Friday Feedback Friday | Our Top 10 Sports Movies of All-Time

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered — Friday Feedback Friday: Our Top 10 Sports Movies of All-Time

Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Host(s): Dan Bernstein, Maddie (longtime producer)
Episode Date: January 23, 2026
Focus: The episode features a Friday Feedback segment revolving around Chicago Bears listener reactions and then transitions to Dan and Maddie’s personal Top 10 Sports Movies of all time, with lively discussion and banter.

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Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode is split between interactive listener feedback (mostly about the end of the Chicago Bears’ season and fan emotions) and a spirited, highly personal countdown of the hosts’ top 10 sports movies ever made. The show promises — and delivers — sharp takes, unfiltered opinions, and an honest look at both sports fandom and sports cinema, offering equal parts reflection and humor.

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Key Discussion Segments & Insights

1. Opener: Friday Feedback Friday & Setting Up the Movies List

[00:00 – 02:04]

• Dan and Maddie explain how, despite years in sports media, they've never actually ranked their favorite sports movies in earnest.
• The hosts set personal criteria for their lists (Dan: no research, only films he could recall unaided, weighted by entertainment, lasting impact, and rewatchability; Maddie: excludes documentaries).

2. Topical Opener: The White Sox Hat & World Events

[02:04 – 05:42]

• Maddie riffs on the recurring phenomenon: Chicago White Sox hats appearing on the heads of people in unlikely, sometimes notorious news photos.
  • “Congratulations, White Sox. You made it to the big times.” (Dan, 03:20)
  • Wry banter about the Sox hat turning up everywhere, including on the news headline discussing ICE policy.

3. Listener Feedback: Post-Bears Season Emotional Rollercoaster

[05:44 – 18:13]

• The bulk of Feedback Friday is devoted to Bears fans processing the team’s season:
  • John’s voicemail: Despite playoff loss, expresses how fun the season was and gratitude for the show. (06:26–07:35)
    • “Damn it, man, this is one of the most fun Bear seasons of my life… even with the loss, it was so fun and I’m happy and thankful.” (John, 06:26)
  • Mike’s email: Discusses mixed emotions — joy at success, concern for sustainability amid “improbable, even lucky” wins. Feels vindicated by how leadership is addressing both parts.
  • Dan’s perspective: Emphasizes enjoying the fun year without discounting achievements or lessons.
    • “It doesn’t take away any of the joy of the season for all those things to be true.” (Maddie, 09:38)
  • DJ/Chesty Puller’s take: Highlights Ben Johnson’s motivational tactics and their psychological necessity after years of losing, especially in close games.
    • “Resilience isn’t something you can flip on in the Super Bowl — you have to build it from jump.” (DJ, 13:45)
  • Fans express how Bears’ success provided solace, diversion from depression, and emotional healing from trauma (Nicholas’s poignant letter regarding the Blackhawks sexual assault scandal and fandom’s impact).
    • Notable quote: “Every time the Hawks get honored, I think about Kyle Beach… I still get angry when people act like it’s only on the victim to do the right thing while everyone else gets to pass judgment.” (Nicholas, 18:13–21:32)

4. Transition: Setting Up the Top 10 Sports Movies

[24:01 – 24:46]

• Dan specifies his personal ranking method:

  • No research—if it didn’t come to mind, it didn’t make the list.
  • Criteria: entertainment value, lasting memory, and repeat-watch joy.

• Maddie adds her sole rule: “No documentaries.”

5. Dan Bernstein’s Top 10 Sports Movies (with Honorable Mentions)

[26:39 – 30:32]

Dan’s Honorable Mentions:

• Creed
• Friday Night Lights
• For Love of the Game (“terrible, but I love it”)
• Slap Shot (“I’m gonna guess this is Maddie’s number one.”)
• Caddyshack
• Cinderella Man
• Remember the Titans

Dan’s Final Top 10 Movies:

1. Rocky – “My number one. That wasn’t even a debate.” (30:08)
2. A League of Their Own
3. Major League
4. Field of Dreams (emotional family memory)
5. Hoosiers
6. Moneyball
7. Miracle
8. 42 (Jackie Robinson biopic)
9. (Tie) Seabiscuit / Secretariat (horse movies)
10. Warrior (“Great brother story.”)

6. Maddie’s Top 10 Sports Movies (with Color Commentary)

[30:45 – 56:44]

Maddie’s Special Honorable Mention:

• Whiplash — “Really a sports movie in disguise — it’s a Bobby Knight story, just about jazz drumming.”

Maddie’s Honorable Mentions:

• Creed (“Reinvented the boxing movie…”)
• Dodgeball (wants to cut Lance Armstrong’s cameo)
• Breaking Away (“A little gem about bike racing.”)
• The Wrestler (“If pro wrestling isn’t a sport, it’s still a sports movie; Mickey Rourke is extraordinary.”)
• The Fighter
• Rocky IV (pure cheese, but watchable)
• Blades of Glory

Maddie’s Top 10 Movies:

1. Slap Shot – “It’s actually a satire, it’s about the dark underbelly of hockey… It’s hilarious, it’s vivid, it smells like the rink. Absolutely hilarious. My number one sports movie.” (54:04)
2. Rocky
3. Major League
4. Bull Durham (“Romance that happens to be about baseball. Extra resonance because I lived in Durham.”)
5. The Longest Yard (original, not remake — “prison football at its best; subversive and well-cast”)
6. Hoosiers — “Sappy, formulaic, but great.”
7. The Karate Kid — “Formulaic but irresistible. Daniel-san for life.”
8. Rocky III (“Clubber Lang! Eye of the Tiger!”)
9. Caddyshack (“A mess, a cocaine-fueled comedy masterpiece, it’s still so funny.”)
10. A League of Their Own

Notable Bants and Quotes:

• “Did you know the song ‘You’re the Best Around’ in Karate Kid was originally written for Rocky III?” (Maddie, 42:33)
• “If you’re showing [Caddyshack] to your kids, remember, there’s a lot of nudity you probably forgot about.” (Maddie, 39:45)

Fun Cross-Talk Moments:

• Both are surprised at how much their lists overlap, despite some generational and taste differences:
  • “Two Chicago white guys of the same generation, maybe we have some parallel vibes.” (Maddie, 57:25)
• Maddie fondly recalls the real-life stories and local connections to Bull Durham and A League of Their Own.

Crossover Titles:

• Both lists: Rocky, Major League, Hoosiers, A League of Their Own, Caddyshack (Maddie’s #9, Dan’s honorable mention), Slap Shot (Dan’s honorable mention, Maddie’s #1).

7. Closing Banter & Next Friday’s Top 10

[58:41 – End]

• The hosts tease that this movie-ranking tradition will become a recurring Friday segment, with the next topic still undecided.
• They riff about oddball sports films (e.g., Gus, the field-goal-kicking mule); Dan: “I’m kind of glad I don’t remember that.”
• The sports movie list was “fun to do – the process was just as entertaining as the results.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Resilience isn’t something you can flip on… you have to build it from jump.” (DJ/Chesty Puller, on Bears, 13:45)
• “My theory is, no matter what is going on in the world, somewhere in the background — White Sox hat.” (Maddie, 03:25)
• “It’s contractually my job to take the fun out of things.” (Maddie, after reading a heavy listener letter, 18:13)
• On Rocky: “A love story that happens to be about boxing... didn’t know we were watching an all-time classic.” (Maddie, 52:33)
• On Slap Shot: “People still lionize the Hanson Brothers, but it’s not about them — it’s about a dying rust belt town, bloodlust, American sports culture… and it’s hilarious.” (Maddie, 54:04)
• Maddie’s parenting “oops”: “Showing my kid Slap Shot at a young age, maybe not my best parenting moment.” (50:36)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Listener Feedback about the Bears season: 05:44 – 18:13
• Start of Top 10 Sports Movies discussion: 24:01
• Dan’s Top 10 (with rationale): 26:39 – 30:32
• Maddie’s Top 10 (with rationale and honorable mentions): 30:45 – 56:44
• Slap Shot deep dive: 54:04
• Cross-generational comparisons & shared tastes: 57:25

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Summary Takeaways

This episode is a double treat: a cathartic post-mortem for Bears fans, and a loving, often hilarious walk through sports movie history between two endlessly opinionated, deeply knowledgeable hosts. Their candid reflections — whether on grief and fandom, the mythologies of their favorite films, or the subtle differences in their lists — make for an episode that’s engaging, smart, and full of gems for movie and sports fans alike.

If you love Chicago sports and/or movies about combative underdogs, this is a can't-miss episode.

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein, unfiltered unfiltered on 312 sports.

[Maddie]

Welcome to DBU on this Friday. We are brought to you in partnership with my bookie and also by Giordano's. Giordano's is on a roll with its tribute pizzas. They're honoring the legendary Derrick Rose on the occasion of his jersey retirement with a brand new limited edition pie sp stacking two layers of Giordano's signature pepperoni and topping it all off with a drizzle of homemade Calabrian hot honey. Because it is Friday on dbu, that means we are bringing you Friday feedback Friday. And also we are going to keep alive our Friday tradition of our football season top 10 lists, but we are going to allow ourselves to do whatever the hell we want. And believe it or not, and this is pretty amazing considering how long I've been in this silly business, this is the first time I have actually put a list together ever of my own personal favorite sports movies. I've never done this before.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Because it's not really your kind of thing. So we never really did.

[Maddie]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, for like on purpose, legitimately thinking through our favorite sports movies, we always made fun of those things.

[Maddie]

Right. It's come up and we've made fun of the various movies and all that, and believe me, we still will. This isn't. This isn't. Doesn't mean that we're pledging to never make fun of such things again. But it was a really interesting exercise to have to decide things and what's on the list and what's off the list. And I actually, I learned a lot about myself when I was trying to do this as honestly as I possibly could. Like, I didn't want to say, well, this would represent this and we need this sport and this sport if it's actually my personal favorites and try not to.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what I did. And I had, I had like three parameters that I put down, and I'll share those with you when we get into it.

[Maddie]

Okay, good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because it was hard. It was a lot harder than I.

[Maddie]

Thought it was going to be. Me, too. And it was hard to be, to be sort of unflinchingly honest with myself about it. And I'm basically a giant child is what I've learned. And that should come to the surprise of absolutely no one. And before we get into feedback, I really, I want to congratulate the Chicago White Sox on today. This is a big day for the White Sox. If you woke up this morning and you were making your regular stops around your various places and websites and scrolling through your feed and clicking on stories to figure out what's going on in our world and how horrible it is. Because we do that every day. Front page of CNN in a big story about ice. And it says, new ICE policy allows officers to enter homes without a judge's warrant. And there is the masked ICE officer in his tactical gear with his big vest on and all the stuff on his vest and his canisters of tear gas and his black Carhartt shirt, hands in pockets, standing in front of some humble Minneapolis house. And yes, yes indeed, he's wearing a White Sox hat.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, congratulations, White Sox.

[Maddie]

Congratulations.

[Dan Bernstein]

You made it to the big times.

[Maddie]

My theory is it's always eventually, right, that no matter what is going on in the world somewhere in the background or on the ISIS fighter on the back of the truck, or on some warlord in some faraway country White Sox hat, we're never too far from a Sox hat. So congratulations. If that gave you the mordant smile, the sardonic grin to start your day, there it is just thinking like, here you are, your family has been captured and you're being sent back to Guatemala. And the entire time the guy is in the front of the car going, you know, one time my uncle used to repair appliances. He was over at Scott Radinsky's house. He fixed Scott Rainsky's dishwasher. And then later he had him back to work at his humidifier. Sorry. Always. Always. I want to also mention too that it's championship weekend. We're going to talk a lot about that when we get to DBU picks and it with nothing better to do. You are inside this weekend and you're going to be watching a ton of games. So make them fun. Go to my bookie. Turn your bets into bankroll because everybody's watching, everybody's got to take. It's the one game where props matter just as much as the score. And with super bowl and championships, we not everything, there's much more involved now. So get to betting. The super bowl prop board is really deep. It's really fun to play. It's why my bookie gets talked about on Jimmy Kimmel Live every year when the game rolls around. So the time to get in is right before. It's these two games this weekend. One account, one wallet. You can live bet, you can bet the spread. You can do money lines, prop bets like I like. Whatever you're comfortable doing, hit the casino during commercials. It all lives in one place. So go to MyBookie AG right now, use our promo code DBU and get your first bet covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit you, then have that bet back. Bonus token, you can run it back. So don't just watch these games. Don't just watch the big game. Make it all pay with my bookie. Are you ready for Friday feedback Friday?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, I am.

[Maddie]

Okay, I'm just making sure we. We've got a bunch. A lot of this is dealing with the end of the Chicago Bears season and how we all felt and where we are on the emotional roller coaster right now. But I would like to start with a voice message that was left for us in the 312Sports app, which is new and free in the Apple App Store and Google Play. And you can register your account. You can all kinds of prizes, including dinner for two at Giordano at Morton's, the steakhouse at the Smith. You enter the promo code, eat on any reward for a chance to win. And you can leave messages like this one from John.

[John]

Hey, Dan and Maddie calling right after the Bears game and they lost. And you know, just. I feel oddly satisfied. I know they lost and find a whole bunch of things that they could have won that game beyond the Seattle, but damn it, man, this is one of the most fun Bear seasons of my life. They wouldn't pay. Win a playoff game, win the division, beat the packers on two miracles and we got a quarterback. Man, it. It feels great. And even with the loss, and this is the first Bear season since my uncle always called my dad for Gaines, he passed. So it kind of helps because it feels like a little bit was with him, you know, so. Yeah, it sucks. Can't wait for your analysis. Damn it. It was so fun and I'm happy and I'm thankful for you guys. So keep up the good work. I love you guys.

[Maddie]

Love you too, John. Thanks for leaving that message. Thanks. Thanks for sharing. I always try to grab something that I think is. Can be representative of a lot of what is coming in, and I think that was one of them. So we always appreciate it. Thanks so much. This is a note from Mike who said, I've been a DBU and forward progress listener since day one, but this is my first time reaching out and I'm trying to contextualize my mixed emotions regarding the Bears. At the start of the year, we were confident we had the right play caller and that was validated by a much more productive offense. And Ben Johnson proved he isn't just a coordinator, he's A leader of men. And many Bears fans, including myself, were sold on Caleb Williams. He's the guy. However, it's hard to ignore how much luck played a factor. The final two months look different under a microscope. Outside of the blowout against an inferior Browns team, the cracks are evident. In six games against playoff teams and an underperforming Lions team, the Bears didn't take a single offensive snap while leading, including the two packers home games that they somehow won. Despite this, the Bears somehow had a chance to win these games in their final offensive drive. This life is exciting, but it's not sustainable, especially with their first place schedule looming. The Bears have the right pieces in the building, but the way they won this year won't cut it in 2026 and beyond. I think it's okay to admit this year was fun. It was improbable, it was even lucky, while at the same time feeling confident that this team could and more importantly should be able to win for years to come. And I would say since that email was received, Mike, you should be very happy about what you heard from Ben Johnson and from Ryan polls. I think they would agree that you're right. I think, Mike, my conclusion of that is definitely that you're right. The Bears know you're right and it's okay. And it doesn't take away any of the joy of the season for all those things to be true.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And it doesn't take away any of the accomplishments of the year and the growth that we saw. The development of that rookie class, which was easily one of the most talented rookie classes that this Bears organization has ever seen. Despite, you know, Caleb not being on that list of top 100 candidates for MVP yesterday. I, I was still bothered by that as the day went on. Were you? It was super annoying.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it had nothing to do with being a homer. It's just, I mean, how could, how could you not have him in the top 16 quarterbacks of the 2025 season was just mind boggling to me.

[Maddie]

So. Yeah, unless you wrote it a month ago and you know, even then you had some evidence. But you should obviously take in everything that your eyes are showing you.

[Dan Bernstein]

The only way you could not include him is if you deliberately said, I'm purposely not including Caleb Williams.

[Maddie]

And that was not one of the criteria that we read. There was no such stipulation.

[Dan Bernstein]

Anywho.

[Maddie]

And we got a note from Chesty Puller. I don't know if any long timers remember that name. He goes by dj. He is. He used to submit emails back in the day as Chesty Puller and I we are hearing from him once again and he says Happy Friday from a former BNB listener occasional emailer. First off, kudos for your podcast. He says. I've been out of the sports radio listener game for a long time before jumping back via these pods. Life has a funny way of realigning your priorities and the years since I was an active listener and emailer I my life took me down some roads that have many parallel through lines to your own stories shared on the shows. I'm not going to dive deep, but let's say listening to you guys and a healthy dose of therapy and self reflection and a change of profession have helped and I love love love the open and honest discussions you guys have had in regard to those things. Now I'm emailing because I was listening to your conversation with Carmen Vitale and when talking about Ben Johnson showing the Patriots Falcons Super Bowl, Dan said, quote I couldn't understand why. If I could just sit and ask him one thing. I'd like to ask him that because what was in his thinking that he said in training camp, I'm going to show this. What did he recognize about his team or the need to be resilient? And maybe he didn't see that they had resiliency. This is what what DJ says here. I don't mean to undervalue his brilliance and prescient ways, but I don't think the answer is overly complicated. It's one that Bears fans may have blocked out because of the trauma Ben Johnson inherited from Matt Eberfluss, a Bears team that was not just bad but historically bad at winning one score games. They were five and 19. That's a 26% win rate in games decided by seven points or less, the worst among NFL coaches with at least 20 such games. Ben Johnson needed to teach this team not only how to finish games, but that being behind the best teams in the most crit situations where there isn't a welt we'll try again next week option. And that ability, the mentality starts by living in that mindset. Day one Resilience isn't something you can flip on in the super bowl if you haven't been building, practicing and preaching it from jump. Add that to Johnson's roster now containing players from each of those teams. People who could speak to being on the best teams leading to that matchup, who could also speak to being on both ends of the comeback. How did the Patriots act and feel in that game? How did they make their way back. How did it make the players on the Falcons feel seeing the lead slipping the way away? Watching game films one thing, but actually diving into the psychology of both ends of that score with people who can speak to their experience is priceless insight. And let's not discount Johnson's hyper aggressive coaching hyper competitive personality with which we assume is setting a hyper aggressive goal. Be ready to win even if you're down and out, no matter what year in the process, whether it's a division game, a Monday night game or the freaking Super Bowl. So maybe I'm stating the obvious, but I see it was just a glaring issue that a new coach would see and need to address. Good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good call.

[Maddie]

It is good call.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, I still would love to hear the the, the the thought process behind it. But yeah, very cool.

[Maddie]

Yeah, especially because he mentioned about body language and being a Woe is me team and being a palms up team that it makes some sense. Here is Joel who says yes Dan Kurt Signetti does seem awesome though in a different way than how I feel about another one of your favorites, Lisa Bluder. Also awesome. Either way, I would 100% watch a Netflix show with Kurt Signetti and Lisa Bluder. I don't care what the plot is. It's Buddy Cop, Odd Couple or just stick them on an island and have them make alcohol out of mangoes. Okay, I'm, I'm in for that as well, thank you. Here is Tom from Dallas who says for the first time in my lifetime as a Bears fan, I'm walking into Conference Championship week with zero knowledge or preference of what prospects or trades I want for the Bears in the off season. Usually by now I would have a list of 15 guys I want to see in a Bears uniform. I would have done hundreds of simulated mock drafts starting around week six to eight. It hasn't been the case this year. I didn't feel the need. For the first time in my life, the season and outcomes of this year's Chicago Bears felt meaningful. I often try to compare this to the 18 team because scenarios were similar except this year's team wasn't strapped together with poor cap management and general leadership chicanery. Ben Johnson didn't rely on Mickey Mouse plays to make the offense work. The highly touted quarterback that played more than a season in college showed game by game growth. We saw players develop from four rookies getting little to no touches or reps week one to being massive contributors and then growing into what will be franchise cornerstones. Draft season's cool. We Love it. But for the first time it doesn't matter as much to me because I know this team's on an upward trajectory I've never seen in my 40 years. And I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. Not that we're not going to still get into the draft and have all kinds of fun with it. So I want to make sure we.

[Dan Bernstein]

Say no, we certainly will. But that. That's week six to eight doing 100 mock drafts.

[Maddie]

Well, people are weird. They do. You know, when you're conditioned to it mattering that much, I can get it. This is garrison from the 81 5.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well weren't they like four and two last or two seasons ago? After six? Yeah, they were four and two. I don't buy it.

[Maddie]

Draft time not happening. Time to dig into the mock drafts that are always wrong. That's the problem. Every mock draft is wrong all the time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, because all it takes is one gm, one owner to like a guy too much or think a guy is more than he is and then it fucks up the whole top 10 and then everything's just distorted from there.

[Maddie]

Yeah, they're fun to do, they're fun to look at. They're just know that they're always wrong and they're a source of great entertainment. This was sent by Garrison who says look how far this team's come. After week two came to its all familiar conclusion, I was hopeless. They got the quarterback with the number one overall pick, the offensive genius. They bought an O line and somehow it looked the same. Same bears 02. Destitute run game, left tackle woes, bad play calling. My hopes for the year went from maybe we can flirt with a wild card to dear God, please let the quarterback develop. Well, how about 11 and 6? How about NFC north champions? A win over the packers in the playoffs. Top shelf, O line. Ben Johnson turning the team around. Caleb freaking Williams. I cannot believe he plays for the Bears. He is by astronomical measures the best quarterback in Bears history. I cannot watch to make this dude make near impossible throws and palpitation inducing comebacks for many years to come in what's going to be remembered as the era of revival. The Bears are back and they're fun to watch. He said. I struggle with depression and it's just nice that Bears football can actually be a solace from that. Thanks Garrison. Good for you. And I hate to end on a down note when it comes to reading the emails. Oh, but I wanted to read this from Nicholas.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I mean you are contractually obligated to take the fun out of things.

[Maddie]

So you know what? I know what I do and I try to do it well. So this is from Nicholas. He says regarding your comments on the return of Jonathan Toews and the ovation that he received and you said, are people not still angry? Yes, I am still angry, writes Nicholas. I am a victim of repeated sexual assault as an adult. The reason I say repeated is because it went on for 18 months while I was sick, in pain and being blackmailed to do it. When I heard about the Kyle beach story, it was a major factor in my letting people know what had happened, though not right away. Family and friends would make comments. Well, why now? Why didn't he come forward sooner? People who I've seen March during the MeToo movement trying to justify how to maintain their fandom while processing the news. I kept the secret another two years. My family never understood why I didn't want Blackhawks merchandise or want to go to a game. I kept quiet until keeping my secret caused a total mental breakdown. Before I go on, please know I got real help. Since starting trauma therapy, I have lost important weight. I've had two major hernias fixed. I started what has becoming for me a mildly successful podcast. I grew up playing hockey. I wept in 2010. My family loves the Hawks. I still try to love them. But when I see the logo and hear the songs, even seeing Jim Cornelis at the Bears game, I think about Kyle Beach. I think about how his captain and his teammates thought it was funny that a 19 year old was being raped over and over. I'm not Kyle beach, but after three years of trauma therapy, I still get angry when people act like it's only on the victim to do the right thing while everyone else gets to pass judgment. People will never know the courage it took that man to tell his story publicly, Dan, like you do, I try to remember. Everyone involved is gone. Connor Bedard and his teammates are a different generation. And then something like Monday night happens. People standing and clapping for all those minutes wrecked me. I am a sports fan. I love history and traditions, especially in Chicago. But my mind fixated on one thought about Jonathan Toews. He was the fucking coward captain. This is that Paterno, that willful cognitive disassociation. Not my guy, not my team. Maybe it's foolish to still want to believe that this still matters, but it should. Thanks for sharing, Nicholas. I appreciate it. And to whatever extent it it helped you to write that and put it out there, I certainly appreciate it. So like I say, I hate to end Friday Feedback Friday on that. But it was, it's important and there it is. So I will now let you know, Russ Armstrong probably kill me for this, but he's the owner of Chicago Window Guys. And especially when it is this cold. What?

[Dan Bernstein]

Nothing.

[Maddie]

Well, did you see by the way, at the Golden Globes that they did a whole produced bit about inappropriate commercial reads in podcasts? Did you see it? No. You clearly did.

[Dan Bernstein]

I must have missed it.

[Maddie]

Yeah, it's fantastic. It was a Nikki Glaser thing where before they gave the award for podcasting, they did a whole setup bit with podcasters just about how difficult it is to make transitions to the serious things discussed to what your, what your sponsors are selling.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe I saw some, maybe I didn't see the whole thing. But I remember there was a part where she was like, you know, the podcasters asked the important questions, the ones, you know, the really important, meaningful questions. And it was Amy Poehler asking Gwyneth Paltrow like what time she likes to have dinner.

[Maddie]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Eat dinner at like 4:45 or 5:00pm.

[Maddie]

That was part of it.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then there was just seeing bits.

[Maddie]

And pieces of it. Yes. And then there was also an aspect of like and really uncomfortable segues into the ad reads. So it is really, really cold out and you can tell if your furnace keeps clicking on all the time. It might be a reason for getting new windows because the really good windows hold all of that heat in and then in the summer when it's hot outside, they hold all your cool air in. And Russ Armstrong is the owner of Chicago Window Guys and he can make sure that you have the right windows for your house. He comes out, he will measure, he'll talk to you about the windows that you want and then they set up an installation time and then his people come out and do that. It's his crew, the same crew that installed my windows are going to install your windows. Russ has a price match guarantee. They'll make sure you don't fall for one of these. Buy one, get one free sales gimmicks. It's just the best product and the best price guaranteed. 847-302-9171. You can check out the five star reviews that he's [e-mail] and you can ask when other people, when you're getting quotes, say, hey, who's installing my windows? These other companies aren't going to to know because they use third parties, they use subcontracted labor. And if you want to make sure that you know who the people are who are going to be inside and outside your house for a day or two days. That's where Chicago window guys comes in. Because they know that these are people who work in Russ's crew all the time. 847-302-9171 chicago window guys.com.

[Dan Bernstein]

Alrighty. All right.

[Maddie]

Now, you asked me. This was your idea. You asked me to do this, and I realized going into it, I've never done this before. So I. I think you. This is not the committee. This was just you, Correct?

[Dan Bernstein]

This is just me. Yeah. So this is our. Our top 10 favorite sports movies of all time. So just our favorite individual sports movies of all time. And here's what I did for myself. So I said no research was allowed, that if I can't think of the movie by sitting down and thinking through sports movies, that it shouldn't be on the list.

[John]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I shouldn't have to be. Have my memory jog that. Oh, my God. Yeah, I loved that movie. If I couldn't think about it on my own, then it wasn't going to make the list. So no research. Then I just looked at a few different things. The pure entertainment value, like for me as the individual consumer, how entertained was I? The second parameter was the movie stayed with me. Obviously that would be in my memory, and it stayed with me. Whether it was comedy or emotionally driven, that movie stayed with me after watching it. And the third thing, and probably the biggest factor for making my top 10 repeat watching movies that I have gone down and deliberately sat down to watch multiple times. Okay.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

So doing all of that, my initial list, Dan, had 41 movies on it. So I had to. I had to narrow for. I got 41 down to 17, and then the 17. I created my. My top 10 of those 17 movies. Okay.

[Maddie]

Okay. Let me also just mention, as I'm going to react to yours and mention any crossovers. What. I also had another rule that I applied here.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. What was yours?

[Maddie]

No documentaries.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Yeah, no, that's. Yeah, I didn't even have a documentary.

[Maddie]

On because there's a lot of sports documentaries, a lot of them that I've really enjoyed, but I did not include documentaries in my list.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we could probably do a sports documentary. We could probably do documentaries, period, as a, As a category one time. But yeah, none of mine are documentaries. These are all. All films. So do you want. Do you want my seven honorable mentions or should I just do my. My top 10?

[Maddie]

Well, it's up to you. I have a series of honorable mentions.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Then, yeah, then I'll do mine. If you have some, I'll do mine.

[Maddie]

Okay. Because I think I just want to see. We might end up with my whole list being done by the time. All said and done, I'm going to see how many crossovers we have.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm going to say no on that. I think. I think we're a little bit different in watching movies. And then the fact that I know that there's some that you haven't seen, I haven't seen.

[Maddie]

Correct, Correct. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. So my honorable mention. So these were the 41 narrowed down to 17, and then the 17 made my top 10. These are the seven that didn't make it.

[American Express Announcer]

It.

[Maddie]

Okay. Creed. Also an honorable mention for me. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Really hard not to include it, but I didn't. Friday Night Lights.

[Maddie]

Not on my list. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know this is a terrible movie, but I absolutely love it, and I've probably seen it 300 times. Kevin Costner's For Love of the Game. Yeah, it's terrible, but I love it. I mean, it's. It's so bad. But you got. You got Mr. Bro. John C. Reilly is his, you know, work spouse. It's just I. And. And he's not very believable as a major league catcher.

[Maddie]

I just. I just remember that I did an interview. Do you remember the interview we. That I did with Costner about this movie?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't.

[Maddie]

And he got mad because I asked him about Water World and he got all pissy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's right.

[Maddie]

I do remember that. Water World made a lot of money in Asia.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Okay. Of course you had to ask about Water World. Yes, I know. I do remember that.

[Maddie]

Money in Asia for Love of the Game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's what I'm gonna guess is probably on your top 10. And it was really hard not to put it on for me. And it was slap shot.

[Maddie]

It's my number one.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is it really?

[Maddie]

I'll explain why when we get there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, another honorable mention caddyshack for me. My number nine, Cinderella Man. Didn't see it or didn't include it.

[Maddie]

I don't remember if I saw it. And I.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, then you didn't see it if you don't remember. And then my final honorable mention is remember the Titans, which I know you haven't seen.

[Maddie]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, here's my top 10.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number 10 is the great story of two brothers, ultimate fighters. Tom Hardy's in it. Joel Edgerton, warrior, number 10. Never saw it.

[Maddie]

Ever heard of it? No.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's a great movie. And it's a great brother story too. Number nine. I have a tie here because I couldn't, I couldn't pick either one of these horse movies. But Seabiscuit and Secretariat are number nine.

[Maddie]

Horse movie.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Maddie]

Okay. I considered Seabiscuit and it did not make my list. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number eight, the Jackie Robinson movie. 42.

[Maddie]

Okay. I didn't see it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seriously? Oh, I think you should watch it. I think you would. I think you would enjoy it. It's great acting and it's just. It's a really good story. All right, that is one I've watched more than one time. And it's emotionally every time, just very driven. Number seven. I know one you haven't seen Miracle.

[Maddie]

Correct. Don't want to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number six for me is Moneyball.

[Maddie]

Okay, not on my list.

[Dan Bernstein]

Even honorable mentions or.

[Maddie]

No, no, no. Very, very good movie. I liked the movie a lot. I just didn't make my list of favorites. I like the book a lot too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's my top five. Now number five is Hoosiers.

[Maddie]

That's my number six.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number four is Field of Dreams. And yeah, I can't believe you'd say that about Field of Dreams, but being able to stand in the outfield of the actual movie sites and have, have a catch with my kids, very, very cool. Number four, Field of Dreams. Number three is Major League.

[Maddie]

It's my number three.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number two is A League of Their Own.

[Maddie]

That's my number 10.

[Dan Bernstein]

And my number one favorite sports movie of all time is Rocky.

[Maddie]

Rocky's my number two.

[Dan Bernstein]

There we go.

[Maddie]

See? Is there a little more crossover than you probably expected?

[Dan Bernstein]

There is, yeah. And similarities in numbers too.

[Maddie]

Yeah, not bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so, yeah, real quick. Warrior, Seabiscuit, Secretariat. Get 9. 42. Miracle, Moneyball, Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, Major League, A League of Their Own, and Rocky.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was narrowed down from 41 original movies that I just thought of on my own sitting at the kitchen counter.

[Maddie]

I did this. I did this myself and then cross check to make sure I didn't forget something.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Maddie]

And I also then last night wanted to see if my wife of nearly 27 years, we began dating in September of 95. I wanted to see if she could get all of my top 10.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, how did she do?

[Maddie]

She did eventually. I mean, she, she, she the only. Though there is one. She did not get my number five. Just because it's not one that I sit around and watch a lot. It's kind of hard to find. I'd actually love to see it again. The more I thought about it. I realized it was a long time since I've seen it and I really want to see it again because it's so good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Was it dodgeball?

[Maddie]

That's honorable mention.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is it really okay?

[Maddie]

Oh, absolutely, it is. Oh, absolutely. So again, I will say on my list of 41, there were no documentaries. Yes. And I have a special honorable mention for a non sports movie. A sports movie, I believe, that masquerades as a non sports movie because it really, at its core, you would. Nobody would reasonably say that's a sports film except for people who really know sports. Well.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Maddie]

And know what was going on in that Movie. Whiplash. Okay. J.K. simmons wins the Academy Award playing Fletcher, the. The band instructor. Elite band at this elite musical school. And he's Bobby Knight. So he's basically playing Bobby Knight. And it's all the tropes of the abusive coach trying to get the best out of a talented athlete. It just so happens to be jazz drumming. But I just included that as a sports movie because I can and I gave that an honorable mention. The other honorable mentions on my list are Creed, which just reinvented the boxing movie almost miraculously. I just remember feeling just so excited watching it. And the way they did the cards that come in where they don't have to waste expository time explaining who the boxers are. There was just really cool stuff and it was fun. And it was in some ways the arrival of Michael B. Jordan as a star. Also honorable mention for dodgeball. There's only one part of that I think that I would like to get rid of, and it's when Lance Armstrong shows up at the end and gives his speech about beating cancer and all that stuff. And there's that. If I could just excise the Lance Armstrong part from it. Love that movie. Honorable mention also for Breaking Away, which I remember seeing as a 10 year old or 9 year old and just loving it and feeling this little tiny movie. It was Daniel Stern's first movie. I think it was Dennis Quaid's second or third. There were all kinds of great actors. And Barbara Berry, who plays Dennis Christopher's mother, Dave Stoller's mother in the movie, was nominated for Academy Award. Paul Dooley, who plays the father. It was just so many special little performances and it won the Academy Award for best original screenplay. And that was the bike racing movie Breaking Away. Also honorable mention for Darren Arnofsky's the Wrestler. And while I know professional wrestling is technically not a sport, that's a sports movie. And the performance By Mickey Rourke and by Marisa Tomei. Amazing. It also brought up those people who are angry at us for not having Randy the Ram and his Ram Jam on our list of all time Rams. You're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that was a miss.

[Maddie]

It was an oversight. That was my bad. I should have thought of it. Especially because Ram Jam was on the list for Black Betty and his wrestling move that the climax of the movie, spoiler alert. Would be him on the top rope coming in with the Ram Jam. Does he die? Does he not? We can debate that all day. But the wrestler, a companion piece, interestingly enough, with the movie Black Swan, that was about ballet dancing with a very similar climax. And in a lot of ways they are. They are parallel films, the two of them by the same director.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that was on my list of 41.

[Maddie]

Also honorable mention for the Fighter, Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg and the story of Irish Mickey Ward and the Ward Gotti fights. And that was a half a comedy sometimes because of how outlandishly Christian Bale played Dickie Eklund, but loved that movie. The Fighter deserves an honorable mention. And last honorable mention, Blades of Glory and never saw it. Oh God. It may be in its own way the best of the that era of Will Ferrell movies. I mean Anchorman is the best, the best character. But I would say Chess, Michael Michaels and his relationship with skating and with everything else and his story. That movie does the best job maybe of any sports movie, I believe, of incorporating pre produced television pieces. What they do in Blades of Glory with not just the graphics but fantastic voiceover work by Jim Lampley that makes everything sound big and sportsy. Scotty Hamilton is fantastic in the movie. All of the actual broadcasters that they use to do their jobs don't seem out of place. They don't seem uncomfortable. They don't seem to kind of be going through the motions. What makes that movie work is how they use TV production to make everything seem. And there's so many of the best comedy moments come for the pre produced TV pieces. So honorable mention for Blades of Glory, number 10 is a league of Their Own, which is a historical fiction piece because it really did happen. The All American Girls Baseball association or Baseball League was a thing. Baseball league, yep. The Rockford Peaches existed. And I am proud to have had the opportunity to interview the actual Dottie on whom Geena Davis character was based on who is a great baseball player. And we did something years ago at Marinelli Field in Rockford where original members of the Rockford Peaches were still there. And got to learn a lot in talking to them and being a part of that. But just a terrific movie. A League of Their Own is my number 10. Number nine is Caddyshack. It's. It's a mess of a movie. It's a total mess made by a group of people, many of whom are in their comic prime and just out of their skulls on cocaine and other drugs during the entire making of that film. And there's a wonderful piece that was written by the Tribune's Chris Borelli years ago about what Caddyshack was and how different actors were doing different things. Ted Knight was doing sitcom acting. Bill Murray was doing sketch comedy with a char. Rodney Dangerfield was doing stand up one liners. And yet somehow. And Chevy Chase was being an asshole. And yet somehow everything has worked in a way that maybe nobody expected it would. Culturally, pretty incredible stuff. And I will say when you're showing it, we're so used to seeing the television versions. If you're bringing your kids in, you want, hey, you want to see Caddyshack? Don't forget about the nudity and everything else that occurred that I had forgotten that Lacey Underalls and. And your guy Danny Noonan have a very steamy sex scene where they show every. A lot.

[Dan Bernstein]

I, for. I still haven't seen that. The Chevy Chase documentary that's on cnn, I believe. And I don't plan on seeing it.

[Maddie]

I don't know that I want to spend that much time with him.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't. And I obviously I've heard that, you know, he's an asshole and he's a self admitted asshole. I just don't know if I want to see it on display. I'm good just having the movies.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And having those memories of Chevy Chase and Saturday Night Live and I'm good with that. I don't need that to be distorted or changed.

[Maddie]

That's what I mean. I'm just, I'm. I'm really not sure I want to spend all that much time with Chevy Chase. Oh, wait, hold on. I just realized I missed an honorable mention.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who?

[Maddie]

Rocky 4.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's the Drago one.

[Maddie]

Yeah, yeah, it's the Drago one. And it's garbage, but I love it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's pure garbage.

[Maddie]

It's a guilty pleasure. And I'll never ever forget Gene Siskel giving it four stars. Gene Siskel gave, gave that movie four stars. But if it's on, I watch it, it's quotable. Rocky 4 got an honorable mention.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, so Rocky, Rocky 2. Multiple watches.

[Maddie]

That's the only. Okay, well, I'm not going to give it away. So number nine was Caddyshack. Okay. Number eight, Rocky 3. Okay, that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's clever, Lang.

[Maddie]

Yeah, it's. It's Clubber Lang. It's the great scene with Hulk Hogan as Thunder Lips. Yep. And Clubber Lang was just. Just nasty. Just. I mean, I don't know where you go from the, The. The figure of, Of Carl Weathers you thought was like the perfect foil for Rocky to have Apollo Creed and that the quickness and the body and everything else and to come up with somebody as terrifying as Clubber lang and what Mr. T was able to embody. I remember just an eye of the tiger was great. So I know it's all cheese now, and the running on the beach scene and all that. I understand it's all cheese now, but at the time, I loved that movie. Number seven, the original Karate Kid.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that was. It was tough for me not to include it, but I just. I couldn't.

[Maddie]

Is it okay that I loved it? I have enjoyed. I did have not watched Cobra Kai. I watched a couple episodes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I watched the whole thing. I watched the whole series. I love Karate Kid.

[Maddie]

It.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's. It's great. It was here. It was on my list of 41 again, if I couldn't think of it on my own, but it was there. And it was. It was hard not to have it in the animal mentions or the, the top 10. I mean, I could have. I could have listed 31 honorable mentions.

[Maddie]

Honestly, I almost did the, The Karate Kid. Is it. Is it completely formulaic? Yeah. Does it follow the. Essentially a Rocky kind of trope with the love story and everything else and, and the, the special coach that you had? Yeah, sure, it does. To the point where apparently the song you're the best around, nothing's gonna ever keep you down was intended for use in Rocky iii.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay.

[Maddie]

But it wasn't, and they had to. And they used it. They repurposed it for Karate Kid, and there's even a lyric in there that makes a boxing reference. So I, I don't. I don't remember exactly what it is, but if you really listen to the lyrics, they were hoping you wouldn't notice that there was. It was clearly written for boxing and they just reused it for the Karate Kid. But that's number seven.

[Dan Bernstein]

Have you seen the comedian that he does a bit on. On the Karate Kid and the, The. What's the final kick? The Crane has been about the Crane kick.

[Maddie]

I Don't think I've seen that. I have seen the long form video that someone edited that makes the case that Daniel LaRusso is actually the villain and Johnny Lawrence is actually the hero. That's fascinating.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it sounds fascinating. Talking about sucking the fun out of things. But the comedian. I'll find this bit and I'll send it to you after, after we're done recording today, when Mr. Miyagi was like, you can't, you know, you can't defend the crane. And he goes on this whole bit about how he thinks you can defend the crane by not walking into the kick.

[Maddie]

Yeah, that's. Yeah, I don't think Johnny was. That's not teaching tape that Johnny gave. Right. It's not optimal crane kick.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, can't defend. He's like, oh, I disagree. Can defend.

[Maddie]

Yeah, don't put your face right.

[Dan Bernstein]

The guy's just don't walk into the kick. So I'll fight, I'll send to it. It's really enjoyable.

[Maddie]

That's good.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Maddie]

Thank you.

[Dan Bernstein]

So number seven.

[Maddie]

That's number seven. Number six, as we mentioned, is Hoosiers.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Maddie]

Again, sappy and formulaic, but elevated by any number of overachieving performances from every kid who was in that. Who they weren't. There weren't a lot of real actors there. It's, it's, it's a victory of casting. I think they just did a really good job with who they put in some of those roles and with the period detail, all that they did. And then at the end when they have to go to the big city and defeat the scary black people. Oh, look at them. Scary black people. Will they be victorious? But of course, you know, they will be victorious because it was based on the true story of Bobby Plump, who is alive, by the way. Bobby Plump. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, obviously. Great, great movie. And interesting note, there's a basketball court we go play at a lot in the Lake Barrington. The Canlon Sports Complex.

[Maddie]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's an official there named Kenyatta. And I see I've gotten to know him and, you know, we always say hello to each other, always talk. Really good guy. Found out last time I saw him there that his brother was actually in that movie and played against the Hoosiers team.

[Maddie]

Oh, at the end. Yeah. In Hinkle. He was one of the scary black people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, he was.

[Maddie]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Pretty cool.

[Maddie]

That's so cool. Yeah. Because I, I still don't think they actually won that game somehow. There's, there's, there's no way.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I'm, I'm. I haven't gotten to a point where I want to look up the actual history of it to see what really happened, like Rudy and whatnot. So I'm, I'm good with the. I'm good with the fairy tale.

[Maddie]

That's one thing that. When I was doing this with Beth last night, she's thinking about. She's like, okay. She goes, you still haven't seen Rudy, have you? And I said, no. And she goes, even I've seen Rudy.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's. It's an issue for you. But whatever. It's.

[Maddie]

Enjoy. Have, have. Have fun seeing that. So number six on my list is Hoosiers. Number five is the original the Longest Yard. Okay. This was the Burt Reynolds and Eddie Fisher and Bernadette Peters and Ed Lauderdale and Richard Keel and Michael Conrad and so many others. I love Longest Yard. I've never seen the Adam Sandler remake, and I always am sad. It's when you're. I'm going through the guy like, oh, Longest Yard is on. And it's never the original.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's never going to be.

[Maddie]

It's never going to be.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you're going to have to find that on your own to watch.

[Maddie]

It's this story of Paul Crew, as. You know, Burt Reynolds as Paul Crew. This, who gets sent to prison, and he's a football player, football great. Who ends up organizing the prisoners against the guards in the big football game. There's a wonderful subversive element to it. There is a. That I find I found increasingly enjoyable over the years. And they set the heroes and the villains up really well. It's also. The football's good that you sometimes think back on these older movies. They do a really good job. They play hard. They're actually hitting guys. And the building of the team, the montage is the scenes of how they put everything together and there's real players in the game, just like sort of Adam Sandler did with Bill Romanowski. That is indeed Ray Nitschke, who is playing for the guards in the game in the.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Adam Sandler one. So, you know, Burt Reynolds makes a cameo in that.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Chris Rock is in it, Bob Sapp, Terry Crews, Brian's Bosworth. I mean, there's a. There's a lot of guys. Michael Irvin is in it. A lot of guys.

[Maddie]

Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

It. It's. It's fine. I mean, the original one is better, but, you know, the Adam Sandler one is. Is probably. I'm sure when Sandler's movie came out, there was a whole generation or two of people that didn't even know that, that it was a remake.

[Maddie]

I, I know that's the case. Yeah, I know. But I think I said Eddie Fisher. Eddie Albert. I apologize. That was.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, you did say Eddie Fisher.

[Maddie]

I did. I. Yeah, yeah. But no, there are, there were people also that you probably would see and be like, oh, why do I know that guy? Who is that guy? Because guys like Jim Hampton, who plays Caretaker, and, and others who were just sort of movie people of the time. But you had Sonny Six. Killer was there. Ray Nitschke played Bogdansky. Joe Cap, Joe Mushroom Cap was Walking Boss. So there are, there are old time football guys who are out there. It's probably part of the, the football was so good. Longest Yard, number five. Number four is a movie that I've. I've come to like for different reasons than perhaps initially. But number four is Bull Durham. And Bull Durham meant a lot because it was being filmed when I was in school in Durham and there were open calls for extras for Duke students. And there are several scenes where there are people, classmates of mine and others who were there and out there and as extras in some of these scenes that Ron Shelton, the director, was on campus a lot and he gave multiple talks about moviemaking and he talked to people in the drama department, et cetera. So seeing some of those sites, seeing where they're playing pool at a place where we used to go play pool was in Durham Athletic park was where then the actual Durham Bulls played. And we would go as students, we would go to actual Durham bullshit Bulls games in that park. And then to see a movie kind of built around that it's, it's a romance that happens to be about baseball. And I don't know if anybody is, is going to be sort of at, at, at, at their peak like Susan Sandon is in that movie. I think it is. I'm not a huge Kevin Costner fan, but he's as likable as he can be there. My quibble has to do with Tim Robbins's pitching motion, which they never quite got figured out or got solved.

[Dan Bernstein]

Made it look real at all.

[Maddie]

No, no, it's, it's not. But it ends up good enough. We all know the famous scenes from that movie, but it really is. And that's another one too. Another one. If you're showing to kids, there's, there's a lot of fooling around outside of the baseball field that you should probably be aware for Those of us that showed our kids sports movies at a young age. Although my number one is probably not my greatest parent and parenting moment. Number three, Major League. They just got it that just at the time and the place and also with the casting and the people that we remember in those roles. It's not everything in it. It's not a consequential or important movie, but it just works. And being held together by a Randy Newman theme and score and having Randy Newman do the music. I know that he's. He's done a lot of important movies, but the fact that he's also done both Major League and Three Amigos means that Randy Newman has been very important to me in ways that I probably didn't know. But number three, for continuing watchability. The only thing that bothers me about that movie obviously is the leering Native American face logo that's still there and plastered on everything, as you see, Chief Wahoo. And there's no self awareness about that at the time. Fine. Number two is Rocky. Another movie that is a love story that happens to be about boxing. But we didn't know what we were watching when we walked in and sat down and didn't know that that was going to be an all time movie about a sports underdog and about what it meant to come up short of victory but still have won in ways that are more important. And that's spawned the series that has multiple appearances on my list here. But the original Rocky that won best Picture over some very significant and well deserving films that year. Yeah, correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I think what was amazing about it was not only the lifespan, that the Rocky series has had, some real big misses and some great ones, but then to be able to spin off the Creed series and make it believable and work, and then to have Creed perform so well as a movie, it was just. It was really great. So it really speaks to going back to the original Rocky and then being able to spin off now three Creed movies, which I think have all been really entertaining.

[Maddie]

Do you want to know the other movies that were nominated for best picture that year that Rocky beat out?

[Dan Bernstein]

Give it to me, Nate.

[Maddie]

Bound for Glory.

[John]

Okay.

[Maddie]

All the President's Men.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, wow.

[Maddie]

Network and Taxi Driver.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay. Yep, they were okay.

[Maddie]

Pretty good.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's some decent ones.

[Maddie]

Yeah, pretty good. Not bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, if I'm Rocky, I wouldn't brag about it, but whatever.

[Maddie]

And my number one sports, My number one favorite sports movie of all time. And this was easy. I think I wrote this one down at number One before I did anything else is Slapshot. It's a. And what I love about it is how much fun it is to understand how many people don't know what they like about it and about how you still have people who are lionizing the Hanson brothers. And why do you like Slap Shot? Oh, putting on the foil. Oh, Hanson brothers. Oh, they're punching each other. It's hockey. And they get in fights and they piss out Eddie Shore. Piss out old time hockey. It's not about that. That's in there. And it's fun. Don't get me wrong. All that stuff is fun, but that's not what Slap Shot is about. Written by Nancy Dowd, whose brother, I believe his name is Ned Dowd, actually appears in the movie as Anyone. Anyone. Ogie Ogletorp. That she wrote this as a satire is a scathing critique of hockey culture, of the hockey machismo, of all of the fighting and everything. And especially when we're looking at what's going on right now with. With heated rivalry and sort of the reckoning that's happening, we hope, across hockey right now. It's interesting to go back and watch Slap Shot with that kind of context, but the star power of Paul Newman and the ability of everybody involved to skate and play that the action moves really well. Michael Ontkene, who plays Ned Braden, was a college hockey star, I think, at University of New Hampshire. So the people out there can play well enough to make it really work, and it holds up. But the critique of the beat writer, the critique of the play by play guy, every little bit of it, the ownership and the largest, larger socioeconomic forces of a Rust Belt mill town that is coming to grips with a changing global economy, everything that goes on in that movie and the statement that is eventually made about American bloodlust and another one about what it means to win something, you couple that with the moments, with the laughs, with the Hansen brothers, everything you take away, and the fact that the Charlestown Chiefs jersey is sweet, that their jerseys just look really, really cool and still look cool for that minor league team. They. For those of us who have been in minor league arenas and those of us who spent a lot of time around hockey arenas, you can smell that movie, the wet concrete and the slush and the ice and the diesel fumes of the bus. It is. It's just really vivid and it's absolutely hilarious. It is my number one sports movie, Slap Shot.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it was interesting. Rocky. I wrote that down before I did anything else, knowing that was my Number one, that wasn't even a debate. And then Slap Shot is special to me because it's one of three movies that my older brothers showed me.

[Maddie]

Me.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it was Slap Shot, Airplane and Blazing Saddles.

[Maddie]

You should give them some kind of award.

[Dan Bernstein]

And. Yeah, I'll never forget. Like, it was. It was deliberate. It was like, all right, it's time to sit down and watch. Watch some movies here for them. Here's one. Here's one. Yeah. So Blazing Saddles, Airplane, and then Slap Shot. So it's special that in that regard, good for them.

[Maddie]

I'm impressed. I'm proud of your brothers. That's good brothering.

[John]

That's.

[Maddie]

That is really good brothering. So. And actually, I think that there was more crossover on our list than maybe would be expected. But two Chicago white guys of the same generation maybe have some, you know, parallel. Even though we had very different upbringings, we clearly had enough. Enough of a shared one to at least be in the same. At least vibing these in a very similar way.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, for sure. No, it was good. Yeah. I think the only thing that. And yours. Breaking Away, was that a mention or a top 10?

[Maddie]

Yeah, that was an honorable mention. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's still one I have.

[Maddie]

I haven't seen, so. And the only one I could. There's one that I considered that I didn't give an honorable mention because it's just not worth it. Do you remember the movie Gus, about the field goal kicking mule?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I. No, I don't.

[Maddie]

The guy would put the ball down and. And. And. And Gus would kick.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm kind of glad I don't remember it. Gus movie, 1970. Oh, yeah. No. Oh, God, no. I don't even. It's a Disney movie.

[Maddie]

Yeah. No, I just remember seeing it as a little kid.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, is that Mr. Furley?

[Maddie]

I think Don Knotts is in it, isn't he? Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't remember Ed Asner.

[Maddie]

So we're going to do this. We're going to challenge ourselves with some of these top tens for Friday feedback. Friday as we keep going, and we will. We're. This. It's fun to do. It was definitely the. The activity. The process of trying to figure it out was fun, but I think there's. There's a lot of different ways that we'll be able to take this on Fridays. And I look forward to it. I do. I'm also looking forward to championship weekend because there's going to be some really good football. And. And I.

[Dan Bernstein]

And.

[Maddie]

And you'll know when I get to My DBU picks exactly what. What I'm. What I'm looking at specifically. But it's championship weekend. The super bowl is coming. My bookie is where you turn bet, bankroll. Everyone's watching. Everybody's got to take. And here we go. The props matter as much as the score. Use my bookie. When the super bowl prop board comes out. Check it. It's deep, it's fun to play, and it's the reason why my bookie gets talked about on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Every year when the game rolls around, there's a time to get in. It's right now. It's before these conference championships. Play one account, one wallet. You get registered, you make your deposit, use the promo code DBU, and your first bets covered up to 500 bucks. And then if it doesn't hit, you have the bet back, bonus token, and you can run it back. One account, one wallet. As I mentioned, it's all in one place, so you can bet whatever you want. The spread. Live bets, there's casino bets you can make during commercials. Everything is in that one place at MyBookie AG. So don't just watch these or the big game. Make it pay with my bookie. And that brings us to our DBU picks, presented by my bookie. Fire away.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so looking up at championship weekend here, I'm just going to pick the two teams I think are going to the super bowl that are going to win these two games outright. Didn't even look at what the.

[John]

The.

[Dan Bernstein]

The numbers were. I just. I have Seattle playing New England in the Super Bowl. So I went and looked at my bookie AG And I saw that Seattle was laying two and a half. So we're going to take Seattle laying two and a half at home.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then we're going to take New England on the road, laying five and a half. So that is Seattle minus two and a half, New England minus five and a half. That will be Super Bowl 60, Seattle taking on New England. And I said in yesterday's show about the massive snowstorm moving through the south, how it would impact New England. In my brain, I had New England as the 1 seed. Obviously, this game is in Denver. So Seattle at home minus two and a half. New England minus five, five and a half in Denver against your guy, Jason Statham.

[Maddie]

I am doubling down and tripling down on Jarrett Stidham. It's not Jason Statham. It is Jarrett Stidham. And I'm the guy who thought he would be much better at football when he came out of college. And I really liked him. And you know what it was? It was bad scouting. It was bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

You said mvp.

[Maddie]

I did not say mvp. Stop it. I know. I did not. I said he's going to be a good NFL quarterback and he has not been a good NFL quarterback until this week. I figured that afforded this opportunity for me not to stand behind my guy Jarrett Stidham would be bad form. Yeah. And I'm. So what I'm going to do is for your starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, I am taking him over 19 and a half completions. I am taking him over half a touchdown and I am taking him over 181 yards. I could have gotten some astronomical odds if I just goose that number up. 200, 216, 220, 280. But I'm not going to do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

For under on touchdowns.

[Maddie]

Was half, was, was, was a half a touchdown. Wow. So that's where I'm going tells you.

[Dan Bernstein]

What they think of him.

[Maddie]

It probably means he's bad. I understand that. Believe me. When I looked at that, I said, well, that's gonna be easy. And they said, well, they wouldn't have put it there if it were easy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct.

[Maddie]

So. But I'm doing.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're not in the business of giving money away.

[Maddie]

Well, they're giving it to me, damn it. Because my guy is gonna show everybody that I was right. It's all about me. It's not about him. It is about. I will be redeemed. I almost said Jason Statham, ass wipe. Jarrett Stidham over nineteen and a half completions. He will throw for over a half a touchdown and over 181 yards. So there you have it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hope he doesn't finish at half a touchdown.

[Maddie]

Yeah, that'd be bad. That'd be bad because that would be a push this week. Also tomorrow night, Chicago honors legend Derrick Rose's jersey goes to the rafters. And Giordano's is celebrating a moment that means everything to this city. From MVP chants to unforgettable nights at the United Center. This one is for Chicago. Derrick Rose's jersey retirement. A homegrown legend, a Chicago icon will be celebrating with Giordano as the Bulls honor one of the greatest ever to wear the jersey. They've dubbed it the MV Pizza. And the new pie is a Giordano salute to the youngest MVP in NBA history. One of the city's most influential sports figures. What is the MV Pizza? Well, it celebrates the Chicago native's hefty career with the Bulls by stacking two hefty layers of Giordano's signature pepperoni and topping it all off with a drizzle of homemade Calabrian hot honey. Order yours now@giordano's.com. the best honey that is today's Dan Bernstein unfiltered. It is presented by my bookie. It has been brought to you in part by Chicago window guys. Call 847-302-9171 and check out their five star reviews at ChicagoNowguys.com.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports.

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