5-at-10: Mailbag answering if Tyler Bray is a first-rounder and Sports movie Oscars

Gang, superb week and we are about to enter a really fun time in sports. Remember the Hit and Miss Daytona 500 challenge - we'll post the entries around lunch. You can still enter by sending us who you think will win and where you think Danica will finish. Deal? Deal.

From the "Talks too much" studios, let's flip the script.

From AReader

The Academy Awards are this weekend. What would be your all-time Academy Award winners for the major categories (picture, actor, actress supporting actor, supporting actress) in movies about sports?

Thanks, and thanks for the 5-at-10...

AReader,

Such a great question, thank you. And hope you saw how everyone played along with their choices on Thursday. We did these by the performances in the movie, not the caliber of the actor in a sports movie, or it would be Denzel (Remember the Titans), Morgan and Clint (Million Dollar Baby), et al.

This is an old-school type of 5-at-10 mailbag question in which we spent EN-tirely too much time listing and re-listing our choices and write entirely too much about them. But we promised to make the mailbag more condensed, so let's do work:

Cue the lights. Enter host Jim Nantz and his co-host Rudy Ruettiger.

Nantz: "Welcome friends. We're at the first - and last - Academy Sports Movies Academy Awards, here on CBS. Thankfully, Phil Simms was unable to attend, so I'm pleased to present my new analyst, Mr. Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. Welcome Daniel.

Rudy: "Thanks Jim. Did you know I played football at Notre Dame?"

Nantz: "Uh, yes, Daniel."

Rudy: "Call me Rudy. Can I call you Jimbo? How about Nantzy? Like Nantzy Boy?"

Nantz: "Uh, no. Where's Simms?"

Rudy: "Did you know I had a sack against Georgia Tech? They carried me off the field and everything."

Nantz: "Sweet Brett Butler's Cabin, who picked this clown? Let's get on with this... Friends, here are the nominees in the seven major categories:

Cameo by a sports star playing themselves: Kareem in Airplane; Brett Favre in Something About Mary; Mike Tyson is Hangover; Dan Marino in Ace Ventura; and Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball.

And the winner is: Brett Favre in Something About Mary if for no other reason than that may have been the last time we saw Brett Favre and were pleasantly surprised to see him.

Best supporting actress in a sports movie: Tatum O'Neal in Bad News Bears; Kim Basinger in the Natural and well, this is kind of a limited category, let's keep going. Congrats to Tatum O'Neal...

Rudy: What about the girl that played my girlfriend in "Rudy" - did you know I played football at Notre Dame? She was pretty hot. And she dug me.

Nantz: Gravy, would you be quiet so we can get through this. Not even Billy Packer was this bad.

Best supporting actor in a sports movie: Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers; Carl Weathers in Rocky; Wilford Brimley in The Natural; James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams; Bill Murray in Caddyshack

Rudy: Love Bill Murray. Long the Lama. Pool or Pond...

Nantz: A pond would be good for you (giggles)... congrats to Dennis Hopper.

Best actress in a sports movie: Talia Shire in Rocky; Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side; Geena Davis in League of Their Own; Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby; Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham... wow what a tough category... and the winner is Susan Sarandon. Wow.

Best actor in a sports movie...

Rudy: Sean Astin, right?

Nantz: Listen Daniel, you can speak when I point to you. Deal? Now pipe down and zip one for the Gipper will you?

The nominees for best actor in a sports movie are Kurt Russell in Miracle; Sly Stallone in Rocky; Gene Hackman in Hoosiers, Kevin Costner in Bull Durham and

Rudy: Sean Astin in...

Nantz: That's it. You're done. Now I know whay Devine didn't want to play your carcass. Get my agent on the horn. I'm Jim Nantz for crying out loud. Where were we... Yes, the final best actor nominee in a category in which it's truly an honor just to be nominated is Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull. And the winner is Robert DeNiro is Raging Bull. Wow, what a tough category.

And for the big one, the best picture among sports dramas, let's go to the nominees...(glaring at Rudy and through clinched teeth) Not a word our of you leprechaun. The nominees are Hoosiers, The Natural, Miracle, Rocky and Seabiscuit. And the winner is... The Natural. Kind of shock there, we had our money on Hoosiers, but The Natural is so wonderfully made and the use of light and dark, black and white is magnificent.

Now for best sports movies comedies, the nominees are Caddyshack, Slapshot, Major League, The Bad News Bears and Bull Durham and the winner is... Caddyshack.

Thanks, and would you like to add anything Rudy... Nevermind.

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Inspired from JMC comment

photo Actor Morgan Freeman poses backstage with the Cecil B. Demille Award during the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

What's the Rushmore of Morgan Freeman performances?

We can make a hard argument that if you only could watch movies that featured one particular actor in them, Freeman would be on the short list of final answers. He's that good and his catalog is top-notch.

As for his Rushmore - and this was inspired by the sports' movies Oscar question - we'll take Shawshank Redemption, Lean on Me, Glory and Unforgiven.

And dude's resume is so full that leaves out Oscar-nominated turns in Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby (he won here) and Invictus.

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From Stewwie

Since Friday will be the day after the NBA trade deadline, who are your top 5 contenders for the title? I'm curious to see where Garnett, Josh Smith, and Redick end up if they get traded. Kupchak says Howard and Gasol are staying put in L.A.

Stewwie,

Wow, the trade deadline came and went with little more than a whisper. J.J. Reddick was sent to Milwaukee and Houston fleeced Sacramento for Thomas Robinson and that was about it. As for the top-five contenders, here's what we have:

1) Miami - Until a team shows they can beat the champs, the champs are the team to beat.

2) OKC - Not as much of a threat as they were a year ago without Beard Harden.

3) San Antonio - The Spurs still have the big three and are deep and have the best coach in the NBA - and maybe all of pro sports, but that's for another day. Here's betting that Miami would rather play OKC than the Spurs, who match up well against Miami's weaknesses.

4) LA Clippers - If the Clip show can stay healthy, and that's a big if, Chris Paul is going to be tough to handle in the playoffs.

5) Chicago - This is Indiana's spot if Derek Rose is shelved for the entire year. But we think Rose is going to return and lead the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals and an epic series against the Heat.

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From Orangeguy

What's your Rushmore of worst owners in sports?

Orange -

Wow, we've had some great questions, and this one is right there.

Let's define the "Worst owners in sports" category first. While guys like Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones are hyper-involved to the point of being a detriment, we would rather have a guy that meddles but truly wants to win over an owner just cashing the checks and shrugging their shoulders at the product on the field.

That said, you mentioned two Hall of Famers for bad owners in Donald Sterling (Clippers) and Jeffrey Loria (Marlins). We'll add David Glass (Royals) and Mike Brown (Bengals) to complete the Rushmore. But it was tough leaving off James Dolan (Knicks), the Maloof Brothers (Sacramento), MJ (Bobcats), Mike Brown (Bengals), the Davis family - minus Al (Raiders) and a slew of others including the corporation that owns the Hawks. Side note: The Hawks in the growing city of stature for black America that is Atlanta should be way better than they are. This is a discussion for another day, but the Hawks are among the biggest underachievers in all of pro sports. Period. And that's on ownership in a lot of areas.

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From Johnny VF

First time writing in but I love the 5-at-10. And I love you on the radio with Quake... have you thought about doing a radio show regularly?

My serious question for you is this -- You love the draft... we know this. But there's no way you'd draft Tyler Bray in the first round is there? No way, right?

Please Obi 5, say there's no way. Please.

Thanks, and give me Dale Jr. and 30th in the NASCAR contest.

JVF,

Thanks for the kind words and feel free to swing by anytime - don't cost nothing.

photo Tennessee senior quarterback Tyler Bray passes during the first half.

As for the Tyler Bray issue, let's review what we've said: Dude has elite skills throwing a football. Does that translate into a first-round pick? Maybe. Does it translate into a big risk in Bray's case? Absolutely.

As for picking Bray, no way would we spend a first-round pick on him. There's too much risk. That said, if you grade this quarterback class, we think Bray has as much upside as an NFL starter as any QB in this draft. Look at the skills he has that really can't be taught - arm strength; throws a great ball; accuracy; ideal height - and the areas he needs to work on that can be corrected. Heck, the 5-at-10 was far from the mature, finished product you visit with daily 20 years ago when we were Bray's age.

Maturity arrives at different times for all of us; the ability to sling a football like Bray does, however, is an elite talent.

If we had to rank this QB class on potential to be a successful NFL starter within three years, right now we'd go:

Matt Barkley, Tyler Bray, Mike Glennon, Ryan Nassib, Geno Smith and we're reserving judgement on Duke's Sean Renfree until after the combine this weekend. That said, we wouldn't take any of them in the first round, unless we made a good deal to get into the back half of Round 1 to get in front of the Chiefs, who are QB starving and have the first pick of Round 2. In fact, a dream scenario for the Falcons is no QBs get picked in the first 29 choices, then a team like the Raiders or the Cardinals overpays to move up to No. 30 to take a QB.

So it goes.

Discuss and feel free to answer along.

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