Well, another year, another 100 movies to choose from as your favorite sports movie. Many of last year’s choices will undoubtedly be repeated on this year's list, too. After all, how can you have a favorite sports movie list without "Rocky" or "Field of Dreams"?

This year, we are expanding our choices to include some more pictures from the Classic Era of Hollywood and maybe a few more eccentric offerings, just to keep things fun. Just try telling a young JAMES CAAN that "Rollerball" wasn't a "real sport". (We might have to draw the line at Quidditch, though.)

Also new this year, we’ll be adding a brief synopsis of each movie pick to either jog your memory or help you decide if you even want to see it at all. We'll try to include facts like dates and stars, whether or not you can let your kids watch it and add our own humble opinion of the film's quality. Let's all remember, one man’s Classic could be another man's Masked-Mexican-Wrestling-Super-Hero Movie.

Don’t forget to rewind!

Your pal, Hal

MYSTERY, ALASKA (1999) – Nothing much ever changes in the snow-covered backwater town of Mystery and the most constant of constants is the Saturday afternoon hockey game. The game is the central focus of the whole town. So when a publicity stunt promises to bring the New York Rangers to town to do battle with these "Weekend Warriors" all heck breaks loose. A fine ensemble cast brings together some of the most eccentric characters this side of Cicely, Alaska. (Remember Northern Exposure?) (R)
RUSSEL CROWE, HANK AZARIA, MARY McCORMACK, BURT REYNOLDS, LOLITA DAVIDOVITCH, COLM MEANY

SEABISCUIT (2003) – Recently available on home video and DVD. Seabiscuit follows the convergent stories of the three players that made this horse a bit of sports legend. The film starts out a bit slow out of the gate, telling the true stories of how a businessman, a horse trainer, and a rider come together. But the slow pace is a buffer to the action to come. Businessman Charles Howard is in Tijuana, Mexico to get a divorce and becomes interested in horse racing. He has made his money before the stock market crashed. There, he meets jockey and itinerant boxer, Red Pollard, a young man left to fend for himself while the rest of his family seeks its fortune out west, Grapes of Wrath style. Bringing them together is a little respected horse trainer, Tom Smith, who believes in caring for lame horses rather than simply killing them. It is the title character, (if a horse can be called a character) Seabiscuit, a nasty, lame horse with "spirit" that Smith chooses for his team. He believes the horse has the heart of a champion. After much training the horse begins winning. Later, as Howard puts it, "My trainer is too old, my jockey is too big, my horse is too small and I'm too dumb to know the difference." It's just the sort of sappy dialogue that permeates this film and reminds us of one of the movies that were being filmed in the '30s.

Once the scene is set, the film starts 'round the bend, and quickens its pace. Howard sets his sights set on beating the pedigreed War Admiral in the Triple Crown. It is the depression, and everybody wants the underdog to win. Even in the most economically depressed places, horse racing is uplifting and carries the spirit of the downtrodden masses. Seabiscuit becomes a metaphor for their trials.

The horse racing scenes are as good as any on film. Director Gary Ross puts us right in there with the action. The camera is amazing.

All of the actors do a wonderful job, but the percolating performance by Wm. H. Macey deserves an honorable mention as "Tick-Tock" McGlaughin, the radio reporter who becomes one of Seabiscuit's biggest supporters. PG-13)
JEFF BRIDGES, CHRIS COOPER, TOBEY MAGUIRE, WILLIAM H. MACY, ELIZABETH BANK

JUWANNA MANN (2002) – Jamal Jeffries, self-centered, skirt-chasing basketball pro gets suspended indefinitely for unsportsmanlike conduct. No other team in the league will touch him, his endorsement contracts are dropped like hot potatoes and his manager quits citing the morals clause in his contract. The only scheme he can think of to pay his bills is to dress like a woman and to get signed on a team in the women's league. Which he does in an incredibly unlikely short period of time. There he learns that there is no "I" in basketball and how to treat women with a little more respect. As a matter of course, he naturally falls in love with one of his teammates, reveals his true gender and identity, and learns a lesson in humility. This movie is a lot like TOOTSIE, without all that bothersome class. (PG13)
MIGUEL NUNEZ, VIVICA A. FOX, KEVIN POLLACK

PLAY IT TO THE BONE (1999) – Two best friends, down-on-their-luck boxers, must find their way to Las Vegas and fight each other for a chance at the Middleweight Title. Shines a light on the unethical backroom politics of Professional Boxing. This movie has a great Blues soundtrack and I loved the interplay between the two lead characters. (R)
WOODY HARRELSON, ANTONIO BANDERAS, RENEE RUSSO

COOL RUNNINGS (1993) – Upbeat comedy about the Jamaican bobsled team trying to prepare for the 1988 Winter Olympics. When the sledders finally reach cold Calgary, and witness the seriousness that the other teams display, their determination is put to the test. Loosely based on a true story. (PG)
JOHN CANDY, LEON, DOUG E. DOUG

THE ONE AND ONLY (1978) – An ego-driven young man wants nothing more than to become a great actor. Instead, he finds himself "acting" in the wrestling ring. Okay, it's not a four-star selection, but it's a funny movie that makes you think what the earlier days of wrestling on TV must have been like. Directed by the legendary Carl Reiner. (PG)
HENRY WINKLER, KIM DARBY, HAROLD GOULD, HERVE VILLICHAIZE

TIN CUP (1996) – Ron "Tin Cup" McAvoy enlists the help of a psychologist to get his head back in the game in time to qualify for the U.S. Open. He finds himself falling for her, and it doesn't help that she's the girlfriend of his arch-rival on the links. Kevin Costner is one of those guys I love to hate, but once again he pulls through with a great movie. Directed by the same guy that did BULL DURHAM, which you will no doubt see on the poll in later months. (R)
KEVIN COSTNER, DON JOHNSON, LOLITA DAVIDOVITCH, "CHEECH" MARIN

PERFECT GAME (2002) – Let's introduce a little "Fields of Summer" into this cold month. Eleven-year-old Kanin is hurt when he finds out that the winningest Little League coach in town only picked him on a bet and has no interest in helping him to become a better player. So, Kanin and some other Little League "losers" convince a crusty old coach to come out of retirement, mold them into a team and whip them into shape. Which he, of course, does. Guess whose team they have to play in the championships? And guess who wins? It's a tired formula, but well done and reminds us that some dads should stay on the sidelines and just let their kids have fun. (PG)
ED ASNER, PATRICK DUFFEY, TRACEY MORGAN

HORSE FEATHERS (1932) – The Marx Brothers go to college with Groucho cast as a college president whose only concern is to build the football team. This irreverent and hilarious classic features some of their most famous routines and the song "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It". (NR)
GROUCHO MARX, HARPO MARX, CHICO, MARX, ZEPPO MARX

GENTLEMAN JIM (1942) – The great Errol Flynn wonderfully plays Boxing legend Jim Corbett in this delightfully funny bio-pic. Traces Corbett's rise from back-alley brawler to his defeat of John L. Sullivan. Look for Alan Hale, "The Skipper's" father. (NR)
ERROLL FLYNN, ALAN HALE, ALEXIS SMITH

BONUS FOOTAGE

Some movies are Good, some movies are Great, some movies are just plain awful and we like those too. From time to time we hope to provide you with a review of some of our favorite guilty pleasures, a movie that's "so bad, that it's good."

NO HOLDS BARRED (1993) – An unscrupulous TV executive will do anything to boost his wrestling show's ratings. His latest scheme is to pit the retired former champ against his newest fighter, Zeus. When the champ refuses to cooperate, the oily exec has his thugs put the muscle on the champ's brother and girlfriend until "The Battle of the Tough Guys" is on! Ill conceived camp, badly written and poorly acted, this movie is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. Makes the Henry Winkler movie in the poll look like Hamlet.
HULK HOGAN, JOAN SEVERANCE, "TINY" LISTER