Sport and Cinema.com

A winning team of filmmakers are out of the starting gates with a pilot order from the premium cable network.

Behind “Luck”, a drama set in the world of horse racing, are David Milch who was the showrunner for “Deadwood” and Michael Mann (“Public Enemies”).

Making its national debut over the past weekend is a comedy from Fox that features Dwayne Johnson as Derek Thompson aka The Tooth Fairy, a rough-house hockey player whose nickname comes from his penchant for separating opposing players from their teeth.

When Derek discourages a youngster’s dreams, he is sentenced to one week’s hard labor as a real tooth fairy forced to trade in a hockey stick for a magic wand and shoulder pads for wings.

With good reviews on the film festival circuit and a theatrical release, the boxing documentary “Facing Ali” is now available for home entertainment as a single disc DVD from Lionsgate.

Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who electrified the world with his unorthodox style and charismatic ways, is paid tribute by ten of his acclaimed rivals.

As we begin 2010 it is time to consider which is the BEST sports movie from the first decade of the 21st Century.

There are some very good choices. Documentaries, by the way, like “Dogtown and Z-Boys” deserve their own column.

Here is the Top Ten:

More than 30 years after the original motion picture, “Rocky” continues to be recognized as a film icon and American hero where a “nobody” becomes a “somebody”. This definitive collection that features Sylvester Stallone as Philadelphia club fighter Rocky Balboa includes each film version as well as a bonus disc with hours of documentaries, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and a new trivia game.

Rugby has had a rough life on the silver screen, but this weekend a major film from Warner Bros. directed by Clint Eastwood opens hoping to score at the box office where not many have.

“Invictus” tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the white captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country during an improbable run at the 1995 World Cup.

The story begins with Nelson Mandela

Written and directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Rookie”) this is the story of a young black teen Michael Oher and his unusual path to success on the gridiron and a better life when he is taken in by an upper class white family after growing up virtually abandoned in the poverty-stricken projects of Memphis where he had few options and even fewer opportunities.

Oscar nominated writer/director James Toback (“Bugsy”) presents a no-holds-barred portrait of the controversial former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

With good reviews on the film festival circuit, the boxing documentary “Facing Ali” begins a theatrical run today in New York and Los Angeles.

Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who electrified the world with his unorthodox style and charismatic ways, is paid tribute by ten of his acclaimed rivals.

Writer Mike Batistick’s off-Broadway play, “Ponies”, is now being produced as a movie and is currently shooting in New York City.