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What: "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel."
Where: HBO, tonight, 10.
The NFL has a big problem -- in the most literal sense. Fifteen years ago, there were about five 300-pound linemen in the league. Now there are more than 300.
The NFL's weight problem is dealt with in the featured segment on the latest edition of HBO's "Real Sports."
A 1994 study by the NFL Players Assn. showed that although most NFL players enjoyed above-average health, linemen were 52% more likely to die of heart attacks than the average American.
And now, NFL linemen are, on an average, about 50 pounds heavier.
Bryant Gumbel, the show's host, chose to tackle this story himself. Among those he interviewed was former New Orleans Saint defensive tackle Frank Warren. The interview was conducted on Dec. 9. Five days later, Warren, 43, died after suffering a heart attack at his home in Pleasant Grove, Ala.
