THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL SPORTS MOVIES GET SHORT END OF STICK.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

If the debate about who'll take the Oscar for Best Picture is put in terms of handicapping a horse race - and since it involves ``Seabiscuit,'' let's go with that jargon - even the most optimistic of the saddle-sore movie critics will give the flick about the against-all-odds equine an emphatic thumbs-down at Sunday's Academy Awards extravaganza.

One overzealous nit-picker went so far as to write that ``Seabiscuit'' isn't even one of last year's 30 best movies, and its nomination over ``Cold Mountain'' is ``a disgrace.''

Not that poor little Tobey Maguire needs another pat on the back, but if you look at the history of Academy voting and its politics, ``Seabiscuit'' deserves some kind of blue ribbon for even making it this far around the final turn on the Oscar oval.

Over the years, movies with any sort of sports-related theme have a very low win-loss percentage with Academy decision-makers who determine the ultimate prize. They've had reason to be dazzled at times in the past by a gripping drama or two about boxing or a tender, metaphoric tale of baseball. As recently as 1996, one about a dashing sports agent and his loud-mouth NFL client warranted attention, but more because of the thespians hired to play the roles.

For ``Seabiscuit'' to even make the final five in this high-stakes race, there's more than just a lot of dazzling the voters with a cinematography-costume design-sound mixing trifecta. Sports flicks have to reach deeper than just the cute little story of a Depression Era pony to make any kind of Oscar impact.

Heck, even when a storyline is unavoidably immersed in sports, such as ``Miracle,'' based on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's victory over the Russians, the producers and directors are fierce in defining their work as more than something simply labeled a ``sports movie,'' probably for fear it will narrow the audience attraction.

``The best sports movies aren't just about sports,'' said Mark Ciardi, who, with Gordon Gray, produced ``Miracle.'' ``The themes are so much bigger.''

``I never intended Miracle' to be a 'sports' movie,'' said Gavin O'Connor, the film's director. ``I approached it as a character study, with Herb Brooks as a mad scientist and the team his lab experiment.

``The story of this Cinderella team goes far beyond a hockey game. It's about building a bridge between the old and the new, the past and the present. It connected families, neighbors, friends, strangers and we could do anything if we put our minds to it and believe in something that inspires us.''

Mike Tollin, who received an Academy Award nomination in the documentary feature category for co-producing ``Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream'' in 1995, may have produced and directed the most touching sports-based movie of 2003 with ``Radio,'' starring Cuba Gooding Jr., as the mentally challenged man befriended by a high school football coach.

For Tollin, whose resume includes producing ``The Rookie,'' ``Summer Catch,'' ``Hard Ball'' and ``Varsity Blues,'' sports has always been a fair-proof scaffolding for movies that might not always attract Oscar points but do drive home a message with the viewer.

``What's always at stake is how compelling the movie's narrative and characters are. Having sports as a backdrop is a great access point for a movie because of its universal language,'' said Tollin, who lives with his wife and two kids in Studio City.

``We're all suckers for a good story. But starting with sports, there's a comfort zone for the audience and a ready-made structure. You understand the rhythms of the season and it's easy to keep track of winning versus losing and the good guys versus the bad guys.

``A film like `Radio' was only a marginal sports movie but more about teaching the value of humanity. Aside from entertainment and commercial concerns, that's what a sports movie always needs in the end.''

Commercially, ``Seabiscuit'' might end up as the all-time sports money- making movie, when considering theater tickets and DVD sales. To date, ``The Waterboy'' with Adam Sandler stands atop the list of the all-time box office draws with $161 million.

Just like any kind of horse race, there's always the luck factor in winning a Best Picture award. If a sports movie is destined to win an Oscar, it could use a little help with a field that isn't so strong.

Either that, or ``Seabiscuit'' could have used a few more hobbits riding the other horses.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) no caption (young boy)

(2) MIKE WILLIAMS 

(3) ANNA KOURNIKOVA 

(4) GARTH BROOKS

(5) no caption (Frank McCourt)

(6) - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban

Box:

(1) OSCAR vs. SPORTS

(2) Sunday PUNCH