The idea that our sports heroes aren’t nearly as heroic as we’d like them to be couldn’t be more timely. No amount of artfully edited and scored feel-good pieces on ESPN can make us ignore the transgressions of players like Michael Vick and Barry Bonds, both admitted and alleged.

If “Resurrecting the Champ” had just explored that notion, it would have been fine. If it had just explored the notion that it can be easy for journalists to get caught up in seeing their stories develop the way they envision them, to the potential detriment of the truth, that would have been fine, too. But it’s about both of those things, as well as the way in which rifts between fathers and sons can haunt men for decades.

Watching the film from director Rod Lurie (“The Contender”) makes you wish it were more focused, because the performances are so good. Samuel L. Jackson disappears in the role of Champ, as he’s known on the streets, a former boxer now rendered homeless and frail, but with a bit of fight left in him. Josh Hartnett plays foundering Denver sportswriter Erik Kernan, who discovers him and tells his incredible story — then basks in the subsequent glory. Alan Alda, David Paymer, Kathryn Morris and Teri Hatcher are all solid in supporting parts.

But soon it turns out that Champ’s story was more incredible than Erik ever could have imagined, and “Resurrecting the Champ” becomes a totally different movie, yet still a compelling one. The script comes from Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on a 1997 Los Angeles Times Magazine article by J.R. Moehringer about one-time heavyweight contender Bob Satterfield. (Hartnett, functioning as the Moehringer figure, happens to bear a resemblance to the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer with his dark hair and boyish looks. It’s easy to believe his character has gotten by on charm, if not talent, for most of his life.)

Some dramatic tweaks have been made here and there but here’s how the story plays out: One night, after covering a boxing match, Erik sees a homeless man being beaten up in an alley by a group of drunk thugs. After rescuing him, he learns the man’s name is Satterfield — “Battling Bob,” as he was known in his heyday — but the name doesn’t ring a bell at first, even though Erik’s late, estranged father was a revered boxing broadcaster on the radio.

After plying the old man with beer and a friendly ear, he thinks he’s got a great story on his hands but he doesn’t take it to sports editor Metz (a perfectly gruff Alda), who’s been unimpressed with Erik’s workmanlike articles. Instead, he goes over Metz’s head and brings it to the magazine editor (Paymer), who falls in love with the idea of such a splashy, emotional tale.

Erik has fallen in love, too — so much so, he doesn’t check his facts as thoroughly as he should. We won’t give it all away because the piecing together of who knew what when is one of the most engrossing elements of the film. And Lurie, a former entertainment reporter and film critic, gets newsroom culture just right, something most movies don’t.

The Showtime cable channel comes calling and asks Erik to be an on-air boxing correspondent (and in just a couple of scenes, Hatcher makes an impression as a barracuda TV executive). His flirtation with fame is a way to live up to his father’s name and, at the same time, impress his son, Teddy (Dakota Goyo), whom he doesn’t get to see as often as he’d like now that he’s separated from his wife (Morris), an editor at the paper.

But young Teddy already thought his dad was a superstar for his supposed friendships with icons like Muhammad Ali and John Elway — all lies, of course. Things get worse before they get better but, in keeping with the uplifting themes of both the original article and the film, forgiveness surely is in store for everyone involved.

It’s actually not as maudlin as it sounds.

“Resurrecting the Champ,” a Yari Film Group release, is rated PG-13 for some violence and brief language. Running time: 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.