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Official Pioneer
Outside the Lines (10 a.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN)

The NFL has spent millions marketing to women, who make up more than 40 percent of its fans. But the league has more than female fans on its radar; it’s considering hiring female officials, and Sarah Thomas is believed to be among the top candidates. Tom Friend looks at the rise of one of the grid iron’s leading ladies — Thomas, from Pascagoula, Miss., who began officiating pee wee football, then middle school, then high school, eventually making it to Division I and the UFL — and examines the question of how she may fare in the pros.

“If the NFL called me and offered a job, I wouldn’t turn them down. I can’t change the fact that I’m a female, I’m just here to officiate the game, go unnoticed as much as I can.” – Sarah Thomas

“I had just got started, and this very attractive lady came to the door. I thought it was somebody’s girlfriend or wife, and I said, ‘Ma’am can I help you?’ And she said, ‘Yes, is this where you learn to be an official?’ And I said, ‘Oh hell.’” – George Nash, instructor at Thomas’ first officials meeting

Smart Choice
ESPN The Magazine (on newsstands October 21)

Brannen Greene, the top 2013 prep in the state of Georgia, is just one of several elite players considering Harvard. Yes, that Harvard. Last spring, Princeton men’s basketball coach Sidney Johnson left for Fairfield because Harvard and Penn were starting to sign recruits he thought he would never be able to land. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker has changed the Ivy League landscape – no longer only regional students who put academics first — and is why a five-star talent like Greene, who has Duke and Florida on his short list, would shun the national stage for Harvard.

Ravens’ Ray Rice
E:60 (For details on Tuesday & Wednesday’s E:60 shows, please see Friday’s full news release)

https://youtu.be/v2dWa5Eu1EA

A profile of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, including the impact of the death of his older cousin Myshaun Rice, killed 13 years ago in a car accident, the result of a drunk driver. Rachel Nichols reports.

Saints’ Jimmy Graham’s Hunger On and Off the Field
Sunday NFL Countdown (Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN)

https://youtu.be/or4DAFfjGSA

New Orleans Saints’ tight end Jimmy Graham has become a favorite target for Drew Brees, with three touchdowns and four straight 100-yard receiving games. While Graham has displayed a hunger for a football, it was his literal hunger as a boy that led him to find the person who would change his life forever. Reporter Rachel Nichols presents the story of Jimmy Graham and the woman who refused to watch him suffer.

“Falling asleep in a car, and then waking up with your mom signing you away is not easy at the age of 11. My Mom just signs me away, and kind of the last memory of that was just me walking up on the doorstep, and them dropping my clothes off in garbage bags and me just waving bye.” — Jimmy Graham

“I think that there’s not that many people that know everything that Jimmy’s been through in life. I mean literally, what many people would say ‘Hell on earth.’ I mean this kid has been through a lot, and he had a lot of anger, and a lot of hate, and a lot of emotion. To help him transition through all that stuff is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever been able to be a part of, mainly because he trusted me.” — Rebecca Vinson, Jimmy Graham’s adoptive mother

ESPN Deportes Sees Yankees’ Cano Safe at Home
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
Reportajes Especiales piece on espndeportes.com.

https://youtu.be/vnl0j_ccmvc

When the New York Yankees were eliminated in the American League Divisional Series by Detroit on October 6, their All-Star second baseball Robinson Cano did what many other players do when their seasons end – he went home. A crew accompanied Cano to San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic, toured the small town with his father Jose, and listened to the pair share their experience at this year’s Home Run Derby, where they captivated the sports world with a father-son moment that will go down in baseball history.

Ickey Shuffles on Through Life’s Hardships
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN2)

Shortly after Ickey Woods shot to sudden fame as a rookie Cincinnati Bengals fullback, his life turned for the worse. In the second game of his second season, Woods tore his ACL and not long afterward he was out of football, at 26. He has since spent time as a door-to-door meat salesman, running a flooring company and coaching a women’s football team that includes his ex-wife as a player. Despite all Woods has endured, nothing prepared him for the sudden death last year of his oldest son. Jeremy Schaap reports on the cultural icon.