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A League of Their Own: Tom Hanks
built 188 days ago
A League of Their Own chronicles the men and women behind the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League. Teammates Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell travel a path through triumph and tribulation, and Tom Hanks (with a beer-belly) is hilarious as the team's dissipated wreck of a manager. Director Penny Marshall delivers a funny, sentimental crowd-pleaser that circles the bases.
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This fictionalised account of the All American Girls' Professional Baseball League (formed in 1943, with male players lost to the war) captures heartbreaks, home runs, and little vigour. Things start promisingly as a scout (Lovitz) scours the country recruiting players, including farm-girls Dottie and Kit (Davis and Petty), dance-hall hostess 'All the Way' Mae (Madonna) and bouncer Doris (O'Donnell). As they train, rivalries emerge, focusing too heavily on Kit's jealousy over sister Dottie's physical and social advantages. Marshall piles on the sentiment, notably in framing sequences which see the film unfold in flashback and culminate in a tearful reunion; even worse, scriptwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel neglect the ensemble, emphasising a sense of historical occasion over character development. As the cynical manager/coach who learns to love his team, Hanks has more to wrestle with, but Madonna makes do with a spot of dancing.
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During the Second World War an all-female baseball league is formed for propaganda purposes and those who take part find friendship and a sense of self-worth. Based on a true story, this shamelessly old-fashioned cornball comedy is enlivened by strong performances from Hanks, Davis and Madonna. It serves up good-natured entertainment, if you're in the mood, but be prepared to swallow a generous helping of sickly-sweet sentimentality along with the laughs. Its stunning success at the US box-office, which saw it grossing in excess of $100 million and knocking Batman Returns off the top spot, led to a TV series.
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Several Major League Baseball hopefuls will be in Mississauga tomorrow for a MLB Scouting Bureau Camp. Among the hopefuls looking to catch the eye of one, or more, of the 10 pro scouts in attendance, is Mississauga pitcher Billy Martin.
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When Tom Doyle decided to purchase the Maryland Nighthawks of the American Basketball Association in 2005, the Rockville-based attorney had an overarching vision for minor-league basketball. It was a product that promoted longevity and consistency, with an emphasis on its fans. Yet, with a roster that swelled to over 50 franchises, and was in a constant state as flux as some teams folded and new teams joined, life in the ABA was unwieldy.
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Joe Tomlin asked Warner, along with a dozen other coaches, to speak to players in the league and he agreed. In a foreshadowing of the spirit the league still engenders, the evening—April 19, 1934—turned out to be filled with torrential rains mixed with sleet. Eight hundred kids showed up, but Pop Warner was the only speaker to appear. For over two hours, they listened as he talked and answered their questions. By the end of the evening, by popular acclaim, the fledgling youth program was renamed the Pop Warner Conference.
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Tom Hanks