So by the “fourth quarter” of the movie he was a bench player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and then at the end was a spectator at a WNBA game?   What’s next, a movie based on Adam Morrison?  



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Love and Basketball (2000)

Actor:
Omar Epps

Position Portrayed:
Point Guard

Played for:
USC/Los Angeles Lakers

Why you should vote for him:
Um……..

Why you should not vote for her:
We compared him to Adam Morrison; isn’t that enough?

Unless you are a Canadian, (and even then only if you are French Canadian) you may not remember a very ambitious project by the multi-lingual CBC to do a hockey soap opera shot in both English and French. The show was a hit in Quebec, though not so much in English Canada, where it had only a cult following and only ran two seasons. Still, in Quebec, this remained a big show, and has been constantly revived. As such, we thought we would nominate the show’s first primary star, “Top Cat” Pierre Lambert.

The dynamic player was not just a star on the ice, but a player off of it. We watched him grow and mature, and the standard trials and tribulations you expect to see from a star athlete are presented to us with a bit of European flair. Perhaps, best of all, with the revival of the show, we got the “Where is he now” answer that we always wonder about with our fictitious athletes. Now don’t you wish we could find that out about others on this ballot?



The Bullet Points:
TV Show Appeared:
He Shoots, He Scores/Lance et Compete (1986-1989, 1991-1992 & 2004-)

Actor:
Carl Marotte

Position Portrayed:
Center

Played for:
Quebec Nationals/Canada

Why you should vote for him:
Can you think of any fictitious athletic star that performed in both languages?

Why you should not vote for him:
Let’s face it. At the end of the day, this character is only relevant in the Province of Quebec. A Hall of Fame caliber athlete should have bigger reach than that.

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Sex, Drugs, Booze, Office Politics, and Football. That is the equation that gave us Phil Elliott, the Wide Receiver of the North Dallas Bulls, who gave us more of an insight on the inner workings of Football than any sports movie before (or many since). We were compelled at the start by the way Elliott struggled to get out of bed in the morning; and what he put himself through to keep playing the game he was not sure that he loved anymore. As problems with the NFL continue to mount, this movie (and Elliott in particular) ages better; and we aren’t completely sure that is a good thing.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
North Dallas Forty (1979)

Actor:
Nick Nolte

Position Portrayed:
Wide Receiver

Played for:
North Dallas Bulls

Why you should vote for him:
It was a great role.

Why you should not vote for him:
Didn’t Nolte look a little out of shape to be in the NFL?

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When the tag line of the movie is “A True Underdog Story”, they weren’t exaggerating. Led by Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn reprising what has to be the same stone faced sarcastic one he has had for more than a decade), it is the story of a bunch of physical and social misfits who frequent Average Joe’s gym who band together to save their facility by entering a Dodgeball tournament with a $50,000 prize. For a sports flick, the film preaches comedy over athletics, especially now with the unintended comedic effect of Lance Armstrong (the only certifiable athlete in the film) giving a spirit of competition speech to LaFleur to rally him back towards his team. Was LaFleur really presented as an athletic hero in the movie? Not exactly, but he was painted as the only one who could have brought that sorry band of misfits to a Dodgeball title.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Actor:
Vince Vaughn

Played for:
The Average Joes

Why you should vote for him:
Sarcasm and Sports have never worked together so good.

Why you should not vote for him:
Dodgeball may be a sport, but other than grade school, have you ever played it?

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