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One of the all-time great speeches

Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 07:05PM

I meant to write this on the eve of the Heisman ceremony last week, but was on vacation in Aruba and threatened with bodily harm from the wife if I blogged. And then I got busy and forgot.

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with manly Dan Mangan of the New York Post, and like most of our conversations, it eventually made its way to movies. Dan fancies himself a movie buff (among other things) and claims to have seen virtually everything, but I stumped him with one of my favorites, Something for Joey.

Something for Joey is a fairly obscure movie ... but for sports fans, it should be mandatory viewing. It's a biopic of Penn State running back John Cappelletti during his Heisman winning 1973 season, where he rushed for 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns in leading the Nittany Lions to a 12-0 season. But the football is secondary; it's really about John's younger brother, Joey Cappelletti, who was suffering from leukemia and would ultimately pass away a few years later.

The climax of the movie is Cappelletti's Heisman acceptance speech, which to this day ranks as one of the greatest moment in collegiate football history. To read the transcript or watch a clip is to be reminded about how much the sports world has changed in the intervening 35 years ... and not for the better. In an era where jackass jocks shoot themeselves at nightclubs, torture dogs, and choke their coaches for shits and giggles, the notion of an athlete dedicating anything to anyone seems preposterous.

I won't give the rest away, but if after reading the transcript or watching the clip you're not blubbering like Dick Vermeil at a press conference, then you're probably a bigger sociopath than Governor Blagojovich.

Nick Ragone |

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I knew if I waited long enough, I'd get a Something for Joey reference. The only time I saw you cry harder was when Tiger the dog ran away from the Brady clan.

December 21, 2008 |

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Nick, you cried watching "Brian's Song" - admit it

December 22, 2008 |

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Mitch, to this day Nick starts blubbering every time he see's either James Caan or Billy Dee Williams

December 22, 2008 |

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I also cried during the finale of Party of Five

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Party of Five is our all time favorite show...we named our son Griffin because we always likes that name after his character on the show...true, and pathetic, story.

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Nick still gets all warm and fuzzy at the mention of Lacey Chabert

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