Recent content by bocksheesh

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Just heard that some film company is doing a movie about Jesse Owens and his experience in the Berlin Games in front of Hitler.

Those two Prefontaine movies were bombs. As were a few other sports films based on tragedies. If a certain type of film makes money, Hollywood tends to make more of them. If a certain type of film loses money, Hollywood tends to not make more of them. It's why you seldom see a sports movie...

What's Jeff Stone's story?

Hollywood producers are followers to be sure. But Hollywood studios are not in the business of making expensive movies based on tragedies. Maybe an independent film can be based on a tragedy (like Capote). But the big studios are not going to make a studio sports movie that ends in tragedy...

The death and tragedy stories, while compelling, will never make it as Hollywood movies. Hollywood is looking for inspirational sports stories where underdogs overcome long odds. Invincible, Miracle, The Rookie, and the upcoming We Are Marshall. They're all about players or teams overcoming...

"Debunked" is one of my all-time favorite words. Sounds exactly like what it means. I wonder if the opposite of debunk is "bunk". If you prove something irrefutably, have you "bunked" it? No, wait. That can't be right. If something is bogus, then it can be referred to as "bunk". OK, so what's...

Lot of great stories here. Fascinating to read the diversity of opinion. One of my favorite stories, that I randomly happened to reread for the first time in years, is: "Hills of Coal, Feets of Clay" by Sam Heys in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Won "Best Feature Story" in the 1989 Best...

Yeah, what's with the NASCAR thread? Yeesh.

You're right. My bad. Should have just left it at an 80s version of "Hoosiers". Anyone remember this Kentucky team or hear of this story?

Sounds interesting. Do you have a link to an article on this or anything? Would love to read about that team. Also, I referred to this earlier in this thread, but there's a great story about the Clay County, Kentucky highschool team that starred Richie Farmer and his brother, Russ. Clay County...

That Hobey Baker story does sound like a good one. Only problem is that it seems like Hollywood doesn't like period sports movies much. Think they like more modern stories. But keep 'em coming, folks. Some great stories bouncing around.

Now THAT sounds like a great story. Great character. Great story. Underdog overcoming odds. See, I could see that being made into a movie. Only problem is that it's hockey which Hollywood doesn't care all that much about relative to the bigger sports. But who knows.

Wonder if anyone can think of any true underdog/inspirational stories like Vince Papale and "Invincible" or the pitcher who inspired that movie "The Rookie" (which I never saw). Those stories seem to come from the most random of places.

Anyone hear or know about the story of the Clay County high school basketball team in Kentucky? It was Richie Farmer's team. They were from mountains of Kentucky, the poorest county in the state, and fielded a team with no one over 6'1". The team went on to dominate the state in basketball in...