Few films have stayed with me like "The Bad News Bears". I first saw it when it was released in 1976 and, at the time, I played little league (well, the Canadian equivalent). It was easy to cheer for this gang of misfits back then. The surprising this is, I always find myself tuning in to catch it whenever it appears on TV. It remains a surprisingly accurate portrait of young ball players, snobby league officials and overbearing parents. Walter Matthau is Buttermaker, the coach assigned to lead this motley crew of talentless kids. Their fortunes change somewhat when Matthau convinces the daughter of an old girlfriend (Tatum O'Neal, just coming off a shocking Oscar win for "Paper Moon") to pitch for the team. Buttermaker taught her to throw a mean curveball prior to divorcing her mother. The Bears go from losers to winners when the local juvenile delinquent, Kelly Leak, joins the team. He's a virtual one-man team, swatting home-runs and catching everything in sight. The Bears end up going all the way to the championship game against the hated Yankees. The cast is excellent. Matthau is completely believable as a washed-up ex pro ball player who drinks too much. O'Neal is convincing as the star hurler, and Jackie Earl Haley ("Breaking Away") makes a strong impression as Leak. Ironically, this is one of the few movies where Haley is one of the bigger kids. In later roles, he would always be the short guy in the group. Vic Morrow is perfectly smug as the Yankees coach who can't stand to see the Bears succeed. It sets up a classic battle in the championship game. The Bad News Bears was the forerunner, of sorts, of The Mighty Ducks. The main difference is that The Bad News Bears gets the baseball details right, whereas few American films have portrayed hockey in a realistic way. I still cringe at the thought of "Youngblood". It also set the stage for two vastly inferior sequels (without Matthau or O'Neal). No, The Bad News Bears is a cut above most sports films because it helps you understand what it's like to compete at that age. It also makes great use of music from Bizet's Carmen. After seeing this film, you'll immediately think of the Bears when you hear the "March of the Torreodors".