Well I just watched "The Express" the other day starring Dennis Quaid as Syracuse football coach Ben Schwartzwalder and Rob Brown as running back Ernie Davis. This one is a 5 penguin guarantee. Ernie Davis was a black running back for the Orangemen when racial tensions in America were very high. Not only is this a story of an athlete who was gone too soon (Davis died at 23 from leukemia), but of perseverance and lessons learned. A great sports movie and a great American triumph movie. The only downside for me was seeing the headlines of Penn State losing to Syracuse.
While I am thinking of sports movies; there certainly have been some great ones. So I present Woody's Greatest Sports Movies. 5 penguins all around.
RACING
"Days of Thunder" starring Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall.
"Stroker Ace" starring Burt Reynolds and Jim Nabors. Fastest chicken in the south!
"Cars" with the voices of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman. Lightning McQueen is a car who learns something about life while stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs.
"LeMans" starring Steve McQueen
FOOTBALL
"Remember the Titans" starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton as football coaches for a newly integrated high school.
"The Longest Yard" starring Burt Reynolds as a former NFL player who winds up in prison and is forced to play against the guards in a game of football with the help of his fellow convicts.
"Friday Night Lights" starring Billy Bob Thorton as a high school football coach in Texas trying to win a state championship.
"Necessary Roughness" starring Scott Bakula as a quarterback called back into action when the Armidillos are all suspended for their actions off the field.
"We Are Marshall" is the dramatic story of a town, a school and many people dealing with the tragic loss of almost the entire Thundering Herd football team in a plane crash.
"Invincible" stars Mark Wahlberg as Vince Papale a Philly bartender who makes it onto the Eagles. Look for the Bengals whipping the Eagles butts in the opening scene.
HOCKEY
"Miracle" starring Kurt Russell; USA hockey finally beats the Russians on their way to the gold.
"Mystery, Alaska" starring Russell Crowe; a group of guys from Alaska take up the challenge of playing the New York Rangers.
"Slap Shot" starring Paul Newman and the great Hanson Brothers as teammates for the Chiefs as the team is going under.
BOXING
"Rocky" Sylvester Stalone is Rocky Balboa in these great movies. Well all but Rocky V.
SOCCER
"Victory" Sylvester Stalone is a goalie in a POW camp in Germany when they decide to have a soccer match pitting the POWs against the German national team.
RODEO
"Stir Crazy" with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as unfortunate guys who get sent to prison where Wilder discovers his hidden rodeo talents.
Go rent some of these today and get ready to stand up and cheer.
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Slap Shot was just on over here the other week - it might have been the first time I watched the whole thing, I have always just caught parts of it. Also, you forgot to mention that Cars gets an unimaginable 6 penguins when viewed on a bootlegged copy from Cambodia with amazingly crazy subtitles.
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