The Underdog Fail

I call this blog the Underdog Fail because it is about the movie Cool Runnings which is about a bobsled team from Jamaica who enters into the Olympics and in the end ultimately loses. I think what makes this movie special from other sports movies is the fact that its about bobsledding. It's the first movie about a bobsledding team. What makes it more unique from other sports movies is the fact that in the end the underdog doesnt come out on top like "Hoosiers". I really enjoyed watching this movie but it does not even rank close to other sports movies when it comes to the best. Some people would go as far to say that this movie isnt really a sports movie. Another big reason why I liked this movie is because of John Candy who plays the coach of the bobsled team. John  Candy was a great actor and I feel as though he really brought the movie together. I also liked him in "Uncle Buck". Anyway I really enjoyed watching this movie but I dont really view it as a sports movie I view it as a family fun movie. Its definately not the best sports movie I have seen.

The Cinderella Story

The movie Hoosiers is the typical basketball cinderella story. Don't get me wrong I think its a great movie but its just so predictable and you know whats gonna happen next every time. I still think its a good movie but its definately not the best. For example when they put the little guy in the game and he gets fouled with 3 seconds left. You know hes gonna pull through and make the foul shots to bring them to the chamionship game, and when they are in the chamionship game Jimmy says "i can make the last shot" when the coach said he was gonna be a decoy. You know Jimmy is gonna drain that last shot to win the championship game. I think its a great movie but just very predictable they were the huge underdogs in the chamionship game and even though they only had 8 players they were still gonna find some way to pull through and win. Its just another typical underdog story.Thats why I dont think its the best movie. Of course the same people who made this movie made "Rudy" the classic underdog story. They are both great sports movies but very typical of a sports movie.

The Battle (Reggie Miller Vs. The Knicks and Spike Lee)

The documentary "Winning time" stars Reggie Miller in the 90's while he played on the Indiana Pacers. I love this documentary because it shows how hard some teams battle and play to win. When you think of rivalries you think of the Yankees and the Red Sox or the Lakers and the Celtics you dont really think of the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks as rivals. But their rivalry in the 90's was one of the best in the NBA. For 2 straight years they met in the Eastern Division Finals. This rivalry was great because they were always battling back and fourth. What made the rivalry so great was that both teams were so physical. I just loved how raw both teams played. At one point in the documentary Greg Anthony said " we were gonna win something, either the game or the fight. In 94 the Pacers took the Knicks to 7 games and lost. In game 5 Reggie just went off and it was like it was him against the Knicks. What set Reggie off was actually a huge Knick fan director Spike Lee. I thought that this was a great part in the documentary, Spike just completely gives it to Reggie. Reggie himself is a big shit talker but he was playing like shit and Lee was letting him know he even brought his sister Cheryl into it. He would say things like Cheryl could make that shot and Cheryl is a better player than you. The things Spike would say just fueled the fire to Reggie. In one point of the game Reggie turned to his teammates and said you guys just set screens im gonna make everything. Even though Reggie got them to win that game it didnt make a difference, they still lost the series. The following year the Pacers made a move to get Mark Jackson who played for the Knicks the previous season. I think that this move shows that the Pacers would do what they had to do to beat the Knicks. Reggie loved the move because he was his eyes and ears when it came to New York. I think that the part that made this documentary was when one of the people on it said "there is a time to play and a time to win. What you do in that winning time differentiates you from a player and a superstar. I think thats why this documentary is called winning time. It describes Reggie Miller. The next season the Pacers and the Knicks went to another game 7 in the Eastern Division Finals. The first game Reggie showed the Knicks that he wasnt going to get beaten again. When there was less than 20 seconds left and the Pacers were down by 6 Reggie scored 8 points to put them up by 2 and win the game. Then they went to a game 7 again like the previous year but the result was different and the Pacers had finnaly won the series. I think that this documentary was great and it really showed that Reggie Miller had what it took to win and it truely showed how he played. It showed us that he was a bit of a dirty player and that he would push other players to their limits, talk shit, and most of all it showed that he could back up his shit talk and play and win games. This documentary also showed that every single game between the 2 rivals was a battle. There were fights almost every game and it was just truely two good basketball teams with great players going at it. Thats why I loved this documentary.

Coach Carter

Coach Carter is an amazing movie about a man named Ken Carter who takes over as the new head coach at his old high school. Its pretty much a cinderella story without a happy ending. Coach Carter becomes the coach in the begining of the season. The previous season the team had won a total of 4 games. By the end of the season as Carter as the coach the team had only one loss and it was due to the lockout that Carter had enforced because the teams grades were slipping. In the end the team makes it to the playoffs but loses in the first game to the #1 ranked team. In the end even though they had lost, the team still had felt like they one. They felt that way because the team not only made improvements in their basketball game, but they had made improvements in their own personal lives as Ken Carter as their coach. The fact that one man can change a team that was at a school in the "Ghetto" with kids that had no respect, and barely any interest in school, makes the movie amazing. Also the fact that it was a true story makes it so much better. Its a very inspirational movie because it shows you that no matter who you are or where your from you can succed and make it. I love this movie because I love basketball and it shows us that with the the right structure and the right motivation you can achieve anything you set out to do. Coach Carter set out to change things around and thats exactly what he did. He made all those kids sign a contract that made them put their schooling  before sports and he achieved his goal of helping those kids win games, help them all graduate, and change their lives for the better. In my opinion I think that Coach Carter is one of the best, if not the best sports movies I have seen.

Sports Writing Blog #1

A couple weeks ago I watched the movie Miracle. I had seen parts of it before but had never really watched the full movie. I thought it was a great movie and is now one of my favorite sports movies. My favorite sports movie would probably have to be 61, and then Coach Carter. The movie 61 is my favorite because it is a great baseball movie about the Yankees, and I am a huge Yankee fan. Even though I am not really a hockey fan i really liked the movie Miracle. I thought that coach Brooks was probably one of the best coaches. He did an amazing job with that team to take them that far and to win a gold medal. I really thought it was a great movie and i'm glad we watched it. 2 sundays ago was the super bowl. The super bowl is always a huge day in sports and for the whole country. I'm really neither a Patriots or Giants fan. I really wanted the Patriots to lose because I hate fans around here because no matter what team it is if the win they go nuts and I never here the end of it. Especially if the Red Sox win or if they go further than the Yankees because I am a huge Yankee fan and my friends always give me shit about them when they lose. Its the same thing if the Celtics win or the Bruins. Everyone that lives in Mass roots for a Boston team if they are winning. I call that a band wagon fan. I hate band wagon fans because they only say shit or care about the team when they are winning. Some of my friends are band wagon fans and it really annoys me. No one cared about the bruins last year but since they won the Stanley Cup all of sudden everyone around here is a Bruins fan. It just really pisses me off. So back to the super bowl I was really happy the Giants won so i didnt have to hear all the bullshit by pats fans. I knew the Giants were gonna win when Eli had the ball with a couple minutes left, and especially when he made that huge play that got them down the field. I thought it was stupid for the pats D to let the Giants score, they could have held them to a field goal and they still could have had enough time to get a field goal themselves. I'm glad they did it though because it let the Giants win. Overall it was a good game and I was extremely happy with the outcome.