made a mark on sports culture.

Our mission here was to filter out 12 of the very best. Using entertainment as the sole criterion, we came up with the following selections.

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper was a sports-themed sitcom that ran from 1992 until '97. It focused on Mark Cooper—played by Mark Curry—who was a former NBA player who transitioned to coaching kids in high school.

The '90s were peak sitcom glory. And for sports shows, they weren't too bad either. People might not remember Hangin' With Mr. Cooper as much as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but in certain ways it hit on that same glorious level.

Cooper supporters will long remember the time Mark went back to try out for the Golden State Warriors. Those episodes alone featuring Don Nelson were pure gold.

Friday Night Lights

Nothing compares to Friday Night Lights in terms of compelling, sports-themed television. The show runners and writers were able to carefully dissect all of the elements needed to create a riveting series for an extended period of time.

Characters like Tim Riggins—a brawny anti-hero—were part of this unmatched fabric of Texas high school football goodness.

You really can't talk about sports TV without tipping your cap to Friday Night Lights. It had a long run—five seasons to be exact—that left all of us begging for more. There were no punches pulled watching Lights. It kept the important issues—sports and life-related—in your face at all times without feeling staged or dull.

Arli$$

HBO has always been the king of cable content. Recent shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective are indicative of that.

The network has also done its thing with sports. On the television series front, Arli$$ was one of the original hitters in terms of quality production. First broadcast in 1996, Arli$$ told stories of Arliss Michaels, a super-agent in pro sports, and his wacky life.

Without trying to fracture my readership, a man like Arliss Michaels definitely trumps another fictional super-agent who went by the name of Jerry Maguire. His absurd antics and comedic touch turned this show into a must-watch HBO jewel all the way up until it ceased production in 2002.

WWE Raw

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WWE's flagship program, Raw, has been on TV since January 1993. In other words, this show has been a long-lasting staple of sports entertainment.

During the company's heyday, WWE Raw was competing with WCW Monday Nitro. That rivalry produced some of the greatest television we've seen to date.

For Raw's part in the duel, we saw wild moments starring Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and so many other star-studded names. The ever-changing cast of performers has helped Raw stand the test of time.

Throughout the glory days of the Attitude Era and beyond, Raw has remained a prominent force on cable television.

Stump the Schwab

Trivia shows and sports go together beautifully. And no version of that was better than ESPN's Stump the Schwab.

For two years, the legendary Stuart Scott hosted a show where sports fanatics would test their knowledge against ESPN historian Howie Schwab. As you'd expect, contestants would struggle to match the brainpower put on display by Schwab.

Between Scott's candor and Schwab's knowledge, Stump the Schwab became a cult classic among sports fans. Even today you can YouTube old episodes and try to test your skill set against the conqueror.

Hang Time

Six seasons of Hang Time gave us the perfect amount of a bodacious basketball to sink our teeth into. Despite enduring constant waves of turnover when it came to the cast, Hang Time managed to always produce a solid product—see the young Kobe Bryant clip above.

It's nostalgia-packed shows like this that made the '90s a warm, special place. Where else could high school basketball be played at such a demanding pace?

Disciples of the sitcom world still flock to Hang Time. The show may not have had the best writing or any serious drama, but it still turned out to be a classic.

Sometimes mindless entertainment is perfect for the soul.

Hard Knocks

Did you know HBO's Hard Knocks first aired in 2001? What's even wilder than that fact is that this series continues to impress year in and year out.

No matter what team the HBO cameras take a look at, seeing the inner workings of an NFL franchise proves to be a merry-go-round of righteousness.

The most recent look at the Houston Texans was another giant leap for NFL goodness. And as it goes every single year, you know fans can't wait for another round of Hard Knocks in 2016.

WCW Monday Nitro

WCW Monday Nitro was king of the wrestling world for a brief period of time in the late '90s.

After seeing things like the New World Order form and Sting's demons take center stage, it's really a shame that a show once considered a legitimate threat to WWE's crown became a jumbled mess toward the end.

But from 1995-99, Nitro produced a great few hours of weekly TV. Sports television is all about entertainment value. And like Raw, Nitro gave that to fans every single Monday.

Having WWE and WCW compete was great for business. It pushed the bar as far as wrestling quality and storylines go. Just remember, without Nitro, odds are there wouldn't be a quality version of Raw to enjoy. The two companies assaulted one another, and that made both flagship programs unforgettable.

Nickelodeon GUTS

Nickelodeon has always shown respect to sports television. The network gave us hybrid shows like Wild & Crazy Kids, Legends of the Hidden Temple and the peak of that vintage Nick lineup, Nickelodeon GUTS.

GUTS put athletes from around the world against in each other in a battle for supremacy. Hosted by Mike O'Malley, the GUTS phenomenon would always hype you up as a child. Who here didn't sit on their couch and scream at the TV with Pop Tart crumbs leaking from their mouth?

You wanted to be a part of the show, and that's what made it so great. To this day, if you can catch an episode online, don't pass that chance up. GUTS was right in the middle of the best youthful TV era on this planet.

Coach

Coach was a sitcom that managed to successfully transition college football to the silver screen. Sure it was a bit zanier, but with Craig T. Nelson as the catalyst, this show worked.

Any series that runs nine seasons clearly did something right. With Coach, it was all about the cast. The writers were privy to this, giving Nelson and his fellow stablemates a lot of memorable material to work with.

If you want to get lost in that fictional college football—and eventually pro pigskin—Coach is a Netflix must.

The League

The biggest and most audacious laughs on this list come courtesy of The League. As one of the FX's longest-running series, The League shined a bright light on the world of fantasy sports.

It gave us insane plots, unforgettable characters and seven seasons of jaw-wrenching laughter. The homies Andre, Kevin, Pete, Ruxin, Taco and Rafi are now true icons of sports TV.

Without their banter and disgusting lingo, fantasy football leagues wouldn't have as many Shiva Bowls to play for at the end of the year.

ESPN Films: 30 for 30

ESPN Films stepped into a realm we haven't seen before when it put forth the 30 for 30 series.

This wasn't your traditional TV show. It was a dedicated series focused on films that told riveting stories.

Over the years, we got classics like Sole Man, Rand University and Muhammad and Larry. All of these films and more provided insight into a wide range of topics, and we have to be thankful for it.

Of all of the sports TV series we've named on this list, 30 for 30 is without question the most diverse.