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'Reign Men' documentary an impressive hit for Cubs fans

If you're a Chicago Cubs fan, you can't get enough of World Series replays and documentaries about last year's championship.

One more is coming, and you need to make room for it.

On Monday at 9:30 p.m. CDT, Comcast SportsNet Chicago will premiere an original documentary, "Reign Men: The Story behind Game 7 of the 2016 World Series."

The documentary, narrated by Brett Eldredge, was produced, written and edited by CSN's Sarah Lauch and Ryan McGuffey.

Unlike previous programs, "Reign Men" focuses solely on Game 7, when the Cubs blew a lead and then rallied to beat the Cleveland Indians in 10 innings. The title plays off the 17-minute rain delay before the 10th inning, when right fielder Jason Heyward gathered his Cubs teammates in the weight room and gave them a pep talk.

What sets this documentary apart from the others is how it came about. There's a nice element of spontaneity to it.

"I was at Game 7," said McGuffey, senior producer of original content for CSN. "I came back the next day from Cleveland. I just went up to Sarah and was like, 'I don't know where or when or what, but there's something there. At some point, we have to revisit that game.'

"I just told her, 'It was different at that game. It was just a different feel. I told my boss, Kevin Cross, 'I think we should do something.' He said, 'I don't know if we'll have enough time. What do you think the timeline is?' I'm like, 'I think it should be out right before Opening Day.' He was like, 'How are we going to get these people?' I was like, 'I don't know, but just tell me I can try. All I need is a try.'"

Lauch, CSN's executive producer of original content, echoed McGuffey's sentiments and noted the main hurdle was the calendar.

"We were doing replays of the playoffs, every win," she said. "When we started to interview people, we realized, 'Wow, there's something here.' So it started with (Cubs manager) Joe Maddon and then went to Rossy (catcher David Ross). At that point, we're like, 'Wow, but we also need definitely Heyward, (pitcher Jon) Lester and everybody else.'

"We decided to go for it. We needed to do it before spring training, when everything gets crazy. Heyward was the last interview. We had to get him at spring training. There was no choice. We tried to fly to his hometown. It didn't work out. We ended up getting him at spring training, but we wanted to get him off-campus, off the spring-training facility. It turned out great."

The show features the key action from Game 7 and the recollections of players, Maddon, team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer.

Lester expressed his own uncertainty about what was going on as he relieved starter Kyle Hendricks after 4 ⅔ innings. Epstein admitted he second-guessed Maddon's machinations.

And Ross, who came into the game to catch Lester, talked about contributing to Cleveland's comeback as the Indians scored 2 runs in the fifth to pull within 5-3. Ross then hit a solo homer in the sixth.

"When I came in and I threw that ball (away) … and then that other ball kicked off my mask and I tripped over my own feet and 2 runs score, I'm thinking to myself, 'Are you kidding me? I've been in the game for five minutes and I just let 2 runs in,'" he said.

The Indians tied the game when Rajai Davis hit a homer off Aroldis Chapman. The rain hit, and Heyward gave his now-famous speech.

"I didn't even do it to lead anything," Heyward says in the documentary. "I was just being myself. I did it because I give a damn. When I told them I love them, I meant it because they saw that in me already. To hear guys appreciate it and respect it and say those things, it's awesome. It gives me chills every time somebody talks about it, but I just did what I did (for our team)."

Yes, you've seen it before. You've heard it all before.

But you haven't seen this much focus on Game 7. That's why "Reign Men" is so compelling.

• Twitter@BruceMiles2112

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