Reap What You Sow

I remember the lead-up to the election in 2016. So, so many people were voting their “conscience” by not voting for Hillary. They said that she was just another status quo politician. That voting for her wouldn’t be all that different than voting for Trump, so they were casting votes for Jill Stein, or writing in Bernie, or just not voting at all.

The argument I made, over and over, was that there was one huge difference between the candidates, and it was the only reason to vote for Hillary: The Supreme Court. When Antonin Scalia died, it represented the biggest opportunity to make meaningful and lasting change in this country. The people in power realized this, which is why Mitch McConnell spent an entire year stonewalling Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland. He knew that replacing the most conservative justice on the court with someone that was quite a bit left of center would alter the legal opinions of the court in a dramatic way. So he did everything in his power to keep it from happening, and hoped that Trump could pull off the upset and put someone much more conservative on the court. And it worked. Trump won, and he appointed someone just as conservative as Scalia, Neil Gorsuch.

Nothing else Trump does can’t be undone. Just as Trump has spent his first two years in office trying to do all he can to undo anything that has Obama’s name on it, whichever Democrat wins the Presidency in 2020 will spend years undoing the damage Trump has done. But the one thing they can’t change, and the one lasting legacy from Trump’s four years of racist demagoguery, will be the Supreme Court.

To all of you who said that voting for Hillary wouldn’t affect change in this country, I have only one thing to say to you: You’re a Fucking Idiot!

This week, the court ruled 5-4 on a variety of issues, all of which would have had the opposite verdict if the newest justice had been named Garland instead of Gorsuch.

So instead of ruling for workers, they ruled for corporations: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/21/supreme-court-backs-employers-over-workers/355923002/

So instead of ruling for unions, they voted to weaken them: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-unions-organized-labor.amp.html

So instead of ruling against religious discrimination, they voted for it: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/26/supreme-court-upholds-president-trump-immigration-travel-ban/701110002/

So instead of ruling to strengthen a woman’s right to choose, they took yet another step to weaken it: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/26/supreme-court-nixes-california-law-regulating-anti-abortion-clinics/645842002/

So instead of ruling for same sex rights, they ruled against them: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/04/supreme-court-rules-against-gay-wedding-exemptions/1052989001/

So instead of ruling to help get rid of gerrymandering they voted to strengthen states abilities to do it: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/25/politics/supreme-court-north-carolina-gerrymandering/index.html

This of course, is only the beginning. Today, after the session ended, Justice Kennedy, the swing vote in so many 5-4 votes over the last 30 years, announced he is retiring. This will allow Trump to appoint another ultra-conservative in his place. So now, there will be no more 5-4 votes that occasionally rule in either direction, they will ALL be 5-4 ruling for the conservative side of the court.

Realize also that the true beacon of liberal justice on the court, the Notorious R.B.G. is 85, and can’t stay there forever (although I hope she’s got another 5-10 years in her). If she were to go while Trump is in office, you can kiss Roe v. Wade goodbye.

So, once again, let me close by saying to those of you who stayed home on November 8th, 2016, or who voted for Jill Stein because “it didn’t really matter anyway”... Fuck You!

You reap what you sow, and shit is about to get really terrible.

Greatest Sports Movie of All Time?

I was listening to the Tony Kornheiser podcast the other day when they started talking about what they thought was the best sports movie of all time.   Many of the movies they brought up would be in my top-10 for sure.   Like Tony, I thought Raging Bull is great but not worthy of the top spot.   

My number one sports movie wasn’t mentioned.  So I thought I’d look up a couple of articles online to see what other people viewed as a Top-10, 30, 100, etc.  When Rolling Stone didn’t have it in their Top-30, I decided that this would be a good first writing assignment for me to come back to my blog.   

First, a bit about my methodology, both in how I determined what qualifies as a sports movie, and in how I determined rankings for this exercise...

1. Just because something is shown on ESPN, doesn’t mean it’s a sport.   So, I’m sorry poker movies (Rounders), bowling movies (Kingpin), and billiards movies (The Color of Money/The Hustler), you aren’t sports movies.   

2.  If sports really only play a small part in the movie (I’m looking at you Jerry Maguire), but the movie is mainly a love story/drama/etc., I didn’t consider you.   

3.  Just because the main character was at one time someone that played sports, that doesn’t make it a sports movie (The Hurricane, The Boxer, Unbroken). 

4.  Finally, this isn’t an Oscar race.   I’m not trying to simply determine the most well-crafted movie here.   Obviously any type of list like this is going to be highly subjective.   But when I think of something “great”, I think of three things:  How good it is relative to what it’s trying to accomplish (i.e. if it’s a comedy does it make me laugh); the craft of the movie; and finally (and most important — to me at least) is what I call “repeat watchability” (i.e. could I watch this movie once every year or so for the rest of my life and still enjoy it).   This is why a truly amazing movie like Hoop Dreams doesn’t make the list.   Because while I loved every minute of that three hour journey, I have no desire to ever watch it again.   

So, with that, here’s my list of the best sports movies of all time.   

—————————

Honorable Mentions:

The truly great movies that I have no desire to watch again (or at least very, very rarely watch again): Hoop Dreams, He Got Game, The Fighter, When We Were Kings, Chariots of Fire, Pride of the Yankees, The World’s Fastest Indian, Murderball.   

The really good but not great movies: The Natural, Cinderella Man, Seabiscuit, The Wrestler, The Bad News Bears, Tin Cup, For Love of the Game, Million Dollar Baby, White Men Can’t Jump, Victory, Moneyball.  

The almost great movies that were done slightly better by something else that made the list: Slap Shot, The Karate Kid, Creed.  

The great movie that gets left off the list because the TV version was even better: Friday Night Lights.   

And the Top-10....

10.  Vision Quest 

No movie on this list benefitted more from me actually taking my time to reflect on how the movies actually made me feel.   When I first typed out all the movies I was considering, this was one of the last ones I even put down.   Then when I was making my initial cuts, it was one of the first I considered cutting off the list.   And then... I got that damn Journey song “Only the Young” stuck in my head, and I started thinking about the memorable scenes (Louden climbing the peg board, Shute doing the stairs with the log over his shoulders), and it just kept surviving every round of cuts.   I’m also a sucker for stories about people finding themselves.   

This is a prime example of what I mentioned as “repeat watchability”.    I would never argue that this is a better movie than Million Dollar Baby, Hoop Dreams, etc.   But I could watch this movie another 40 or 50 times before I die, and enjoy it every time, something that I’d never say about those other films.   It’s also a great movie when I need to motivate myself to get off my ass and do something.   

9.  Goon

Never heard of it?   I’m not terribly surprised.   But if you’re wondering why Slap Shot isn’t on this list, this is the reason why.   Seann William Scott is absolutely perfect as the lovable idiot that only knows how to fight.   

This is easily the most underrated and underseen movie on this list.   If you haven’t seen it, try to find it on one of the streaming services.   You won’t be disappointed.   

8.  Major League

No movie on this list has more personal connections to me than this film.  Having coached baseball for 30 years, I’ve quoted this film extensively over that time.   In college, this was one of two films on almost constant replay in our dorm.   Lou’s “Tire World” dialogue was my outgoing answering machine message for years.   

This is the movie I could watch more than any other film on this list.   The only reason it doesn’t rank higher is because the movies above it are so good.  But this is the one I will be quoting for the rest of my life.   

7.  Rocky

People forget just how good the original movie was.   We’ve been so inundated with sequels, some good, some bad, and some so terrible they have a talking robot.   But this movie came out of nowhere, and was truly something special.   

Stallone won the Oscar for original screenplay for this movie, and had to fight (no pun intended) to be able to star in it.   Most people have a hard time differentiating between all of the movies, since there’s been seven of them spanning 40 years.   But if you haven’t watched the original in a while, take the time to do so.   It is worth the effort.   

6. Raging Bull

I had a harder time with this movie than any on this list.   On the one hand, it is an absolute master class in acting, writing, directing, etc.   On the other hand, it’s a really heavy watch.   I’ll watch this less than any other movie on this list, which is why it didn’t rank higher.   

There’s a reason that it tops so many list of the best sports movies of all time.   But it definitely isn’t something to watch to make you feel good.   

5. Bull Durham

The first of the Kevin Costner baseball trilogy, I could easily swap this with the next movie on the list, as I rate them pretty much equally.   This came out when I was in high school, playing baseball almost year-round.  As such, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.   

I’ve coached my share of Nuke LaLoosh’s in my time, and have always described them with the most quotable line from this movie “A million dollar arm with a five-cent head”.    

4.  Field of Dreams

It’s one thing for a movie to be able to make you laugh 20 to 30 years later, even when you know the jokes by heart.   It’s another thing altogether to be able to make you cry after that much time.   But sure enough, every single time I watch this film, I cry whenever Moonlight Graham steps off the field to save the little girl.    

I think it’s nearly impossible to love baseball and not love this film.   The speech that James Earl Jones gives about baseball is second only to the great poem by Bart Giamatti as to why baseball endures in this country.   Given the sheer number of good to great baseball movies that came out in the 80s, the fact that this one tops them all is really saying something.   

3.  Caddyshack

The greatest sports comedy of all time by far.   The cast alone is legendary, but the jokes still hold up almost 40 years later.   So much hilarity.   

This is yet another movie that I could watch a couple of times a year for the rest of my life.   There aren’t quite as many quotable lines as Major League, but it still has plenty.   And I’m always a sucker for a priest being struck down by lightning.    

2. Hoosiers

A nearly perfect film, and still one that I can watch repeatedly.   The fact that it’s based on a true story only adds to the allure.   It is a great representation of what basketball meant to that part of the country in that time.   

But more than that, it should be required viewing for both anyone that coaches youth sports, as well as any kid that plays youth sports.  Even more, for parents of those children.  We’ve lost many of the lessons that were once taught at all levels, and are shown in this movie. 

1.  Breaking Away

How could anyone not have this on their top 30(!) sports movies?   This movie has something for everyone.   It’s a fabulous coming of age story.   It has comedy.   It has drama.   It has parents learning to accept the quirks of their children.   And the cycling scenes are great as well.   

It was directed by Peter Yates, who directed Bullitt, so he certainly knows how to film a chase.   The cast is spectacular.   I never understood why the lead, Dennis Christopher, never became more of a star.   This is really all he ever did, but he’s still getting bit parts 40 years later.   But the supporting cast is filled with stars and great character actors.   Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Hayley, and Daniel Stern as the rest of the core group are all fabulous.   

If you’ve never seen this movie, do whatever you can to find it.   It’s a great family movie.   It’s a great inspirational movie.   And it’s my pick as the best sports movie of all time.   

Let’s call this “Blog 3.0”

Click... click... click... 

Is this thing on?   

Wow, I actually might remember how to do this.   What’s it been, a couple of years?   Certainly it has been since my last post that wasn’t a year-end recap.   I was in a dark enough place that I didn’t even do that this year.  

But I’m coming out of it.  Like, really coming out of it.   I’ll be writing about that journey soon.   Both into and out of depression, what caused it, and how I’ve worked out of it.   

For now, I just wanted to reintroduce myself to the world.   Let you know that I’m here, and I’m feeling like writing again.   

I’m not up to the really deep and heavy stuff yet, but hopefully will be soon.   But I am able to start doing some easy writing to get me back in the flow.   Hopefully allow myself to ease into things in a way that keeps me writing regularly.   I’ve missed doing it, and hopefully the handful of people that actually read what I write have missed it as well.   

Thank you all for being a part of my world.   

R