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.

Actor and Oscar-winning director Kevin Costner has had a long, and in many cases, very successful career in Hollywood. First rising to prominence in films such as The Untouchables and Field of Dreams, Costner proved not only his acting talent but his directing skills as well with his academy award winning film Dances With Wolves. Now, according to Variety, the actor will add a political comedy to his already impressive list of credits. According to the article, Costner will next star in the film Swing Vote, which is being billed as an "indie election comedy."

The pic, directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Stern and Jason Richman, concerns a single father (played by Costner) who becomes extremely important to a very close presidential election -- it comes down to his vote alone that will decide the winner. In addition to starring in the film, Costner will also be producing with long-time partner Jim Wilson under their newly-minted Treehouse Films -- a company formed to produce indie film, television and online content for Costner to star. Treehouse, a smaller, indie companion to his Tig Productions, will allow the actor, according to the article: "the opportunity to shepherd projects from the ground up, with the goal of aligning partners of a like mind. Swing Vote fits right into that mold."

Even though the director of Swing Vote only has one other feature to his credit -- 2005s Toronto Fest entry Neverwas -- I'm not concerned in the least. Costner has a proven gift for comedy (watch Bull Durham if you don't believe me) and lately has been turning in some terrific performances -- especially in the recent The Upside of Anger. But no matter what you might think of Costner and his ability to hold an English accent for an entire film or how he looks in a mullet while underwater, he's still an interesting and entertaining star. I, for one, will check out this film with great interest. Swing Vote begins filming in July.

When it comes to sports movies, it's nearly impossible to compare, say, Caddyshack and Rocky. One's a comedy about a golf tournament featuring a demented groundskeeper who talks to gophers; the other's a stirring boxing drama about the triumph of the scrappy underdog. Apples and oranges, right? Golf balls and boxing gloves -- Bill Murray vs. Sylvester Stallone. (I'm pretty sure I know who would win that fight.)

But we at Moviefone are nothing if not courageous (or stupid), so we threw caution to the wind and picked -- and then ranked -- the 25 best sports movies of all time. This was not, I assure you, an easy task. Things were said. Gauntlets were thrown. Heartfelt arguments were offered up as to why Major League is an honest-to-God classic. At one point I thought my colleague Kevin was going to go all Russell Crowe on my ass if we didn't include Cinderella Man on our list ... and don't get me started on our Raging Bull vs. Rocky showdown.

When the dust had settled, we had a list of 25 sports movies we felt were truly great. Of course, there's many a terrific movie we had to leave off -- but that's where the fun begins. Take a look and then let us know: How do you feel about our No. 1 choice? Which of our picks do you agree with, and which ones are you outraged we didn't include? So let the games begin, and remember: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes ... it rains.