1. A League of Their Own (1992) - There's no crying in baseball! How could I forget this movie based on the true story of the women who played professional baseball while the menfolk were off fighting in World War II? Lori Petty is annoying beyond belief as little sister Kit, but Geena Davis is awesome as farm girl phenom Dottie, Jon Lovitz is hilarious in his small role...Tom Hanks and Davis play brilliantly off each other, Madonna works it, and even Rosie O'Donnell is more funny and less annoying. I laughed, I most definitely cried (poor Betty Spaghetti's husband!), and who doesn't love seeing girls who can tear up the field as well as the boys can?
2. Any Given Sunday (1999) - a football movie that I liked before I decided I liked football. I remember this movie because it was the last one I saw in the theater with my mom. This movie is when I, and probably others, discovered that, hey, Jamie Foxx isn't just a comedian - this kid can act! Cameron Diaz annoys me and was just okay, but Al Pacino rocked the hell outta his game of inches speech, Dennis Quaid is always good, and John C. McGinley had a small but funny role that made me laugh before I realized how much he could make me laugh (as Dr. Cox on Scrubs)...and ladies, there is some full frontal (male) nudity in the Sharks' lockerroom...just sayin'!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Olympic torch atop Mount Everest
Today the Olympic torch, making its way around the world toward Beijing, was carried to the summit of Mount Everest by a team made up of Chinese and Tibetan climbers. This is a huge technological feat, requiring a special high-altitude flame and an amazing amount of teamwork (always a requirement to reach the top of the world). So let's acknowledge that.
But let's also acknowledge that publicity stunts involving dangerous mountains push people to take unnecessary risks, putting their own lives and the lives of their fellow climbers in danger. Let's also not sweep aside the fact that this climb was part publicity for China and the Olympics, part showcasing the Chinese and Tibetan people as friendly fellow countrymen, when really there is a lot of anger, resentment, and controversy over China's Communist rule over the Tibetan people.
The Olympics, like all sporting arenas, have been tainted by the scandal of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, but I think it still provides a forum for countries that may ordinarily be at odds to achieve a temporary detente, to exert themselves and their national pride in a peaceful manner, and for the world to see what we all have in common rather than the things that make us different.
Opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Games are August 8.
But let's also acknowledge that publicity stunts involving dangerous mountains push people to take unnecessary risks, putting their own lives and the lives of their fellow climbers in danger. Let's also not sweep aside the fact that this climb was part publicity for China and the Olympics, part showcasing the Chinese and Tibetan people as friendly fellow countrymen, when really there is a lot of anger, resentment, and controversy over China's Communist rule over the Tibetan people.
The Olympics, like all sporting arenas, have been tainted by the scandal of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, but I think it still provides a forum for countries that may ordinarily be at odds to achieve a temporary detente, to exert themselves and their national pride in a peaceful manner, and for the world to see what we all have in common rather than the things that make us different.
Opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Games are August 8.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Final Season at Yankee Stadium: Yanks v. Tigers, April 29
It was cold, we were one row from the top of the stadium, the Yankees lost (thanks in no small part to a monster home run by former Yank Gary Sheffield and starting pitcher Phil Hughes still not being able to figure out that he's supposed to be able to throw a ball better than I can...what gives?!?)...but since I don't know if I'll get there again this season, it was nice to be in that stadium one last time...
Fantasy baseball league...it's killin' me!
Okay, so after getting off to a horrendous start to the season with all five of my fantasy baseball teams (much like the Yankees' season so far), I finally figured out how to fiddle with my lineups, dropping players who weren't performing well (or at all), bolstering my bench based on how many points players had, and basically just padding my team with whatever Diamondbacks were available in my teams' leagues. Not an Arizona or even really a National League fan, but that team is off to a phenomenal start. So far it seems to be working, as most of my teams are racking up more points than their rivals since I made the changes (only this week). I don't think I have a prayer of winning this thing, but I'd like to avoid the humiliation of all five of my teams coming in last place in their leagues.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Mets vs. Braves at Shea Stadium April 25
My best friend Dania, who is a huge Mets fan, was able to get us free tickets to the Mets game at Shea - even though I'm a Yankees fan, I'm also a New York fan, and this is the Mets' last season at Shea, which is actually kinda sad...although from what I could see of the new stadium with the stupid new name (Citifield? Really? Am not a fan of the corporate naming of stadiums...), it's going to be pretty sweet.
Anyway, the Mets lost and didn't play all that great, but it was still fun...I love the atmosphere of actually being at a sporting event - the camaraderie, the cheering, the possibility of catching a ball, the smell of hotdogs, the taste of beer, seeing David Wright (or insert your sports crush of choice here) in person...it's all good. And usually my friends and I are frugal fans, sitting in the nosebleed section, but Dania actually scored us decent seats on the mezzanine level (and when everyone left in the 8th inning cuz the Mets were losing, we moved up to the first row on our level). It would've been even better if the Mets had won, but it was a good time, and I'm glad I got to be at Shea at least one last time before the Mets move.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Ode to Friday Night Lights, the best tv show about sports that's not about sports
Ok, so Friday Night Lights the tv show is based on the movie of the same name, which I have never seen, so I don't know how they compare. The show revolves around the Panthers, the high school football team in smalltown Dillon, Texas.
Now, I am Long Island, born and raised. My brothers played high school football, I went to my high school football games, but I know there are parts of this country where everything is high school football, where the players are local celebrities and where whole towns turn out to watch 16 and 17 year olds play football on Friday nights. I don't understand this culture, I think for the most part it seems a little silly to me, and yet I love Friday Night Lights the show.
I didn't watch it the first season, but Matt Roush at TVGuide (with whom I often agree on what shows are worth watching) kept raving about it, so I caught up with it over the summer on NBC.com. And am I so glad I did, because this is easily the best show on television that nobody is watching!
High school football is a big part of the show; if you watch the show, you're gonna watch a game or two being played. But Friday Night Lights is more than football - it is a study on small town America, it is a study on society and values and family, it is a study on people. These people are real - they do real things and react in a real way and have real emotions. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton as Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami are so believable as a married couple - you believe they have problems but you believe they love each other enough to work through them. As someone who has a boyfriend who had a serious accident and has been in the hospital for a long time and is learning to walk again, Jason Street's story of dealing with paralysis, and its effect on his girlfriend Lyla and his best friend Tim is especially poignant and meaningful (and realistic) to me. And you just can't help but root for them, and root for Matt Saracen to gain confidence and do well, and for Tim and for Smash Williams to make better choices and pull it together. Friday Night Lights is just well written and well acted, which is so much more than so much of the crap on television today.
It's second season had some problems in the beginning, finding it's feet and figuring out where it was going, and they were given a shortened episode order which sucked, but the good news is, the show, despite terrible ratings, has been picked up for a third season (yay!), which will premiere first on DirectTV and which will come to NBC during the midseason next year. So, so excited for that. If you've never watched it, this means you have plenty of time to catch up - both the first and second seasons are available to watch on NBC.com, and both seasons are also out on DVD (second season came out yesterday!)
Now, I am Long Island, born and raised. My brothers played high school football, I went to my high school football games, but I know there are parts of this country where everything is high school football, where the players are local celebrities and where whole towns turn out to watch 16 and 17 year olds play football on Friday nights. I don't understand this culture, I think for the most part it seems a little silly to me, and yet I love Friday Night Lights the show.
I didn't watch it the first season, but Matt Roush at TVGuide (with whom I often agree on what shows are worth watching) kept raving about it, so I caught up with it over the summer on NBC.com. And am I so glad I did, because this is easily the best show on television that nobody is watching!
High school football is a big part of the show; if you watch the show, you're gonna watch a game or two being played. But Friday Night Lights is more than football - it is a study on small town America, it is a study on society and values and family, it is a study on people. These people are real - they do real things and react in a real way and have real emotions. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton as Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami are so believable as a married couple - you believe they have problems but you believe they love each other enough to work through them. As someone who has a boyfriend who had a serious accident and has been in the hospital for a long time and is learning to walk again, Jason Street's story of dealing with paralysis, and its effect on his girlfriend Lyla and his best friend Tim is especially poignant and meaningful (and realistic) to me. And you just can't help but root for them, and root for Matt Saracen to gain confidence and do well, and for Tim and for Smash Williams to make better choices and pull it together. Friday Night Lights is just well written and well acted, which is so much more than so much of the crap on television today.
It's second season had some problems in the beginning, finding it's feet and figuring out where it was going, and they were given a shortened episode order which sucked, but the good news is, the show, despite terrible ratings, has been picked up for a third season (yay!), which will premiere first on DirectTV and which will come to NBC during the midseason next year. So, so excited for that. If you've never watched it, this means you have plenty of time to catch up - both the first and second seasons are available to watch on NBC.com, and both seasons are also out on DVD (second season came out yesterday!)
Favorite movies about sports
If you enjoy watching any of these sport-themed movies, you may just want to try watching (or in some cases, maybe playing!) the actual sport providing the backdrop for said movie...just don't expect to have Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a coach or to actually see angels in the outfield...though I guess never say never!
1. Angels in the Outfield (1994) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a foster kid who just wants a family and when his deadbeat dad (played by sexy Dermot Mulroney!) promises him they can live together when the Angels (a terrible team) win the pennant, Gordon-Levitt starts seeing angels who help the team play better and help them believe in themselves. I cry every frickin' time. And this is a frickin' children's movie. Good grief. Christopher Lloyd, Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Adrien Brody, and Matthew McConaughey are also in it. I'm reminded of this movie now every time Angel Pagan hits for the Mets because the fans in the stands flap their arms (like wings), the signal Gordon-Levitt uses in the movie to help manager Glover whenever he sees an angel. I think I'm gonna cry right now...
2. Little Giants (1994) - I am a sucker for these kids' sports flicks! And I was 15 when both of these movies came out!...anyway, this movie is awesome. Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill are brothers. O'Neill, a former Heisman Trophy winner, coaches the town's peewee football team and only picks the good kids, except for his niece and Moranis' daughter, Becky aka Icebox, who is the best player of them all. So Moranis starts his own ragtag misfit team to play O'Neill's team to see which one will represent their town in the league. So many of the gags crack me up. Look for a young Devon Sawa playing Junior. Kids who just want to play football because they love football - this movie is definitely another tearjerker for me...
3. Remember the Titans (2000) - based on the true story of a southern high school football team that in its first year of being racially integrated was led to an undefeated season by its black coach, played by Denzel Washington. By learning to respect each other and understand each other and be a team, the team helps the school and town to do the same. Blah blah blah. Makes me cry every time. Will Patton, Ethan Suplee, Donald Faison, Kip Pardue, Hayden Panettiere, Kate Bosworth, and Ryan Gosling are among the star-studded cast.
4. Major League (1989) - I love frat boy comedies and I love physical comedy, and I love stories about misfits who are a complete mess and have to come together as a team. Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, and Dennis Haysbert are among the cast. I also enjoy the 1994 follow-up.
5. The Replacements (2000) - when the pro football players go on strike, the has-beens and never-weres get a chance to take centerstage. Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman headline this movie, but Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau, and Rhys Ifans steal the movie with their hilarious antics. Oh, as do the scab cheerleaders (aka strippers). Also, if you're a fan of NBC's "The Office," look for David Denman (Roy) playing a deaf player.
6. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) - girls, this is a sports movie for girls about girls who play sports! Soccer, to be exact. Jess Bhamra comes from a strict Sikh family that won't let her play "football" (the movie takes place in England). David Beckham is her hero and she's really very good so she sneaks around to join a team where she befriends Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is her coach. It doesn't make me cry (although it does make me sad that Jess and the other girls aspire to play pro soccer in the US, which no longer has a women's league), it does make me laugh, I did fall in love with Rhys Meyers, but it's just a fun, feel-good, sports movie about girls for girls...watch it!
I'll update this list as I think of more...
1. Angels in the Outfield (1994) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a foster kid who just wants a family and when his deadbeat dad (played by sexy Dermot Mulroney!) promises him they can live together when the Angels (a terrible team) win the pennant, Gordon-Levitt starts seeing angels who help the team play better and help them believe in themselves. I cry every frickin' time. And this is a frickin' children's movie. Good grief. Christopher Lloyd, Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Adrien Brody, and Matthew McConaughey are also in it. I'm reminded of this movie now every time Angel Pagan hits for the Mets because the fans in the stands flap their arms (like wings), the signal Gordon-Levitt uses in the movie to help manager Glover whenever he sees an angel. I think I'm gonna cry right now...
2. Little Giants (1994) - I am a sucker for these kids' sports flicks! And I was 15 when both of these movies came out!...anyway, this movie is awesome. Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill are brothers. O'Neill, a former Heisman Trophy winner, coaches the town's peewee football team and only picks the good kids, except for his niece and Moranis' daughter, Becky aka Icebox, who is the best player of them all. So Moranis starts his own ragtag misfit team to play O'Neill's team to see which one will represent their town in the league. So many of the gags crack me up. Look for a young Devon Sawa playing Junior. Kids who just want to play football because they love football - this movie is definitely another tearjerker for me...
3. Remember the Titans (2000) - based on the true story of a southern high school football team that in its first year of being racially integrated was led to an undefeated season by its black coach, played by Denzel Washington. By learning to respect each other and understand each other and be a team, the team helps the school and town to do the same. Blah blah blah. Makes me cry every time. Will Patton, Ethan Suplee, Donald Faison, Kip Pardue, Hayden Panettiere, Kate Bosworth, and Ryan Gosling are among the star-studded cast.
4. Major League (1989) - I love frat boy comedies and I love physical comedy, and I love stories about misfits who are a complete mess and have to come together as a team. Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, and Dennis Haysbert are among the cast. I also enjoy the 1994 follow-up.
5. The Replacements (2000) - when the pro football players go on strike, the has-beens and never-weres get a chance to take centerstage. Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman headline this movie, but Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau, and Rhys Ifans steal the movie with their hilarious antics. Oh, as do the scab cheerleaders (aka strippers). Also, if you're a fan of NBC's "The Office," look for David Denman (Roy) playing a deaf player.
6. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) - girls, this is a sports movie for girls about girls who play sports! Soccer, to be exact. Jess Bhamra comes from a strict Sikh family that won't let her play "football" (the movie takes place in England). David Beckham is her hero and she's really very good so she sneaks around to join a team where she befriends Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is her coach. It doesn't make me cry (although it does make me sad that Jess and the other girls aspire to play pro soccer in the US, which no longer has a women's league), it does make me laugh, I did fall in love with Rhys Meyers, but it's just a fun, feel-good, sports movie about girls for girls...watch it!
I'll update this list as I think of more...
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