Round 1 Game 6 - The Fighter vs. Goon

The Fighter (2010)

Sport: Boxing
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams
Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; 

IMDB Link

Goon (2011)

Sport: Ice Hockey
Director: Michael Dowse
Starring: Seann Michael Scott, Jay Baruchel, Allison Pill

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; Netflix

IMDB Link

Summary

This match up is between two movies that came out about two years apart. Both are about fighting, one in the ring, the other on the ice. One a drama, one a comedy. One based on a real person; one based on a caricature of a person.

"The Fighter" is based on the real life story of Micky Ward, the younger of two half-brothers. It's a movie within a movie as it shows filming of the story of Dicky, the older brother, who was once a promising boxer who knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard (or did he slip). Mark Wahlberg's performance as Micky is only surpassed by Christian Bale's performance as Dicky. It actually took me a little to realize it was Bale. It's a Rocky like story, but with even greater family dysfunction. A large supporting cast representing the many sisters and parents involved. The movie would pull in $129 million and two Oscars, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo (Mom of Dicky and Micky). The boxing scenes were well done, but true boxing fans may be disappointed with a few liberties taken. Irish Micky Ward was not as down and out record-wise and was not as out matched in weight in Mungin fight. And his title was with the World Boxing Union, which few consider the real world title.

"Goon" is another goofy comedy designed for teenagers and those that act like them. It also weaves in interesting family interactions. It's the story of Doug Glatt, played by Seann William Scott, a bouncer going no-where until a wild turn lands him on a minor league hockey team as the enforcer. He learns to play hockey, he falls in love, and his underdog team does great. One of the tag lines for the movie is "Meet Doug, the nicest guy you'll ever fight." A key character in the movie is Ross Rhea, the aging, feared enforcer sent down to the minors. Rhea is played by Liev Schreiber. X-men fans may remember Schreiber as Victor Creed aka Sabretooth (Also the voice of Stormking in My Little Pony - go figure!) . I liked his performance. Goon grossed just under $7million, but would inspire a sequel, "Goon: Last of the Enforcers" (2017). Now, earlier I said this was a caricature of hockey, but in researching, it seems this was based off Douglas Smith's autobiography, a minor league player. Among his various teams were the Johnstown Chiefs. 

Time to vote sports fans. Again,  your vote, your criteria. If you haven't seen either, perhaps vote for the one you'd rather watch.

Vote Here

Round 1 Game 5 - The Longest Yard vs The Damned United

The Longest Yard (1974)

Sport: Football
Director: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lautern
Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; Netflix

IMDB Link

The Damned United (2009)

Sport: Soccer
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Colm Meaney, Henry Goodman, David Roper

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; 

IMDB Link

Summary

It's another 1970's versus 2000's combo here. And American Football versus World Football. :)

"The Longest Yard" from 1974 was remade in 2005, but again, I went with the original. It's the story of ex-football player Paul "Wrecking" Crewe (Burt Reynolds) going to prison, where the Warden (Eddie Albert) owns a semi-pro team with a lot of the guards as players. They make a deal of course which results in Crewe leading a team of prisoners against the Warden's team. A great cast here. A number of actual players, notably, Ray Nitschke of the Packers and Mike Henry of the Steelers who would also play Tarzan in three movies. I'd also call out Jim Hampton who played Caretaker, the prisoner team manager and scrounger. I recall naming some of my RPG characters over the years after Caretaker.  I must have watched the TV version of this movie several times growing up. Watching the unedited version, I didn't recall the short scene with domestic violence or some of the racially charged dialogue.  Two other interesting characters I want to mentioned. First, look for a young Bernadette Peters as the Warden's secretary. And second, Michael Conrad as Nate Scarboro, another inmate who acts as the coach. He would go on to be one of my favorite actors as Sergeant Estherhaus from Hill Street Blues. "Let's be careful out there." Fitting for the time.

"The Damned United" is more about a man than a team, more about obsession than a sport. It tells the story of Brian Clough and his stormy forty-four days at helm of Leeds United. The movie is well directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) and leverages great performances by Michael Sheen playing Clough, Colm Meaney as Clough's rival Don Revie, and Timothy Spall as Peter Taylor the assistant and long time friend of Clough. Clough was a former player who's story I wasn't familiar. In contrast to the quiet Taylor, he talked; he talked a lot. So much that I loved how the movie incorporated an actual clip of Muhammad Ali saying Clough talks too much. The story reminded me of Moby Dick, with Clough's obsession in beating Revie in line with Captain Ahab's obsession over the whale.

Time to vote sports fans. Again,  your vote, your criteria. If you haven't seen either, perhaps vote for the one you'd rather watch.

Vote Here

Round 1 Game 4 - Brian's Song vs The Rookie

Brian's Song (1971)

Sport: Football
Director: Buzz Kulik
Starring: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden
Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime;

IMDB Link

The Rookie (2002)

Sport: Baseball
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Dennis Quaid, J.D. Evermore, Rachel Griffiths

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; Borrow DVD from me

IMDB Link

Summary

It's football versus Baseball in this match. Made for TV versus theater production. The 1970s versus 2000's.  What they have in common is both are based on real life events. Both are family friendly, though the N-word is heard in "Brian's Song".

I wasn't sure if I should include made-for-TV movies, but I decided to make a couple of exceptions, including this one. "Brian's Song" is the story of Brian Piccolo and his relationship with teammate Gale Sayers on the Chicago Bears. Yes, it's a tear jerking story. It was remade in 2001. Sayers and Piccolo were rookies together on the 1965 Bears. Race relations would play a part in that era. It's nice that they weaved in actual footage of the Bears. It does get a little campy with what we'd now call overly dramatic music, such as when Sayers gets hurt. Watching it again, was strange to see Billy Dee Williams as the quiet Sayers, hiding from the spotlight. I liked James Caan as Piccolo; and Jack Warden (RIP) as coach Halas. Just cool to watch the friendship evolve through their different hardships. The ABC Movie of the Week did so well, it was later opened at the box office.

"The Rookie" tells the story of Jim Morris, a 35-year old High School baseball coach and his journey to the major leagues. Fun to see all the support of his players and family. I always like Dennis Quaid who plays Jim Morris. As one reviewer wrote, it's sort of two movies in one. The first one being the high school team winning the championship and then the second being Morris's journey to MLB. And when a key line is "It all started with a couple of nuns...", you know it's something you need to keep watching. And enjoy the three domino-playing town fixtures as they chew the fat and solve world problems. Too many great performances in this movie to call them all out. Overall, fairly accurate, though a few liberties taken such as the speed radar sign, but I won't hold that against the Rookie.

Time to vote sports fans. Again,  your vote, your criteria. If you haven't seen either, perhaps vote for the one you'd rather watch.

Vote Here

Round 1 Game 3 - Rudy vs Happy Gilmore

Rudy (1993)

Sport: College Football
Director: David Anspaugh
Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty
Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime; free IMDb; Burrow DVD from me

IMDB Link

Happy Gilmore (1996)

Sport: Golf
Director: Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime

IMDB Link

Summary

What's the difference between Rudy and Happy Gilmore? One is a movie of a football player who later lives in a hobbit hole and the other is about a hockey player who tries to get a ball home to its hole.

Rudy, played by Sean Astin, is another movie of an underdog rising above his potential, a movie of the heart. It's based on real life Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. It is a remarkable story and well done. The supporting cast includes Ned Beatty as Rudy's dad and Jon Favreau as D-Bomb, Rudy's best friend. I really enjoyed Favreau's performance. Also, look for a young Vince Vaughn as Jamie O'Hara. One goof close to some of my friends is the game where Notre Dame is playing Georgia Tech, it's the Penn State Blue Band playing.

Happy Gilmore which continued the momentum of Adam Sandler's career and would put the Happy in Happy Madison production company, has Adam Sandler, as a hockey player wannabee who takes up golf to save his grandmother's house. Lots of stars or future stars including: Carl Weathers (singing We've Only Just Begun), Richard Kiel, Kevin Nealon, and Julie Bowen. I'll call out two in particular, I really thought Christopher McDonald captured the role of the cocky Shooter McGavin. And lastly, Bob Barker playing in the ProAm with Happy is, well, priceless. When Barker's agent asked if he'd do a fight scene with Adam Sandler, Barker's first question was "Well, who wins the fight?" Barker has commented that the Happy Gilmore fight was the topic he'd be asked about the most when talking to the Price is Right audience. Some people would ask if we could really beat up Sandler (Barker served in the Navy in WW II). I love Bob's response of "Are you kidding? Adam Sandler couldn't whip Regis Philbin."

Time to vote sports fans. Again,  your vote, your criteria. If you haven't seen either, perhaps vote for the one you'd rather watch.

Vote Here

Round 1 Game 2 - Invictus vs Major League

Invictus (2009)

Sport: Rugby
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge
Available: Rent on Amazon Prime , HBO  (I have it on DVD, you can borrow)

IMDB Link

Major League (1989)

Sport: Baseball
Director: David Ward
Starring: Tom Beregenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bersen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime

IMDB Link

Summary

Two very different movies here. "Invictus" is the story of the South African 1995 rugby team and their pursuit of the World Cup and the support of President Mandela, in his first term. And "Major League" is a comedy that is "just a bit outside" the normal inspirational story.

Invictus has super strong directing and cast. And the story. Nelson Mandela has just been elected the President and South Africa has been selected to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The host country always qualifies. Despite much of the country viewing the Springboks team as a symbol of racism, President Mandela teaches forgiveness and unity. The "One Team, One Country" campaign begins. The history around this is too much for me to unpack, but worth understanding.  Morgan Freeman's performance as Nelson Mandela is great. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the Spingbok team captain, and reinforces why I think he's a great actor. The DVD has a feature on Damon and the real Pienaar meeting as Damon tried to really get into the role.

Major League has an interesting cast, Bersen had just come off his LA Law fame. Wesley Snipes, who we'll see again, was a young Wesley Snipes. But we probably all most remember Bob Uecker as announcer Harry Doyle the best. I did appreciate James Gammon (RIP)  as the Skipper. I've always wondered what actual Cleveland fans thought of the film. It did well enough to have a sequel, boost sales of The Troggs - Wild Thing, and to provide some quotes still repeated today. 

Time to vote sports fans. Again,  your vote, your criteria. Based on some comments for game 1, some of you are even voting based on the eye candy. Be well my friends.

Vote Here

Round 1 Game 1 - Rush vs Facing the Giants

Rush (2013)

Sport: Formula 1 Racing
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Daniel Bruhl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde
Available: Rent on Amazon Prime , HBO 

IMDB Link

Facing the Giants (2006)

Sport: High School Football
Director: Alex Kendrick
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Jason McLeod

Available: Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime

IMDB Link

Summary

For the tip off competition, the "Facing the Giants" is facing a giant in "Rush" in many ways. Rush had a $38 million budget compared to about $100,000 for Giants. Rush is flashy and fast moving, just like the sport. Ron Howard is a master and Bruhl and Hemsworth play their roles very well. The Giants is about over coming adversity. I added it to the list based on its inspiration and how well I thought it was done given the budget. The action footage was well done, with production by some of the same folks that did Friday Night Lights (we'll see that movie in the future).  Facing the Giants isn't based on a real person, but the experiences of various real people and scenarios. Facing the Giants tugs at the heart, but don't be surprise that in Rush, despite the flash of James Hunt (Hemsworth), there is a heart message there as well. 

So which is it? Which movie do you pick to move to round two? Whether you select based on how well the movie is produced or how it makes you feel, it's up to you. Your vote, your criteria.

Vote Here

Welcome to March Sports Movie Madness

Hello, many of you, like me, may be missing sports, especially March Madness. Maybe to fill that need you have taken to watching sports related movies. But maybe you're having a hard time deciding on which movie to watch. What if there was a way to determine the greatest sports movie of them all? Or at least some pretty good ones?

That's what we're going to do here! With some help, I've selected a field of  64 sports related movies. They span from 1942 to 2019; from baseball to football to golf to boxing to Olympic sports.
Every day or so, I will post the match up of two movies going head to head. You help select the better of the two movies and that movie will move into the next round, single elimination.
A few comments on my selection criteria:

• I did not include any pure documentaries. It was tempting as some of my favorites include: "When We Were Kings" and "Murderball" 
• I did include many that are based on real people or real stories.
• I did not include any of the movies just released this year, such as "The Way Back"
• Several movies have been remade (e.g. The Longest Yard). In almost every case, I used the original.
• I did include a few made for TV movies, but not TV series. 
• I included boxing, but not karate or MMA. The line got too fuzzy there.
• Some movies are about specific teams or sports, some movies just have sport as the key background theme.
• There were a ton of movies that I could have included, but for various reasons did not.
• The seeding came from combining ratings from multiple movie sites. But upsets are expected. There are some very interesting pairings.
• What some people consider sports movies, I did not include. For example, some people consider "The Big Lebowski" a bowling movie. I do not.
• My tournament, my rules. :) 

Voting will be done via the following and I'll post the results after combining the different sets of numbers. You all are on the honor system.

1. Google forms - will provide the link
2. Comments if you don't want to use the form

Starting Bracket