2010 was certainly one of the more interesting years in recent NASCAR history. Here is my little recap of the season with the best and worst moments and drivers of the year.
Best Achievement: Jimmie Johnson wins 5th consecutive Sprint Cup championship
What? You didn’t think I’d give this to Kevin Conway for winning Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year did you? Jimmie Johnson winning his record fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship is really the only thing that could take this award. Johnson constantly leaves NASCAR fans wondering: “When is anybody going to beat this guy?” Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick showed it could be next year, but then again Johnson showed it might be a while yet. The drive for six begins in February.
Best Driver: Denny Hamlin
Well, you’d think that winning a championship would mean that Jimmie Johnson was the best driver of the year wouldn’t you? Sometimes though the champion isn’t the best of the entire season … for instance the 2007-2008 New England Patriots were clearly better than the New York Giants. In a year that Johnson and his #48 Lowe’s Chevy team showed some weaknesses here and there, Hamlin looked like the truly dominant driver the entire season. Hamlin won more races than any driver during the season with eight; oftentimes number of wins is indicative of who really had the best season. Hamlin’s eight wins were two more than Johnson’s season total. Hamlin also finished two more races during the season than Johnson did.
Most Disappointing Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
We might as well rename the disappointing driver of the year honor the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award. He seems to be earning this dubious honor year-in-and-year-out. Earnhardt Jr. isn’t even one of the 20 best drivers in the Sprint Cup anymore, he finished 21st in the season points standings this year and frankly seems like a lost driver who doesn't have his heart in it. He didn’t win a race this year for the second straight season in the Sprint Cup and only compiled three top five finishes and a horrible eight top 10s. It’s getting to the point where you really can’t even consider Earnhardt Jr. to be disappointing, but instead the norm for him. So, maybe this honor would be better suited for a guy like Earnhardt Jr.’s teammate Mark Martin who had the biggest downfall of any driver in the sport from 2009.
Best Crew Chief: Chad Knaus
We certainly should just rename this honor the Chad Knaus Award because there isn’t a crew chief in all of NASCAR that even comes close. In fact, Knaus might have passed longtime Richard Petty crew chief Dale Inman as the greatest crew chief that the sport has ever seen. Knaus is the man behind Jimmie Johnson’s greatness and frankly for the last few years people have wondered exactly how successful Johnson would be with a crew chief other than Knaus … we certainly won’t see that scenario anytime soon, as team owner Rick Hendrick won’t even think about breaking this great duo up. Late in the Chase for the Championship many, including me, questioned Knaus’ decision to switch pit crews with teammate Jeff Gordon, whose crew performed better throughout the season. I feared it would cause chemistry problems for the last two races of the season, but it didn’t … why? Because Knaus is a genius.
Best Season by a Non-Chase Driver: Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray had a career changing season in 2010 and there is no doubt about it. The only flaw in the season was that he didn’t make the Chase for the Championship. McMurray came into the 2010 Sprint Cup season with three career wins in a little over seven seasons. All he did in 2010 was double his career total with three wins at the sports’ two biggest races and three of the sports’ most iconic tracks. McMurray started the season with a new team in the #1 Bass Pro/McDonald’s Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevy and immediately got off on the right foot winning the season’s first and biggest race, the Daytona 500. In August, McMurray would win the sports’ second biggest race of the season, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’d also win a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the fall, one of the sports’ biggest and most storied tracks.
Biggest Turnaround: Jamie McMurray
When you enter a season only having won three career races in almost seven and a half seasons and then win three in one season that’s a pretty big turnaround. McMurray also made a big jump in the points standings gaining eight positions between 2009 when he finished 22nd to finishing 14th in 2010. McMurray is one of the nicest guys in NASCAR; I just hope that his career year in 2010 doesn’t turn out to be a fluke.
Worst Drop-off: Mark Martin
Mark Martin, the senior citizen of the Sprint Cup Series, clearly had the biggest drop-off from the 2009 season to the 2010. In 2009, Martin won five races and finished second in the points standings, which extended his record of second place championship finishes to five … Martin might be the biggest bridesmaid in sports history. In 2010, Martin didn’t win a single race and fell 11 spots in the points standings to 13th. Martin wasn’t the only driver though with a drastic drop-off. Both Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya found themselves falling the wrong direction in 2010.
Worst Debut: Danica Patrick
Well, I can definitely say I saw this one coming. In 2010, Danica Patrick who has been a career failure in the IndyRacing League decided that she would try her hand at being a part-time failure in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as well. Patrick competed in 13 Nationwide races in 2010 and it seems like she must have wrecked in most of them. It took Patrick until her 13th and final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway for her to finally finish a race on the lead lap. Patrick will run another part time Nationwide Series schedule in 2011.
Driver to Watch for 2011: Carl Edwards
Using the Denny Hamlin scale from the end of the 2009 season that led everybody to believe he’d be a huge threat in 2010 because of a hot finish to end the season, I conclude that Carl Edwards will be a force to be reckon with in 2011. Edwards nearly went two full Sprint Cup seasons without winning a race and then he went on hot tear winning the final two races of 2010 at Phoenix and Homestead. This is a hot streak that I definitely see him carrying into 2011. I also think that the upcoming rule that will keep Sprint Cup regulars from winning the Nationwide Series championship will help to keep Edwards’ mind where it belongs, in the Cup series.
Best Rising Star: Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski frankly had a pretty disappointing first full season in the Sprint Cup Series in 2010, but I think his mind, heart and soul were focused on capturing the 2010 Nationwide Series championship, which he did rather easily, I might say. Now that he’s accomplished that the only thing for him to set his mind toward is great success in the Sprint Cup. Keselowski is a tough, aggressive driver in the mold of a Kyle Busch and I think this will lead to many wins, but also a lot of enemies. I expect Keselowski to have a pretty nice sophomore season in the Sprint Cup in 2011.
Best Race/Best Finish: Talladega- Spring Race
The spring Talladega race was the most competitive race in the long and great history of NASCAR. There was an incredible and record breaking 88 lead changes in the race among a record 29 different drivers in this 180-MPH chess match that is big time restrictor plate racing. This wonderful race led into what became the best finish of the 2010 season. Jamie McMurray led the race with two laps remaining with Kevin Harvick tucked in close on his bumper to draft. The two formed a team that drove off from the rest of the field, which is something that doesn’t happen often in plate racing. On the final lap it looked like Harvick would stay tucked up under McMurray until the end, but at the last possible second Harvick ducked to the inside and made the old school slingshot pass around McMurray in a photo finish. The finish was the eighth closest in NASCAR history, since electrical timing began in 1993. It was a classic duel between two masterful restrictor plate drivers. The win for Harvick also broke an amazing winless drought of 115 races.
Wildest Race: Texas- Chase Race
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Best Fight: Jeff Gordon vs. Jeff Burton- Texas Chase Race
The race at Texas Motor Speedway in the Chase for the Championship wasn’t just the wildest race of 2010, but quite possibly the wildest one ever. To be honest the racing wasn’t even really anything that special, it’s just a bunch of circumstances that led to the wild event. Early on during the race Kyle Busch was involved in a spin and sped down pit road to beat the pace car back out on the track and thus avoid being lapped. Because of this infraction, Busch was held a lap in the pits. Busch, always the hothead that he is, flipped off the NASCAR official in his pit box and NASCAR assessed him another two-lap penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. It wouldn’t be the last unsportsmanlike conduct that this race would see by any means. Later in the race under caution for a Martin Truex Jr. wreck another wreck would occur when normally low-key Jeff Burton took offense to the way Jeff Gordon was racing him and Burton put Gordon into the wall, effectively ending both of their days. Gordon took big time exception to the intentional wreck and met Burton on the track for some old time NASCAR fisticuffs. Following Gordon’s wreck came perhaps the most startling moment in the race when Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus benched Johnson’s entire pit crew and replaced them with Gordon’s pit crew, because the #48 pit crew just wasn’t getting the job done. This was an unprecedented and controversial move at the time that would later prove crucial in Johnson winning his fifth consecutive championship. This was certainly the wildest NASCAR race I can ever remember seeing. Oh by the way, did I mention Denny Hamlin won the race with a late pass over Greg Biffle?
Biggest Jerk: Carl Edwards
Honestly this award could easily be named the Kyle Busch Award, but I’m actually going to give it to Carl Edwards for 2010. Don’t get me wrong, Kyle Busch is a huge jerk, but in my opinion Edwards essentially attempted to murder Brad Keselowski on two different occasions this year. Edwards feels that Keselowski is an aggressive driver and he is, but Keselowski has never taken a racing action as aggressive and dangerous as Edwards did this season against him. Edwards could’ve very easily killed or extremely injured Keselowski this year when he spun him out and sent him airborne at Atlanta Motor Speedway and then later in the season intentionally wrecked him in front of fast, oncoming traffic in a Nationwide Series race at Gateway.
Worst NASCAR Decision: NASCAR’s lack of punishment for Carl Edwards
This award could’ve easily gone to NASCAR’s overkill of a punishment to Clint Bowyer in the Chase, but NASCAR’s lack of punishment for Carl Edwards in the two times that he tried to kill Brad Keselowski was their most appalling decision of the 2010 season. The problem is that at the beginning of the 2010 season NASCAR painted themselves into a corner by announcing the new “Boys, Have At It” policy that let the drivers take policing races back into their own hands. It’s a good move on NASCAR’s part to let the drivers police themselves like in the glory days of the sport and for the most part it turned out great. However, Edwards went overkill on his policing and NASCAR should have called him on it and punished him severely by deducting points and/or suspending him for a race or so. NASCAR didn’t do either after Edwards’ dangerous dumping of Keselowski at Atlanta in the spring. They merely put him on probation for three races, which isn’t even a slap on the wrist. They even had the opportunity to correct themselves later in the season when Edwards dangerously dumped Keselowski again at Gateway, but they simply put him on probation again, this time until the end of the season.
Worst Wreck: Elliott Sadler at Pocono
Some NASCAR fans love bad wrecks. Those fans disgust me. Wrecks are a part of the sport and always will be, but the fact is that they are always dangerous and until that driver exits the car they are something that should be feared. There were a lot of bad wrecks this year as in every year … these included Brad Keselowski’s airborne wreck after Carl Edwards dumped him at Atlanta, Keselowski’s hard wreck after Edwards dumped him in the Nationwide Series at Gateway, Dennis Setzer getting airborne and into the catchfence in a Nationwide Series wreck at Talladega, Ron Hornaday’s airborne wreck at Talladega in the Camping World Truck Series, A.J. Allmendinger’s wild ride at Talladega in the Chase and Kasey Kahne almost leaving the track in the first Pocono track. However, there is no question in my mind that Elliott Sadler’s wreck in the second Pocono race of the summer was the worst wreck of the season and one of the worst I’ve ever seen. A few years ago NASCAR started keeping track of how hard the crashes are and said that Sadler’s Pocono wreck was the hardest wreck ever recorded. There’s no doubt in my mind that Sadler would have lost his life in that wreck had NASCAR not improved in safety in the last decade.
Best Moment: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Winning at Daytona in #3
This was a moment so good that it almost seemed scripted. Some fans even believed that it had to have been “fixed.” But, let me tell you that restrictor plate racing most certainly can’t be “fixed.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would run his father’s old #3 Wrangler blue and yellow paint scheme at the Daytona Nationwide Series race in July. In the one and only race that he would ever run in this scheme he dominated and won. This didn’t surprise me at all for two reasons 1) It’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a restrictor plate race 2) I believe that Earnhardt Jr. can be a big time driver when he puts his mind to it (which doesn’t appear to happen often) and that he did so on this night in tribute to his father.
Biggest Bonehead Moment: Marcos Ambrose at Infineon
Marcos Ambrose had his first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in his grasp at the Infineon road course in Sonoma, California during the summer … and then he made one of the dumbest mistakes a driver could ever make. Under a late caution while attempting to conserve fuel Ambrose cut his engine off while going up a hill on the track. The car was unable to start initially after Ambrose shut it off and thus didn’t maintain the pace speed; This allowed second place driver Jimmie Johnson and three or four others to move in front of Ambrose. Johnson went on to win the race that felt as if Ambrose had it in his pocket.
Worst Performance: Denny Hamlin’s qualifying run at Homestead-Miami
Denny Hamlin entered the final race of the Sprint Cup season at Homestead-Miami Speedway 15 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson in the points standings. We all know that Johnson would go on to win his fifth consecutive championship, but I actually don’t think Hamlin lost the championship in the final race. Instead Hamlin lost the championship on Friday when a poor qualifying effort forced him to start 32 spots behind Johnson on the starting grid. It was a move that essentially gave Johnson a big lead from the beginning and he never looked back.
Most Embarrassing Moment: Kasey Kahne quits on Richard Petty
It had been determined earlier in the season that 2010 would be Kasey Kahne’s last season with Richard Petty Motorsports and that he would drive next season for Red Bull Racing while waiting for a spot to open up at Hendrick Motorsports for 2012. Kahne had struggled all season long at RPM and when his brakes failed at Charlotte in the Chase Kahne finally decided that he had enough. When the team fixed the car enough for it to return to the track to gain as many points as possible Kahne faked illness and the team was forced to put JJ Yeley in the car to finish the race. I’d known for some time that Kahne was one of the most overrated drivers in NASCAR, but he proved that night that he was also a quitter. That would turn out to be his final race for RPM. He went to Red Bull racing for the remainder of the 2010 season was replaced in the #9 Budweiser car by Aric Almirola.
Best Silly Season Move: Elliott Sadler to run full time 2011 Nationwide Series
For those who aren’t big NASCAR buffs, silly season is basically NASCAR’s equivalent of free agency with drivers switching teams. Most would say that the biggest move of silly season is Kasey Kahne going to Red Bull Racing for a year; but, as previously mentioned Kahne is overrated. Personally I think the biggest silly season move is Elliott Sadler’s decision to run for the Nationwide Series championship for car owner Kevin Harvick. Sadler is one of the nicest guys in NASCAR and one of my personal favorites. I know that he’s making the right decision to run full time in the Nationwide Series, because his Sprint Cup career has gone under. Sadler will be a big time threat for the Nationwide championship next season, especially with the upcoming rule that will state that Sprint Cup regulars won’t be eligible to win the Nationwide championship in 2011.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
20 Unwritten Sports Rules That Should Not Be Broken (4 That I Don't Mind Seeing Broken)
Unwritten rules basically have to do with playing the game with good sportsmanship.
1. Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter or a perfect game. (Baseball)
About 10 years ago San Diego Padres catcher Ben Davis successfully bunted for a single to break up a no-hitter by Curt Schilling. A while back Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria tried the same thing during Dallas Braden’s perfect game and thankfully was unsuccessful.
2. Don’t run up the score if you’re leading by a lot. (All sports)
The most notorious team that I’ve ever seen do this was the New England Patriots. Win a game with humility.
3. Don’t onside kick while leading. (Football)
The only time I ever remember seeing this was when I attended my first UCA Bears football game and Coach Clint Conque had the Bears onside kick at the end of a game with a huge lead. One of the Bears starting players actually got injured on the play. I always thought it kind of served Conque right for doing such an unsportsmanlike thing.
4. Don’t shoot at your own basket to get a record.
Ricky Davis did this many years ago against the Utah Jazz to record a rebound for a triple-double. (Basketball)
5. Don’t intentionally foul at the end of the game to keep another team from shooting a three to tie or win. (Basketball)
Some coaches do it and other coaches refuse to do it. I admire those coaches that refuse to do it. I’ve said multiple times I’d rather get beat than foul in that situation.
6. Don’t celebrate when losing. (All sports)
Nothing looks dumber than when a linebacker celebrates a sack down by 14 or a NBA player celebrates a dunk down by 20 or when a pitcher celebrates a strikeout down five. If I were a coach I’d fine and sit any player celebrating while losing.
7. Don’t celebrate an empty net goal (Hockey)
8. Don’t give an athlete a record they don’t deserve. (All sports)
The only time I’ve ever seen this was when Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre laid down to give Giants defensive end Michael Strahan the NFL’s single-season sack record. Make the guy earn the record.
9. Don’t shoot the ball as time expires when leading (Basketball)
Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic notoriously did this two years ago in the NBA playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs.
10. Don’t shoot 3-pointers when you’re up 10+ with less than a minute to play (Basketball)
Kobe Bryant (twice; made one) and Derek Fisher both shot 3-pointers against the Celtics during game one of the 2010 NBA Finals with an insurmountable lead with under a minute to play.
11. Don’t foul on defense when losing by more than 10+ with less than a minute remaining. (Basketball)
Too many NBA and college basketball teams do this and it’s always for naught. All it does is prolong your loss.
12. Don’t run a play when you can run the clock out. (Football)
13. Don’t show up a pitcher by admiring a home run. (Baseball)
I swear if you do you’ll get a fastball in the back.
14. Don’t show up a batter by celebrating a strikeout. (Baseball)
Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano and a few others are notoriously bad about this.
15. Don’t steal a base when you’re up by 5+ runs late in a game (Baseball)
Rickey Henderson did this about 10 years ago against the Milwaukee Brewers and Brewers manager Davey Lopes wanted his head for it.
16. Don’t yell at infielders on the basepaths while their trying to make a play. (Baseball)
Alex Rodriguez juvenilely did this a season or two ago while running out a pop out against the Toronto Blue Jays.
17. If you’re a lapped car, don’t race a lead lap car hard late in a race (Auto Racing)
18. Don’t try to plant seeds with referees, umpires or officials to try to get favorable calls. (All sports)
Lakers coach Phil Jackson did this on three different occasions in the 2010 NBA playoffs alone.
19. Don’t lean into a pitch intentionally to get a hit by pitch. (Baseball)
20. Don’t swing at the first pitch following back to back home runs (baseball)
Four Unwritten Rules I Don't Mind Seeing Broken:
1. Icing the kicker (Football)
To me kicking a game-winning field goal is one of the most mental things in all of sports. Might as well try to get in the kicker's head.
2. Mocking a pitcher/batter who previously mocked (Baseball)
Aubrey Huff mocked Joba Chamberlain two years ago when he hit a home run off of him, because Chamberlain previously did it to him; just a little bit of his own medicine.
3. Never steal another team’s signs (Baseball)
If you can do it, do it.
4. “attacking” while an opponent has a mechanical problem (Cycling)
This came into play during this year's Tour de France when Alberto Contador went on the offensive when his nearest competitor had a mechanical issue with his bike.
1. Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter or a perfect game. (Baseball)
About 10 years ago San Diego Padres catcher Ben Davis successfully bunted for a single to break up a no-hitter by Curt Schilling. A while back Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria tried the same thing during Dallas Braden’s perfect game and thankfully was unsuccessful.
2. Don’t run up the score if you’re leading by a lot. (All sports)
The most notorious team that I’ve ever seen do this was the New England Patriots. Win a game with humility.
3. Don’t onside kick while leading. (Football)
The only time I ever remember seeing this was when I attended my first UCA Bears football game and Coach Clint Conque had the Bears onside kick at the end of a game with a huge lead. One of the Bears starting players actually got injured on the play. I always thought it kind of served Conque right for doing such an unsportsmanlike thing.
4. Don’t shoot at your own basket to get a record.
Ricky Davis did this many years ago against the Utah Jazz to record a rebound for a triple-double. (Basketball)
5. Don’t intentionally foul at the end of the game to keep another team from shooting a three to tie or win. (Basketball)
Some coaches do it and other coaches refuse to do it. I admire those coaches that refuse to do it. I’ve said multiple times I’d rather get beat than foul in that situation.
6. Don’t celebrate when losing. (All sports)
Nothing looks dumber than when a linebacker celebrates a sack down by 14 or a NBA player celebrates a dunk down by 20 or when a pitcher celebrates a strikeout down five. If I were a coach I’d fine and sit any player celebrating while losing.
7. Don’t celebrate an empty net goal (Hockey)
8. Don’t give an athlete a record they don’t deserve. (All sports)
The only time I’ve ever seen this was when Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre laid down to give Giants defensive end Michael Strahan the NFL’s single-season sack record. Make the guy earn the record.
9. Don’t shoot the ball as time expires when leading (Basketball)
Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic notoriously did this two years ago in the NBA playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs.
10. Don’t shoot 3-pointers when you’re up 10+ with less than a minute to play (Basketball)
Kobe Bryant (twice; made one) and Derek Fisher both shot 3-pointers against the Celtics during game one of the 2010 NBA Finals with an insurmountable lead with under a minute to play.
11. Don’t foul on defense when losing by more than 10+ with less than a minute remaining. (Basketball)
Too many NBA and college basketball teams do this and it’s always for naught. All it does is prolong your loss.
12. Don’t run a play when you can run the clock out. (Football)
13. Don’t show up a pitcher by admiring a home run. (Baseball)
I swear if you do you’ll get a fastball in the back.
14. Don’t show up a batter by celebrating a strikeout. (Baseball)
Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano and a few others are notoriously bad about this.
15. Don’t steal a base when you’re up by 5+ runs late in a game (Baseball)
Rickey Henderson did this about 10 years ago against the Milwaukee Brewers and Brewers manager Davey Lopes wanted his head for it.
16. Don’t yell at infielders on the basepaths while their trying to make a play. (Baseball)
Alex Rodriguez juvenilely did this a season or two ago while running out a pop out against the Toronto Blue Jays.
17. If you’re a lapped car, don’t race a lead lap car hard late in a race (Auto Racing)
18. Don’t try to plant seeds with referees, umpires or officials to try to get favorable calls. (All sports)
Lakers coach Phil Jackson did this on three different occasions in the 2010 NBA playoffs alone.
19. Don’t lean into a pitch intentionally to get a hit by pitch. (Baseball)
20. Don’t swing at the first pitch following back to back home runs (baseball)
Four Unwritten Rules I Don't Mind Seeing Broken:
1. Icing the kicker (Football)
To me kicking a game-winning field goal is one of the most mental things in all of sports. Might as well try to get in the kicker's head.
2. Mocking a pitcher/batter who previously mocked (Baseball)
Aubrey Huff mocked Joba Chamberlain two years ago when he hit a home run off of him, because Chamberlain previously did it to him; just a little bit of his own medicine.
3. Never steal another team’s signs (Baseball)
If you can do it, do it.
4. “attacking” while an opponent has a mechanical problem (Cycling)
This came into play during this year's Tour de France when Alberto Contador went on the offensive when his nearest competitor had a mechanical issue with his bike.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Baseball Really Isn't More Boring Than Football
It seems I’m constantly having those: “I can’t believe these people” moments. Things always seem to happen that just don’t make much sense to me and I honestly don’t see how they make sense to rational people either. These moments often revolve around sports fans.
The most recent of these “I can’t believe these people” moments has to do with television ratings of a regular season, meaningless NFL week six blowout game versus those of a huge, primetime and big time playoff matchup that turned into one of the greatest postseason pitching performances in baseball history.
According to tvbythenumbers.com, 9.6 million people watched the Tennessee Titans trump the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-3 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Oct. 18, while only 8.2 million people watched TBS’s telecast of game three of the American League Championship Series playoff baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees that same night and time.
Now, I know that football is the most-watched sport in this country and that is obvious and has been for some time, but it is still a head-scratcher to me that more people would want to watch a regular season, nothing at stake NFL game between honestly two uninteresting teams than a thrilling pitcher’s duel matchup between Benton’s own Cliff Lee, of the Rangers, and Yankees star Andy Pettitte.
On top of all of that, Lee’s performance against the Yankees, while allowing only two hits and striking out an incredible 13 batters, who aren’t slobs by the way, while shutting them out might be one of the 10 greatest postseason pitching performances in baseball history.
I’ve always wondered why a regular season NFL game would draw more viewers than a tight, postseason Major League Baseball broadcast or even more preposterous why a televised NFL preseason game would out draw a regular season MLB game.
The answers that sports fans have always given me have never seemed fulfilling. The answer is usually as simple as: “football is just better.” Every now and then, I’ll receive the more elaborate: “football is more exciting and just has more action than baseball” or “there is too much stoppage time in baseball or time when nothing is happening.”
Well, the facts are that football honestly doesn’t have any more or less action then baseball. There also isn’t any more stoppage time or time when nothing is occurring.
This is going to sound either funny, stupid or too philosophical to some, but each sport has action except for when there isn’t any.
What I mean by this is that the action in baseball starts with the pitch, which means there is constant action once the pitch is made, even if the ball isn’t batted into play. The action in a football game begins with the snap of the football. The time between the pitch in baseball and the snap in football is what I’m referring to as stoppage time and the amount of time in between the two is roughly the same. In between the pitch and the snap are mind games being played between the pitcher/catcher and batter in baseball and the offense and defense in football, which leads to a different action.
If any argument could be made as far as having less action, it could be made that there is actually less constant action in a football game, because in football you have halftime, which is roughly 20 minutes long, as opposed to the mere two to three minutes in between baseball innings.
Some fans also make the argument that baseball games are longer than football games and that baseball doesn’t fit into the increasingly small attention span of most Americans.
Sure, a baseball game doesn’t have a game clock and could essentially last all day long if it had too, but in most cases a baseball game is three hours long, which is also roughly the same length of a football game with the halftime, timeouts and commercial breaks thrown in.
This probably seems like a lot to think about and many sports fans don’t want a whole lot of thinking thrown into their sports. However, these reasons seem better to me than the ignorantly cliché “football is just better” statement.
When it comes down to it the two sports are similar in the amount of action that actually occurs during the timeframe of the event. This brings back the question: why do more people prefer meaningless, regular season football games over important, postseason baseball games?
The answer would seem to be a subjective one: the majority of sports fans just prefer football over baseball. Each fan will have their reasons why or why not, but one thing is certain in my mind: “just because” just doesn’t cut it.
The most recent of these “I can’t believe these people” moments has to do with television ratings of a regular season, meaningless NFL week six blowout game versus those of a huge, primetime and big time playoff matchup that turned into one of the greatest postseason pitching performances in baseball history.
According to tvbythenumbers.com, 9.6 million people watched the Tennessee Titans trump the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-3 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Oct. 18, while only 8.2 million people watched TBS’s telecast of game three of the American League Championship Series playoff baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees that same night and time.
Now, I know that football is the most-watched sport in this country and that is obvious and has been for some time, but it is still a head-scratcher to me that more people would want to watch a regular season, nothing at stake NFL game between honestly two uninteresting teams than a thrilling pitcher’s duel matchup between Benton’s own Cliff Lee, of the Rangers, and Yankees star Andy Pettitte.
On top of all of that, Lee’s performance against the Yankees, while allowing only two hits and striking out an incredible 13 batters, who aren’t slobs by the way, while shutting them out might be one of the 10 greatest postseason pitching performances in baseball history.
I’ve always wondered why a regular season NFL game would draw more viewers than a tight, postseason Major League Baseball broadcast or even more preposterous why a televised NFL preseason game would out draw a regular season MLB game.
The answers that sports fans have always given me have never seemed fulfilling. The answer is usually as simple as: “football is just better.” Every now and then, I’ll receive the more elaborate: “football is more exciting and just has more action than baseball” or “there is too much stoppage time in baseball or time when nothing is happening.”
Well, the facts are that football honestly doesn’t have any more or less action then baseball. There also isn’t any more stoppage time or time when nothing is occurring.
This is going to sound either funny, stupid or too philosophical to some, but each sport has action except for when there isn’t any.
What I mean by this is that the action in baseball starts with the pitch, which means there is constant action once the pitch is made, even if the ball isn’t batted into play. The action in a football game begins with the snap of the football. The time between the pitch in baseball and the snap in football is what I’m referring to as stoppage time and the amount of time in between the two is roughly the same. In between the pitch and the snap are mind games being played between the pitcher/catcher and batter in baseball and the offense and defense in football, which leads to a different action.
If any argument could be made as far as having less action, it could be made that there is actually less constant action in a football game, because in football you have halftime, which is roughly 20 minutes long, as opposed to the mere two to three minutes in between baseball innings.
Some fans also make the argument that baseball games are longer than football games and that baseball doesn’t fit into the increasingly small attention span of most Americans.
Sure, a baseball game doesn’t have a game clock and could essentially last all day long if it had too, but in most cases a baseball game is three hours long, which is also roughly the same length of a football game with the halftime, timeouts and commercial breaks thrown in.
This probably seems like a lot to think about and many sports fans don’t want a whole lot of thinking thrown into their sports. However, these reasons seem better to me than the ignorantly cliché “football is just better” statement.
When it comes down to it the two sports are similar in the amount of action that actually occurs during the timeframe of the event. This brings back the question: why do more people prefer meaningless, regular season football games over important, postseason baseball games?
The answer would seem to be a subjective one: the majority of sports fans just prefer football over baseball. Each fan will have their reasons why or why not, but one thing is certain in my mind: “just because” just doesn’t cut it.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Greatest Numbers in Sports
There are a lot of uncertainties in the world of sports, but one certainty is that sports are all about numbers. If somebody came up and asked me how many career home runs Hank Aaron hit I’d instantly say 755. If they came up and asked me how many career race wins Richard Petty had I’d instantly say 200. Numbers are simply engrained into sports.
ESPN recently had a SportsNation poll of the greatest single-game or single-season numbers in sports history.
Here is a list of those numbers in chronological order from oldest to most recent:
.406- Ted Williams’ batting average (last player to bat .400 in a season), 1941
56- Joe DiMaggio’s hit streak, 1941
61- Roger Maris’ home runs, 1961
31-13-11- Oscar Robertson’s points/rebound/assist average, 1961-62
100- Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game point total, 1962
1.12- Bob Gibson’s ERA, 1968
92- Wayne Gretzky’s single-season goals record, 1981-82
2,105- Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, 1984
5,084- Dan Marino’s single-season passing record, 1984
73- Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record, 2001
31- LaDanian Tomlinson’s single-season rushing touchdowns record, 2006
296- Adrian Peterson’s single-game rushing record, 2007
50- Tom Brady’s single-season passing touchdowns record, 2007
9.58- Usain Bolt’s record time in the 100 meters, 2009
59- Lowest round score on PGA Tour; occurred five times; most recently by Paul Goydos & Stuart Appleby, 2009
SportsNation fans listed these numbers as the top 5:
1. .406- Ted Williams
2. 100- Wilt Chamberlain
3. 56- Joe DiMaggio
4. 1.12- Bob Gibson
5. 9.58- Usain Bolt
My Top 5:
1. 100- Wilt Chamberlain … I don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
2. .406- Ted Williams … I also don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
3. 1.12- Bob Gibson … Once again, I don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
4. 56- Joe DiMaggio … Certainly possible, but the closest anybody has ever gotten was within 12 games.
5. 61- Roger Maris … 61 single-season home runs is still the record in my mind … Bonds’ 73 means absolutely nothing.
There are six numbers that I would like to see added to the list though:
130- Rickey Henderson’s single-season stolen base record, 1982
20- Record for strikeouts in a game; held by Roger Clemens (twice) & Kerry Wood (1998)
15- Number of strokes Tiger Woods beat the field by in the 2000 U.S. Open
14- Number of laps Ned Jarrett won a NASCAR race by at Charlotte, 1965
12- Most RBIs in a single-game held by Jim Bottomley (1924) & Mark Whiten (1992)
7- Most sacks in a single-game by Derrick Thomas, 1990
What do you think is the greatest number in sports?
ESPN recently had a SportsNation poll of the greatest single-game or single-season numbers in sports history.
Here is a list of those numbers in chronological order from oldest to most recent:
.406- Ted Williams’ batting average (last player to bat .400 in a season), 1941
56- Joe DiMaggio’s hit streak, 1941
61- Roger Maris’ home runs, 1961
31-13-11- Oscar Robertson’s points/rebound/assist average, 1961-62
100- Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game point total, 1962
1.12- Bob Gibson’s ERA, 1968
92- Wayne Gretzky’s single-season goals record, 1981-82
2,105- Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, 1984
5,084- Dan Marino’s single-season passing record, 1984
73- Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record, 2001
31- LaDanian Tomlinson’s single-season rushing touchdowns record, 2006
296- Adrian Peterson’s single-game rushing record, 2007
50- Tom Brady’s single-season passing touchdowns record, 2007
9.58- Usain Bolt’s record time in the 100 meters, 2009
59- Lowest round score on PGA Tour; occurred five times; most recently by Paul Goydos & Stuart Appleby, 2009
SportsNation fans listed these numbers as the top 5:
1. .406- Ted Williams
2. 100- Wilt Chamberlain
3. 56- Joe DiMaggio
4. 1.12- Bob Gibson
5. 9.58- Usain Bolt
My Top 5:
1. 100- Wilt Chamberlain … I don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
2. .406- Ted Williams … I also don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
3. 1.12- Bob Gibson … Once again, I don’t think anybody will ever do this again.
4. 56- Joe DiMaggio … Certainly possible, but the closest anybody has ever gotten was within 12 games.
5. 61- Roger Maris … 61 single-season home runs is still the record in my mind … Bonds’ 73 means absolutely nothing.
There are six numbers that I would like to see added to the list though:
130- Rickey Henderson’s single-season stolen base record, 1982
20- Record for strikeouts in a game; held by Roger Clemens (twice) & Kerry Wood (1998)
15- Number of strokes Tiger Woods beat the field by in the 2000 U.S. Open
14- Number of laps Ned Jarrett won a NASCAR race by at Charlotte, 1965
12- Most RBIs in a single-game held by Jim Bottomley (1924) & Mark Whiten (1992)
7- Most sacks in a single-game by Derrick Thomas, 1990
What do you think is the greatest number in sports?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
10 Most Anticipated Returns in Sports
Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic today were discussing LeBron James' return to Cleveland next year when the Miami Heat play them on December 2. They were talking about the most anticipated returns in sports history.
Here are my 10.
1) 2 of these events haven't happened yet 2) this is a quickly thrown together list, so if I miss one please let me know
1. Wayne Gretzky back to Edmonton as a LA King
2. LeBron James back to Cleveland as a Miami Heat (future)
3. Shaquille O'Neal back to Los Angeles as a Miami Heat
4. Brett Favre back to Green Bay as a Minnesota Viking
5. Roger Clemens back to Boston as a Yankee
6. Donovan McNabb back to Philadelphia as a Redskin (future)
7. Michael Jordan back to Chicago as a Wizard
8. Manny Ramirez back to Boston as a Dodger
9. Terrell Owens back to Philadelphia as a Cowboy
10. Tom Glavine back to Atlanta as a Met
Honorable Mention: Nick Saban back to LSU as coach of Alabama
Here are my 10.
1) 2 of these events haven't happened yet 2) this is a quickly thrown together list, so if I miss one please let me know
1. Wayne Gretzky back to Edmonton as a LA King
2. LeBron James back to Cleveland as a Miami Heat (future)
3. Shaquille O'Neal back to Los Angeles as a Miami Heat
4. Brett Favre back to Green Bay as a Minnesota Viking
5. Roger Clemens back to Boston as a Yankee
6. Donovan McNabb back to Philadelphia as a Redskin (future)
7. Michael Jordan back to Chicago as a Wizard
8. Manny Ramirez back to Boston as a Dodger
9. Terrell Owens back to Philadelphia as a Cowboy
10. Tom Glavine back to Atlanta as a Met
Honorable Mention: Nick Saban back to LSU as coach of Alabama
Thursday, July 29, 2010
From Miss Universe to Miss Iowa (This is Baseball Right??)
Washington Nationals phenom starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg was scratched from a start on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves because he didn’t feel right when warming up for the game. It was later revealed that he has some shoulder inflammation and is listed as day-to-day.
Okay, that happens and everything is fine, right?
Well, the Nationals reaction toward veteran pitcher and Tuesday night’s spot starter for the Nationals 39-year old Miguel Batista has gotten me more than a little perturbed.
The Nationals had sold the game out on Tuesday night because people wanted to see Strasburg pitch. When it was announced that Strasburg had been scratched and that Batista would be replacing him on the mound the Nationals’ so-called fans threw a fit and booed Batista.
What did Batista do?
Batista pulled his cap brim down low and went out and did his job like any veteran should … and he did it damn well. Batista pitched five shutout innings against the Braves and led the Nationals to victory. The fans still didn’t care; they wanted to see Strasburg after all.
The cold hard truth is that Batista might have done a better job against the Braves than Strasburg would have. The Braves had beaten the young ace earlier in the season.
It’s frankly ridiculous the way that the Nationals fans treated Batista, one of their own, on Tuesday night. Many fans even left the game before the first pitch had been thrown because they were so disappointed that Strasburg wouldn’t pitch. By the way, I don’t care if the entire ballclub comes down with food poisoning and is replaced at the last second with the entire AAA club, I’m still going to watch the game that I paid my hard earned money for and support my team.
Baseball seems to be the ultimate team sport out of the big three sports leagues in this country, in that the team is more important than the individual player. Maybe that’s changing?
Much like LeBron James of the NBA, it seems like baseball fans in Washington have quickly become Strasburg fans instead of Nationals fans … and, if you ask me that’s very wrong. I wonder if Albert Pujols were to leave St. Louis in a trade or via free agency would Cardinals fans just up a switch favorite teams as fast as many Cleveland Cavaliers switched to the Miami Heat when James signed with them a few weeks ago?
I seriously hope that the MLB doesn’t go down this road like the NBA apparently already has.
As for Batista, he should’ve felt bad being treated the way he was for such an excellent performance; however he understood saying, “Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos.”
Okay, that happens and everything is fine, right?
Well, the Nationals reaction toward veteran pitcher and Tuesday night’s spot starter for the Nationals 39-year old Miguel Batista has gotten me more than a little perturbed.
The Nationals had sold the game out on Tuesday night because people wanted to see Strasburg pitch. When it was announced that Strasburg had been scratched and that Batista would be replacing him on the mound the Nationals’ so-called fans threw a fit and booed Batista.
What did Batista do?
Batista pulled his cap brim down low and went out and did his job like any veteran should … and he did it damn well. Batista pitched five shutout innings against the Braves and led the Nationals to victory. The fans still didn’t care; they wanted to see Strasburg after all.
The cold hard truth is that Batista might have done a better job against the Braves than Strasburg would have. The Braves had beaten the young ace earlier in the season.
It’s frankly ridiculous the way that the Nationals fans treated Batista, one of their own, on Tuesday night. Many fans even left the game before the first pitch had been thrown because they were so disappointed that Strasburg wouldn’t pitch. By the way, I don’t care if the entire ballclub comes down with food poisoning and is replaced at the last second with the entire AAA club, I’m still going to watch the game that I paid my hard earned money for and support my team.
Baseball seems to be the ultimate team sport out of the big three sports leagues in this country, in that the team is more important than the individual player. Maybe that’s changing?
Much like LeBron James of the NBA, it seems like baseball fans in Washington have quickly become Strasburg fans instead of Nationals fans … and, if you ask me that’s very wrong. I wonder if Albert Pujols were to leave St. Louis in a trade or via free agency would Cardinals fans just up a switch favorite teams as fast as many Cleveland Cavaliers switched to the Miami Heat when James signed with them a few weeks ago?
I seriously hope that the MLB doesn’t go down this road like the NBA apparently already has.
As for Batista, he should’ve felt bad being treated the way he was for such an excellent performance; however he understood saying, “Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos.”
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
20 Dumbest Sports Injuries
1. Redskins QB Gus Frerotte got a concussion slamming his head against a wall in celebration
2. Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica blows out knee celebrating field goal
3. Soccer player Alex Stepney breaks jaw from yelling too loudly
4. Celtics guard Tony Allen blew out knee dunking needlessly after the whistle
5. Padres outfielder Milton Bradley blows ACL arguing with an umpire
6. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shoots self in the leg with own gun
7. Angels first baseman Kendry Morales breaks leg celebrating game-winning grand slam
8. NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson breaks wrist after falling off the top of a golf cart while clowning around
9. Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya gets arm inflammation from too much “Guitar Hero”
10. Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa sprained ligaments in back sneezing
11. Jaguars kicker Chris Hanson cuts self with an axe in motivational speech
12. Orlando Brown receives serious eye injury when refs flag hits him in the eye
13. Suns guard Kevin Johnson dislocated his shoulder when Charles Barkley high-fived him too hard
14. Vince Coleman injured his leg when the tarp machine rolled over him
15. Padres pitcher Adam Eaton stabs self trying to open DVD with a knife
16. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan hurts knee creaming Wes Helms with shaving cream pie celebration
17. Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs sprained muscles in back taking off cowboy boots
18. Tigers infielder Brandon Inge strains oblique picking up a pillow
19. Rockies infielder Clint Barmes broke collarbone falling while carrying deer meat
20. Braves pitcher Tom Glavine breaks rib vomiting up in-flight meal on plane
2. Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica blows out knee celebrating field goal
3. Soccer player Alex Stepney breaks jaw from yelling too loudly
4. Celtics guard Tony Allen blew out knee dunking needlessly after the whistle
5. Padres outfielder Milton Bradley blows ACL arguing with an umpire
6. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shoots self in the leg with own gun
7. Angels first baseman Kendry Morales breaks leg celebrating game-winning grand slam
8. NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson breaks wrist after falling off the top of a golf cart while clowning around
9. Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya gets arm inflammation from too much “Guitar Hero”
10. Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa sprained ligaments in back sneezing
11. Jaguars kicker Chris Hanson cuts self with an axe in motivational speech
12. Orlando Brown receives serious eye injury when refs flag hits him in the eye
13. Suns guard Kevin Johnson dislocated his shoulder when Charles Barkley high-fived him too hard
14. Vince Coleman injured his leg when the tarp machine rolled over him
15. Padres pitcher Adam Eaton stabs self trying to open DVD with a knife
16. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan hurts knee creaming Wes Helms with shaving cream pie celebration
17. Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs sprained muscles in back taking off cowboy boots
18. Tigers infielder Brandon Inge strains oblique picking up a pillow
19. Rockies infielder Clint Barmes broke collarbone falling while carrying deer meat
20. Braves pitcher Tom Glavine breaks rib vomiting up in-flight meal on plane
Monday, July 26, 2010
Stupid Rule Costs Castroneves IRL Race
One of the dumbest rules in sports played a huge factor in the outcome of Sunday’s IndyRacing League race in Edmonton, Canada. It cost three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves a win and gave one to Scott Dixon, a driver who never led a lap the entire race.
With just a few laps remaining in the race rookie driver Simona De Silvestro went off course and stalled bringing out a caution. This caution set up a restart with four laps remaining with Castroneves in first place, his Roger Penske Racing teammate Will Power, who had led the majority of the race, in second place and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon in third place.
On the restart Castroneves was penalized for blocking Power. Following the perceived block, Power tried to make a move around Castroneves going into the first turn and was passed by Dixon for second place. The IRL reviewed the play and called for Castroneves to be black flagged, which results in a drive through penalty down pit lane.
Castroneves didn’t heed the IRL’s black flag and remained on the track and in front of Dixon until the checkered flag flew. Castroneves was the first driver to the finish, but the IRL race competition boss Brian Barnhart immediately gave the win to Dixon. Thus, Dixon became the first driver that I’ve personally seen in any form of motorsports to win a race without actually leading a lap.
Following the race Castroneves jumped out of his car noticeably outraged and stomped over to the IRL scoring tower pointing up toward the tower and screaming. Castroneves also pushed multiple race officials and grab one by the shirt collar. Some would think these actions as an overreaction, but certainly they were justifiable based on the outcome of the race.
The no blocking rule in the IRL is implemented as a safety issue. Blocking could result in contact between two cars, which could lead to an accident. Blocking is against the rules in certain motorsports leagues like the IRL, but not in others like NASCAR. Stock cars are much safer than the cart style cars used in the IRL.
In my opinion, taking blocking out of a motorsports league takes much of the defensive strategy out of the racing. If you can’t block the car behind you then there is absolutely nothing to stop faster cars from passing you for position or the win.
That is just one of the reasons that the IRL’s no blocking rules is one of the worst rules in all of sports. The other reason is that sometimes blocking isn’t as obvious as switching positions on the track by swerving back and forth, as was the case at Edmonton on Sunday. Despite the fact that Power, Dixon and Barnhart said that Castroneves did indeed block on the restart, it wasn’t visibly noticed on the television broadcast and the entire three-man broadcast team on the Versus network admitted that they thought the call by the IRL was a bad one.
The blocking rule in the IRL is right up there with sudden-death overtime in NFL regular season games as one of the worst rules in sports and should be looked into by the IRL.
With just a few laps remaining in the race rookie driver Simona De Silvestro went off course and stalled bringing out a caution. This caution set up a restart with four laps remaining with Castroneves in first place, his Roger Penske Racing teammate Will Power, who had led the majority of the race, in second place and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon in third place.
On the restart Castroneves was penalized for blocking Power. Following the perceived block, Power tried to make a move around Castroneves going into the first turn and was passed by Dixon for second place. The IRL reviewed the play and called for Castroneves to be black flagged, which results in a drive through penalty down pit lane.
Castroneves didn’t heed the IRL’s black flag and remained on the track and in front of Dixon until the checkered flag flew. Castroneves was the first driver to the finish, but the IRL race competition boss Brian Barnhart immediately gave the win to Dixon. Thus, Dixon became the first driver that I’ve personally seen in any form of motorsports to win a race without actually leading a lap.
Following the race Castroneves jumped out of his car noticeably outraged and stomped over to the IRL scoring tower pointing up toward the tower and screaming. Castroneves also pushed multiple race officials and grab one by the shirt collar. Some would think these actions as an overreaction, but certainly they were justifiable based on the outcome of the race.
The no blocking rule in the IRL is implemented as a safety issue. Blocking could result in contact between two cars, which could lead to an accident. Blocking is against the rules in certain motorsports leagues like the IRL, but not in others like NASCAR. Stock cars are much safer than the cart style cars used in the IRL.
In my opinion, taking blocking out of a motorsports league takes much of the defensive strategy out of the racing. If you can’t block the car behind you then there is absolutely nothing to stop faster cars from passing you for position or the win.
That is just one of the reasons that the IRL’s no blocking rules is one of the worst rules in all of sports. The other reason is that sometimes blocking isn’t as obvious as switching positions on the track by swerving back and forth, as was the case at Edmonton on Sunday. Despite the fact that Power, Dixon and Barnhart said that Castroneves did indeed block on the restart, it wasn’t visibly noticed on the television broadcast and the entire three-man broadcast team on the Versus network admitted that they thought the call by the IRL was a bad one.
The blocking rule in the IRL is right up there with sudden-death overtime in NFL regular season games as one of the worst rules in sports and should be looked into by the IRL.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10 Least Deserving Athlete Nicknames
There aren't many athletes who have nicknames that aren't deserving. Here are 10 I found.
1. "King James" LeBron James
2. "Baby Jordan" Harold Miner
3. "Princess" Danica Patrick
4. "Pudge" Ivan Rodriguez
5. "Happy" Kevin Harvick
6. "Captain Clutch" Acie Law IV
7. "Franchise" Steve Francis
8. "King Felix" Felix Hernandez
9. "Fourth Quarter Vince" Vince Young
10. "Dice K" Daisuke Matsuzaka
Honorable Mention: "The Professional" Eli Manning
Possible One for the Future: "Sliced Bread" Joey Logano
1. "King James" LeBron James
2. "Baby Jordan" Harold Miner
3. "Princess" Danica Patrick
4. "Pudge" Ivan Rodriguez
5. "Happy" Kevin Harvick
6. "Captain Clutch" Acie Law IV
7. "Franchise" Steve Francis
8. "King Felix" Felix Hernandez
9. "Fourth Quarter Vince" Vince Young
10. "Dice K" Daisuke Matsuzaka
Honorable Mention: "The Professional" Eli Manning
Possible One for the Future: "Sliced Bread" Joey Logano
$50 Million Dollar Baby
Overall number one NFL draft pick Sam Bradford from the Oklahoma Sooners is reportedly going to be the highest paid player in football without ever even playing a down in the league.
The St. Louis Rams are probably going to have to give Bradford a deal in the neighborhood of $50 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s a sign that rookie contracts are continuing to rise in the NFL. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford who was taken as the first overall draft pick last year was given a contract worth $41.5 million.
It is utterly ridiculous to think that Bradford could make more money than Super Bowl winning quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.
It’s dangerous for teams like the Rams to basically be forced into signing these outrageous contracts by agents and players when overall number one picks can prove to be busts. Bradford could easily become a great quarterback like Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman, but he could just as easily become a bust like JaMarcus Russell, David Carr and Tim Couch.
It’s also dangerous for the Rams to give Bradford so much money because he’s already proven to be injury prone. Bradford was seriously injured in his final year at college with the Sooners and forced to miss the majority of the season. He’ll surely be knocked around like a rag doll in the NFL, especially with the Rams only having the 24th projected offensive line in the league, according to football.about.com.
It would seem that the only real way for the NFL to avoid the rising rookie salaries would be to go to a rookie scale salary like the NBA does. In the NBA the draft picks have there own assigned salaries that ensures that the first overall pick makes more than the second pick and the second pick makes more than the third and so on. The contracts are each for two years with team options for a third and fourth.
The NBA has it 100 percent right when it comes to rookie contracts. The NFL desperately needs to go that route to ensure that unproven players like Bradford aren’t the richest athletes in the sport.
The St. Louis Rams are probably going to have to give Bradford a deal in the neighborhood of $50 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s a sign that rookie contracts are continuing to rise in the NFL. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford who was taken as the first overall draft pick last year was given a contract worth $41.5 million.
It is utterly ridiculous to think that Bradford could make more money than Super Bowl winning quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.
It’s dangerous for teams like the Rams to basically be forced into signing these outrageous contracts by agents and players when overall number one picks can prove to be busts. Bradford could easily become a great quarterback like Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman, but he could just as easily become a bust like JaMarcus Russell, David Carr and Tim Couch.
It’s also dangerous for the Rams to give Bradford so much money because he’s already proven to be injury prone. Bradford was seriously injured in his final year at college with the Sooners and forced to miss the majority of the season. He’ll surely be knocked around like a rag doll in the NFL, especially with the Rams only having the 24th projected offensive line in the league, according to football.about.com.
It would seem that the only real way for the NFL to avoid the rising rookie salaries would be to go to a rookie scale salary like the NBA does. In the NBA the draft picks have there own assigned salaries that ensures that the first overall pick makes more than the second pick and the second pick makes more than the third and so on. The contracts are each for two years with team options for a third and fourth.
The NBA has it 100 percent right when it comes to rookie contracts. The NFL desperately needs to go that route to ensure that unproven players like Bradford aren’t the richest athletes in the sport.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Greatest Athletes by Numbers
#99
1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey)
2. George Mikan (Basketball)
3. Jason Taylor (Football)
#98
1. Tony Siragusa (Football)
2. Jessie Armstead (Football)
3. Casey Hampton (Football)
#97
1. Simeon Rice (Football)
2. Jeremy Roenick (Hockey)
3. Cornelius Bennett (Football)
#96
1. Pavel Bure (Hockey)
2. Cortez Kennedy (Football)
3. Bill Voiselle (Baseball)
#95
1. Richard Dent (Football)
2. Sam Adams (Football)
3. Greg Lloyd (Football)
#94
1. Charles Haley (Football)
2. Demarcus Ware (Football)
3. Dana Stubblefield (Football)
#93
1. Doug Gilmore (Hockey)
2. John Randle (Football)
3. Richard Seymour (Football)
#92
1. Reggie White (Football)
2. Michael Strahan (Football)
3. Ted Washington (Football)
#91
1. Dennis Rodman (Basketball)
2. Sergei Fedorov (Hockey)
3. Kevin Greene (Football)
#90
1. Bob Kurland (Basketball)
2. Neil Smith (Football)
3. Jevon Kearse (Football)
#89
1. Mike Ditka (Football)
2. Gino Marchetti (Football)
3. Fred Dryer (Football)
#88
1. Marvin Harrison (Football)
2. Michael Irvin (Football)
3. Alan Page (Football)
#87
1. Dave Casper (Football)
2. Dwight Clark (Football)
3. Sidney Crosby (Hockey)
#86
1. Hines Ward (Football)
2. Buck Buchanan (Football)
3. Dante Lavelli (Football)
#85
1. Jack Youngblood (Football)
2. Nick Buoniconti (Football)
3. Mark Duper (Football)
#84
1. Shannon Sharpe (Football)
2. Randy Moss (Football)
3. Stirling Sharpe (Football)
#83
1. Ted Hendricks (Football)
2. Andre Reed (Football)
3. Mark Clayton (Football)
#82
1. Raymond Berry (Football)
2. Ozzie Newsome (Football)
3. John Stallworth (Football)
#81
1. Tim Brown (Football)
2. Terrell Owens (Football)
3. Dick Lane (Football)
#80
1. Jerry Rice (Football)
2. Kellen Winslow (Football)
3. Steve Largent (Football)
#79
1. Harvey Martin (Football)
2. Roosevelt Brown (Football)
3. Bob St. Claire (Football)
#78
1. Bruce Smith (Football)
2. Anthony Munoz (Football)
3. Jackie Slater (Football)
#77
1. Red Grange (Football)
2. Ray Bourque (Hockey)
3. Willie Roaf (Football)
#76
1. Lou Groza (Football)
2. Orlando Pace (Football)
3. Marion Motley (Football)
#75
1. Deacon Jones (Football)
2. Howie Long (Football)
3. Joe Greene (Football)
#74
1. Merlin Olsen (Football)
2. Bob Lilly (Football)
3. Bruce Matthews (Football)
#73
1. John Hannah (Football)
2. Ron Yary (Football)
3. Joe Klecko (Football)
#72
1. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
2. Dan Dierdorf (Football)
3. Ed Jones (Football)
#71
1. Alex Karras (Football)
2. Tony Boselli (Football)
3. George Connor (Football)
#70
1. Sam Huff (Football)
2. Jim Marshall (Football)
3. Art Donovan (Football)
#69
1. Mark Schlereth (Football)
2. Tim Krumrie (Football)
3. Jared Allen (Football)
#68
1. Jaromir Jagr (Hockey)
2. Will Shields (Football)
3. Kevin Mawae (Football)
#67
1. Bob Kuechenberg (Football)
2. Ed White (Football)
3. Russell Maryland (Football)
#66
1. Mario Lemieux (Hockey)
2. Ray Nitschke (Football)
3. Alan Faneca (Football)
#65
1. Elvin Bethea (Football)
2. Tom Mack (Football)
3. Gary Zimmerman (Football)
#64
1. Randall McDaniel (Football)
2. Jerry Kramer (Football)
3. Jack Reynolds (Football)
#63
1. Willie Lanier (Football)
2. Gene Upshaw (Football)
3. Lee Roy Selmon (Football)
#62
1. Jim Langer (Football)
2. Guy McIntyre (Football)
3. Scot Shields (Baseball)
#61
1. Bill George (Football)
2. Curley Culp (Football)
3. Josh Beckett (Baseball)
#60
1. Chuck Bednarik (Football)
2. Otto Graham (Football)
3. Scott Schoenweis (Baseball)
#59
1. Jack Ham (Football)
2. Seth Joyner (Football)
3. Todd Jones (Baseball)
#58
1. Jack Lambert (Football)
2. Derrick Thomas (Football)
3. Jonathan Papelbon (Baseball)
#57
1. Dwight Stephensen (Football)
2. Johan Santana (Baseball)
3. Clay Matthews (Football)
#56
1. Lawrence Taylor (Football)
2. Andre Tippett (Football)
3. Chris Doleman (Football)
#55
1. Junior Seau (Football)
2. Derrick Brooks (Football)
3. Dikembe Mutombo (Basketball)
#54
1. Randy White (Football)
2. Goose Gossage (Baseball)
3. Brian Urlacher (Football)
#53
1. Don Drysdale (Baseball)
2. Harry Carson (Football)
3. Artis Gilmore (Basketball)
#52
1. Ray Lewis (Football)
2. Mike Webster (Football)
3. Buck Williams (Basketball)
#51
1. Dick Butkus (Football)
2. Randy Johnson (Baseball)
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Baseball)
#50
1. Mike Singletary (Football)
2. David Robinson (Basketball)
3. Rebecca Lobo (Basketball)
#49
1. Ron Guidry (Baseball)
2. Bobby Mitchell (Football)
3. Charlie Hough (Baseball)
#48
1. Jimmie Johnson (Auto Racing)
2. Torii Hunter (Baseball)
3. Sam McDowell (Baseball)
#47
1. Tom Glavine (Baseball)
2. Mel Blount (Football)
3. Jack Morris (Baseball)
#46
1. Lee Smith (Baseball)
2. Andy Pettitte (Baseball)
3. Todd Christensen (Football)
#45
1. Bob Gibson (Baseball)
2. Pedro Martinez (Baseball)
3. Archie Griffin (Football)
#44
1. Hank Aaron (Baseball)
2. Jerry West (Basketball)
3. Reggie Jackson (Baseball)
#43
1. Richard Petty (Auto Racing)
2. Dennis Eckersley (Baseball)
3. Jack Sikma (Basketball)
#42
1. Jackie Robinson (Baseball)
2. Ronnie Lott (Football)
3. Mariano Rivera (Baseball)
#41
1. Tom Seaver (Baseball)
2. Eddie Matthews (Baseball)
3. Wes Unseld (Basketball)
#40
1. Gale Sayers (Football)
2. Elroy Hirsch (Football)
3. Bill Laimbeer (Basketball)
#39
1. Roy Campanella (Baseball)
2. Larry Csonka (Football)
3. Dominik Hasek (Hockey)
#38
1. Curt Schilling (Baseball)
2. George Rogers (Football)
3. Rocky Colavito (Baseball)
#37
1. Doak Walker (Football)
2. Shaun Alexander (Football)
3. Lester Hayes (Football)
#36
1. Robin Roberts (Baseball)
2. Gaylord Perry (Baseball)
3. Jerome Bettis (Football)
#35
1. Phil Niekro (Baseball)
2. Frank Thomas (Baseball)
3. Rickey Henderson (Baseball)
#34
1. Walter Payton (Football)
2. Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (Basketball)
#33
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball)
2. Larry Bird (Basketball)
3. Tony Dorsett (Football)
#32
1. Jim Brown (Football)
2. Magic Johnson (Basketball)
3. Sandy Koufax (Baseball)
#31
1. Greg Maddux (Baseball)
2. Reggie Miller (Basketball)
3. Dave Winfield (Baseball)
#30
1. Nolan Ryan (Baseball)
2. Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball)
3. Orlando Cepeda (Baseball)
#29
1. Rod Carew (Baseball)
2. Eric Dickerson (Football)
3. John Smoltz (Baseball)
#28
1. Cale Yarborough (Auto Racing)
2. Marshall Faulk (Football)
3. Bert Blyleven (Baseball)
#27
1. Juan Marichal (Baseball)
2. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
3. Vladimir Guerrero (Baseball)
#26
1. Rod Woodson (Football)
2. Wade Boggs (Baseball)
3. Billy Williams (Baseball)
#25
1. K.C. Jones (Basketball)
2. Fred Biletnikoff (Football)
3. Gail Goodrich (Basketball)
#24
1. Willie Mays (Baseball)
2. Jeff Gordon (Auto Racing)
3. Kobe Bryant (Basketball)
#23
1. Michael Jordan (Basketball)
2. LeBron James (Basketball)
3. Ryne Sandberg (Baseball)
#22
1. Emmitt Smith (Football)
2. Elgin Baylor (Basketball)
3. Jim Palmer (Baseball)
#21
1. Roberto Clemente (Baseball)
2. Tim Duncan (Basketball)
3. David Pearson (Auto Racing)
#20
1. Barry Sanders (Football)
2. Mike Schmidt (Baseball)
3. Frank Robinson (Baseball)
#19
1. Johnny Unitas (Football)
2. Bob Feller (Baseball)
3. Tony Gwynn (Baseball)
#18
1. Peyton Manning (Football)
2. Dave Cowens (Basketball)
3. Charlie Joiner (Football)
#17
1. John Havlicek (Basketball)
2. Dizzy Dean (Baseball)
3. Matt Kenseth (Auto Racing)
#16
1. Joe Montana (Football)
2. George Blanda (Football)
3. Whitey Ford (Baseball)
#15
1. Bart Star (Football)
2. Hal Greer (Basketball)
3. Tom Heinsohn (Basketball)
#14
1. Pete Rose (Baseball)
2. Ernie Banks (Baseball)
3. AJ Foyt (Auto Racing)
#13
1. Wilt Chamberlain (Basketball)
2. Dan Marino (Football)
3. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball)
#12
1. Tom Brady (Football)
2. Terry Bradshaw (Football)
3. John Stockton (Basketball)
#11
1. Mark Messier (Hockey)
2. Isiah Thomas (Basketball)
3. Elvin Hayes (Basketball)
#10
1. Pele (Soccer)
2. Fran Tarkenton (Football)
3. Chipper Jones (Baseball)
#9
1. Ted Williams (Baseball)
2. Gordie Howe (Hockey)
3. Bob Petit (Basketball)
#8
1. Cal Ripken Jr. (Baseball)
2. Yogi Berra (Baseball)
3. Troy Aikman (Football)
#7
1. Mickey Mantle (Baseball)
2. John Elway (Football)
3. Craig Biggio (Baseball)
#6
1. Bill Russell (Basketball)
2. Stan Musial (Baseball)
3. Julius Erving (Basketball)
#5
1. Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
2. Johnny Bench (Baseball)
3. Brooks Robinson (Baseball)
#4
1. Lou Gehrig (Baseball)
2. Bobby Orr (Hockey)
3. Brett Favre (Baseball)
#3
1. Babe Ruth (Baseball)
2. Dale Earnhardt (Auto Racing)
3. Allen Iverson (Basketball)
#2
1. Derek Jeter (Baseball)
2. Rusty Wallace (Auto Racing)
3. Charley Gehringer (Baseball)
#1
1. Oscar Robertson (Basketball)
2. Ozzie Smith (Baseball)
3. Warren Moon (Football)
#0/00
1. Robert Parrish (Basketball)
2. Jim Otto (Football)
3. Al Oliver (Baseball)
1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey)
2. George Mikan (Basketball)
3. Jason Taylor (Football)
#98
1. Tony Siragusa (Football)
2. Jessie Armstead (Football)
3. Casey Hampton (Football)
#97
1. Simeon Rice (Football)
2. Jeremy Roenick (Hockey)
3. Cornelius Bennett (Football)
#96
1. Pavel Bure (Hockey)
2. Cortez Kennedy (Football)
3. Bill Voiselle (Baseball)
#95
1. Richard Dent (Football)
2. Sam Adams (Football)
3. Greg Lloyd (Football)
#94
1. Charles Haley (Football)
2. Demarcus Ware (Football)
3. Dana Stubblefield (Football)
#93
1. Doug Gilmore (Hockey)
2. John Randle (Football)
3. Richard Seymour (Football)
#92
1. Reggie White (Football)
2. Michael Strahan (Football)
3. Ted Washington (Football)
#91
1. Dennis Rodman (Basketball)
2. Sergei Fedorov (Hockey)
3. Kevin Greene (Football)
#90
1. Bob Kurland (Basketball)
2. Neil Smith (Football)
3. Jevon Kearse (Football)
#89
1. Mike Ditka (Football)
2. Gino Marchetti (Football)
3. Fred Dryer (Football)
#88
1. Marvin Harrison (Football)
2. Michael Irvin (Football)
3. Alan Page (Football)
#87
1. Dave Casper (Football)
2. Dwight Clark (Football)
3. Sidney Crosby (Hockey)
#86
1. Hines Ward (Football)
2. Buck Buchanan (Football)
3. Dante Lavelli (Football)
#85
1. Jack Youngblood (Football)
2. Nick Buoniconti (Football)
3. Mark Duper (Football)
#84
1. Shannon Sharpe (Football)
2. Randy Moss (Football)
3. Stirling Sharpe (Football)
#83
1. Ted Hendricks (Football)
2. Andre Reed (Football)
3. Mark Clayton (Football)
#82
1. Raymond Berry (Football)
2. Ozzie Newsome (Football)
3. John Stallworth (Football)
#81
1. Tim Brown (Football)
2. Terrell Owens (Football)
3. Dick Lane (Football)
#80
1. Jerry Rice (Football)
2. Kellen Winslow (Football)
3. Steve Largent (Football)
#79
1. Harvey Martin (Football)
2. Roosevelt Brown (Football)
3. Bob St. Claire (Football)
#78
1. Bruce Smith (Football)
2. Anthony Munoz (Football)
3. Jackie Slater (Football)
#77
1. Red Grange (Football)
2. Ray Bourque (Hockey)
3. Willie Roaf (Football)
#76
1. Lou Groza (Football)
2. Orlando Pace (Football)
3. Marion Motley (Football)
#75
1. Deacon Jones (Football)
2. Howie Long (Football)
3. Joe Greene (Football)
#74
1. Merlin Olsen (Football)
2. Bob Lilly (Football)
3. Bruce Matthews (Football)
#73
1. John Hannah (Football)
2. Ron Yary (Football)
3. Joe Klecko (Football)
#72
1. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
2. Dan Dierdorf (Football)
3. Ed Jones (Football)
#71
1. Alex Karras (Football)
2. Tony Boselli (Football)
3. George Connor (Football)
#70
1. Sam Huff (Football)
2. Jim Marshall (Football)
3. Art Donovan (Football)
#69
1. Mark Schlereth (Football)
2. Tim Krumrie (Football)
3. Jared Allen (Football)
#68
1. Jaromir Jagr (Hockey)
2. Will Shields (Football)
3. Kevin Mawae (Football)
#67
1. Bob Kuechenberg (Football)
2. Ed White (Football)
3. Russell Maryland (Football)
#66
1. Mario Lemieux (Hockey)
2. Ray Nitschke (Football)
3. Alan Faneca (Football)
#65
1. Elvin Bethea (Football)
2. Tom Mack (Football)
3. Gary Zimmerman (Football)
#64
1. Randall McDaniel (Football)
2. Jerry Kramer (Football)
3. Jack Reynolds (Football)
#63
1. Willie Lanier (Football)
2. Gene Upshaw (Football)
3. Lee Roy Selmon (Football)
#62
1. Jim Langer (Football)
2. Guy McIntyre (Football)
3. Scot Shields (Baseball)
#61
1. Bill George (Football)
2. Curley Culp (Football)
3. Josh Beckett (Baseball)
#60
1. Chuck Bednarik (Football)
2. Otto Graham (Football)
3. Scott Schoenweis (Baseball)
#59
1. Jack Ham (Football)
2. Seth Joyner (Football)
3. Todd Jones (Baseball)
#58
1. Jack Lambert (Football)
2. Derrick Thomas (Football)
3. Jonathan Papelbon (Baseball)
#57
1. Dwight Stephensen (Football)
2. Johan Santana (Baseball)
3. Clay Matthews (Football)
#56
1. Lawrence Taylor (Football)
2. Andre Tippett (Football)
3. Chris Doleman (Football)
#55
1. Junior Seau (Football)
2. Derrick Brooks (Football)
3. Dikembe Mutombo (Basketball)
#54
1. Randy White (Football)
2. Goose Gossage (Baseball)
3. Brian Urlacher (Football)
#53
1. Don Drysdale (Baseball)
2. Harry Carson (Football)
3. Artis Gilmore (Basketball)
#52
1. Ray Lewis (Football)
2. Mike Webster (Football)
3. Buck Williams (Basketball)
#51
1. Dick Butkus (Football)
2. Randy Johnson (Baseball)
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Baseball)
#50
1. Mike Singletary (Football)
2. David Robinson (Basketball)
3. Rebecca Lobo (Basketball)
#49
1. Ron Guidry (Baseball)
2. Bobby Mitchell (Football)
3. Charlie Hough (Baseball)
#48
1. Jimmie Johnson (Auto Racing)
2. Torii Hunter (Baseball)
3. Sam McDowell (Baseball)
#47
1. Tom Glavine (Baseball)
2. Mel Blount (Football)
3. Jack Morris (Baseball)
#46
1. Lee Smith (Baseball)
2. Andy Pettitte (Baseball)
3. Todd Christensen (Football)
#45
1. Bob Gibson (Baseball)
2. Pedro Martinez (Baseball)
3. Archie Griffin (Football)
#44
1. Hank Aaron (Baseball)
2. Jerry West (Basketball)
3. Reggie Jackson (Baseball)
#43
1. Richard Petty (Auto Racing)
2. Dennis Eckersley (Baseball)
3. Jack Sikma (Basketball)
#42
1. Jackie Robinson (Baseball)
2. Ronnie Lott (Football)
3. Mariano Rivera (Baseball)
#41
1. Tom Seaver (Baseball)
2. Eddie Matthews (Baseball)
3. Wes Unseld (Basketball)
#40
1. Gale Sayers (Football)
2. Elroy Hirsch (Football)
3. Bill Laimbeer (Basketball)
#39
1. Roy Campanella (Baseball)
2. Larry Csonka (Football)
3. Dominik Hasek (Hockey)
#38
1. Curt Schilling (Baseball)
2. George Rogers (Football)
3. Rocky Colavito (Baseball)
#37
1. Doak Walker (Football)
2. Shaun Alexander (Football)
3. Lester Hayes (Football)
#36
1. Robin Roberts (Baseball)
2. Gaylord Perry (Baseball)
3. Jerome Bettis (Football)
#35
1. Phil Niekro (Baseball)
2. Frank Thomas (Baseball)
3. Rickey Henderson (Baseball)
#34
1. Walter Payton (Football)
2. Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (Basketball)
#33
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball)
2. Larry Bird (Basketball)
3. Tony Dorsett (Football)
#32
1. Jim Brown (Football)
2. Magic Johnson (Basketball)
3. Sandy Koufax (Baseball)
#31
1. Greg Maddux (Baseball)
2. Reggie Miller (Basketball)
3. Dave Winfield (Baseball)
#30
1. Nolan Ryan (Baseball)
2. Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball)
3. Orlando Cepeda (Baseball)
#29
1. Rod Carew (Baseball)
2. Eric Dickerson (Football)
3. John Smoltz (Baseball)
#28
1. Cale Yarborough (Auto Racing)
2. Marshall Faulk (Football)
3. Bert Blyleven (Baseball)
#27
1. Juan Marichal (Baseball)
2. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
3. Vladimir Guerrero (Baseball)
#26
1. Rod Woodson (Football)
2. Wade Boggs (Baseball)
3. Billy Williams (Baseball)
#25
1. K.C. Jones (Basketball)
2. Fred Biletnikoff (Football)
3. Gail Goodrich (Basketball)
#24
1. Willie Mays (Baseball)
2. Jeff Gordon (Auto Racing)
3. Kobe Bryant (Basketball)
#23
1. Michael Jordan (Basketball)
2. LeBron James (Basketball)
3. Ryne Sandberg (Baseball)
#22
1. Emmitt Smith (Football)
2. Elgin Baylor (Basketball)
3. Jim Palmer (Baseball)
#21
1. Roberto Clemente (Baseball)
2. Tim Duncan (Basketball)
3. David Pearson (Auto Racing)
#20
1. Barry Sanders (Football)
2. Mike Schmidt (Baseball)
3. Frank Robinson (Baseball)
#19
1. Johnny Unitas (Football)
2. Bob Feller (Baseball)
3. Tony Gwynn (Baseball)
#18
1. Peyton Manning (Football)
2. Dave Cowens (Basketball)
3. Charlie Joiner (Football)
#17
1. John Havlicek (Basketball)
2. Dizzy Dean (Baseball)
3. Matt Kenseth (Auto Racing)
#16
1. Joe Montana (Football)
2. George Blanda (Football)
3. Whitey Ford (Baseball)
#15
1. Bart Star (Football)
2. Hal Greer (Basketball)
3. Tom Heinsohn (Basketball)
#14
1. Pete Rose (Baseball)
2. Ernie Banks (Baseball)
3. AJ Foyt (Auto Racing)
#13
1. Wilt Chamberlain (Basketball)
2. Dan Marino (Football)
3. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball)
#12
1. Tom Brady (Football)
2. Terry Bradshaw (Football)
3. John Stockton (Basketball)
#11
1. Mark Messier (Hockey)
2. Isiah Thomas (Basketball)
3. Elvin Hayes (Basketball)
#10
1. Pele (Soccer)
2. Fran Tarkenton (Football)
3. Chipper Jones (Baseball)
#9
1. Ted Williams (Baseball)
2. Gordie Howe (Hockey)
3. Bob Petit (Basketball)
#8
1. Cal Ripken Jr. (Baseball)
2. Yogi Berra (Baseball)
3. Troy Aikman (Football)
#7
1. Mickey Mantle (Baseball)
2. John Elway (Football)
3. Craig Biggio (Baseball)
#6
1. Bill Russell (Basketball)
2. Stan Musial (Baseball)
3. Julius Erving (Basketball)
#5
1. Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
2. Johnny Bench (Baseball)
3. Brooks Robinson (Baseball)
#4
1. Lou Gehrig (Baseball)
2. Bobby Orr (Hockey)
3. Brett Favre (Baseball)
#3
1. Babe Ruth (Baseball)
2. Dale Earnhardt (Auto Racing)
3. Allen Iverson (Basketball)
#2
1. Derek Jeter (Baseball)
2. Rusty Wallace (Auto Racing)
3. Charley Gehringer (Baseball)
#1
1. Oscar Robertson (Basketball)
2. Ozzie Smith (Baseball)
3. Warren Moon (Football)
#0/00
1. Robert Parrish (Basketball)
2. Jim Otto (Football)
3. Al Oliver (Baseball)
Greatest or Funniest Sports Names
1. Dick Trickle (Auto Racing)
2. Coco Crisp (MLB)
3. Rusty Kuntz (MLB)
4. Johnny Dickshot (MLB)
5. Will Power (Auto Racing)
6. Dick Pole (MLB)
7. Harry Colon (NFL)
8. Jack Glasscock (MLB)
9. Milton Bradley (MLB)
10. World B. Free (NBA)
11. Chief Kickingstallionsims (College Basketball)
12. Dick Butkus (NFL)
13. Urban Shocker (MLB)
14. Picabo Street (Skiing)
15. God Shammgod (College Basketball)
16. Ben Gay (NFL)
17. Howard Johnson (MLB)
18. Major Applewhite (College Football)
19. Scott Speed (Auto Racing) *Note Only because he’s an auto racer
20. D’Brickashaw Ferguson (NFL) Note* It would’ve been higher had he played basketball
21. Kimbo Slice (MMA)
22. Pokey Reese (MLB)
23. Evan Longoria (MLB)
24. Quentin Jammer (NFL)
25. Tim Duncan *Note Only because he plays basketball
2. Coco Crisp (MLB)
3. Rusty Kuntz (MLB)
4. Johnny Dickshot (MLB)
5. Will Power (Auto Racing)
6. Dick Pole (MLB)
7. Harry Colon (NFL)
8. Jack Glasscock (MLB)
9. Milton Bradley (MLB)
10. World B. Free (NBA)
11. Chief Kickingstallionsims (College Basketball)
12. Dick Butkus (NFL)
13. Urban Shocker (MLB)
14. Picabo Street (Skiing)
15. God Shammgod (College Basketball)
16. Ben Gay (NFL)
17. Howard Johnson (MLB)
18. Major Applewhite (College Football)
19. Scott Speed (Auto Racing) *Note Only because he’s an auto racer
20. D’Brickashaw Ferguson (NFL) Note* It would’ve been higher had he played basketball
21. Kimbo Slice (MMA)
22. Pokey Reese (MLB)
23. Evan Longoria (MLB)
24. Quentin Jammer (NFL)
25. Tim Duncan *Note Only because he plays basketball
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Gallardo Stands Up Against Immigration Law
Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo has done something that I love to see from athletes and really anybody in general. He’s standing up for something that he believes in.
Gallardo has announced that he will boycott the 2011 MLB All Star game in Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law. Gallardo is an All Star this season, but won’t play in Tuesday night’s game due to injury.
The new immigration law in Arizona takes effect on July 29 and requires police, while enforcing other laws, to ask a person’s immigration status if the officer believes that the person might be in this country illegally.
Essentially officers could ask and probably will be asking any person of Latin heritage about their immigration status.
Baseball is a sport that has a high percentage of Latin players and the All Star game being played in Arizona in 2011 is something that will be bothersome to many of those players. Gallardo is the first All Star caliber player to come out and say with all certainly that they will boycott the 2011 All Star game if it isn’t moved to another location. Other players will likely follow suit throughout the next year.
Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria and Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde, both All Stars this season, said that they would stay away from the 2011 All Star game as well if there ends up being a Latino protest.
St. Louis Cardinals slugging All Star Albert Pujols has already expressed his dislike for the law and Los Angeles Dodgers All Star shortstop Rafael Furcal said that he would wait for guidance from the player’s union on the situation, according to ESPN.com.
While the controversial Arizona law is a huge talking point for many of the Latin ballplayers, others don’t seem to want to talk about it. New York Yankees All Stars Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both didn’t have much to say on the subject.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said repeatedly that he won’t move the 2011 All Star game to another location.
Personally I think that Selig should move the game to another location. The location that I would choose would be the Washington Nationals new ballpark in Washington, D.C.
If Selig doesn’t move the All Star game from Arizona in 2011 and the immigration law in that state doesn’t change than there is a likelihood that there will be a protest from many, if not all of the Latin ballplayers. The result would be that the “All Star game” really wouldn’t be filled with many “All Stars.” The protest would make the game less exciting, if it even happens at all.
Latin players boycotting the 2011 would probably prove to have a negative reaction among many sports and baseball fans. However, it would be a move that I would support 100 percent. The players should stand up for what they believe is right … and I think that is doing the right thing.
Gallardo has announced that he will boycott the 2011 MLB All Star game in Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law. Gallardo is an All Star this season, but won’t play in Tuesday night’s game due to injury.
The new immigration law in Arizona takes effect on July 29 and requires police, while enforcing other laws, to ask a person’s immigration status if the officer believes that the person might be in this country illegally.
Essentially officers could ask and probably will be asking any person of Latin heritage about their immigration status.
Baseball is a sport that has a high percentage of Latin players and the All Star game being played in Arizona in 2011 is something that will be bothersome to many of those players. Gallardo is the first All Star caliber player to come out and say with all certainly that they will boycott the 2011 All Star game if it isn’t moved to another location. Other players will likely follow suit throughout the next year.
Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria and Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde, both All Stars this season, said that they would stay away from the 2011 All Star game as well if there ends up being a Latino protest.
St. Louis Cardinals slugging All Star Albert Pujols has already expressed his dislike for the law and Los Angeles Dodgers All Star shortstop Rafael Furcal said that he would wait for guidance from the player’s union on the situation, according to ESPN.com.
While the controversial Arizona law is a huge talking point for many of the Latin ballplayers, others don’t seem to want to talk about it. New York Yankees All Stars Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both didn’t have much to say on the subject.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said repeatedly that he won’t move the 2011 All Star game to another location.
Personally I think that Selig should move the game to another location. The location that I would choose would be the Washington Nationals new ballpark in Washington, D.C.
If Selig doesn’t move the All Star game from Arizona in 2011 and the immigration law in that state doesn’t change than there is a likelihood that there will be a protest from many, if not all of the Latin ballplayers. The result would be that the “All Star game” really wouldn’t be filled with many “All Stars.” The protest would make the game less exciting, if it even happens at all.
Latin players boycotting the 2011 would probably prove to have a negative reaction among many sports and baseball fans. However, it would be a move that I would support 100 percent. The players should stand up for what they believe is right … and I think that is doing the right thing.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Don't give Heat the Championship Already
Attention NBA fans!
Don’t assume that the Miami Heat will automatically win a championship next year now that they have signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh and re-signed Dwyane Wade. Don’t assume they will be the best team in the NBA. Don’t assume they will be the best team in the Eastern Conference. And, don’t even assume that they will be the best team in their own division.
The Heat very well could end up doing all of that, but don’t just act like it’s a given. In fact, it’s still a long way off.
There are two reasons why the Heat might not be destined as the next NBA Champions:
1) Who will the Heat get to fill out the roster?
Signing James and Bosh and re-signing Wade means that the Heat has spent almost all of their cap room. All that remains on their roster besides those three are Mario Chalmers and their recent draft selections, all which came in the second round. The Heat must fill out the remainder of the roster with what little cash that they have remaining. This means that they will likely have to fill out their rosters with cheap D-League players and has-been veterans looking to choose a championship possibility over money. If the Heat were to fill out their roster with D-League talent, i.e. players who haven’t been good enough thus far to even make the Clippers, Nets or Timberwolves, and past their prime players, than I personally don’t think James, Wade and Bosh would be enough to raise a championship banner. If this is what the Heat plan on doing than I don’t even think they’ll be better than the Orlando Magic, who play in the Heat’s division. The Magic are stacked from one to 12, something the Heat likely won’t be. Not to mention the Heat would likely have to go through the back-to-to champion Lakers to win a ring, which won’t be easy to do because the Lakers core will be returning.
However, the Heat has already made two good decisions since James announced he was signing with them. They have gotten rid of the contract of bust and troubled player Michael Beasley, trading him to the Timberwolves for a future draft pick and signed sharpshooter Mike Miller, who would make a good addition to almost any NBA roster.
2) Can James, Wade and Bosh mesh on the same roster?
It’s pretty much been proven that a team needs two stars to win an NBA championship. In recent years we’ve seen it with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, Bryant and Pau Gasol in Los Angeles, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in Houston, Tim Duncan and David Robinson in San Antonio and many others. Only twice have we seen it with three stars: Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale in Boston in the ‘80s and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston three seasons ago. Keep in mind that McHale was merely a sixth man and the Boston “big three” of late were arguably past their prime and put their egos (what little they seem to have) aside.
I personally think that Wade and Bosh could play on a team together very nicely. However, I’m not confident that James can set aside his massive ego and numbers to do it. It probably won’t take us very long to find out.
If the Heat can surround James, Wade and Bosh with championship-type role players and if the new “big three” as I’m sure they will be dubbed can get along than the Heat should win a championships or championships rather easily. However, these are two big questions that must be answered first.
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Undeserving All Star
Atlanta Braves utilityman Omar Infante should be enjoying his selection to his first ever MLB All Star Game, but instead he’s being ridiculed left and right by fans and media alike claiming he’s the “worst” All Star of all time.
Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.
If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.
Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.
Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.
Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.
Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?
The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.
Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?
No.
It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.
Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.
If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.
Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.
Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.
Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.
Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?
The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.
Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?
No.
It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
40 Most Overrated Athletes
40 Most Overrated Athletes:
1. Danica Patrick, Indy Racing League
2. David Beckham, Soccer
3. Michelle Wie, LPGA Tour
4. Kimbo Slice, MMA
5. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
6. Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys
7. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals
8. Andy Roddick, Tennis
9. Kasey Kahne, NASCAR
10. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs
11. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
12. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees
13. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
14. J.D. Drew, Boston Red Sox
15. Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
16. Albert Haynesworth, Washington Redskins
17. Sergio Garcia, PGA Tour
18. Joel Zumaya, Detroit Tigers
19. Antwain Jamison, Cleveland Cavaliers
20. Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
21. Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers
22. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
23. Brian Vickers, NASCAR
24. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
25. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
26. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
27. Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals
28. Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
29. Mike Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
30. Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets
31. Matt Hasselback, Seattle Seahawks
32. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
33. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR
34. Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers
35. Tracy McGrady, New York Knicks
36. Eli Manning, New York Giants
37. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
38. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
39. Manny Pacquiao, Boxing
40. Floyd Mayweather, Boxing
1. Danica Patrick, Indy Racing League
2. David Beckham, Soccer
3. Michelle Wie, LPGA Tour
4. Kimbo Slice, MMA
5. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
6. Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys
7. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals
8. Andy Roddick, Tennis
9. Kasey Kahne, NASCAR
10. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs
11. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
12. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees
13. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
14. J.D. Drew, Boston Red Sox
15. Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
16. Albert Haynesworth, Washington Redskins
17. Sergio Garcia, PGA Tour
18. Joel Zumaya, Detroit Tigers
19. Antwain Jamison, Cleveland Cavaliers
20. Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
21. Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers
22. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
23. Brian Vickers, NASCAR
24. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
25. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
26. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
27. Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals
28. Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
29. Mike Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
30. Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets
31. Matt Hasselback, Seattle Seahawks
32. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
33. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR
34. Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers
35. Tracy McGrady, New York Knicks
36. Eli Manning, New York Giants
37. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
38. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
39. Manny Pacquiao, Boxing
40. Floyd Mayweather, Boxing
45 Worst Trades in Sports History
1. Boston Red Sox trade Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 dollars and a $300,000 loan
2. St. Louis Hawks trade Bill Russell to Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley & Cliff Hagan
3. Charlotte Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to LA Lakers for Vlade Divac
4. Atlanta Falcons trade Brett Favre to Green Bay Packers for 1st round draft pick
5. Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to LA Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgemann and Dave Meyers
6. 76ers trade Wilt Chamberlain to Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark & Darrall Imhoff
7. Minnesota Vikings trade five players and eight draft picks (three of which become Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson & Alan Harper) to Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker and four draft picks
8. Cincinnati Reds trade Christy Matthewson to New York Giants for Amos Rusie
9. Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and three 1st round draft picks
10. Chicago Cubs trade Lou Brock and two others to St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz & Doug Clemens
11. Golden State Warriors trade Robert Parrish and third overall draft pick (which became Kevin McHale) to Boston Celtics for first overall pick (Joe Barry Carroll) and Ricky Brown
12. Cleveland Indians trade Joe Jackson to Chicago White Sox for Larry Chappell, Braggo Roth & Ed Klepfer
13. Houston Astros trade Joe Morgan, Jack Billingham, Cesar Cedeno & Ed Armbrister to Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms & Jimmy Stewart
14. Detroit Tigers trade John Smoltz to Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander
15. Seattle SuperSonics trade Scottie Pippen to Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice
16. Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Houston Astros for Larry Andersen
17. New York Mets trade Nolan Ryan and three others to California Angels for Jim Fregosi
18. Baltimore Colts trade John Elway to Denver Broncos for Mark Hermann, Chris Hinton and 1st round draft pick
19. Montreal Expos trade Randy Johnson and two others to Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston and Mike Campbell
20. Chicago White Sox trade Sammy Sosa to Chicago Cubs for George Bell 21. Cincinnati Reds trade Frank Robinson to Baltimore Orioles for Milt Pappas
22. Oakland A’s trade Mark McGwire to St. Louis Cardinals for T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein and Eric Ludwick
23. Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Tim Perry, Jeff Hornacek and Andrew Lang
24. New Jersey Nets trade Julius Erving to Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million
25. Philadelphia Phillies trade Ryne Sandberg & Larry Bowa to Chicago Cubs for Ivan DeJesus
26. Boston Red Sox trade Tris Speaker to Cleveland Indians for Sam Jones, Fred Thomas and cash
27. Milwaukee Bucks trade Dirk Nowitzki & Pat Garrity to Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade Steve Young to San Francisco 49ers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks
29. San Diego Padres trade Ozzie Smith and others to the St. Louis Cardinals for Garry Templeton and others
30. Utah Jazz trade Dominique Wilkins to Atlanta Hawks for John Drew, Freeman Williams and cash
31. New Orleans Saints trade all six of their 1999 draft picks and a future 1st & 3rd Round draft pick to Washington Redskins to move up in draft to take Ricky Williams
32. Cleveland Indians trade Jeff Kent, Julian Tavarez & Jose Vizcaino to San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams
33. Indianapolis Colts trade Marshall Faulk to St. Louis Rams for 2nd & 5th round draft picks
34. New York Mets trade Tom Seaver to Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachary, Doug Flynn & Steve Henderson
35. Rams trade Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks
36. Washington Wizards trade Richard Hamilton, Hubert Davis & Brian Simmons to Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinals and Ratko Varda
37. Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to LA Lakers for Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenten and Marc Gasol
38. Atlanta Falcons trade 5th overall pick (which became LaDanian Tomlinson) and 3rd round pick to San Diego Chargers for 1st overall draft pick (which became Michael Vick)
39. Houston Astros trade Kenny Lofton & Dave Rhule to Cleveland Indians for Eddie Taubensee & Willie Blair
40. Tampa Bay Rays trade Bobby Abreu to Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker
41. San Diego Padres trade Fred McGriff to Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore
42. Seattle Mariners trade Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe to Boston Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb
43. Chicago Blackhawks trade Dominik Hasek to Buffalo Sabres for Stephane Beauregard and 4th round draft pick
44. Oakland Raiders trade Randy Moss to New England Patriots for 4th round draft pick
45. New York Knicks trade two first round draft picks for Eddy Curry
2. St. Louis Hawks trade Bill Russell to Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley & Cliff Hagan
3. Charlotte Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to LA Lakers for Vlade Divac
4. Atlanta Falcons trade Brett Favre to Green Bay Packers for 1st round draft pick
5. Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to LA Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgemann and Dave Meyers
6. 76ers trade Wilt Chamberlain to Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark & Darrall Imhoff
7. Minnesota Vikings trade five players and eight draft picks (three of which become Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson & Alan Harper) to Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker and four draft picks
8. Cincinnati Reds trade Christy Matthewson to New York Giants for Amos Rusie
9. Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and three 1st round draft picks
10. Chicago Cubs trade Lou Brock and two others to St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz & Doug Clemens
11. Golden State Warriors trade Robert Parrish and third overall draft pick (which became Kevin McHale) to Boston Celtics for first overall pick (Joe Barry Carroll) and Ricky Brown
12. Cleveland Indians trade Joe Jackson to Chicago White Sox for Larry Chappell, Braggo Roth & Ed Klepfer
13. Houston Astros trade Joe Morgan, Jack Billingham, Cesar Cedeno & Ed Armbrister to Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms & Jimmy Stewart
14. Detroit Tigers trade John Smoltz to Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander
15. Seattle SuperSonics trade Scottie Pippen to Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice
16. Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Houston Astros for Larry Andersen
17. New York Mets trade Nolan Ryan and three others to California Angels for Jim Fregosi
18. Baltimore Colts trade John Elway to Denver Broncos for Mark Hermann, Chris Hinton and 1st round draft pick
19. Montreal Expos trade Randy Johnson and two others to Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston and Mike Campbell
20. Chicago White Sox trade Sammy Sosa to Chicago Cubs for George Bell 21. Cincinnati Reds trade Frank Robinson to Baltimore Orioles for Milt Pappas
22. Oakland A’s trade Mark McGwire to St. Louis Cardinals for T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein and Eric Ludwick
23. Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Tim Perry, Jeff Hornacek and Andrew Lang
24. New Jersey Nets trade Julius Erving to Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million
25. Philadelphia Phillies trade Ryne Sandberg & Larry Bowa to Chicago Cubs for Ivan DeJesus
26. Boston Red Sox trade Tris Speaker to Cleveland Indians for Sam Jones, Fred Thomas and cash
27. Milwaukee Bucks trade Dirk Nowitzki & Pat Garrity to Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade Steve Young to San Francisco 49ers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks
29. San Diego Padres trade Ozzie Smith and others to the St. Louis Cardinals for Garry Templeton and others
30. Utah Jazz trade Dominique Wilkins to Atlanta Hawks for John Drew, Freeman Williams and cash
31. New Orleans Saints trade all six of their 1999 draft picks and a future 1st & 3rd Round draft pick to Washington Redskins to move up in draft to take Ricky Williams
32. Cleveland Indians trade Jeff Kent, Julian Tavarez & Jose Vizcaino to San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams
33. Indianapolis Colts trade Marshall Faulk to St. Louis Rams for 2nd & 5th round draft picks
34. New York Mets trade Tom Seaver to Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachary, Doug Flynn & Steve Henderson
35. Rams trade Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks
36. Washington Wizards trade Richard Hamilton, Hubert Davis & Brian Simmons to Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinals and Ratko Varda
37. Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to LA Lakers for Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenten and Marc Gasol
38. Atlanta Falcons trade 5th overall pick (which became LaDanian Tomlinson) and 3rd round pick to San Diego Chargers for 1st overall draft pick (which became Michael Vick)
39. Houston Astros trade Kenny Lofton & Dave Rhule to Cleveland Indians for Eddie Taubensee & Willie Blair
40. Tampa Bay Rays trade Bobby Abreu to Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker
41. San Diego Padres trade Fred McGriff to Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore
42. Seattle Mariners trade Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe to Boston Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb
43. Chicago Blackhawks trade Dominik Hasek to Buffalo Sabres for Stephane Beauregard and 4th round draft pick
44. Oakland Raiders trade Randy Moss to New England Patriots for 4th round draft pick
45. New York Knicks trade two first round draft picks for Eddy Curry
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My American League All Star Team
With the MLB All Star Game two weeks away, here's my final American League roster.
Lineup:
1. RF Ichiro Suzuki- Mariners
2. SS Derek Jeter- Yankees
3. 1B Miguel Cabrera- Tigers
4. 3B Evan Longoria- Rays
5. CF Josh Hamilton- Rangers
6. DH Vladimir Guerrero- Rangers
7. 2B Robinson Cano- Yankees
8. LF Vernon Wells- Blue Jays
9. C Joe Mauer- Twins
SP David Price- Rays
Bullpen:
Clay Buchholz- Red Sox
Jon Lester- Red Sox
Phil Hughes- Yankees
Andy Pettitte- Yankees
CC Sabathia- Yankees
Mariano Rivera- Yankees
Jose Valverde- Tigers
Andrew Bailey- A's
Joakim Soria- Royals
Ervin Santana- Angels
Carl Pavano- Twins
Matt Garza- Rays
Reserves
C Victor Martinez- Red Sox
1B Justin Morneau- Twins
1B Paul Konerko- White Sox
1B Kevin Youkilis- Red Sox
2B Ben Zobrist- Rays
SS Alex Gonzalez- Blue Jays
3B Alex Rodriguez- Yankees
OF Magglio Ordonez- Tigers
OF Alex Rios- White Sox
OF Shin-Soo Choo- Indians
OF Torri Hunter- Angels
OF Nick Markakis- Orioles
Lineup:
1. RF Ichiro Suzuki- Mariners
2. SS Derek Jeter- Yankees
3. 1B Miguel Cabrera- Tigers
4. 3B Evan Longoria- Rays
5. CF Josh Hamilton- Rangers
6. DH Vladimir Guerrero- Rangers
7. 2B Robinson Cano- Yankees
8. LF Vernon Wells- Blue Jays
9. C Joe Mauer- Twins
SP David Price- Rays
Bullpen:
Clay Buchholz- Red Sox
Jon Lester- Red Sox
Phil Hughes- Yankees
Andy Pettitte- Yankees
CC Sabathia- Yankees
Mariano Rivera- Yankees
Jose Valverde- Tigers
Andrew Bailey- A's
Joakim Soria- Royals
Ervin Santana- Angels
Carl Pavano- Twins
Matt Garza- Rays
Reserves
C Victor Martinez- Red Sox
1B Justin Morneau- Twins
1B Paul Konerko- White Sox
1B Kevin Youkilis- Red Sox
2B Ben Zobrist- Rays
SS Alex Gonzalez- Blue Jays
3B Alex Rodriguez- Yankees
OF Magglio Ordonez- Tigers
OF Alex Rios- White Sox
OF Shin-Soo Choo- Indians
OF Torri Hunter- Angels
OF Nick Markakis- Orioles
Monday, June 28, 2010
My National League All Star Team
With the MLB All Star game just 2 weeks away, this is my final all star roster that I'd choose for the National League this season.
Lineup:
1. SS Hanley Ramirez- Marlins
2. 3B David Wright- Mets
3. 1B Albert Pujols- Cardinals
4. DH Ryan Howard- Phillies
5. RF Ryan Braun- Brewers
6. LF Andre Ethier- Dodgers
7. CF Corey Hart- Brewers
8. 2B Martin Prado- Braves
9. C Miguel Olivo- Rockies
SP Ubaldo Jimenez- Rockies
Bullpen:
Roy Halladay- Phillies
Mike Pelfrey- Mets
Chris Carpenter- Cardinals
Adam Wainwright- Cardinals
Roy Oswalt- Astros
Tim Lincecum- Giants
Josh Johnson- Marlins
Tim Hudson- Braves
Billy Wagner- Braves
Heath Bell- Padres
Arthur Rhodes- Reds
Reserves
C Brian McCann- Braves
1B Joey Votto- Reds
1B Troy Glaus- Braves
1B Adrian Gonzalez- Padres
1B Adam Dunn- Nationals
2B Chase Utley- Phillies
SS Brandon Phillips- Reds
3B Scott Rolen- Reds
OF Johnny Gomes- Reds
OF Chris Young- Diamondbacks
OF Andrew McCutchen- Pirates
OF Marlon Byrd- Cubs
OF Matt Holliday- Cardinals
Lineup:
1. SS Hanley Ramirez- Marlins
2. 3B David Wright- Mets
3. 1B Albert Pujols- Cardinals
4. DH Ryan Howard- Phillies
5. RF Ryan Braun- Brewers
6. LF Andre Ethier- Dodgers
7. CF Corey Hart- Brewers
8. 2B Martin Prado- Braves
9. C Miguel Olivo- Rockies
SP Ubaldo Jimenez- Rockies
Bullpen:
Roy Halladay- Phillies
Mike Pelfrey- Mets
Chris Carpenter- Cardinals
Adam Wainwright- Cardinals
Roy Oswalt- Astros
Tim Lincecum- Giants
Josh Johnson- Marlins
Tim Hudson- Braves
Billy Wagner- Braves
Heath Bell- Padres
Arthur Rhodes- Reds
Reserves
C Brian McCann- Braves
1B Joey Votto- Reds
1B Troy Glaus- Braves
1B Adrian Gonzalez- Padres
1B Adam Dunn- Nationals
2B Chase Utley- Phillies
SS Brandon Phillips- Reds
3B Scott Rolen- Reds
OF Johnny Gomes- Reds
OF Chris Young- Diamondbacks
OF Andrew McCutchen- Pirates
OF Marlon Byrd- Cubs
OF Matt Holliday- Cardinals
The James Game
Never have I seen a professional sports league revolve around one athlete the way the NBA is going to revolve around LeBron James in free agency this offseason.
There are around five to 10 teams with enough salary cap space to sign James. All 30 teams have a shot at obtaining James through a sign and trade, which is a less likely scenario.
Free agency begins on Thursday, July 1 at 12:01 a.m. and that’s when five reported teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets will reportedly start wooing James. No team can sign James before July 8.
It turns out that the team with the most likely chance of signing James isn’t necessarily the one that will give him the most money, but the team that will surround him with the most talent.
The Heat has the most available cap space with $44 million available. Following the Heat, the Knicks have $35 million open, the Bulls have $30 million open and the Nets have $27 million open.
The Heat has the unusual opportunity to sign three max-contract players. This would almost certainly include re-signing point guard Dwyane Wade. Of all the free agents, Wade is the one who’s expressed the most interest in remaining with his current team. The Heat could then add a third huge contract in a Chris Bosh or Amar’e Stoudemire type player.
NBA experts have expressed that this scenario might be the best for James to win a championship, but maybe not the most likely. James and Wade are the type of players where they should be their respective team’s best player. Some just can’t see Wade playing Scottie Pippen to James’ Michael Jordan.
Another likely scenario would have James going to the Bulls. This is the scenario that I predict will happen. The Bulls are a young team with all of the great makings of a championship contender if they added one or two pieces. Those pieces could turn out to be James and Bosh and then this team would shoot past the Orlando Magic and any others as the best team in the Eastern Conference and possibly all of the NBA. The starting lineup of James, Bosh, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng would instantly be the best starting five in the NBA. Of course, this is just a prediction.
The other likely scenario would simply involve James re-signing with the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers would then likely have to acquire a Bosh-type player through a sign and trade.
The month of July is definitely going to be an exciting one in the NBA. After July the entire 2010-2011 season could be completely changed. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics could drastically fall and teams like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and other could drastically improve and become championship-caliber teams.
The only thing that is completely clear at this moment is that at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday the James game is going to start.
There are around five to 10 teams with enough salary cap space to sign James. All 30 teams have a shot at obtaining James through a sign and trade, which is a less likely scenario.
Free agency begins on Thursday, July 1 at 12:01 a.m. and that’s when five reported teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets will reportedly start wooing James. No team can sign James before July 8.
It turns out that the team with the most likely chance of signing James isn’t necessarily the one that will give him the most money, but the team that will surround him with the most talent.
The Heat has the most available cap space with $44 million available. Following the Heat, the Knicks have $35 million open, the Bulls have $30 million open and the Nets have $27 million open.
The Heat has the unusual opportunity to sign three max-contract players. This would almost certainly include re-signing point guard Dwyane Wade. Of all the free agents, Wade is the one who’s expressed the most interest in remaining with his current team. The Heat could then add a third huge contract in a Chris Bosh or Amar’e Stoudemire type player.
NBA experts have expressed that this scenario might be the best for James to win a championship, but maybe not the most likely. James and Wade are the type of players where they should be their respective team’s best player. Some just can’t see Wade playing Scottie Pippen to James’ Michael Jordan.
Another likely scenario would have James going to the Bulls. This is the scenario that I predict will happen. The Bulls are a young team with all of the great makings of a championship contender if they added one or two pieces. Those pieces could turn out to be James and Bosh and then this team would shoot past the Orlando Magic and any others as the best team in the Eastern Conference and possibly all of the NBA. The starting lineup of James, Bosh, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng would instantly be the best starting five in the NBA. Of course, this is just a prediction.
The other likely scenario would simply involve James re-signing with the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers would then likely have to acquire a Bosh-type player through a sign and trade.
The month of July is definitely going to be an exciting one in the NBA. After July the entire 2010-2011 season could be completely changed. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics could drastically fall and teams like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and other could drastically improve and become championship-caliber teams.
The only thing that is completely clear at this moment is that at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday the James game is going to start.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
2010 ESPY Nominations (And, My Picks)
2010 ESPY Nominations:
(Not all award categories are listed)
Male Athlete of the Year:
Drew Brees, NFL
Kobe Bryant, NBA
LeBron James, NBA
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
Albert Pujols, MLB
My Pick: Jimmie Johnson
Female Athlete of the Year:
Maya Moore, NCAA
Diana Taurasi, WNBA
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Serena Williams, Tennis
My Pick: Maya Moore
Best Championship Performance:
Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV
Anthony Johnson, Big Sky Conference Championship
Michael Phelps, World Swimming Championships
Shaun White, Winter Olympics
My Pick: Drew Brees
Best Breakthrough Athlete:
Britney Griner, Baylor women’s basketball
Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
John Wall, Kentucky men’s basketball
My Pick: John Wall
Best Record-Breaking Performance:
Usain Bolt, 100 & 200-meter World Records
Brett Favre, NFL record for consecutive starts
Roger Federer, Most Grand Slam Titles
Connecticut Women’s Basketball, Longest winning streak in NCAA history
My Pick: Brett Favre
Best Upset:
Frankie Edgar over BJ Penn, MMA
Hawaii upsets #1 Alabama, NCAA softball
Northern Iowa shocks #1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s basketball
Y.E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship
My Pick: Northern Iowa over Kansas
Best Game:
Twins best Tigers in extra innings (MLB Playoff tiebreaker)
Canada edges USA in Olympic overtime game
Duke beats Butler in NCAA Men’s Championship
My Pick: Duke over Butler
Best Moment:
Phil Mickelson, 2010 Masters
Joannie Rochette, Winter Olympics
New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV
My Pick: Phil Mickelson
Best Play:
Brett Favre throws game-winning TD vs. 49ers
Fordham’s Brian Kownacki flips over Iona’s catcher to score run
Rajon Rondo’s hustle leads to basket against Orlando in playoff win
Mark Buehrle’s opening day defensive gem off his leg, into foul territory, diving flip for out
My Pick: Mark Buehrle
Best Team:
Alabama, College Football
Chicago Blackhawks, NHL
Connecticut, Women’s Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
New Orleans Saints, NFL
New York Yankees, MLB
My Pick: New York Yankees
Best Sports Movie:
“Big Fan”
“Invictus”
“The Blind Side”
“The Damned United”
“The Karate Kid”
My Pick: “Invictus”
Best Coach/Manager:
Gene Auriemma, Connecticut women’s basketball
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees
Phil Jackson, LA Lakers
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men’s basketball
Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Nick Saban, Alabama football
My Pick: Phil Jackson
Best NFL Player:
Drew Brees, Saints
Brett Favre, Vikings
Peyton Manning, Colts
Chris Johnson, Titans
Darrelle Revis, Jets
Charles Woodson, Packers
My Pick: Drew Brees
Best MLB Player:
Zach Greinke, Royals
Derek Jeter, Yankees
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Joe Mauer, Twins
Best NBA Player:
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
LeBron James, Cavaliers
Dwight Howard, Magic
Kevin Durant, Thunder
Dwyane Wade, Heat
My Pick: Kobe Bryant
Best Driver:
Kyle Busch, NASCAR Nationwide Series/Sprint Cup Series
Dario Franchitti, IRL
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Ron Hornaday, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Tony Schumacher, F1
My Pick: Jimmie Johnson
Best Golfer:
Tiger Woods
Ernie Els
Phil Mickelson
My Pick: Phil Mickelson
Best Male Collegiate Athlete:
Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin hockey
Mark Ingram, Alabama football
Evan Turner, Ohio State basketball
John Wall, Kentucky basketball
Garrett Wittels, Florida International baseball
My Pick: Garrett Wittels
Best Female Collegiate Athelte:
Tina Charles, Connecticut basketball
Megan Hodge, Penn State volleyball
Maya Moore, Connecticut basketball
Megan Lagenfeld, UCLA softball
My Pick: Maya Moore
(Not all award categories are listed)
Male Athlete of the Year:
Drew Brees, NFL
Kobe Bryant, NBA
LeBron James, NBA
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
Albert Pujols, MLB
My Pick: Jimmie Johnson
Female Athlete of the Year:
Maya Moore, NCAA
Diana Taurasi, WNBA
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Serena Williams, Tennis
My Pick: Maya Moore
Best Championship Performance:
Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV
Anthony Johnson, Big Sky Conference Championship
Michael Phelps, World Swimming Championships
Shaun White, Winter Olympics
My Pick: Drew Brees
Best Breakthrough Athlete:
Britney Griner, Baylor women’s basketball
Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
John Wall, Kentucky men’s basketball
My Pick: John Wall
Best Record-Breaking Performance:
Usain Bolt, 100 & 200-meter World Records
Brett Favre, NFL record for consecutive starts
Roger Federer, Most Grand Slam Titles
Connecticut Women’s Basketball, Longest winning streak in NCAA history
My Pick: Brett Favre
Best Upset:
Frankie Edgar over BJ Penn, MMA
Hawaii upsets #1 Alabama, NCAA softball
Northern Iowa shocks #1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s basketball
Y.E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship
My Pick: Northern Iowa over Kansas
Best Game:
Twins best Tigers in extra innings (MLB Playoff tiebreaker)
Canada edges USA in Olympic overtime game
Duke beats Butler in NCAA Men’s Championship
My Pick: Duke over Butler
Best Moment:
Phil Mickelson, 2010 Masters
Joannie Rochette, Winter Olympics
New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV
My Pick: Phil Mickelson
Best Play:
Brett Favre throws game-winning TD vs. 49ers
Fordham’s Brian Kownacki flips over Iona’s catcher to score run
Rajon Rondo’s hustle leads to basket against Orlando in playoff win
Mark Buehrle’s opening day defensive gem off his leg, into foul territory, diving flip for out
My Pick: Mark Buehrle
Best Team:
Alabama, College Football
Chicago Blackhawks, NHL
Connecticut, Women’s Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
New Orleans Saints, NFL
New York Yankees, MLB
My Pick: New York Yankees
Best Sports Movie:
“Big Fan”
“Invictus”
“The Blind Side”
“The Damned United”
“The Karate Kid”
My Pick: “Invictus”
Best Coach/Manager:
Gene Auriemma, Connecticut women’s basketball
Joe Girardi, New York Yankees
Phil Jackson, LA Lakers
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men’s basketball
Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Nick Saban, Alabama football
My Pick: Phil Jackson
Best NFL Player:
Drew Brees, Saints
Brett Favre, Vikings
Peyton Manning, Colts
Chris Johnson, Titans
Darrelle Revis, Jets
Charles Woodson, Packers
My Pick: Drew Brees
Best MLB Player:
Zach Greinke, Royals
Derek Jeter, Yankees
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Joe Mauer, Twins
Best NBA Player:
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
LeBron James, Cavaliers
Dwight Howard, Magic
Kevin Durant, Thunder
Dwyane Wade, Heat
My Pick: Kobe Bryant
Best Driver:
Kyle Busch, NASCAR Nationwide Series/Sprint Cup Series
Dario Franchitti, IRL
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Ron Hornaday, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Tony Schumacher, F1
My Pick: Jimmie Johnson
Best Golfer:
Tiger Woods
Ernie Els
Phil Mickelson
My Pick: Phil Mickelson
Best Male Collegiate Athlete:
Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin hockey
Mark Ingram, Alabama football
Evan Turner, Ohio State basketball
John Wall, Kentucky basketball
Garrett Wittels, Florida International baseball
My Pick: Garrett Wittels
Best Female Collegiate Athelte:
Tina Charles, Connecticut basketball
Megan Hodge, Penn State volleyball
Maya Moore, Connecticut basketball
Megan Lagenfeld, UCLA softball
My Pick: Maya Moore
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