Last night’s annual MLB All Star Game took 15 innings to settle and those 15 innings took 4 hours and 50 minutes to play. Now, I enjoy a good game of baseball every now and then, especially when I get to see the best of the entire league, but 5 hours seems a bit long to watch men hit balls with sticks. If you’re on that same page, you might want to check out one of the 9 baseball movies below (in honor of the appropriate amount of innings). If you’re a baseball fan you’ve probably seen them all, but perhaps it’s time to try them out again, they never really go out of style. Also they’re all under 2 hours long, leaving you time to do something crazy like actually play baseball instead of watching it on TV.

takepart to learn about Major League Baseballs relationship with the Boys and Girld Club of America and be sure to let us know if we missed your favorite baseball film!

1) Eight Men Out (pictured above) - John Sayles portrait of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox and the controversey surrounding the possibility that they lost on purpose is a quiet gem of a film. It could easily be alarmist and focus only on the scandal, instead Sayles explores the people and the game they loved.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

Should Drive-Thrus Be Banned?

Eco-Moms Mad About “Greenwash” Barbie

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Andy Kondrat:

Home Depot Will Recycle Your CLF Bulbs for Free

Department of Energy Predicts 50% Energy Increase By 2030

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Jon Popham:

NYC Waterfalls Installation Starts This Week

Capt. John Smith Is Back…and Running for President

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Giulia Rozzi:

Yoga Across the Border

Emile Norman: By His Own Design

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Gina Telaroli:

Silverdocs 08: A Post-Fest Wrap-Up

Human Rights Watch 08: Letter to Anna

It’s June 27th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action

Letter to Anna (Eric Bergkraut)

Screens Today, Thu Jun 26: 1 & 6:15

The Human Rights Watch 2008 International Film Festival closes tonight with Eric Bergkraut’s Letter to Anna, a post-death exploration of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and her work. The general subject couldn‘t be more relevant to today, what it means to write and report on what the government doesn’t want the public to know is something we could all stand to think about.   And Anna, simply by the nature of her story, is a captivating person to learn about.

Anna was a Russian journalist that was assassinated in 2006 (on Putin’s birthday nonetheless). Known for her eye-opening pieces about the Russian War in Chechnya and the numerous human rights violations that were occurring, Anna was always putting herself at risk for her work. She also made a point to focus on how the war was being portrayed to Russian citizens. Her work led to her being used during terrorist negotiations and even to her abduction by Russian troops while in Chechnya. She not only wrote stories, she lived them.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Several topics really stood out this week, including the Oscars as social advocacy inspiration, civil rights and Black History Month, and lots of hot news on entertainment going Green. Check out our most popular posts of the week on these subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Happy Belated “Freedom to Marry” Week!

Rosa and Raymond Parks: Valiant Valentine #5

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Nicole:

Top 10 Oscar Picks to Inspire Social Action

Cornel West: Black Thoughts On Black History Month

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Giulia:

H&M’s “Fashion Against AIDS”

Ed Begley Jr. Goes Green

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Gina:

Top 10 Best Picture Winners That Inspire

Remixing “Chicago 10″

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Kerry:

How To Set the World On Fire Without Burning Out

Eco-Brokers Cater to Green Homebuyers

For me, clothing is another way to express myself so I especially love finding fashion that makes a clear, strong, social statement.

So I was thrilled to find the site www.bodyasbillboard.com. Founded and run by Periel Aschenbrand, this native New Yorker has found the formula to use apparel as advertising for women’s issues.

Aschenbrand infamous first design was a tee she simply made for herself sporting the slogan “The Only Bush I Trust Is My Own” . That shirt was noticed by a trendy LA shop owner who requested that Achenbrand make more and sell those shirts in her shop. Soon feminist icons such as Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, and Betsey Johnson began sporting her thought-provoking tops.

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Rosa Parks and Raymond Parks Shared a Love For Each Other and For Civil Rights. And as Valentine’s Week comes to an end, they are the final recipients of my Valiant Valentines Award (VVA) (joining Tim Robbins & Susan Sarandon, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee, Lucie & Raymond Aubrac, and Robert Capa & Gerda Taro) which honors couples who loved together and worked together to make the world a better place.

When Rosa met her husband in Montgomery, Alabama, Raymond, a 29-year-old barber, was active in the NAACP and the campaign to free the Scottsboro Boys, 9 young black men who had been convicted (8 of whom were sentenced to die in the electric chair) for raping two white women, despite no real evidence. As a couple, they became even more involved in civil rights and Rosa became the secretary and later youth leader of the local NAACP branch. Raymond, whose education was limited by segregation, had educated himself and encouraged and supported Rosa to pursue her education.

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NAACP Image Awards, Academy Awards, Grammy’s are nothing new to the actor/activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. But for the first time ever, the dynamic duo win my Valiant Valentine Award. Valentine’s Day Week, kicked off my Valentine’s week-long series on the 5 coolest activist couples. I honored activist & actor Susan Sarandon and her partner, activist, actor & director Tim Robbins with a VVA, that’s a Valiant Valentine Award, for those of you just tuning in. Now I’m awarding another VVA to a couple who have shown their love for each other and for civil rights, human rights, and peace. And the award goes to…

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were not only award-winning and distinguished actors, but social change-winning and distinguished civil rights activists. The couple, married for 56 years, won NAACP Image Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was honored by the Kennedy Center, not only for their roles on stage and screen, but for their roles as trailblazers who opened the door for so many black actors who came after them.

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Being in love with more than one person at the same time is risky business. Yet these 5 couples have it all: they are able to love more than one person without causing the broken hearts and dishes that often accompany polyamorous relationships. What’s their trick? They love each other AND the planet, human rights, and civil rights, and they take action to make the world a better place together. Because these lovebirds bring so much love to each other and the world, because their heart-felt hard work has won my heart, I’d like to give them a Valiant Valentine Award (VVA).

Today’s Valiant Valentine, which kicks off my 5-part Valentine’s week-long series, goes to a couple who has already received a few awards here and there, though none as prestigious as the VVA. She’s a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who scored Academy Awards, and awards from Amnesty International and The Center for Constitutional Rights. He’s no small potatoes either, having won his own Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Best actor “Prix” at Cannes.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

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Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

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Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

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Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

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Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries