Projo Sports Blog

By Chris Olds
The Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. - This group of athletes has sold countless tickets, has left an indelible mark on sports and has become legendary. They are icons that will never fade and yet they never played a real game, ran a lap, hit a tee shot or boxed a match in their lives. In fact, these legends are fictional. The Orlando Sentinel's Chris Olds brings to you this selection of the best and worst athletes in movie history - the best and worst characters ever to grace the big screen.

Best Phenom: Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' Laloosh

A regular nuclear meltdown with the Durham Bulls in "Bull Durham", this prospect (Tim Robbins) learned how to control his pitches, throw a curveball and breathe through his eyelids. He's got fungus on his shower shoes - and a Porsche with a quadraphonic Blaupunkt, too. We hear in the never-coming sequel he leads the Atlanta Braves to five World Series titles before retiring amid allegations that he's HGH-powered.

Best Driver: Cole Trickle

Although Russ Wheeler and Rowdy Burns often got the best of him, only one man stood tall as the winner of the Daytona 500 at the end of "Days of Thunder" - Cole Trickle ( Tom Cruise). That's probably because his crew chief used some special tires and taught him that "rubbin' is racin'."

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