[FarmDad.01]

Of the major American sports, H'wood has always had the hardest time with baseball in terms of versimilitude. I think that's because to begin to understand the game, you have to go out to the ballpark; TV does a great job of showing close-ups of lip-gnawing pitchers and neck-twitching batters, but is terrible at conveying the sport's intricate split-second geometry except in slo-mo replays.

I'd rather sit through The Bad News B..rs again than The Natural, which Barry Levinson directed, per usual, with his toes. Malamud's downer ending, referencing the Black Sox scandal, becomes a walkoff home run by Roy Hobbs that actually shatters a bank of lights atop the right-field stands! Bull Durham's action scenes are only slightly more authentic than Bang the Drum Slowly's, the tech advisor of which didn't bother teaching Robert DeNiro that to properly round first base, use your left foot. Field of Dreams? Rather than thrill to ghosts of major leaguers past exfiltrating a corn field, I'm sure YouTube has archival footage of the minor-league outfielder who literally ran through a plywood fence; or Jose Canseco allowing a fly ball to bounce off his noggin for a home run; or a 1975 Military Night at N.Y.'s Shea Stadium, when a U.S. Army cannon turned the centerfield wall into smoking debris.

That said, one baseball flick made my 10 favorite sports movies (listed alphabetically), each of which I've enjoyed at least four times:

Bend It Like Beckham; 2002. In London, two teenaged girls (Parminda Nagra and Keira Knightley) bond through their exceptional soccer skills. But Ms. Nagra has to play for a prestigious travel club on the sly, as her Indian parents have declared sports unladylike.  For fans of The Good Wife, Archie Panjabi has a prominent supporting role.
Cool Runnings; 1993. A Winter Olympics bobsled team from Jamaica? Yeh, mon. Moments after an early practice run in Calgary: "Hey, you can pee now." Reply: "Uh... too late."
Downhill Racer; 1970. Robert Redford as a narcissistic skier trying the make the U.S. Winter Olympics team; playing the team's coach is Gene Hackman.
Longest Yard, The; 1974. Definitely the Burt Reynolds original, not Adam Sandler's 2005 remake.
Major League; 1989. A widowed chorine who inherits an MLB team wants it to tank so she can relocate the franchise (think the NFL's Georgia Rosenbloom Frontiere). Players include a Cuban slugger, played by Dennis Haysbert, who handles snakes while practicing locker-room voodoo and a nearly-blind fastballing relief pitcher (anyone old enough to remember Ryne Duren?) played by Charlie Sheen.
Mystery, Alaska; 1999. In a publicity stunt, the NHL Rangers travel to Alaska to play a local amateur squad led by Russell Crowe. The live-telecast game is held outdoors on a ginormous non-regulation rink that takes up much of a frozen lake. And who's brought in to sing "The National Anthem"? Little Richard.
Quiet Man, The; 1952. American pugilist John Wayne visits Ireland, where he has to put up his dukes to win the hand of Maureen O'Hara (as who wouldn't?).
Rocky; 1976. Yo, Adrienne...
Slapshot; 1977. I actually credit the Hanson Brothers with pioneering the au courant Nerd Glasses.
Wind; 1992. Stunning America's Cup sequences, plus credible performances by Matthew Modine and Jennifer Grey.

btw, here's a movie I'm betting few have ever seen, starting with myself: Columbia Pictures's 1942 The Spirit of Stanford, in which left-handed QB Frankie Albert plays himself transitioning from high school to Farm legend (among the extras portraying students, Lloyd Bridges and Forrest Tucker).

[FarmDad.01]

Of the major American sports, H'wood has always had the hardest time with baseball in terms of versimilitude. I think that's because to begin to understand the game, you have to go out to the ballpark; TV does a great job of showing close-ups of lip-gnawing pitchers and neck-twitching batters, but is terrible at conveying the sport's intricate split-second geometry except in slo-mo replays.

I'd rather sit through The Bad News B..rs again than The Natural, which Barry Levinson directed, per usual, with his toes. Malamud's downer ending, referencing the Black Sox scandal, becomes a walkoff home run by Roy Hobbs that actually shatters a bank of lights atop the right-field stands! Bull Durham's action scenes are only slightly more authentic than Bang the Drum Slowly's, the tech advisor of which didn't bother teaching Robert DeNiro that to properly round first base, use your left foot. Field of Dreams? Rather than thrill to ghosts of major leaguers past exfiltrating a corn field, I'm sure YouTube has archival footage of the minor-league outfielder who literally ran through a plywood fence; or Jose Canseco allowing a fly ball to bounce off his noggin for a home run; or a 1975 Military Night at N.Y.'s Shea Stadium, when a U.S. Army cannon turned the centerfield wall into smoking debris.

That said, one baseball flick made my 10 favorite sports movies (listed alphabetically), each of which I've enjoyed at least four times:

Bend It Like Beckham; 2002. In London, two teenaged girls (Parminda Nagra and Keira Knightley) bond through their exceptional soccer skills. But Ms. Nagra has to play for a prestigious travel club on the sly, as her Indian parents have declared sports unladylike.  For fans of The Good Wife, Archie Panjabi has a prominent supporting role.
Cool Runnings; 1993. A Winter Olympics bobsled team from Jamaica? Yeh, mon. Moments after an early practice run in Calgary: "Hey, you can pee now." Reply: "Uh... too late."
Downhill Racer; 1970. Robert Redford as a narcissistic skier trying the make the U.S. Winter Olympics team; playing the team's coach is Gene Hackman.
Longest Yard, The; 1974. Definitely the Burt Reynolds original, not Adam Sandler's 2005 remake.
Major League; 1989. A widowed chorine who inherits an MLB team wants it to tank so she can relocate the franchise (think the NFL's Georgia Rosenbloom Frontiere). Players include a Cuban slugger, played by Dennis Haysbert, who handles snakes while practicing locker-room voodoo and a nearly-blind fastballing relief pitcher (anyone old enough to remember Ryne Duren?) played by Charlie Sheen.
Mystery, Alaska; 1999. In a publicity stunt, the NHL Rangers travel to Alaska to play a local amateur squad led by Russell Crowe. The live-telecast game is held outdoors on a ginormous non-regulation rink that takes up much of a frozen lake. And who's brought in to sing "The National Anthem"? Little Richard.
Quiet Man, The; 1952. American pugilist John Wayne visits Ireland, where he has to put up his dukes to win the hand of Maureen O'Hara (as who wouldn't?).
Rocky; 1976. Yo, Adrienne...
Slapshot; 1977. I actually credit the Hanson Brothers with pioneering the au courant Nerd Glasses.
Wind; 1992. Stunning America's Cup sequences, plus credible performances by Matthew Modine and Jennifer Grey.

btw, here's a movie I'm betting few have ever seen, starting with myself: Columbia Pictures's 1942 The Spirit of Stanford, in which left-handed QB Frankie Albert plays himself transitioning from high school to Farm legend (among the extras portraying students, Lloyd Bridges and Forrest Tucker).