Cobra Kai, Billy Zabka, Paint the Fence...The Karate Kid!

I recently re-discovered this gem from ESPN Page 2's Bill Simmons where Simmons disects the "Holy Trinity of the 'Karate Kid'".

Here's a couple of gems from that piece:

"Back to the brilliance of "The Karate Kid." For one thing, there's a terrific plot: Lovable loser Daniel moves to California, feuds with a band of moped-riding karate bullies, gets his butt kicked repeatedly, turns to a Japanese maintenance man for guidance, learns karate, learns about life, falls in love, enters a tournament against the bullies, gets injured in the semifinals, rallies back to fight his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend in the Finals, improbably gets the win. The end. Does it get any better than that?"

.....

"And you forget this now, but Mr. Miyagi's character was a stroke of genius at the time, a cross between Mickey from "Rocky," Pop from "The Longest Yard" and Confucious. Who didn't love Mr. Miyagi? That character was so well-written, it actually won Pat Morita (best-known as Arnold from "Happy Days") a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination, which was the 1984 equivalent of Mr. Belding from "Saved By The Bell" being nominated for an Oscar in 2005."

If you want to relieve the glory that is "The Karate Kid" trilogy, and have a few laughs along the way, read the article. It's one of best pieces Simmons has ever done.