Little League's Foul Plays

(NEWSER) - After a "bloody battle royale," the sports staff of the New York Daily News has anointed the best sports films of all time. Among the contenders:

• Raging Bull: Robert De Niro's knockout performance as boxer Jake LaMotta makes this one of the greatest movies of any kind ever produced.
• Hoosiers: The heartwarming underdog tale loosely based on a real Indiana basketball team beats out other hoops flicks.

When you're down, these clips can get you going

(NEWSER) - World got you down? Let one of these coaches buck you up: AskMen picks the best sports movie inspirational talks. The top five:

1. Kurt Russell, Miracle: “If we played ‘em 10 times, they might win nine. But not this game.”
2. Al Pacino, Any Given Sunday: “You find out life's this game of inches. So is football. The inches we need are everywhere around us.”

(NEWSER) - For those who won't watch every Olympic game—and who will?—Esquire has picked a few Olympic highlights to Tivo:

• Day 1: Michael Phelps starts his second bid for eight gold medals.
• Day 2: Kobe Bryant dribbles and shoots in the Olympics—for the first time ever.
• Day 2: US field hockey player Jesse Gey wows with her looks and her game.

How oddballs compete, from pole-sitting to goat polo

(NEWSER) - If curling strikes you as a strange sport, you've obviously never heard of wife carrying or bottle kicking. The London Times explores the weirdest pastimes from across the globe:

1. Wife-carrying, Maine, USA: Wives hang on for dear life as husbands tote them through an obstacle course, upside-down. Winners receive the wife's weight in beer.

Pointers on what it takes to go for the gold

(NEWSER) - Before you clear a spot on the mantle for that gold medal, you may need a quick reality check: Forbes runs down the numbers behind the blood, sweat, and tears of an Olympic athlete's training.

1. Training: 4 to 8 years to maximize lung capacity and heart strength
2. Sessions: up to 3 a day, 6 days a week
3. Goal setting: beyond annual benchmarks, some athletes plan 4 years out