First comedies and now dramas as we do a movie day

A step back from the usual today, okay?

It’s been a really slow week (two days of golf and, yes, I did a curling story yesterday in my Fish Out Of Water kind of late summer) and a slow night last night so let’s step away for a second, all right?

-

Okay, poll time to get us ready for the weekend and after spending a few minutes this morning doing research here, I think the weekend’s entertainment might have been decided, for all of us I hope.

So we’ve agreed, pretty much, that Bull Durham and Caddyshack are at the top of the sports comedy list, right?

Well, how about dramas?

So many to choose from, some based in reality, some based in fiction, some just great, great, great stories well told.

And, frankly, all of my favourites are older, which tells me either I have to get to the theatre more often for something other than The Three Stooges with Super Son or they just don’t make sports movies any more. I’m thinking the latter.

The top three?

I’m torn, really.

It’s got to be either Hoosiers or Raging Bull, right?

Couple of different ones, to be sure, but, man are they good.

For the longest time it was Hoosiers, who doesn’t remember Jimmy Chitwood making the shot.

But …

DeNiro, Pesci, Scorcese?

Can’t beat it and just looking for clips makes me move it to the top.

(And, yes, I had to find the trailer because the language in about every scene isn’t quite fit for a family blog)

Third?

Gotta be Field of Dreams, doesn’t it?

And it’d be creeping up on the top two.

Only thing is that I liked Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe a wee bit more than the movie it spawned.

Still, if this doesn’t get you, I don’t know what will.

Now if you were to round out a Top 5 with, say, The Hustler and The Natural, you’d be doing pretty well in my books.

-

So, to the things I don’t quite get can we add American college football?

I see the season’s begun down there and all that means is that I can turn away from the TV most Saturday afternoons because it holds absolutely no interest for me.

Sure, I may watch a bowl game in some holiday stupor because it’s white noise but other than that? Nada.

Not sure why, actually, but it’s never been something that’s been big to me. Didn’t go to a school so I don’t have that lifetime allegiance, I’m not sure the games are played at a high enough level to be considered top notch and, of course, the practical beatification of coaches and “programs” is something I have a very hard time dealing with.

I’m sure for some alums it’s a great thing; for the majority of my circle of friends it’s nothing to get worked up about at all.

-

Mail?

If you don’t mind, I’d take some more.

Got a lot of it done already so there might be a chance to sleep in tomorrow a wee bit but there’s always room for more.

Click. Write. Send. Say hello.

You’ll be glad you did.

-

Okay, I’ve steered quite clear of all things political for a while but when I was flipping around the dial last night please tell me I did not see an aging Clint Eastwood (a true giant of the film industry, one of the greats of all time) talking to an empty chair at the Republican bun toss.

Please, I beseech you to tell me that didn’t happen.

Hmm.

Seems it did and if that doesn’t go down as one of the more ridiculous things you’ve seen or read this week, your life is far more entertaining than mine.

We now return you to our normal shenanigans.

-

Say, if you’re driving somewhere after work today, say between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and wanted to flip the radio dial over to FAN590 here in Toronto, I bet you’ll be wildly entertained.

Since they seem to be far down the list of possible round table participants, I’ll be there. Hopefully we’ll do a lot of pucks.

-

Cousin Sekou puts together the news that the Lakers, who decided earlier this week that they’d put up a statue honouring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (a well deserved honour for one of the somehow under-rated greats of the game), are now going to retire Shaq’s number.

Now, there is no disputing that Shaquille O’Neal had a brilliant tenure in Los Angeles, his numbers were astonishing and the three straight championships were a testament to just how good he and Kobe were with that group.

But, you know what?

I don’t think they should retire the number.

To me, that’s the ultimate honour for a player and I think you need to be associated with a franchise for far longer than Shaq was with the Lakers to get that kind of treatment.

Things like retiring numbers, like so many other things in sports these days, seems to happen to often; I think in some ways it diminishes it because it happens so frequently.

-

 

Comments

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
I just hope that Clint Eastwood was drunk last night, because that was one totally bizarre episode. It's the only explanation that seems plausible.
On another note, shouldn't your bio read that you've covered seven Olympic games?

Blogger's note: Good catch, we'll get that changed. Thanks

[Peter]

Correct me if I'm wrong. But I believe the Blue Jays "honour" a number and do not retire it. I like that system. It serves a similar purpose, but seems somewhat more appropriate. I agree with you that a player should serve a franchise longer than Shaq did to get his number retired. But if the league keeps going the way they are, there's a chance that longterm commitments to one team are going the way of the dodo bird.

So I think it would be perfectly acceptable to "honour" numbers instead of retire them. Especially in this case.

[Heath]

Can't argue with any of your top five, maybe Hoop Dreams slides in there? Only others I could add (despite the obvious like Bang the Drum Slowly or The Pride of the Yankees) would be if you expand your definition of "sports". For horse racing I'd include Seabiscuit and for cards I'd add The Cincinati Kid. Haven't really seen a decent car racing movie but if I had to add one it would be Winning with Paul Newman.

[Sharkey]

Shaq's retired jersey is understandable and deserved. He led the Lakers to 3 NBA Championships and a 4th final in 8 seasons. What I don't get is that the Lakers are also retiring Jamaal Wilkes' number. That one perplexed me. I get that he's in the Hall of Fame now, but you don't think of Wilkes in the same light as West, Baylor, Kareem, Magic, Kobe when it comes to the Lakers.

[Leez]

@Heath beat me to it about Bang The Drum Slowly ("From this day on, I rag no one." LOVE that ending.) And it's funny how Deniro, whose name certainly wouldn't pop up first in your mind if you were thinking of sports actors, was in two of the greatest sports movies of all time.
Eight Men Out also deserves mention near the very top of the list. John Cusak was brilliant, and John Sayles is one of the great independent filmmakers of all time.

[Matt G]

Those three are tough to argue with. In the conversation has to be Million Dollar Baby though. DeNiro's performance is arguably one of the very best in any film the last 50 years. But Million Dollar Baby haunts you after you've walked out of the theatre. On the other end of the spectrum of emotion is Rudy. Who doesn't get goose bumbs when you hear the crowd chant, "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy"?

[Jim Rootham]

@Leez nailed the missing films

[Leez]

So I finally got around to watching Dirty Harry address the Republican convention, and I was all ready to be infuriated and/or left speechless by his speech, but...it wasn't half bad, in a rambling, Clint-does-a-doddering-Jimmy-Stewart sort of way. Now don't get me wrong, I hate everything that the Republican Party stands for with the red hot passion of a thousand suns. But I thought Clint's little mock interview with the Prez was harmless stuff, a little comedic respite from the vile, reactionary babble heard at the rest of the convention.

[ditch]

I would like to echo @Heath and add a vote for Bang the Drum Slowly. How about a hand or two of Tegwar?

A weirdly cast sports movie was Fear Strikes Out.

As did I.

[Peter]

Political retort... if it was Betty White at an Obama campaign, making fun of Mitt Romney, you would be saying how great she is. Instead, it's an 82 year old Clint Eastwood making fun of Obama at a Republican shindig so its "ridiculous". What's my point? Meh... general observation of liberal leanings. Very obvious in most media these days.

Blogger's note: No, actually. If Betty White or Barry White or Betty Crocker stood on a stage and conversed with an empty chair, it'd be mocked. But thanks for making a blatant, if incorrect, assumption.

[Steve]

"Things like retiring numbers, like so many other things in sports these days, seems to happen to often; I think in some ways it diminishes it because it happens so frequently."

LA do have a pretty long list of retired numbers but it's hardly a recent problem, around 6 of the ones they have retired are from the 50s (admittedly as the result of a streak of championships won then). It's not like they are retiring them willy nilly though, Magic was the last one in 96 and they have won 5 championships since then - several of which Shaq was a crucial part of.

No doubt the next jersey retirement in LA will be sooner though as I assume Kobe's jersey will be in the rafters not too long after he stops playing.

[sam]

Nothing like a bit of politics to leave one scratching his head.
I'm almost certain that if Clint had a do over on his speach - he'd grab it.

Of bigger inportance - Rogers Sportsnet buys the Grand Slam of Curling? -
Is it thier goal to own most of Canadian sports.

Curling has proven to be a sucessful venture for TSN over the years -Sports Movies: let me add: Cinderella Man....Rocky (the first one) and perhaps for the sentimental folks Brians Song....

[The J]

Funny thought: If the Lakers don't retire Shaq's number who will?

Burnt his bridges with Orlando, then again in LA and Miami. His days in Phoenix were okay, but not worth retiring someone's number for. And in Cleveland and Boston? I think everyone is still trying to foget that. So it has to be LA. If for no other reason to annoy Kobe.

PS: Rocky!!!!!

[Keith Wagar]

Just remembered a great sports comedy from way back. --- William Bendix in "Kill The Umpire"

[David in Oakville]

Wait, how can you not include Rocky? And what about the always overlooked and underrated Breaking Away.

I second the nomination of Rudy and would also offer Remember the Titans. The best sports movies aren't really about the sport anyways.
+
As much as I love Clint Eastwood, I couldn't help but think, "yeah that's what the GOP needs now, another old white guy prattling on about how poorly a job Obama has done cleaning up the mess left by the previous guy". In the end, Clint and the reaction to his "speech" seems to be dominating the discussion today and that can't be good for Americans who are trying to get a hold of who Mitt Romney is.
+
My wife had the line of the night when she asked me if his parents actually named him Mitten. Can you image a meeting between Presidents Mitten and Putin?

[james]

For my money, the best sports drama (and one guaranteed not to be featured on HNIC -- too much truth-telling) is Atom Egoyan's account of the life of "Spinner" Spencer, "Gross Misconduct", a hockey film noir of the first order. I also second LeeZ's nomination of "Eight Men Out".
If you're going to employ an actor, it's a good idea to give him a script.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Would Seabiscuit be in the running in the field of best sports drama movies?

Ciao amigo,

marc in panama

Blogger's note: Top 10

[Gary M]

Agreed with the list but would note Pride of the Yankees.

As for Clint, loved Scott Fezchuk's comment that Americans are so enthralled by their celebrities that Romney, after controlling and vetting every instant of the convention, let an 82 year old man on stage with no script, no bullet points, no comb and no clue. Not only that, Eastwood is pro choice, pro gay marriage, pro ecology, and disapproves of the war in Afghanistan. Only the last point came out, so it could have been worse.

[doug]

the talk about sports movies got me to thinking. (my fav is Cinderella Man) but with all the movies being made and which have been made there is a definite shortage of real good sports movies...somewhat perplexing as it is a multi-billionaire enterprise sport is, yet there seems to be no desire on Hollywoods part to make good sports movies...speaking of drama's Breaking Bad has to be one of the best television shows ever...and maybe one of the best partner pairings ever in Jesse and Walter White. so many levels to their relationship what a series...I envy those just starting to watch as they have 5 full seasons to watch, us die hard fans there are sadly only 8 episodes left..Bryan Cranston went from Tim Whatley on Seinfeld to this, good career arc...cheers

[doug]

oh also i am with you 100% in regards to NCAA football..it is wrong on so many levels, it's grown a life of it's own and it's a inferior product to boot...nut look at this, this will make you shudder, only in texas...it's really just sad...

http://espn.go.com/dallas/story/_/id/8323104/allen-texas-high-school-ready-unveil-60m-football-facility