Sport and Cinema.com

After weeks of speculation Mercedes confirmed on Wednesday that Michael Schumacher will make a comeback to race for the team next season alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg.

Jimmie Johnson showed his mettle by moving up and finishing fifth over the weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, when 25th place would have still clinched the championship – his fourth straight.

The three-time Academy Award nominee provides the narration to “TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story,” NASCAR Media Group’s documentary-style film that chronicles the history of the eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship team.

Last week this site took a look at great athletes, like Lance Armstrong, some that retired on top and a few that tried to comeback including some that clearly shouldn’t have. With the bombshell that seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will return to race for Ferrari after a three year retirement, just like Michael Jordan, Larry Holmes and Johnny Unitas, is he risking tarnishing his fantastic career?

Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal returns to ABC with a new reality series.

Debuting August 18th, in “Shaq TV” the 15-time NBA All-Star will pit his athletic skills against an interesting array of opponents in their sport specialty.

One of the crown jewels of motor sports, the Indy 500 has always had compelling storylines and this year will be no different. Helio Castroneves (this year’s pole sitter and a two-time winner) and Danica Patrick (the sport’s glamour girl) will be headliners, especially from non-race fans for off-track stories, but there are 31 other drivers that are every bit as ambitious and many teams that will do everything they can to make sure they’re the ones that come out of the 500 the new champions. Steady Scott Dixon could easily come away with another win.

Paul Newman’s joy of auto racing accelerated after his starring turn in this 1969 film. Newman is Frank Capua a rising star on the race circuit who dreams of winning the ultimate–the Indianapolis 500.

The cinematic sporting life of Tobey Maguire goes from race track to race track. The actor’s next starring vehicle, literally, is about the exciting world of grand prix auto racing.

If someone told you some months ago that the first 2009 F1 race would have seen a newborn team dominating, Ferrari in big trouble, and a very spectacular race you would probably end up with a big laugh. Actually, this is what happened in Melbourne last Sunday.

In a genre dominated by testosterone, sports movies certainly have plenty of room for the ladies. As a matter of fact, down through the years Hollywood has produced some terrific titles with women at the center of the story. With a little luck we will see more make it to the silver screen. In the meantime, in chronological order, here are the lucky 13.