Sports Movies (Page #15)

Exploring one of the most controversial and provocative positions in the history of sport, ‘Ice Guardians’ journeys into the lives of those who perform what is undoubtedly the toughest job within the National Hockey League today, the enforcer. Very few understand this position and even fewer appreciate what is involved in becoming one. It’s a punishing profession unlike any other, holding little mercy for its candidates on or off the ice. Born out of self policing a game where 200 pound men fly towards each other on metal blades with sticks, the role now finds itself facing the scrutiny of national newspapers, on-line blogs and TV news casts. Due to its violent nature, it has drawn opinions from both fans and critics alike. But what do we really know? What led to its spectacular rise? What purpose does it serve in the eyes of its beholders and what drives them forward in the face of adversity? Ice Guardians steps beyond the hype and heads directly to the source of the debate… the players themselves. Through their eyes, tough exteriors are shed to reveal the humanity behind a role that struggles to maintain its existence.

A high-school ugly duckling transforms into a swan in Walt Disney Pictures' "Ice Princess." Brainy Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) has never quite fit in. Caught between her fantasy of becoming a championship figure skater and her strong-willed mother (Joan Cusack), who has her on the fast track to Harvard, she can only hope to be like Nikki, Tiffany and Gen (Hayden Panettiere) - three elite skating prodigies who are ruthlessly competing on the US Figure Skating circuit (and have attitudes to match). But when Casey gets the chance to train with Gen and her coach, a disgraced former skating champion who also happens to be Gen's mother (Kim Cattrall), she must dash her own mother's hopes in order to pursue her dream. Now, with only the support of Gen's teenage brother, a hunky Zamboni driver (Trevor Blumas), Casey takes on the challenge of her life when she finds herself competing against the best to make it into the championship circuit and become a real "ice princess."

A sports drama inspired by a true story about a man who had nothing to lose, and pushed to make his dreams come true. When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time--no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale--a down-on-his-luck, 30-year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy--moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player.

The film tells the story of a lonely suburban teenager whose life changes dramatically when she befriends a group of female skateboarders.

Jesse Holley overcomes a poverty-ridden upbringing and multiple personal obstacles and goes from working as a security guard to being an NFL wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, when he is invited to Cowboys training camp after winning "4th and Long," a reality series.

Mike Webster, the longtime center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is one of the toughest guys to ever play the game but he struggles mightily after his career. Angry and confused for reasons he cannot explain, Webster’s mood swings and fits of rage cost him his marriage and he dies a young man. After his death, Webster's brain is examined and it is found to have a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that is the result of what doctors say is the equivalent of Webster suffering the head trauma equivalent of being in 25,000 car accidents over his high school, college and 17 years in the NFL.

Follows the rise, fall and ultimate redemption of a fictional British tennis star of the '80s.

Kansas City Royal's baseball announcer Jim Brockmire loses it on the air when he discovers his wife is cheating on him, instigating his public downfall. But all is not lost, as he tries to reinvent himself as the announcer for a very minor league team.

This film tells the story of John Madden, a legendary NFL coach. Madden's dream was to become a head coach, and he achieved great success. However, the pressures of the job eventually took a toll on him, leading him to step away. The film focuses on his friendship with Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders, and how Madden found a new path that made him even more famous.

In 1973, 29-year-old female tennis pro Billy Jean King takes on retired tennis pro 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in a battle of the sexes match watched by 50 million Americans.

Set in Granite City, a small steel town in Southern Illinois, a group of poor, immigrant high school boys from the wrong side of the tracks rise above bigotry in 1940s by proving themselves on the basketball court.

A father-son drama about a recently widowed man who cheats on his IRS report and goes on the run with his 12-year-old son, Mickey. Mickey, being a very talented baseball player, ends up playing for the Little League World Series, which threatens to blow his and his father's cover in the national spotlight.

A film about quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Set in 1971 in a staid Illinois small town living through a drought and the Vietnam War, a hippie English teacher reluctantly takes on coaching duties for the Macon Ironmen, a high school baseball team. Bucking conventions, the team, sporting long-hair and warming up to "Jesus Christ Superstar," ends up making the state finals and squares off against an established Chicago team.

Drafted by the Dodgers and touted as a potential star, Glenn Burke gets off to a flying start when he becomes the only rookie to start in the 1977 World Series. While his adversity is nothing compared to what Jackie Robinson faced when he broke baseball's color barrier, Burke’s decision to come out of the closet hastens his demise. He is surprisingly traded to Oakland in 1978, but gets injured and retires in his second season there. Burke is diagnosed with AIDS in 1994 and dies a year later at age 42.

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno's legend is undone by revelations he and others in the football program were aware that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting children, and did little to stop it, supposedly fearing bad publicity for the powerhouse gridiron program they presided over.

The film will tell Brazilian soccer Pele's life story, from humble beginnings through leading Brazil to its first ever world cup victory in 1958.

"School" is described as a comedy in which a group of hopefuls battle it out in a competition to make the PGA Tour, with both their game and their personal lives sometimes ending up in the drink along the way. The title is a reference to qualifying school, an annual tournament in which several hundred aspiring pros compete for a limited number of spots on the following year's tour.

When Vernon Turner is only 11, he comes home to find his mother shooting heroin into her veins in the bathroom of their Brooklyn home. If that isn't hard enough, he also watches as his black mom and white father fight over her drug abuse. Vernon assumes the role of adult for his siblings. Often told he has no chance to make it to the NFL after playing local college ball, he finally finds his place in the sun as a kickoff and punt returner with the Rams, Lions, Buccaneers, and Panthers before playing in Europe until he retires in 1998.