They're the "Where were you when?" sporting moments that fans talk about long after the game is over.

Joe Carter's home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Paul Henderson shovelling the puck past Vladislav Tretiak to seal the 1972 Summit Series. Bird versus Magic in three 1980s NBA finals. Joe Namath delivering on his Super Bowl III victory guarantee. (Marvelous) Marvin Hagler and Tommy (Hitman) Hearns battering each other during one of the most torrid rounds in boxing history in their 1985 bout. Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe playing a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final for the ages.

Reliving the drama of great sporting moments is what ESPN Classic Canada is all about. Scheduled to hit the digital airwaves on Sept. 7, ESPN Classic Canada is the only 24-hour "all sports hall of fame" television network, featuring the greatest games, most memorable stories and biggest names in sports history.

"There's a lot of stuff out there that people haven't seen before," said Keith Marnoch, communications manager for The Sports Network, Outdoor Life Network and CTV Sports. "People have heard about the icons from the past, but many haven't had a chance to experience what the events were like."

The network aims to fill the needs of sports fans of all ages. There is something for the purist who longs to revisit the days when fans could relate to players' salaries and games were played on real grass in open stadiums and for the fan who has grown up in the era of the athlete/entertainer and who is too young to have ever seen the legends of the game play. ESPN Classic Canada will fit the bill as a trip down memory lane or as a tool to learn the history behind modern sports.

The network will mix encore broadcasts of games and match-ups with documentaries, classic sports movies and vintage interviews with history's most famous, admirable and controversial sports figures.

ESPN Classic Canada is also promising major Canadian content, with various games and moments from our rich sporting history. All previous programming from TSN is available to the network, so the Canadian Football League, world junior hockey championships, Canadian tennis, Canadian figure skating, Canadian university championships and TSN Profile, featuring Canadian athletes, are all scheduled to be broadcast.

The network has planned "theme nights" dedicated to specific sports: Monday - football and hockey; Tuesday - curling and golf; Wednesday - wrestling and boxing; Thursday - basketball and baseball; Friday - soccer and auto racing; Saturday - miscellaneous sports, documentaries and sports movies; Sunday - tennis and skating.

"We're giving viewers the chance to watch entire events, not just highlights," Mr. Marnoch said. "We're not going to cover as wide range of sports as a current network might, but older fans can relive great moments and younger fans can experience classic moments for the first time and connect to the past."

ESPN Classic Canada will provide viewers with six hours of original programming on a daily basis and repeats programming three times a day to maximize exposure.

In order to promote major sporting events, the network will feature "stunt programming" that consists of timely broadcasts of specific events from the past. In October, for example, just before the start of the 2001 World Series, ESPN Classic Canada will televise classic moments and games from previous World Series, such as Carter's series-winning home run.

"We like to think we're going to be showing the cream-of-the-crop stuff," Mr. Marnoch said. "This is a chance to see the events that really made a difference. These are the games that resonate in peoples minds."