Generally, you're going to see me talking about sports here. That's my passion. Mostly college sports since the escalating salaries and ticket prices combined with work stoppages has soured me on the pros. But on one of the message boards I frequent, we got into a discussion of great sports movies. I'm not sure that any of mine would be termed "great", but they had something in them that made them unforgettable to me.
For starters, I'd have to go with "The Sandlot". It cuts back to when we were kids 
and always had a pickup game going on. We moved to the town I grew up in when I was 7 or 8 and playing baseball was the way I made friends, so naturally I could identify with it. A simple time in a small town. The team full of nerdy kids that became good ball players through osmosis simply by hanging around Benny. He was a soft hearted kid that couldn't bring himself to toss away a stray. Squints was an evil genius. Figured out how to get his kiss from the lifeguard and play a mean second base despite being legally blind as near as I can tell. Benny's scene with Babe Ruth was fabulous, and the Great Hambino behind the plate was classic. Still one of my favorite lines of all time is "Your killing me Smalls". Toss in James Earl Jones and Dennis O'Leary and it was an instant classic. All it needed was Kevin Costner.
Another favorite of mine was "Varsity Blues". Jon Voight was a huge prick as Coach Kilmer. And no one plays a better prick than Jon Voight. Remember him trying to feed Jennifer Lo
pez to the snake in Anaconda? Actually, I kind of agreed with that one. The character of Tweeter was my high school dream. I would have been him if I could have. Stealing the police car and winding up with 3 freshman girls naked was something I could only dream of. Paul Walker did some of his best work here as Lance, which sadly isn't saying much. Likewise James Van Der Beek , as the career backup "Mox" forced into the starting quarterback after Walker's character suffers a knee injury. I just ached for Billy Bob, the unfortunate right tackle who's best friend was his pet pig, but in the end, he was the hero. And if the movie had nothing else, Ari Larter in her whipped cream bikini would make it worth watching. Cherries anyone?
For number 3, (and if you read long enough, you'll realize I always try to post in 3's. I'll tell you about that sometime) I'd have to go
with "Eight Men Out". The White Sox scandal always fascinated me to begin with. Toss in a cast of John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, John Mahoney as Kid Gleason, their manager and it's pure gold. D.B. Sweeney spent a year training with a minor league team preparing for his role as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. I also enjoyed Michael Lerner in his role as the unscrupulous gambler Arnold Rothstein.
Like I said, these are just my favorites. I could have added such notables as "Field of Dreams", "Cobb" or "Brian's Song". Ok, I was just shitting you about Brian's Song.
and always had a pickup game going on. We moved to the town I grew up in when I was 7 or 8 and playing baseball was the way I made friends, so naturally I could identify with it. A simple time in a small town. The team full of nerdy kids that became good ball players through osmosis simply by hanging around Benny. He was a soft hearted kid that couldn't bring himself to toss away a stray. Squints was an evil genius. Figured out how to get his kiss from the lifeguard and play a mean second base despite being legally blind as near as I can tell. Benny's scene with Babe Ruth was fabulous, and the Great Hambino behind the plate was classic. Still one of my favorite lines of all time is "Your killing me Smalls". Toss in James Earl Jones and Dennis O'Leary and it was an instant classic. All it needed was Kevin Costner.Another favorite of mine was "Varsity Blues". Jon Voight was a huge prick as Coach Kilmer. And no one plays a better prick than Jon Voight. Remember him trying to feed Jennifer Lo
pez to the snake in Anaconda? Actually, I kind of agreed with that one. The character of Tweeter was my high school dream. I would have been him if I could have. Stealing the police car and winding up with 3 freshman girls naked was something I could only dream of. Paul Walker did some of his best work here as Lance, which sadly isn't saying much. Likewise James Van Der Beek , as the career backup "Mox" forced into the starting quarterback after Walker's character suffers a knee injury. I just ached for Billy Bob, the unfortunate right tackle who's best friend was his pet pig, but in the end, he was the hero. And if the movie had nothing else, Ari Larter in her whipped cream bikini would make it worth watching. Cherries anyone?For number 3, (and if you read long enough, you'll realize I always try to post in 3's. I'll tell you about that sometime) I'd have to go
with "Eight Men Out". The White Sox scandal always fascinated me to begin with. Toss in a cast of John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, John Mahoney as Kid Gleason, their manager and it's pure gold. D.B. Sweeney spent a year training with a minor league team preparing for his role as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. I also enjoyed Michael Lerner in his role as the unscrupulous gambler Arnold Rothstein.Like I said, these are just my favorites. I could have added such notables as "Field of Dreams", "Cobb" or "Brian's Song". Ok, I was just shitting you about Brian's Song.
The sandlot ruled!
ReplyDeleteOh, and God bless you for the Ari Larter photo.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Ari is hot.
ReplyDelete