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.

Enter Sandman

When you think of four Championship rings, you probably think of Kobe Bryant. When you think of the number 500, you probably think of the 25 guys who have launched that many home runs in their career. When you think of the best there ever was, countless names may come to mind. To me those four rings don't mean Kobe, that 500 means saves instead of home runs, and the best there ever was happens to be Mariano Rivera.

On May 17, 1996 River took the mound for the first time as a Major League closer. The 26 year old, righty, stood on the bump, armed with not much more than a cut-piece fastball. Low and behold, Garrett Anderson grounds into a game-ending double play ball, and the best closer ever begins his quest. 14 seasons and 987 innings later that quest has reached a new milestone. Not only did Mariano draw a bases loaded walk for his first career RBI, but he also became only the second closer in baseball history to reach the 500 saves club. The only other member being Trevor Hoffman.

Sure you could try to make a case that Hoffman is better, but its just not there. He doesn't have the style that Rivera brings, he doesn't have the numbers that Mariano puts up, and quite frankly Mariano Rivera is THE most clutch pitcher to ever take part in a Major League postseason (barring the 2004 collapse in the ALCS, but hey, that was just destiny.)

Start with his style. He gets the help of pitching in the most glorious baseball stadium in the history of the game. He wears the blue and white pin stripes very well. He enter the game to one of the most amazing pump up songs known to man. Let's face it, Metallica is better than ACDC, and Hells Bells can't even hold the jock strap of Enter Sandman.

Onto the stats. He is number two on the all-time saves list and he is two years younger than Hoffman, having also played three fewer years. His 2.30 lifetime ERA is good enough for best all time among pitchers who have over 150 career saves. He is one half of the only two pitchers to ever convert 50 saves in two separate seasons. He's only had one season of less than 30 saves (28), and that was in a season where he only appeared in 45 games. He has compiled 110 saves in which he has pitched more than one inning. The man is a statistical god when it comes to the closers.

Finally the postseason. No reliever has ever been better than Mariano Rivera in October. He holds the MLB record for ERA in the postseason with an incredible 0.77. Nobody has more postseason saves than Rivera at 34, 12 of which have been two inning saves, another major league record. 9 of those 34 postseason saves have come during the fall classic, and guess what, that's another MLB postseason record. Also out of those 34 postseason saves, he set another record by closing the door in 23 straight. In 117 postseason innings pitched Mariano has given up just 10 earned runs. His career WHIP in the playoffs is an unheard of 0.75. I already mentioned this but i'll say it again, he has 4 rings. I don't know about you, but there is nobody i would want more than the "Sandman," to come in and close the door in a decisive World Series game.

"Exit light, Enter night, Take my hand, We're off to never, never land." The gates open and Mariano river walks out of the bullpen at Yankee Stadium. The song seems to describe the situation so well. The sun is setting on the current game. Mariano takes the ball in his hand, and leads the Yankees to the victory. He does it so well. The best ever.

More Than Meets The Eye

(For Robbie. I hope you enjoy this man. It's the only time you'll ever hear me talk good about them.)

Everybody knows that the University of North Carolina is one of the most dominant teams in college basketball history. If you wanted to be vain you could sum it up in just two words: Michael Jordan. But Tar Heel basketball is way more than that. It's 5 NCAA Division I National Championships. It's 17 ACC tournament titles and 27 ACC regular season titles. It's 41 times that they've gone dancing, and 18 times that they've danced their way into the Final Four. It's 1950 wins in just 98 seasons of basketball. But that's not all UNC should be known for anymore.

Tar Heel baseball has become one of the more dominant programs in college baseball. North Carolina only has 8 trips to Omaha to their name, but have been "back home" in each of the last 4 seasons. In 3 of those 4 seasons the Heels have made the Championship Series. Though they were unsuccessful, the fact they were there and show signs of being back for years to come, makes them a force to be reckoned with.

Okay so let's face it. North Carolina hasn't really done a whole lot in the gridiron department. They haven't won a bowl game since 2001 (Peach Bowl) and they haven't won an ACC title in 29 years. What they have done is hired and excellent coach/recruiter in Butch Davis, and put together two of the top recruiting classes in the nation over the past two years. They're 8-5 record was nothing to write home about, but it did get them their first bowl appearance since 2004 and has them on the rise for the near future in college football. And let's not forget, UNC football gave us one of the most important parts of the game: the forward pass.

North Carolina was the team of the 80's and half of the 90's in NCAA Lacrosse, making the tournament every year from 1980-1996. Though they haven't taken the crown since 1991 they are continually one of the top ranked teams in the nation, and the rivalry with Duke, definitely runs deep in this sport. In 2009 the Tar Heels posted a 12-6 record and eventually lost to the hated Dukies in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. That stellar season landed 5 of their players on the NCAA All-American team, and helped get the Tar Heels a recruiting class that looks to have them back at the top in 2010.

North Carolina won their first NCAA Men's Soccer Championship against the Indiana Hoosiers, in their first ever trip to the finals back in 2001. The Tar Heels made it back last season only to fall 1-0 to the Maryland Terrapins. The finals appearance was enough to bump the Heels to third in the national polls and, landed them a recruiting class that has UNC soccer primed as one of the favorites going into the 2009 season.

Make no mistake about it, Chapel Hill has, is, and always will be, a basketball town. But the athletes in these 4 sports have given the Tar Heel faithful something else to be proud of, when they aren't packed into the Dean Smith Center, watching Roy Williams work his magic.

My Wish

ESPN is currently doing a segment for their Page 2 sports writers about things they wish would happen in sports. I really enjoyed reading Scoop Jackson's article (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/090624) and decided to create a list of my own.

I wish I could play ball again.
I wish I could sit in the Polo Grounds and watch the Say Hey Kid.
I wish Bill Buckner would have caught that ball.
I wish Michael Jordan would have missed that shot.
I wish I could love Brett Favre again.
I wish they'd let Joe Jackson and Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.
I wish steroids didnt exist.
I wish Jose Canseco would keep his mouth shut.
I wish Roger Clemens would do the same.
I wish there were no reasons for asterisks.
I wish Ken Griffey Jr. would have stayed healthy.
I wish Earnest Byner would have held on to that football.
I wish Tony Fernandez would have fielded that ground ball.
I wish Roger Maris and Hank Aaron were still the Home Run Kings.
I wish free agency didnt exist.
I wish there were more women like Erin Andrews.
I wish Erin Andrews was my wife.
I wish I could be 8 years old, in my front yard, playing football with my dad again.
I wish I could have seen Bob Gibson pitch, and Ted Williams hit.
I wish the Browns would have never left Cleveland.
I wish the Oilers would have never left Houston.
I wish Woody Hayes wouldn't have hit Charlie Bauman.
I wish Warrne Moon wouldn't have hit his wife.
"I wish Donte Stallworth would have stayed home that night."
I wish Robinson Cano played for a different team.
I wish I could have seen a game at the old Yankee Stadium.
I wish i could hit a big league curveball.
I wish the USA would win the World Cup.
I wish Poland would win the World Cup.
I wish a Cleveland sports team would win a championship.
I wish I didnt love Cleveland sports so much.
I wish I never realized that professional sports were all about the money.
I wish i could see Michael Jordan and Cal Ripken play one more game.
I wish I could be like Mike.
I wish baseball would be back in the Olympics.
I wish Bud Selig would retire.
I wish Ty Cobb died with more friends.
I wish Dontrelle Willis could find his form.
I wish there were more athletes like Curtis Granderson.
I wish Americans respected baseball the way the Japanese do.
I wish Baseball would catch on in Europe and Africa.
I wish ever kid could know what it feels like to grip a baseball.
I wish continuation and that stupid circle weren't a part of NBA basketball.
I wish Jim Valvano was still alive.
I wish the NFL wasn't so protective of Quarterbacks.
I wish I could see a double header for 25 cents like the old days.
I wish there were more coaches like Joe Paterno.
I wish Gatorade was just Gatorade.
I wish baseball players still wore high socks.
I wish I loved other things as much as I love sports.

Fed Up

There are quite a few things in sports these days that really get on my nerves. I thought I'd take the time to rant and rave a little bit about those things.

I'm fed up with Bud Selig. The man belongs in an old folk's home. Seriously, 2012 cannot come soon enough. In my opinion he's done one good thing during his tenure. The Wildcard. Think about what else his term as commissioner has given us. The DH? One of the main contributors to the lack of defense in this era of baseball. Players no longer need to have those 5 tools. They can just hit. A strike? Sure it has happened before but it definitely doesn't help his track record look any better. Bud Selig is the reason for the only tie in All-Star game history. A game where both teams, both managers and all of the fans wanted to see the game go on. Do i even have to mention the steroid era? I will. The biggest smudge on the history of baseball just managed to happen during Selig's time as well. Do me a favor, take a page out of Donal Fehr's playbook and hang up the spikes big guy.

I'm fed up with Manny Ramirez. Sure Manny, being Manny was cute for a while. Showing up in the bicycle cart to spring training was pretty funny. And scaling the wall to make a catch, giving a fan a high five, and wheeling back to the infield to get the runner at second base for the double play is one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen. he's fun to watch but the fact that he will be right back in the lineup on July 3rd is absurd. Juan Pierre (Manny's replacement) is hitting .329 with 17 stolen bases from the lead off spot. He's been no doubt the spark that has led to the Dodgers success this season. When Manny comes back from his 50 game suspension, Pierre will be force back to the bench, where he will get no more than two starts a week. I guess you could say I'm sort of fed up with Joe Torre as well.

I'm fed up with Tiger Woods. Don't get me wrong. he is THE greatest golfer in the history of the sport. He has more passion than anybody in the game today. He wants to win and i have nothing but deep respect for that. But what I'm fed up with, is when Tiger doesn't when a tournament, I still have to see every one of his 68 strokes from that round on Sports Center that night. If the guy wins the tournament, then i have no problem with the whole highlight being devoted to him. But when he finishes 3rd or lower, how about giving a little bit of credit to the guy that won? Maybe even the guy that got second and challenged the guy that won.

I'm fed up with the University of Texas Longhorns. Well their fans. Well the ones who call themselves fans when they win. You have this ridiculous belief that you are the best. You aren't the best. In fact, look at the major sports. Football. You're 4 national championships are impressive. Especially compared to Notre Dame's 8, USC, Oklahoma and Alabama's 7, and Ohio State, Nebraska and Miami's 5. 4's good though... Basketball. Well this is easy...big GOOSE EGG. That means zero. UTEP has won more NCAA Basketball National Championships than you. And your 3 Final Four appearances aren't really much to write home about, considering U of H has been to twice as many. Baseball. You actually come up just short in this one. And by just short I mean that USC has double your 6 wins in almost half of the appearances. Better win tomorrow, or LSU will be right there with you at 6.

I'm fed up with this article. So I'm out for now.