The Sports Archives – The Top Three Golf Comedy Movies Of The Last 20 Years!

Posted on January 30, 2014 by thesportsarchives

GrampsA 92nd Birthday 160

* Photo by Eric Schmuttenmaer / CC BY-SA 2.0

Some of the most well-known golf movies released more recently have been dramas, such as The Legend of Baggervance and The Greatest Game Ever Played. But if you prefer a more lighthearted look at the game, the comedy genre has offered up some films worth a look. These are the mainstream movies. There have been some recent indie film offerings in this niche as well, but finding sufficient information for those films, let alone a copy of one to watch, proved difficult. So here are my suggestions, in no particular order.

Tin Cup (1996)

Tin Cup Movie PosterOne of the best known and most enjoyable films in the comedy niche is the 1996 romantic comedy Tin Cup. Kevin Costner stars as washed up golf pro Roy McAvoy who falls in love with the girlfriend (played by Renee Russo) of his arch rival David Simms (played by Don Johnson). Costner’s character ends up revitalizing his golf career and challenging his rival in the US Open while trying to win the girlfriend’s heart. The always entertaining Cheech Marin also co-stars as Costner’s friend and caddy. Being a romantic comedy, it can be a little predictable at parts, but it’s entertaining anyway. This is generally considered by many to be one of Kevin Costner’s best performances.

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The Sports Archives – Clyde Wetsuits – The Wreck Of The MV Akka!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by thesportsarchives

River Clyde at Port Glasgow

The waters of the River Clyde – Glasgow’s great river – have been the birthplace of many great ships, but they have also been the graveyard of a few others.  The largest vessel to come to grief in the Clyde Estuary was also one of the most recent; the 5,400 ton Swedish freighter, Akka.

Disaster strikes

Built in Gothenburg at the height of the second world-war, Akka spent most of her life in the Swedish iron-ore trade.  It was on such a routine voyage from her home port of Oxelosund bound for Glasgow that she met her untimely end.  After an uneventful five-day voyage, as darkness fell on 9th April 1956, Akka rounded the Mull of Kintyre and, with Arran on her port beam, entered the shelter of the Firth of Clyde.  As she approached the narrows off Innellan, her master, Captain Sundin, rang down to reduce speed ready to take on the Clyde pilot.  At the same time he ordered the helm to starboard to clear the Gantocks, the treacherous knife-edged rocks south-east of Dunoon.  It quickly became clear that something was wrong.  Akka failed to respond to her helm and, with his vessel approaching the hidden menace of the Gantocks, Captain Sundin rang stop main engine.  Why he did not put his engine astern at this point is unclear.  However, Akka was now doomed.  Although some may had fallen off the ship, she struck hard on the rocks, tearing a significant hole in her hull plating.  Although full astern was now called for, it was far too late to save the fully laden ship and she sank within 5 minutes.

Owing to the position of the wreck, listed by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland as just to the north-east of one of the most dangerous navigation hazards in the Clyde, it was initially thought that the Akka could be left undisturbed while salvage was considered, despite the fact that her masts and funnel showed above water, particularly at low tide.  However, later in 1956, a fishing trawler struck the submerged upper superstructure of the wreck and wet-suited naval divers were sent to flatten the upperworks, masts and funnel with explosive charges.  Nonetheless, the wreck remains substantially intact and, lying upright in between around 30 metres of water, is arguably one of the most popular dives on the west coast of Scotland.

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The Sports Archives – Heartwarming Story Of Jamaican Bobsled Team!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Yeah Jamaica we have a bobsled team!

Jamaica’s Unexpected Bobsled Beginning

Cool RunningsAudience goers everywhere fell in love with the Jamaican bobsled team thanks to the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings.” The film was based on the team’s first time competing in the Olympics during the 1998 winter games. As competitors from a tropical region, the Jamaican team faced derision and scorn during the winter games. No one believed that the team had a serious chance of placing in the Olympics. However, they quickly became fan favorites after being hailed as the ultimate underdogs. Other teams began helping them out through giving them advice about bobsledding and letting them borrow sleds for competition. Although their attempt ended unsuccessfully with a crash, the heartwarming tale still had fans everywhere cheering. (In the movie, the bobsledders carry their sled over the finish line; in real life, rescuers had to come help them.)

Return to Bobsledding After 12 Year Absence

This year, it looks like the Jamaican bobsled team may be gearing up for the perfect sequel to “Cool Runnings.” The team qualified for the Olympics again for the first time in 12 years. And it sounds like it’s going to be an inspiring comeback story. Bobsled pilot Winston Watts, a veteran of three Winter Olympic Games, returned from retirement to help lead his country to the Olympics once more. 46-year-old Watts and his team member managed to qualify in the 2-man bobsled race. He told BBC Sports that qualifying for the Olympics “means the world to Jamaica. We have dominated in summer sports like athletics and now we’ve qualified for the Winter Olympics.”

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The Sports Archives – 4 Facts About The 2014 Winter Olympics!

Posted on January 26, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics official logo

My first memory of the winter Olympics revolved around watching 15-year-old Tara Lipinski dazzle the judges and audiences everywhere with her flawless performances and radiant energy during the 1998 games. I’ve been an ardent fan of the winter Olympics ever since. With sports ranging from ice skating to bobsledding to cross country skiing, the winter Olympics boasts a full roster of interesting sports and inspiring performances. Here are a few things to know about this year’s Olympics:

1.) The Olympics Are Less Than 3 Weeks Away

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics will commence on Friday, February 7 with an Opening Ceremony and end on Sunday, February 23 with a closing ceremony. During the intervening 17 days, there will be hundreds of athletics competing for their countries.

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The Sports Archives – Fishing Taboos You Should Break – And Some You Should Keep!

Posted on January 24, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Key West Charter Captain Craig Eubank on the bridgeA few years ago my best friend’s dad underwent a double knee replacement and so I swung by the house one afternoon to say hello, see how he was doing, have a chat, etc. It was just a couple of days after the surgery so he was totally whacked out on pain meds, which made for quite a few interesting conversations.

At one point he told me that as soon as he was healed up and back on his feet that he was going back to school to get his doctorate. Being an educated man, I didn’t think too much of this notion. That is until he told me what he was going to study.

“I am going to write my doctoral thesis on why some people can catch fish and other people can’t,” he said. He went on to tell me all about his childhood mate and how they used to fish together on the river. Same rod, same reel, same bait, same hole. His friend always caught fish and he never did. Clearly this childhood scar stuck with him over the course of his lifetime.

There’s something about fishing that makes the most rational people turn into mini witch doctors. The only pastime that fosters more superstition is playing Bingo at a smoke-filled V.F.W. hall. The list of fishing superstitions and taboos is exhaustive, wear the right hat, spit on your worm, throw back your first catch of the day for good luck…in the superstitious South you can find at least 50 different supernatural tricks specifically for hooking a catfish. Motor oil on your hook, anyone?

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The Sports Archives – 10 Famous MLB Players Who Call The Sunshine State Home!

Posted on January 23, 2014 by thesportsarchives

During the 2012 annual governor’s conference on tourism in Orlando, a slogan was unveiled to convince visitors to stay one more night. Soon commercials showing tourists not yet ready to leave the state began airing, each one claiming that it “Must Be the Sunshine”.

Visiting the Sunshine State is a dream for many people – and not just in America. Even people in European countries dream of visiting landmarks like Disneyworld, where they can see Mickey Mouse in his east coast quarters. Theme parks, golf, and ocean-related activities make the state the perfect place for visitors of all ages.

Braves Spring Training Walt Disney World Fl.

There’s No Place Like Home

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The Sports Archives – The UK’s Most Famous Stadia!

Posted on January 22, 2014 by thesportsarchives

From Wembley to Old Trafford, we take a look at the United Kingdom’s most famous stadia.

Great Britain has a well-established sports culture, and many long-standing sporting events are held regularly throughout the country. As a result, some sports venues have become internationally recognised symbols. In this article we take a look at the UK’s most famous stadia and at some interesting facts about these venues.

Wembley

Wembley Stadium IlluminatedHaving a total capacity of 90,000 people, Wembley is the UK’s largest stadium and the second largest in Europe, only preceded by FC Barcelona’s impressive Camp Nou. But Wembley is not only famous due to its capacity. To many people, Wembley is a national symbol, as the stadium is home to England’s national football team and has hosted some of the most memorable sports events of the last century.

First built in 1923 to host the Empire Exhibition, Wembley’s construction had an astonishing cost of over £750,000 and took nearly a year. However, the stadium soon went into liquidation, and had to be renovated in 1963 and re-built in 2007 at a cost of almost £800 million.

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The Sports Archives – Lawyers Seeking Settlement From NFL For Brain And Spinal Cord Injuries!

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thesportsarchives

NFL ConcussionThe NFL Players Association’s attorneys in the highly publicized personal injury case are currently seeking damages they won against the NFL for players who suffered severe injuries to their brain and spine while playing for the National Football League.

Settlement?

The settlement, which was originally estimated to total about $765 million dollars for the league is now estimated to be worth as high as $914 million dollars as the attorneys representing injured players are fighting to receive payments from the league to the players most deeply injured by concussions and other brain and spine injuries.

A Landmark Civil Case

The case, which is said to benefit as many as 18,000 players, has won compensation for players who faced major head trauma while playing. Football is a violent sport, and a major part of the game are concussions, which is trauma to the head that swells the brain.

The players and their attorneys have asserted that the dangerous nature of the game was not disclosed to players at the time of their playing. Once injured, many players were prematurely brought back into play, in a move that may be viewed as the NFL putting the sensationalism of the game over the safety of its players.

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The Sports Archives – The Richest Football (Soccer) Stadium In The World?

Posted on January 21, 2014 by thesportsarchives

When the winner of the bid for the 2022 World Cup tournament was announced as Qatar in 2011, everyone already expected a lot. Qatar, ranked as the world’s richest country in 2012, is synonymous with opulence and a certain amount of ostentatiousness, but in addition to the high-tech facilities, impressive stadia and lavish facilities, there have been some major construction issues to contend with.

There’s absolutely no doubt that Qatar means business when it comes to providing the facilities for a successful World Cup in 2022. Whilst most of us in the UK don’t have to worry about sweltering temperatures in our workplace, we know that temperature can have a dramatic effect in our work.

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The Sports Archives – Super Bowl Watch 2014!

Posted on January 18, 2014 by thesportsarchives

With just over two weeks remaining until the Super Bowl and four teams still in the running, anticipation is running high over which two teams will compete for the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. Let’s recap the two remaining games:

New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos

1.) Broncos Vs. Patriots

On Sunday, January 19, the Denver Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning will lead his team in the game against opposing quarterback Tom Brady and his New England Patriots. This will be a rousing game as Brady and Manning go head-to-head for the 15th time in their legendary careers. I grew up watching these two greats battle against each other, so I’m excited to see them play together again on Sunday. Although Brady has a 10-4 advantage (including 2-1 in the playoffs), Manning now has a more talented team. The teams are evenly matched, as was evidenced by their overtime game earlier this season. According to bleacherreport.com, the Broncos have an edge in four categories and the Patriots in three, with one a tossup (read the full article here). Bleacher Report believes that the Patriots’ Bill Belichick would win the coaching matchup, but noted that the Broncos have home-field advantage. They wrote, “The Broncos’ passing game and the Patriots’ running game will make the difference, although it’ll be intriguing to monitor how New England moves through the air against Denver without cornerback Chris Harris in the lineup.” Though it’s guaranteed to be a tight match, the neck-in-neck game should make it even more interesting for fans.

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