This particular Cinematical Seven took awhile to sort out. First, I needed to decide whether I would focus solely on women who play sports in film or if I should open it up to women who play sports and/or appear in sports films. As you can see from the photo above, I went with the latter. Then I needed to decide whether I would only select drop-dead gorgeous women, or if there was room for the girl next door in the list as well. I'm sure you sympathize with the tough choices I had to make this afternoon. Anyway, in honor of Superbowl Sunday (Go Giants!), here are my picks for the hottest sports girls on film (a title which took me all of about an hour to come up with -- after all, there are so many different ways to write it):

Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire -- She's harsh, she's intimidating and she doesn't exactly use those legs to kick a long field goal. Before Jerry (Tom Cruise) had his moral epiphany and wound up wooing the adorable Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), he was attached at the hip to the cunning, yet super sexy Avery. She'd come a long way from Space Camp, and after watching Jerry Maguire, I was extremely jealous that John Travolta got to spend every boot camp with this gal.

Kathy Ireland as Lucy Draper in Necessary Roughness -- Unlike Preston, supermodel Kathy Ireland did kick the long field goals in this fairly funny comedy from 1991. When a rag-tag group of misfit football players (led by an aging Scott Bakula) are in desperate need of a replacement kicker, Ireland is brought in to kick ass. And she does. Though, unfortunately for us and them, she doesn't shower with the rest of the team.

Ali Larter as Darcy Sears in Varsity Blues -- When her boyfriend (the star quarterback) gets injured, this needy cheerleader latches on to the replacement QB (James Van Der Beek) and attempts to seduce him by inviting the dude to her house, then undressing in the back room before walking out naked, with her private areas covered up by whip cream. Dare I say this was, by far, the best part of the entire movie. Van Der Beek, however, turned her down in order to shack up with a boring Amy Smart. Men everywhere wanted to punch him ... hard.

Susan Sarandon as Annie Savoy in Bull Durham -- Regarded as one of the best reviewed sports films of all time, Bull Durham had it all: sports, romance, comedy, sports and a sexy baseball groupie played by Susan Sarandon. Kevin Costner plays a veteran catcher who's sent to the minor leagues to help a rookie pitcher (Tim Robbins) with his game. Sarandon's Savoy seduces both men, and does a damn good job. Who can forget that poster of Sarandon sitting on a car with her arm around Costner -- her white shirt falling off her shoulder; that brown curly hair drifting off along with the sunset. In real life, however, Sarandon wound up marrying the other guy. Oh well.

Talia Shire as Adrianna Pennino in Rocky -- When we first meet Adrian, she's this dorky little girl with glasses. But throughout the film, as her relationship with Rocky progresses, she grows stronger; more aware of who she is and what she wants. That, to me, is very attractive -- and over the course of the next four Rocky films, she'll grow even more, losing the glasses, letting down her hair. By Rocky V, Adrian's a fox! Though, in my mind, she always was.

Cindy Morgan as Lacey Underall in Caddyshack -- If the theme of this post is seduction, then the scene in which Lacey attempts to seduce Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) in Caddyshack has to go down as one of the hottest, most hilarious seduction scenes in the history of film. As she stands there, looking all hot and bothered, Lacey goes, "Would you like to tie me up with some of your ties, Ty?" Her role in the film isn't too large, but how you can talk about Caddyshack and not mention Lacey?

Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty and Tracy Reiner as Dottie, Mae, Kit and Betty in A League of Their Own -- I honestly tried to choose just one gal from this film, but all four of these ladies looked wonderful in this cute and cuddly dramedy from 1992. While all the men are off to war, two sisters join a women's professional baseball team with a washed-up, drunken coach (Tom Hanks) who couldn't care less about anything. Eventually, the girls come together, get dirty and learn the true meaning of friendship. There's not a whole lot of skin, but damn it if these girls didn't look damn fine in an old school uniform. And in my opinion, there's nothing sexier than a girl who knows how to slide head first into home.

For more, check out Moviefone's choices for the 25 best sports movies of all time.

Tags: a league of their own, ali larter, bull durham, caddyshack, cindy morgan, cinematical seven, CinematicalSeven, geena davis, hottest women in sports films, jerry maguire, kathy ireland, kelly preston, necessary roughness, rocky, susan sarandon, talia shire, varsity blues