Let 'Em Know You're There

I missed this while dealing with other stuff, but Paul Newman died today, at 83 years of age. I could talk about his charitable works, his ability to piss off Richard Nixon and Joe Lieberman, his longtime marriage despite being a Hollywood guy who probably had any number of opportunities to mess around... but this is a sports blog, so the important thing is to note that he stars in the best sports movie ever made, "Slapshot."

No, I'm not interested in arguing about this. Slapshot is the best sports movie ever made.

Now, I know that it's two different movies in one, and that a grimy character study of a small town turns into a slapstick flick when the Hanson Brothers show up. I'm also aware that Newman did many better movies than this one, and that there are people -- wrong people, of course -- who would prefer "Hooisers", "Rocky", "The Natural", "Field of Dreams" or "He Got Game."

But well, comedy always gets short shrift when it comes to the ranking of entertainment, and it really shouldn't. It is harder, I believe, to make someone laugh than it is to make someone sad... and Newman made you do both.