One of the greatest sports related movies of ALL-TIME is Rudy. Rudy is the story of a young man whose 1 wish is to play for Notre Dame, but he is too small to play there and is academically challenged which makes it difficult for him to even go to the school. Here are 3 videos, the first is the last scene from the movie where Rudy gets his shot to be on the field. The second two videos are the true story of Rudy.
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A Post in Memory of a Sports Fan
Every year towards the end of the year Sports Illustrated has an issue that looks back at the year that has past in sports. I always enjoy reading it and remembering the moments that made each year great. And at some point of the issue they have a section to those in the sports world who have passed away. So there is a little thing about Chris Henry, Steve McNair, Mark Fidrych, Chuck Daly and many more. So in that vain (maybe vein or vien) I am writing a post about a sports fan who died this past year; my dad.
My father passed away on July 14th at the age of 51. He grew up in Cleveland and was a fan of the Indians, Browns & Cavaliers. His favorite player of all time was former Browns running back Leroy Kelly. He watched Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble. If you are not a Browns fan then I'm sure if you check on wikipedia or something it will tell you all about it. He watched as Michael Jordan traveled and hit a game-winning shot against Craig Ehlo and the Cavs. He saw David Justice hit a home run in game 6 of the 1995 World Series as well as Jose Mesa blow game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He enjoyed playing sports as well. At a younger age when he was a little faster he could run, hit and throw a ball very far. In baseball he played Center field and in football he played running back just like his idol Leroy Kelly. He enjoyed watching College sports as well. We would often watch College Football together when coming home from shul on Motzei Shabbos. Of course we rarely saw Ohio State play because most of their games are around noon time.
The last time I spoke to him was that Tuesday morning that he died. That evening the Major League Baseball All-Star game was on and I was telling him how the MLB Network was showing a bunch of old All-Star Games. He remembered some of the key plays in some of those games.
A couple of weeks ago the Browns played their hated rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game was on the NFL Network and I was able to watch it. While watching the game and seeing a bunch of no-name backups & practice squad players sack Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger eight times I thought about how much my dad would have loved this game. After the 13-6 win by the Browns a cousin of mine e-mailed me saying, "somewhere right now your father is smiling" to which I replied that this game was "my father's Chanukah present to me".
The truth of the matter is I wasn't planning on writing this post until Friday. Friday afternoon I was flipping through the channels and "Field of Dreams" one of my favorite movies was on. I caught the last half-hour of the movie and that is definitely the best part. After Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) does all these crazy things like building a baseball field in his corn, or go to Boston to find an old writer (played by James Earl Jones), or go to some other small town to find a Doctor who was already dead that used to be a ball-player who never got a Major League at-bat (played by Burt Lancaster) he finds out whose pain he's easing. It's not that of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (played by Ray Liotta) but rather of Ray's father John Kinsella who had been a catcher in his playing days and was now dead. The final scene has Ray & John Kinsella having a catch on together on the field. It reminded me of one of the last Sundays I spent with my father. I had needed a new baseball glove so we went together to buy one and when we got home my father insisted that we have a catch to "check out the new glove" as he said. That happened about a month before he passed away and is one of the many wonderful sports related memories I have of him.
My father passed away on July 14th at the age of 51. He grew up in Cleveland and was a fan of the Indians, Browns & Cavaliers. His favorite player of all time was former Browns running back Leroy Kelly. He watched Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble. If you are not a Browns fan then I'm sure if you check on wikipedia or something it will tell you all about it. He watched as Michael Jordan traveled and hit a game-winning shot against Craig Ehlo and the Cavs. He saw David Justice hit a home run in game 6 of the 1995 World Series as well as Jose Mesa blow game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He enjoyed playing sports as well. At a younger age when he was a little faster he could run, hit and throw a ball very far. In baseball he played Center field and in football he played running back just like his idol Leroy Kelly. He enjoyed watching College sports as well. We would often watch College Football together when coming home from shul on Motzei Shabbos. Of course we rarely saw Ohio State play because most of their games are around noon time. The last time I spoke to him was that Tuesday morning that he died. That evening the Major League Baseball All-Star game was on and I was telling him how the MLB Network was showing a bunch of old All-Star Games. He remembered some of the key plays in some of those games.
A couple of weeks ago the Browns played their hated rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game was on the NFL Network and I was able to watch it. While watching the game and seeing a bunch of no-name backups & practice squad players sack Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger eight times I thought about how much my dad would have loved this game. After the 13-6 win by the Browns a cousin of mine e-mailed me saying, "somewhere right now your father is smiling" to which I replied that this game was "my father's Chanukah present to me".
The truth of the matter is I wasn't planning on writing this post until Friday. Friday afternoon I was flipping through the channels and "Field of Dreams" one of my favorite movies was on. I caught the last half-hour of the movie and that is definitely the best part. After Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) does all these crazy things like building a baseball field in his corn, or go to Boston to find an old writer (played by James Earl Jones), or go to some other small town to find a Doctor who was already dead that used to be a ball-player who never got a Major League at-bat (played by Burt Lancaster) he finds out whose pain he's easing. It's not that of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (played by Ray Liotta) but rather of Ray's father John Kinsella who had been a catcher in his playing days and was now dead. The final scene has Ray & John Kinsella having a catch on together on the field. It reminded me of one of the last Sundays I spent with my father. I had needed a new baseball glove so we went together to buy one and when we got home my father insisted that we have a catch to "check out the new glove" as he said. That happened about a month before he passed away and is one of the many wonderful sports related memories I have of him.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
My Top Ten Sports Movies
Here is a small list of my favorite sports movies.
10. Little Giants - Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as brother?! It just doesn't get much funnier than that.
9. Rookie of the Year - The whole premise of the movie is far-fetched but thanks to Daniel Stern's performance as the Pitching Coach of the Cubs it makes the list
8. D2: The Mighty Ducks - The original Ducks, headlined by Goldberg the goalie get some new players as they go for the gold. With cameo appearances by Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chris Chelios.
7. Jerry Maguire - Although some of the lines in the movie has been overused, it still is a great inside look at the life of a sports agent.
6. The Waterboy - Henry Winkler and Adam Sandler are great in this movie.
5. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball". Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Rip Torn are all wonderful but Stephen Root trying to dodge traffic is definitely the funniest scene in the movie.
4. Hoosiers - The movie is a little bit too long but it's a great story.
3. Major League - When the widow of the owner of the Cleveland Indians realizes that she is stuck with a small stadium in a cold climate, she decides that a move to a Southern, warmer climate is called for. Unfortunately the only way she can unload her stadium is due to low attendance, so she needs to plan for a losing and lackluster season. The team of misfits and losers that she has hired, though, decide that if they really pull through, they may not wind up in last place and not be the losers that the owner thinks that they are. This offbeat baseball comedy, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Rene Russo, was a surprise 1989 hit.
2. Remember the Titans - Only one word needs to be said why this movie was as great as it was...Denzel.
1. Field of Dreams - This movie is much more than a sports movie. A wonderful cast, a wonderful story and a wonderful message. The one major issue is that "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was a lefty while Ray Liotta who plays Jackson was batting from the right side of the plate.
10. Little Giants - Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as brother?! It just doesn't get much funnier than that.
9. Rookie of the Year - The whole premise of the movie is far-fetched but thanks to Daniel Stern's performance as the Pitching Coach of the Cubs it makes the list
8. D2: The Mighty Ducks - The original Ducks, headlined by Goldberg the goalie get some new players as they go for the gold. With cameo appearances by Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chris Chelios.
7. Jerry Maguire - Although some of the lines in the movie has been overused, it still is a great inside look at the life of a sports agent.
6. The Waterboy - Henry Winkler and Adam Sandler are great in this movie.
5. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball". Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Rip Torn are all wonderful but Stephen Root trying to dodge traffic is definitely the funniest scene in the movie.
4. Hoosiers - The movie is a little bit too long but it's a great story.
3. Major League - When the widow of the owner of the Cleveland Indians realizes that she is stuck with a small stadium in a cold climate, she decides that a move to a Southern, warmer climate is called for. Unfortunately the only way she can unload her stadium is due to low attendance, so she needs to plan for a losing and lackluster season. The team of misfits and losers that she has hired, though, decide that if they really pull through, they may not wind up in last place and not be the losers that the owner thinks that they are. This offbeat baseball comedy, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Rene Russo, was a surprise 1989 hit.
2. Remember the Titans - Only one word needs to be said why this movie was as great as it was...Denzel.
1. Field of Dreams - This movie is much more than a sports movie. A wonderful cast, a wonderful story and a wonderful message. The one major issue is that "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was a lefty while Ray Liotta who plays Jackson was batting from the right side of the plate.
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