What’s up everyone? Welcome to day eight of the Sportcodex Sports Movies brackets, the final day of the first round. Today we look at the matchups of seeds 29-32 vs 36-33. Before we get onto that, let’s look at the results from yesterdays matchups.

None of the matchups were particularly close, the closest being a 60/40 split.

First up, we had the 25th seed He Got Game taking out the 40th seed Invictus pretty convincingly, getting 62.5% of the votes.

The 26th seed A League Of Their Own got smoked by the “underdog” The Blind Side, with the latter picking up 75% of the votes.

The closest matchup from yesterday, the 38th seed Goon beat out the 27th seed Eddie The Eagle by the aforementioned 60-40 margin.

Finally, our biggest winner of yesterday, the 28th seed Jerry Maguire dominated the poor boys from The Sandlot, getting nearly 82% of votes.

Now, onto the final matchups of Round One!

29. The Color Of Money vs 36. The Rookie

The Color Of Money is a 1986 film directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese and stars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. It is a sequel to the 1961 film The Hustler where retired Pool hustler “Fast Eddie” Felson has decided he wants to get back into the hustlin’ game by taking on a protege, Vincent Lauria.

The Rookie is a 2002 baseball movie directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Founder) and stars Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths and Jay Hernandez. It follows Jimmy Morris, a former minor league pitcher who had to retire due to a shoulder injury. Fast forward 12 years and he is a high school coach who gets coerced into trying out for a major league team and reviving his dream.

The Color of Money has an average RT score of 81%, compared to The Rookie which has an average RT score of 77%. The majority of films in this entire bracket that have had a big discrepancy between the audience and critics score have seemingly favoured the audience. Ironically, both of these films have large discrepancies but are more favourited by critics. I am especially surprised at that for a Scorsese film.

30. Rocky vs 35. The Longest Yard (1974)

Rocky is a 1976 boxing drama directed by John G. Avildsen (The Karate Kid trilogy) and stars Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire and Carl Weathers. It follows Rocky Balboa, an unknown amateur boxer who is inexplicably given a shot at Apollo Creed’s Heavyweight Title. You guys should all know this though? I mean, this is one of the most famous movies ever. C’mon now.

The Longest Yard is a 1974 football comedy directed by Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?) and stars Burt Reynolds. It was filmed on location in Georgia State Prison and follows a bunch of convicts who are challenged to a game of football against the guards team.

Rocky has an average RT score of 81%, compared to The Longest Yard which has an average RT score of 77%. Rocky being so low is criminal in my books. It has the biggest discrepancy between audience and critic score in the entire bracket. It’s critic score is 93% whereas the audience score is only 69%. Also, in case anyone is wondering why this version of Longest Yard got in and not the Sandler version, it’s because this one has the higher RT scores.

31. Caddyshack vs 34. Cool Runnings

Caddyshack is a 1980 comedy directed by Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Vacation) and stars Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield. It follows the happenings at an exclusive Country Club, specifically on the golf course. The majority of the film is based around cocky golfer Ty Webb, an eccentric groundskeeper at war with a gopher and a crazy, wise-cracking man named Al Czervik.

Cool Runnings is a 1993 Disney film directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, The Meg) and stars John Candy, Leon and Doug E. Doug. It tells the true story of a Jamaican sprinter who is disqualified from the Olympic Games. So with the help of a dishonored coach, he helps form Jamaica’s first bobsled team.

Caddyshack has an average RT score of 80%, whereas Cool Runnings has an average RT score of 78.5%. I am predicting an upset here as I think Cool Runnings is just more well-known at this stage. Caddyshack almost seems forgotten in time, except for those who have seen it. If you can see it, I recommend it. It’s fantastic.

32. Whip It vs 33. Bend It Like Beckham

Whip It is a 2009 drama directed by and starring Drew Barrymore. Co-starring with her is Elliot Page and Kristen Wiig. It follows Bliss Cavendar, miserable living in small-town Bodeen, Texas, who discovers a love for Roller Derby.

Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 rom-com directed by Gurinder Chadha (Blinded by the Light, Bride & Prejudice) and stars Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). It follows Jess, an Indian living in London under the rule of strict parents who won’t let her play soccer. But she starts playing for a semi-pro club, which she hides from her parents, along with her growing feelings for her coach.

Whip It has an average RT score of 79%, compared to Bend It Like Beckham, which has an average RT score of 79% also. Whip It got the higher seed due to a higher audience score though. Interestingly, both these films are only one percent apart in critic score and audience score. Whip It has the higher audience score, Bend It has the higher critics score.

There we go. The final matchups for the first round. In the next couple of days, I will preview the entire second round and have the first four matchups ready to go. As always, follow along by following The Sportcodex on Twitter, so you can vote for your favourites.

Until next time, PEACE!