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Field of Dreams: Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan.
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These are the Post-Gazette sports staff's favorite sports movies

File photo

These are the Post-Gazette sports staff's favorite sports movies

Live sporting events may have been unceremoniously yanked from the calendars, but like Michael Jordan being forced through a golf hole into Looney Tune Land, we all have to make the best of a weird, unprecedented situation.

Thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, most sports fans are stuck at home without their favorite entertainment to provide them even a brief reprieve from the harsh realities we all currently face. Sure, there are plenty of sports podcasts to listen to and networks are re-airing some classic games, but that only fills so much time.

If there’s one possible silver lining, it’s that we now have the time to revisit our favorite sports movies. And if you’re looking for a few recommendations, here’s a rundown of the Post-Gazette sports staff’s favorite sports movies of all time and why we love them:

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Joshua Axelrod, digital sports producer

In this Dec, 6, 1985, file photo actor Gene Hackman gives fictional Hickory High basketball players instructions during filming of the final game of the movie
Gene Collier
Gene Collier: Sports movies are, like life, a box of chocolates

“Space Jam”: I saw it as a kid three times in theaters. It left such a mark that I remember exactly with which friends 4-year-old me saw each screening. I’m also fairly certain my dad set up “Space Jam” playdates just so he had an excuse to watch it again as well. It’s entertaining, smarter than you think and ludicrous in the best ways. What more do you need?

Tyler Batiste, assistant managing editor, sports

“The Wrestler”: You might be wondering whether or not professional wrestling falls under the “sports” category. For this exercise, yes. Mickey Rourke was nominated for (and robbed of) a Best Actor Oscar in this one, where he plays an aging grappler trying to hold on to that last nugget of fame. And the ending leaves you wanting more, just like Rourke’s character, “The Ram.” Honorable mention: “Varsity Blues”

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Brian Batko, sportswriter

“Remember the Titans”: For me, it’s the best of both worlds. A feel-good flick based on a true story that fills me with nostalgia, considering I was 9 when it came out. But it’s entertaining for all ages, featuring a great Denzel Washington performance, epic soundtrack and one of the coolest movie athletes of all time in Julius Campbell. And now that I’m an adult, I can also pass endless amounts of time looking up all the factual inaccuracies. Left side! Strong side! Honorable mention: “Blue Chips.”

Adam Bittner, digital sports producer

“Sudden Death”: OK, maybe it’s not my favorite. It’s actually rather terrible. It does have Paul Steigerwald and Mike Lange doing their thing, Iceburgh fighting the hero and losing in graphic fashion and a helicopter crashing through the open dome of the old Civic Arena and exploding on the ice. Find a major film with more local sports fan service. You can’t. An all-time great bad movie.  

Pirates shortstop Cole Tucker goes through drills during spring training at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.
Jason Mackey
Breaking down the best baseball movies with the Pirates' Cole Tucker

Brad Everett, sportswriter

“Field of Dreams”: The movie is set in Iowa, but when I watch it, it’s more like Niagara Falls. Ray Kinsella. Moonlight Graham. Terence Mann. Shoeless Joe Jackson. All of their stories are powerful, as is the connection between them. Ray playing catch with his dad at the end takes me back to doing the same with mine. If you build it, he will come. And if you watch it, you will cry.

Rick Davis, associate sports editor, high schools

“Field of Dreams”: Any Baby Boomer or older Generation X baseball fan can relate to this classic with some of the old-time players, but it appeals to everybody. There’s some mystery and intrigue, a little bit of suspense and a down-right tear-jerking ending. If catching baseball with your dad is a beloved memory, well, keep the box of Kleenex handy.

Ray Fittipaldo, sportswriter

“The Sandlot”: I was introduced to the movie when my nephews were young, probably back in 2004 or 2005. We’d watch it over and over again, reciting the lines and laughing out loud. There are so many great scenes, but the one where the kids play a pickup game in the twilight on the Fourth of July is my favorite. It captures baseball at its essence. I’ve since introduced the movie to my own kids, and they love it, too.

Jason Mackey, sportswriter

“The Sandlot”: You’re killing me, Smalls! How can I not pick the Sandlot? I, like many, lived it; every day, weather permitting, we’d play tennis ball — yes, tennis ball — at Elroy Elementary in Brentwood. We had specific rules and teams, ghost runners and pitcher’s hand. We kept stats. It was intense. As for the movie, it’s impossible not to love, especially for a baseball writer.

John McGonigal, sportswriter

“Field of Dreams”: My dad took me and my brother on baseball road trips when we were younger, with the intent to see a game at every home club’s stadium (25 down, five to go). Ten years ago, we drove three hours from Milwaukee to Dyersville, Iowa, where this movie is filmed. It was already my favorite sports movie before that trip. But taking BP at the Field of Dreams field solidified it.

Craig Meyer, sportswriter

Rocky IV”: I don’t have children, but I imagine the way I feel about “Rocky IV” is a lot like how a parent feels about their kid’s finger painting — it’s not good, but you still love it. In the Rocky cinematic universe, there are conventionally better options. But in the fourth installment, not only is there vengeance, but there’s an opportunity for a boxer to solve the defining geopolitical conflict of his time. It has everything. There’s a worthy villain in Ivan Drago, who scared me when I first saw this in seventh grade and still kind of frightens me at age 30. There are also two of the best montages any sports movie has to offer.

Mike Persak, sportswriter

“For Love of the Game”: I’m pretty sure this movie isn’t considered “good” by critics, or possibly most viewers. It’s extremely corny, and parts of it don’t make sense at all, but I love it. I’m from Michigan, and the main character (Kevin Costner) plays for the Tigers. Also, it was seemingly always on TV, so my dad and I have probably seen it 50 times. It’s got everything you really need — an aging vet giving it one last go, a love story, unwritten rules of baseball, stereotypical portrayals of Yankee fans, Vin Scully. What more do you really need?

Joe Starkey, sports columnist

“The Longest Yard” (1974): I remember watching it with my dad, laughing our heads off. Burt Reynolds was phenomenal. And it was a hell of a game at the end — lots at stake! Also, who knew Eddie Albert had a sadistic warden in him? A far cry from “Green Acres.” I’m very angry that a terrible remake came out in 2005. I never saw it, but I know it’s terrible. Why is there always a remake? Nobody beats Burt Reynolds at his best. And he was at his very, very best here. 

Matt Vensel, sportswriter

“The Mighty Ducks”: Last fall, I showed it to my 4-year-old for the first time. He wanted to know why Daddy was crying when Charlie pulled off the triple deke to lead the Ducks to an upset of those cake-eating Hawks. There’s no debate, “Slap Shot” is the best hockey movie ever made. But for puck-lovers born in the 1980s, Gordon Bombay, Charlie Conway and the Ducks hold a special place.

Nubyjas Wilborn, sportswriter

“North Dallas Forty”: Nick Elliott is a classic tortured soul. His journey might’ve been too realistic. Playing pro football is a beautiful torture. The athletes love it, but it takes a toll on the body, especially in the 70s. The movie goes into every aspect from ownership to the people around the action. It’s perfect.

Ryan Winn, sports editor

“Happy Gilmore”: Who among us hasn’t finger-gunned after sinking a long putt; taken a running start before a slap-shot style drive; or reminded yourself that it’s all in the hips? Watch this movie every time it comes on. We could sit by the bay and make things out of clay. I just may, what do you say?

Steve Ziants, sports designer

“Field of Dreams”: Good movies hold up over time. Great ones change and get better. I was 28 the first time I saw this in 1989. I saw it through the eyes of a single man, a son and a baseball fan. I am now 59 and, while still a baseball fan, see it through the eyes of a father and a grandfather. In these 31 years and probably two-dozen viewings, I’ve come to understand that it was never a baseball movie, but a movie about family, time and the perspective the latter offers a man as he grows up and grows older. Baseball was merely its metaphor.

Mike White, sportswriter

"One on One": It's a basketball film about Henry Steele (played by Robby Benson), a skinny kid trying to make it at a Division I college with a knucklehead coach. It would've been like if I tried to make it at a major college. But "All the Right Moves" with Tom Cruise would tie for No. 1 in my book. It's patterned after high school football in Western Pa., and any Hollywood film that includes legendary former Aliquippa coach Don Yannessa having a few speaking lines has to be good.

First Published: March 28, 2020, 11:00 a.m.

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Field of Dreams: Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan.  (File photo)
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