I’m not a big basketball fan, but I have to admit that I’ve succumbed to March Madness. Partly because I can’t escape all the basketball going on in my living room as my husband enjoys our brand new 47 inch LCD tv (yes, up until just a few weeks ago, we still had the old box tv) but mostly because my beloved alma mater, the FSU Seminoles have gotten to the sweet 16 (Go Noles!)

It’s been thrilling to watch every dramatic, suspenseful, nail biting second of the games and as I sat down to write the other night I thought about how movies that revolve around sports make such great stories.

And that led me to think of some of my favorite sports movies and what I loved most about them. So I picked one favorite movie from each sport:

Basketball: Hoosiers. This one was a no brainer for me. The absolute best basketball movie of all time for me is Hoosiers. Set in the 1950s in small town Indiana starring Gene Hackman, Dennis Hooper and Barbara Hershey. It’s got heart, soul and romance. I get teary eyed every time I see it.

Football: The Replacements. This is about a bunch of ex-players and semi-losers who fill in for the real players during a pro football players strike. Coincidentally, it also stars Gene Hackman, along with Keanu Reeves. It’s got heart, soul, laughs, and romance.

Hockey: Mystery, Alaska. If you’ve never seen this movie, then run out and rent it. I fell in love with Russell Crowe while watching this! It also stars Burt Reynolds. This film has heart, laughs, and romance (did I already say I fell in love with Russell Crowe in this film?)

Baseball: Bull Durham. This is probably the sexiest sports movie you’ll ever watch. And the funniest. I’m a huge Bull Durham fan (as a matter of fact my first novel- Bunco Babes Tell All- has a Bull Durham subplot to it). It stars Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon and has probably the best lines of almost any sports movie ever.

So what about you? What are some of your favorite sports movies?