NEW YORK, NY – November is usually a time when hockey and basketball fans are still in the honeymoon phase of a new season. 
The football playoff picture takes shape and fans in New York are either rooting for a few wins down the stretch to sneak into the playoffs or to lose out and maximize the team’s place in the draft. Things usually sour in mid-December (usually a lot earlier for basketball) around these parts.
But this year is different. With #COVID19 numbers spiking across the country, there are fears of more lockdowns to come. Everyone has election fatigue and we’re looking for some outlet. But football is the only sport on television at the moment. The NHL and NBA won’t be starting their seasons until 2021. So to get through this holiday season we are going to need something to watch. You could rewatch the entire Breaking Bad series for the third time. Or you could watch some of these forgotten sports(ish) movies and TV shows.
Arliss: This HBO sitcom starred Robert Wuhl as superstar sports agent Arliss Michaels. The show ran for seven seasons and featured plenty of hi-jinks and weekly cameos from real sports personalities. Definitely worth checking out or rediscovering while in between weeks of the NFL.
The Last Boy Scout: This buddy cop drama stars Bruce Willis as a private eye and Damon Wayans as a former quarterback. It’s a prototypical early 90s action drama. Halle Berry plays Wayans’ character’s stripper girlfriend. Worth revisiting if you haven’t seen it in a while.
https://youtu.be/WEJnD-5d8lM
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: It’s the movie that put Jim Carrey on the map. He plays the titular character who is called in to investigate the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins mascot and gets caught up in a plot to kidnap Dan Marino. Is this movie going to teach you anything new about life? No. Does it hold up after 26 years? Also no. But it’s worth checking out for a few laughs and for Tone Loc and a pre-friends Courtney Cox.
61*: This HBO movie tells the story of the 1961 Yankees and the battle between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth’s single-season homerun record. A reliable Barry Pepper plays Maris in this adaptation that is definitely worth a view.
Space Jam: Bugs Bunny gets top billing over a 1996 Michael Jordan in this live action/animated movie that pits Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters against the Monstars, which is by far the best name for a fictional team in any movie ever. There is a sequel in the works starring LeBron James, but the original is plenty good in the meantime.
I’ll leave it there for now. Come back tomorrow for Short Matt, who’ll still be sitting on Steve Cohen’s stoop.
