Top 10 Motivational Sports Speeches

Over my next few blogs I have decided to do a few Top 10's of some different things in sports. The first one I'm going to do is the Top 10 Motivational Sports Speeches. I decided to split them up and have 5 that are actual speeches and 5 that are from movies even though some of the movies are based on true stories. Enjoy.

10) Little Giants Half Time Speech- "One Time"
The Little Giants are getting it handed to them by the Little Cowboys at have time of they're citywide football game. Danny O'Shea (Rick Moranis), tries to rally his troops by telling him about the one time that he beat his brother in a race down cherry hill. I couldn't find a video of this which is a shame because it is hilarious but if you want to read it go here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110364/quotes and it is the last series of quotes on the page.

9) Bull Durham Shower Speech- "Lolligaggers"
The Durham Bulls are off to a slow start and Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) tells his manager that he needs to scare his players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLMl0CLIDLg

8) Vince Lombardi Pregame Superbowl Speech
Vince Lombardi is one of the best motivational speakers of all time and instead of putting 10 of his speeches in the Top 10 this is the one that i chose, listen carefully because the quality isn't that great.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1745351633444041270

7) Hoosiers Regional Finals Speech- "Remember what got you here"
The Hickory Hoosiers are in their first Regional Final in school history and Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) is trying to settle his team down before they step in front of the big crowd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lhw4M-GTg

6) Knute Rockne Gipper Speech- "I dont know where I'll be then rock, but I'll know about it"
Knute Rockne's famous Gipper speech is part of the Long Notre Dame Football History. It took place during halftime of a Notre Dame vs Army football game, during one of Notre Dames worse season in school history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lhw4M-GTg

5) Jack Buck Post 9/11 Poem
Okay so this one doesn't really pertain to sports but it is one of Sport's best broadcasters ever giving a speech at a time when this country turned to sports among other things to get us back into every day life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvP97Z_bvIs

4) Remember The Titans Gettysburg Speech- "Hatred...destroyed...my family"
Coach Herman Boone takes his segregated football team to a place where father fought son and brother fought brother in one of the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. He explains to his team that they fought the fight that is still going on and that if they don't start to respect each other they will end up with the same fate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_HFCYz4x6o

3) Herb Brooks-Team USA vs USSR Locker Room Speech "This is Your Time"
For those of you who don't know about the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team...shame. Rent the movie Miracle and watch it right now. Not on the sports aspect but on it being one of the most important moments in the history of this country. In a time when nothing could go right for America a group of college teams got together in Lake Placid, New York and beat the greatest hockey team in the history of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvJ4fqaYFq0

2) Any Given Sunday- Inches Speech "In any fight, its the guy who is willing to die, that's gonna' gain that inch"
Wow. That is all I can say to describe this speech. As corny as it may sound I still get goose bumps every time I watch it towards the middle of it. Coach D'Amato is getting his team ready for the biggest game of their lives. Watch for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myyWXKeBsNk

1) Jim Valvano ESPY's Speech- "Don't ever give up"
This speech means a lot more to me now than it ever did before. I didn't have cancer but i know the stuff that Jimmy V went through and i know the stuff that he set up his foundation to beat. Not a day has gone by since I got sick that Coach Valvano's words have not been in my head. If you have never heard this speech I strongly encourage you to watch the whole thing. I know its long but I live my life by his words every day and hopefully you will get some meaning out of the things he says as well. Jimmy V was an amazing man and he lives on in spirit and through the Jimmy V Foundation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlkqkFH6s

That's my Top 10 motivational sports speeches. Feel free to let me know what you think about it and tell me if you think a different speech should be on there.

July Madness

Alright so i realize I'm a little late with this but I got a few days off and took advantage of them. As a treat for making you wait so long i decided to bring you the entire bracket today instead of making you wait over another 3-4 day period. So here it is, the best college sports program in history.

THE ELITE 32 (that's what its actually called for those of you who didn't know)

1. UCLA BRUINS vs 9. Connecticut Huskies
4. Oklahoma Sooners vs 5. Florida Gators
3. Penn State Nittany Lions vs 6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Alabama Crimson Tide vs 2. Arkansas Razorbacks


1. Oklahoma State Cowboys vs 8. Oregon Ducks
4. Cal Golden Bears vs 5. Syracuse Orange
3. Illinois Fighting Illini vs 6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. Arizona Wildcats vs 2. LSU Tigers


1. Stanford Cardinal vs 9. Iowa State Cyclones
4. Minnesota Golden Gophers vs 5. Iowa Hawkeyes
3. North Carolina Tar Heels vs 6. Colorado Buffalo
7. UTEP Miners vs 2. Texas Longhorns


1. USC Trojans vs. 8 Tennessee Volunteers
4. Wisconsin Badgers vs 5. Maryland Terrapins
3. Georgia Bulldogs vs 6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Arizona State Sun Devils vs. 2. Michigan Wolverines

SWEET SIXTEEN

1. UCLA Bruins vs. 4. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Ohio State Buckeyes vs 2. Arkansas Razorbacks

1. Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. 4. Cal Golden Bears
3. Illinois Fighting Illini vs 2. LSU Tigers

1. Stanford Cardinal vs 4. Minnesota Golden Gophers
3. North Carolina Tar Heels vs. 2. Texas Longhorns

1. USC Trojans vs 5. Maryland Terrapins
3. Georgia Bulldogs vs 2. Michigan Wolverines

ELITE EIGHT

1. UCLA Bruins vs. 2. Arkansas Razorbacks

1. Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. 2 LSU Tigers

1. Stanford Cardinal vs 2. Texas Longhorns

1. USC Trojans vs. 2. Michigan Wolverines

FINAL FOUR

1. UCLA Bruins vs 2. LSU Tigers

1. Stanford Cardinal vs 1. USC Trojans

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

1. UCLA BRUINS 335
1. USC TROJANS 332

The Bruins of California University of Los Angeles are the greatest NCAA Sports Program in history. If you have any questions or you want to see any teams score just let me know and I'd be happy to let you know. Feel free to leave comments about what you think about the winner or on what you think was the best match up throughout the whole tournament, or anything like that.

The Big Dance

So I'm back to writing after a little bit of a break and I have to say I've been working on a huge project. I have compiled a 64 team bracket of the top NCAA Division I sports programs through the history of NCAA. The tournament will be set up NCAA basketball style with the seeds being determined by the number of total national championships that each different program has won. I then devised a point system assigning a different amount of points for each national championship won in each sport. The point system is designed like this:

5- Point Sports: Baseball, Men's Basketball, Football and Softball
4- Point Sports: Women's Gymnastics and Women's Volleyball
3- Point Sports: Men's Ice Hockey, Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Soccer, Track & Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Tennis
2- Point Sports: Cross Country, Men's Gymnastics, Swimming & Diving, Men's Tennis, Water Polo, Wrestling, Men's Volleyball, Field Hockey, and Women's Lacrosse
1- Point Sports: Fencing, Rifle, Skiing, Women's Bowling, Women's Ice Hockey, Women's Rowing
A 5 point bonus will be awarded to any team that has more than 10 National Championships in a single sport. A 10 point bonus will be awarded to any team that has more than 15 National Championships in a single sport.

The top four seeds in the tournament are (national championships):
1 UCLA Bruins (104)
2 Stanford Cardinal (101)
3 USC Trojans (100)
4 Oklahoma State Cowboys (48)

The last four Programs to make the field are:
1 Louisville Cardinals
2 Maine Black Bears
3 Fresno State Bulldogs
4 Appalachian State Mountaineers

The last four Programs to not make the field are:
1 Purdue Boilermakers
2 Boston College Golden Eagles
3 Baylor Bears
4 Tulsa Golden Hurricane

So here is how the bracket shapes up:

WEST REGION

1. UCLA Bruins (104) vs. 16. Appalachian State Mountaineers (3)

8. Auburn Tigers (16) vs. 9. Connecticut Huskies (10)

4. Oklahoma Sooners (26) vs. 13. Washington Huskies (7)

5. Florida Gators (25) vs 12. Virginia Cavaliers (7)

3. Penn State Nittany Lions (36) vs. 14. BYU Cougars (4)

6. Ohio State Buckeyes (24) vs. 11. Kentucky Wildcats (8)

7. Alabama Crimson Tide (16) vs. 10 San Jose State Spartans (10)

2. Arkansas Razorbacks (40) vs. 15. North Carolina State Wolfpack (4)

EAST REGION

1. Oklahoma Sooners (48) vs. 16. Louisville Cardinals (2)

8. Oregon Ducks (16) vs. 9. Kansas Jay Hawks (10)

4. Cal Golden Bears (29) vs. 13 Princeton Tigers (6)

5. Syracuse Orange (24) vs. 12. Michigan State Spartans (8)

3. Illinois Fighting Illini (33) vs. 14. Boston Terriers (5)

6. Indiana Hoosiers (23) vs. 11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8)

7. Arizona Wildcats (18) vs. 10. Nebraska Cornhuskers (10)

2. LSU Tigers (44) vs. 15. Oregon State (3)

NORTH REGION

1. Stanford Cardinal (101) vs. 16. Fresno State Bulldogs (2)

8. Columbia Lions (13) vs. 9. Iowa State Cyclones (13)

4. Minnesota Golden Gophers (26) vs. 13. Texas A&M Aggies (6)

5. Iowa Hawkeyes (24) vs. 12. San Francisco Dons (7)

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (35) vs. 14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5)

6. Colorado Buffaloes (22) vs. 11. Cornell Big Red (9)

7. UTEP Miners (21) vs. 10. Miami Hurricanes (9)

2. Texas Longhorns (43) vs. 15. Clemson Tigers (4)

SOUTH REGION

1. USC Trojans (100) vs. 16. Maine Black Bears (2)

8. Tennessee Volunteers (14) vs. 9. Duke Blue Devils (10)

4. Wisconsin Badgers (27) vs. 13. Navy Midshipmen (6)

5. Maryland Terrapins (24) vs. 12. Army Black Knights (8)

3. Georgia Bulldogs (34) vs. 14. UC Irvine Anteaters (5)

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22) vs. 11. St Johns Red Storm (8)

7. Arizona State Sun Devils (21) vs. 10. Florida State Seminoles (9)

2. Michigan Wolverines (44) vs. 15. TCU Horned Frogs (4)

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the results of the first round and also feel free to leave your comments on what you think about the idea, who you think the best first round match-up is and also who you think has the best shot at winning it all.