Sports Movie ever

Here are the top ten performances we came up with that got absolutely no love from the Oscars.

Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man
Crowe absolutely shines as Jim Braddock in Ron Howard's 2005 masterpiece. He shows the vulnerability of a family man trying to provide for his family in the midst of the Great Depression, yet also displays the swagger of a boxing champion when appropriate. He nails the Bergen, New Jersey accent, makes the viewer love his character despite what we might think of Crowe in real life. This honestly is the type of performance that makes you want to stand up and cheer at the end ... only I hate people who clap at movies, so if I'm in the theater, please refrain. Crowe wasn't even nominated, and that was mostly due to the fact that the Academy was tired of putting him in the running. This movie came out during the outrage over Crowe's "phone throwing" incident and that could have a lot to do with it.

Still, based on performance alone, this movie and Crowe should have at least been nominated and thereby recognized. An even more egregious crime was the fact that Giamatti was robbed for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar by a wholly average performance from George Clooney in the wildly overrated Syriana. That movie sucked and they gave the award to Clooney because he gained weight for the role. Again I say it, a travesty.

Memorable lines:
"You think you're telling me something? Like, what, boxing is dangerous, something like that? You don't think working triple shifts and at night on a scaffold isn't just as likely to get a man killed? What about those guys who died last week living in cardboard shacks to save on rent money just to feed their family, 'cause guys like you have not quite figured out a way yet to make money off of watching that guy die? But in my profession - and it is my profession - I'm a little more fortunate."

Robert Duvall in Days of Thunder
This movie as a whole is nothing special but Duvall's performance as Nascar crew-chief Harry Hogge is great. Duvall is fantastic in whatever he does but he really carries this movie and makes it watchable. His supporting role as an old-time, southern, good-ole boy, trying to tutor a hot-shot young driver - Cole Trickle, played by Tom Cruise - from California makes this movie worth watching. He combines humor with poignant moments that reveal the deep bond that develop between drivers and their crew chiefs. His accent, one-liners and deep, fatherly affection are all perfect and despite the overall mediocrity of the movie, Duvall should have been recognized for his performance.

Memorable lines:
Harry Hogge: "Cole, you're wandering all over the track!"
Cole Trickle: "Yeah, well this son of a bitch just slammed into me."
Harry Hogge: "No, no, he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you... he *rubbed* you. And rubbin, son, is racin'"

Harry Hogge: "All right. While we're still under a caution, I want you to go back out on that track and hit the pace car."
Cole Trickle: "Hit the pace car?"
Harry Hogge: "Hit. The pace. Car!"
Cole Trickle: "What for?"
Harry Hogge: "Because you've hit every other goddamned thing out there, I want you to be perfect."

Wilford Brimley in The Natural
Though mostly now known for having diabetes and shilling Quaker Oats, Mr. Brimley was actually an actor once. He was even in one of the best sports movies of all time, 1984's The Natural. This movie is littered with fantastic performances - and was even nominated for four Oscars - but Brimley's turn as Pop Fisher is by far the best of them all. As the movie starts we meet the New York Knights, baseball's worst team. And their manager, Pop, is a wise, old-school kind of guy, but he's in danger of losing his job and his stake in the team. Brimley absolutely shines in his role as a curmudgeonly manager who'd rather yell at his players than tutor them, but loves them because they're "his losers," and no one else's. When a middle-aged sensation, Roy Hobbs, walks into his life and onto his team, Fisher greets him with nothing but skepticism, until he sees how he can abuse a baseball.

From his dugout conversations with his assistant manager Red Blow (played by Richard Farnsworth) to his tirades at players, umpires or anyone who'll listen, Brimley brings life out of the character that made the movie. In inferior hands, the role of Pop could have sunk this film, but the personality Brimley gave him makes the viewer love the guy almost instantly. It's a shame that neither Brimley, nor any of the other excellent male performances (Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, Farnsworth as Red, Robert Duvall as sportswriter Max Mercy) didn't get so much as a sniff from the Academy. Glen Close was nominated for her role as Iris Gaines, but no one else was. It's a shame too, because there might not be a better group of performances in any sports movie. But Brimley should have been at least nominated for his supporting role and anyone who has seen this movie would say he deserved to win as well.

Memorable lines:
Pop Fisher: "My ma' urged me to get out of this game. When I was a kid, she pleaded with me. I meant to, you know what I mean? But she died."
Red Blow: "Tough."
Pop Fisher: "Now look at me. I'm wet nurse to a last-place, dead-to-the-neck-up ball club, and I'm choking to death!"

(to Hobbs when he shows up): "People don't start playing ball at your age, they retire!"

Pop Fisher: "You know my mama wanted me to be a farmer."
Roy Hobbs: "My dad wanted me to be a baseball player."
Pop Fisher: "Well you're better than any player I ever had. And you the best God damn hitter I ever saw. Suit up."

Bob Uecker in Major League
This might be - outside of Billy Murray's turn as expert greenskeeper Carl Spackler - the most quotable role in sports movie history. Uecker plays Harry Doyle and he absolutely nails the disgruntled "homer" announcer for a perennial basement dweller. His beloved Cleveland Indians are so bad he has to find ways to amuse himself during games, like being sarcastic over the air, drinking Jack Daniel's or his shy "expert" color guy on the spot. Uecker delivers his one-liners with surgical precision and as the Indians start winning and slowly come to life, so does Doyle. He goes from disinterested and bored during games to a giddy fan seemingly overnight. And Uecker was so good he really should have been given a nod for his supporting role, simply because he steals scenes in an already hilarious movie. He absolutely stands out and 18 years later his lines are still hilarious.

Memorable lines:
"In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, the Indians have managed to win a few ball games, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar."

Harry Doyle: "That's all we got, one goddamn hit?"
Assistant: "You can't say goddamn on the air."
Harry Doyle: "Don't worry, nobody is listening."

"The post-game show is brought to you by ... (searches through his papers) ... Christ, I can't find it. To hell with it."

"Haywood leads the league in most offensive categories, including nose hair. When this guy sneezes he looks like a party favor."

(Vaughn throws a ball to the backstop) "Juuust a bit outside, tried the corner and missed ... Ball eight ... Ball twelve, how can these guys lay off pitches this close?"

Tim McGraw in Friday Night Lights
I so wanted to hate his performance when I heard he would be in this movie. Singer-actors almost always suck and this was his first real movie role. Plus, he's a pretty boy who bagged a hot wife so obviously he's ripe for hate. But his portrayal of Charles Billingsley a drunk, former high school football star who's kid, Don, is currently on the town's team and has "ball security issues." He takes every opportunity he can to rip his son to pieces and bring him down. He also never misses a chance to point out how he won a state title and his son isn't worthy of one. This is a great movie but his performance outshines all the others. It's a very small, supporting role, which may be why he didn't get a nomination but he's so powerful that he deserved one. Don wants to be nothing like his father, but Charles continues to try and convince him that it's inevitable. His confrontations with his Don leap off the screen for their intensity and the seething hatred that exists between them. McGraw, sadly enough, was simply phenomenal.

Memorable Lines:
"You just-you ain't gettin' it. You don't understand. This is the only thing you're ever gonna have. Forever, it carries you forever. It's an ugly fact of life. Donnie, hell. It's the only fact of life. You got one year, one stinkin' year to make yourself some memories, son. That's all. It's gone after that. And I'll be damned if you're not gonna miss it."

Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own
Before snagging Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks played Jimmy Dugan and former home run king and manager of the Rockford Peaches, a girls baseball team. Dugan is a drunk and probably sees girls baseball the same way he sees sobriety - and he doesn't disguise it. He hates what he's doing and is clearly just there for the paycheck. But when his team starts winning, he cuts out the drinking and actually gets into his job. Hanks absolutely nails this supporting role. He's a combination of funny, intense and enthusiastic all at the once. He is great as displaying the restrained excitement his character feels when the Peaches start to win, since he wants to act like he doesn't care. Hanks is one of the best actors on the planet, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he was great in a role, but this is one he definitely should have been nominated for. In 1992 when the film was released, he had already scored a nomination for Big and while that's a classic flick, he's much better in this.

Memorable Lines:
"Uh, Lord, hallowed by Thy name. May our feet be swift, my our bats be mighty; may our balls ... be plentiful. Lord, I'd just like to thank You for that waitress in South Bend. You know who she is - she kept calling Your name. And God, these are good girls and they work hard. Just help them see it all the way through. Okay, that's it."

Walter Harvey: "You kind of let me down on that San Antonio job."
Jimmy Dugan: "I, uh, yeh, I, uh ... I freely admit, sir, I had no right to ... sell off the team's equipment like that, that won't happen again."

Walter Harvey: "It's funny to you. Your drinking is funny. You're a young man, Jimmy you could still be playing, if you would've just laid off the booze."
Jimmy Dugan: "Well, it's not exactly like that ... I hurt my knee."
Walter Harvey: "You fell out of a hotel. That's how you hurt it."
Jimmy Dugan: "Well there was a fire."
Walter Harvey: "Which you started, which I had to pay for."
Jimmy Dugan: "Well, now, I was going to send you a thank-you card, Mr. Harvey, but I wasn't allowed anything sharp to write with."

Jimmy Dugan: "Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"

James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams
This guy is such an underrated actor it's unbelievable. He's known for his booming voice, but Jones is incredible in virtually everything he's in. His supporting performance as Terence Mann is no different. As a stereotypical reclusive writer, he displays a latent hostility that fits with the typical attitude of an aged child of the 60s coming to terms with his or her age. When he lights up at the prospect of attending a baseball game, he turns once again into an excited child with something to live for. Jones' enthusiasm and the change his character goes through when reconnected to his childhood obsession is magical. He combines that youthful enthusiasm with very deep insight, and delivers one of the best monologues in movie history, let alone sports movie history with his "people will come" speech. No doubt about it, he should have won and at the very least, nominated.

Memorable lines:
"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."

Gene Hackman in Hoosiers
He was only the lead actor in the greatest sports movie of all time, why would he possibly deserve a nomination? Hackman is gold as coach Norman Dale in the tale of Hickory High's improbably run to the Indiana state basketball title. There's really nothing to say here, except that Hackman has never been better than he was in Hoosiers and that's saying a lot since he owns two Oscars (for Unforgiven and The French Connection) and three other nominations (Mississippi Burning, I Never Sang for My Father and Bonnie and Clyde). But I have no idea how he wasn't given a nomination for his performance. Paul Newman won in 1987 for The Color of Money and he was great, but Hackman was transcendent. He's the ultimate coach if you have to put together an all-movie team in any sport. Simply a flawless performance.

Memorable lines:
"You know, in the 10 years that I coached, I never met anybody who wanted to win as badly as I did. I'd do anything I had to do to increase my advantage. Anybody who tried to block the pursuit of that advantage, I'd just push 'em out of the way. Didn't matter who they were, or what they were doing. But that was then. You have special talent, a gift. Not the school's, not the townspeople, not the team's, not Myra Fleener's, not mine. It's yours, to do with what you choose. Because that's what I believe, I can tell you this: I don't care if you play on the team or not."

Charles S. Dutton in Rudy
I hate that this movie is about Notre Dame but one scene never fails to give me chills and it's when Fortune sets Rudy straight. Dutton portrays the former football player turned Notre Dame Stadium groundskeeper and acts as Rudy's conscience. The man is great in every role he takes on but he stepped up his game for this one. His supporting performance in this one didn't get so much as a look from the Academy but he certainly deserved a nomination. He is so powerful, forceful and genuine that you really forget he's acting. And the speech he gives Rudy is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Sean Astin was good in this movie, Charles S. Dutton was great.

Memorable lines:
"You're five feet nothin'. 100 and nothin'. And you got hardly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in with the best college football team in the land for two years. And you're also gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this lifetime, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody except yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen. Now go on back."

Rudy: "I'm sorry I never got you to see your first game in here."
Fortune: "Hell I've seen too many games in this Stadium."
Rudy: "I thought you said you never saw a game ... "
Fortune: "I've never seen a game from the stands."
Rudy: "You were a player?"
Fortune: "I rode the bench for two years, thought I wasn't being played because of my color. I got filled up with a lot of attitude, so I quit. Still not a week goes by I don't regret it, and I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Do you hear me clear enough?"

Kurt Russell in Miracle
This was a very underrated movie but I don't know a single person who didn't love it. It's hard to give a guy credit for nailing a role when the character is as juicy as Herb Brooks, but Kurt Russell far surpassed any expectations I had. You could tell he just grabbed the role and ran with it. He's not a guy who has ever really been an Oscar-type actor, but he sank his teeth into this leading role and really proved himself. He had Brooks down pat. From the accent, to the mannerisms, to the restrained hostility and deep affection he felt for his team, Russell had it all. Don't underestimate how hard it is to portray someone we've all seen countless times before. This performance and this movie would have been universally panned had it not been true to life and it delivered. For what he accomplished with the role it would have been nice to see Russell at least get a nod from the Golden Globes, but he got nothing. I thought he could have gotten an Oscar nomination without anyone complaining, that's how good he was. And it's too bad, because when he delivers that speech before the game with the Soviets, it really got me. He couldn't have possibly been better in this role.

Memorable lines:
"Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."