'Difference Makers' Should be Worth the Wait

Everything about "Difference Makers" -- the 90-minute special that airs Thursday night on ESPN and ESPNU featuring college coaching legends Joe Paterno and Mike Krzyzewski -- took time.

An offer for a Coach K visit to Happy Valley came five years ago.

Ideas about this specific show were then nurtured on the respective campuses (and with input from ESPN) for months. Finding a date, some single time when the two coaches did not have commitments for their respective sports or conflicts with charity and family activities, added more time.

Then, on the day of the taping (June 20) people in the live audience at Penn State discovered that a 90-minute TV show actually takes more than two hours to tape. And that came after three days of on-site preparation at the venue.

Still, all the time will prove worthwhile when the show makes its debut at 8 p.m. on ESPN. It continues at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Energetic, informative efforts by the coaches provide the centerpiece of the show. A solid hosting effort by Rece Davis moves the program along. And a strong commitment by the ESPN production team shows in pre-packaged pieces and the overall format of the program that make "Difference Makers: Life Lessons with Paterno and Krzyzewski" and fast-moving and satisfying program.

Abundant effort and time were the key. ESPN's behind-the-scenes team --led by senior coordinating producer Ed Placey, senior coordinating director Linda Wilhite, producer Jonathan Labovich and director Tom Lucas -- capably met the many challenges associated with the program because of ample planning and preparation. While the show was different for all involved (a studio-type show not in a typical studio, conducted in a venue that rarely host TV shows), all those who worked outside their typical level of comfort did so with a greater purpose in mind.

They knew what "Difference Makers" could be, and their tireless efforts will help it be just that. While viewers will not see all the hard work, they will see the final product.

It's a good TV program. And it's different. It's talking, but without arguing and self-aggrandizing. It's informative, without being preachy. It's old-school (with an 84-year-old coach and a 64-year-old coach it has to be), but it seems state-of-the-art.

It's just good sports TV, the kind of thing that rarely occurs and probably not cannot be repeated (at least with the gravitas these two coaches provide).

All of that makes it worth watching.