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I remember being away on a baseball trip with my older brother's all star team. I was lucky enough to be allowed to tag along and one day one of the games got rained out, so the coaches rented "Bull Durham" for all the guys to watch. It was my first time being introduced to the movie and to this day whenever I watch it I still remember being cooped up in that motel room with all the guys and loving every second of the movie.
As I have stated in earlier post Kevin Costner does a great job in sports movies and this one is no different. You got to love the way he describes to the other guys what its like in "the show" and how they are all hanging on every word. That alone makes every young boy want to go for it. Not because of what being is, but because it is simply paradise for a ball player.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that for those who love the game of baseball, nothing can replace it. Everything about the game is beautiful, from the feel of the bat to the way your hand smells after you take it out of your glove, and if you have the opportunity to play the game for money, then cherish it.
Crash Davis also offers us a piece of advice that should not be taken lightly. "Don't think, just throw." So many times in life we think too much about what could happen if we do this or might happen if we do that, but we get so caught up in thinking about it that we fail to live to the fullest. I don't mean to go through life without thinking but when the thinking part is done. Just throw the damn ball and see what happens. If you are lucky you got a good catcher that is distracting the batter and strike three will fall into your lap. LOL.
As I mentioned in my initial list, this movie is a right of passage for young boys so if you are a father of young boys or girls who love to the game and are old enough sit them down and share this movie with them. They will probably make fun of you at first cuz we are getting older, but they will love the movie just the same and be thankful for it when they grow up.

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Posted By: Rob Salgado - Category: No Category

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"Red Belt" takes a surprising turn

June 19th 2009 02:28

I was a little on the fence about seeing this movie due to the fact that I had not heard any reviews about it at all but every time I went to the video store it always seemed to catch my attention. So yesterday I went with the intention of getting it and I am very glad that I took the time to watch it. For any that have not seen it, it is very much worth watching; in fact I liked it so much that I hope to watch it again before I return it.
In the beginning there seems to be a lot going on and if you are not paying attention to all the details you may miss something later on but either way in the end you will fully understand the gist of it. Mike Terry is a Jiu Jitsu instructor that trains many people in a gym that is losing money fast. In his art form the red belt is worn only by the master or professor as they call him and he is shown the utmost respect by his followers. Mike is the kind of guy that is willing to give the shirt off of his back to a stranger if that person is in need and at one point, almost does exactly that.
Through a few unusual circumstances he falls into a way to make some money but it ends up being a scam and a way for others to make money off of him. His only choice is to fight as an undercard on the big fight night and hopefully win, pay off his bills and help those he must help and move on with his life, but he uncovers that the whole thing is fixed and being a man of honor and purity will not have any part of it.
I personally at this point expected some twist in the plot forcing him to fight, like the bad guys were holding someone hostage or they had some sort of blackmail over him. Instead it is he that at first walks away and then realizes that if ever there were a time to fight it would be now, just not in the ring or for a show, it would be on the way to the ring and through ever bit of security they could throw at him including the reigning champion, the professor's son. He does this so that he would be able to blow the whistle on the whole event that was dishonoring his art, life, and master. It is one hell of a fight scene. And in the end I was left saying "wow". Go watch it and let me know how you felt in that last scene.

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"Five foot nothing"

June 12th 2009 00:14

For anyone that ever had the dream of playing college football this movie is like The Bible. "Rudy" gives us all hope that what others consider to be just a dream or impossible one can make happen with enough determination and hard work. What makes me admire Rudy in this movie is that the road he took to step onto the field to play for Notre Dame was not an easy one but even more then that it was not a short one. For years this young man struggled to make it on the roster and everyone that he came across told him he could not do it.
Not only did he have to deal with the fact that he was severely undersized for the position he played, but he also had to overcome the fact that his grades were not up to par for such a prestigious school. It took him two years of studying and working out to be able to get into the school and even with all that to overcome he continued to work at it. Most of us have dreams of something we want to accomplish in this world but fail to reach it because we stop trying after the road gets too tough. For Rudy the road was tough right from the beginning and it only got tougher.
Now I would be remise if I did not mention that at one point he did want to give up, go home say that he tried his best. If it were not for his boss and friend who saw all that Rudy had given up in the hopes of putting on the green and gold, he would have. Sometimes in life, what it comes down to is not what we are doing in that moment, but what we have done up until then. If Rudy had not done everything he could have up until that moment then maybe Roc would have let him walk away but the fact was that he had already been an inspiration to those around him, his friend was not going to let him walk away without completing what had been the mission of his life to this point.
Of course we all know how it ends. Rudy gets in the game and even gets a sack. He gets carried off the field as if he is a hero and in fact he just may be. I know that term gets thrown around alot but if anyone can influence so many people simply by never giving up on his dream well that may be one of the most heroic things a lot of young kids see growing up. And if just one of them can duplicate the task I'm sure Rudy would be proud.

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Posted By: Rob Salgado - Category: No Category

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Almost Impossible

June 8th 2009 03:02

So just by coincidence it turns out that my brother was looking for a good movie to watch the other night with his wife and he asked for my input. Of course I recommended "For Love of the Game". I mentioned that it was with Kevin Costner and we had a laugh because we both know how many baseball movies he has done. We are actually waiting for him and Dennis Quaid to make a movie together.
Anyway, any time I think of this movie I get a smile on my face because I really think it was done right. It is truly the kind of movie you can get away with bringing home from the rental store and telling your wife, "Hun, I got it because it's a love story." But more then that for anyone that is a baseball fan, and I mean a true baseball fan, not someone who tunes in only if his team is in the playoffs, there is a purity and almost sacred quality to what happens in a perfect game.
"For Love of the Game" captures all of what goes on in a moment like that, from the screaming and booing fans, to the impossible play being made in the field. Doesn't it always seem that whenever a perfect game or even a no-hitter is thrown there is one or two amazing plays in that save it for the pitcher? John Sterling said it best when David Cone pitched his perfect game; it is "baseball immortality

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"Wings Like Eagles"

June 5th 2009 08:14

"but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles

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No. 9 on my list and the Hell of the West

June 3rd 2009 17:38

So first off I got to say that I realize that American Flyers is not exactly one of the most popular movies around but there is something about it that speaks to the competitor in me and I would think to a lot of people out there. For one it's about two brothers that end up on completely different tracks in life but have one last chance to regain some of the magic they had together growing up.
I know there are lots of siblings out there that remember certain parts of growing up together that pretty much defined their relationship. For my family it was coming together to watch the game on TV. It didn't have to be a big game or any sport in particular. We just ended up there together because that is what we did, and some of my happiest moments are cheering our teams on to victory together. To this day when there is a big game on I'm texting my brother to share the moment with him.
In American Flyers, older brother Marcus gets little brother David to join the bike race The Hell of the West with him. And David turns out to be not just another entry, the kid has a chance to win the whole thing. Who doesn't love a long shot, underdog story? The racing scenes are awesome and leave you pumped with adrenaline, not to mention a smile on your face

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Coach Carter breaks them down

June 1st 2009 04:44

Being a military man I loved to see Coach Carter basically lay the ground work for how he was going to be coaching his team. He let his players know right off the bat that we are going to work and work hard in practice. You see in the Army you are expected to be a team. If one person fails you all fail. Coach Carter felt that way about his team and he had to show that in order to win you had to do so as a team. So he had to break down the individuals.

His players ran and ran and ran and when they were done running they took a break and did some push ups. I remember those days very well. It's simple really, for those that wanted to really play ball they would have to deal with all the running and if you quit, well I guess you didn't want it that bad. In the end a young man's desire to play a wonderful game and be part of something special is going to win out

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Ram Jam to the Death

May 30th 2009 08:07

So up until today I was debating whether or not I wanted to see "The Wrestler", and since I had nothing better to do while at work I went ahead and did it. It wasn't a bad movie. Not in my top 10 sport movies of all time but it might crack the top 25. Frankly I'm not even sure if it belongs in the catagory of a sports movie. Although it be a brutal way to earn a living it is still a staged performance.
Either way the movie stands on its own as quite powerful in its own right. Mickey Rouke does a great job of portraying his character as a "broken down piece of meat" who is a pro wrestler at the end of his long and painful career. While watching it I was left with the feeling of how tragic it is for these athletes to put themselve through this, yet it also was not lost on me that beating eachother up with chairs, staples and barbed wire is exactly what they wanted out of life. To each his own I guess.
You have to admire the fact that they knew what they wanted and went for it no matter what the cost. On the flip side it was that very cost of glory, fame, and adrenaline that forced The Ram to lose everything

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My Top 10 Sports Movies

May 29th 2009 04:54

What's up everyone? Hope you are all well. As you may have read in my opening post I'm going to be writing about a lot of the sports movies out there and hope to give you a little of my opinion and hopefully motivate some people. To start out I wanted to give you my top 10 sport movies of all time, with a little of why I feel that way thrown in there. My next postings will deal with each of these movies in more depth.

Once again these are my top 10. I understand that many of you may have a different opinioin on the subject and feel free to let me know about it. So here goes

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More then sports

May 29th 2009 02:30

Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to take a look at my new blog. I'm going to be taking my shot at writing about sporting movies from the past and present. Reason being is that they have always been something that have motivated in my life. I've always felt that most sporting movies have a lot to do about life and not as much to do about sport as we may think.

Either way over the time that I will be writing about these films I hope you will find my insight entertaining and maybe a little motivating, because it is my opinion that we all need to be given a little kick in the rear end from time to time.

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