Numbers Game: Part II
By: Barrett Elkins
I would like to send a special thanks to all of those who commented on my post last week. This week, there are some tough choices. I would like to apologize for missing an obvious pick last week (picking Chipper Jones over Pele). Let's see how I do this week.
No. 11 Mark Messier
Messier is one of the best hockey players of all time. He ranks second all time on the regular season scoring list, behind The Great One. He led two separate teams to the Stanley Cup and has had his jersey retired in two different cities. I would like to give him credit for every game I won on my Sega Genesis, too!
No. 12 John Stockton
While the obvious pick here would have been Bro Namath, John Stockton earned this choice. He leads the NBA in all time assists and steals. In a league where selfishness rules, Stockton made a Hall of Fame career out of playing defense and making his teammates better. Try and imagine Karl Malone without Stockton.
No 13. Wilt Chamberlain
With a career average over 30 points and over 22 rebounds per game, his statistics are better than most video games. His 100-point game is and will be the best of all time. Normally, I try and leave out players with horrible moral standards unless they truly were the best of all time. In this case, I cannot turn my back on Wilt Chamberlain.
No. 14 Pete Rose
Speaking of incredible moral standards, Pete Rose gets the green light for No. 14. He holds the record for all-time hits, games played and at-bats. He gave everything he had into every game, including All-Star games. Even though he bet on his own games, I hope he ends up in the Hall of Fame one day.
No. 15 Bart Starr
I don't know much about him, but I have heard nothing but praises. He won Championships in the NFL in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967. He was the MVP of the first two Super Bowl games. Anyone with that amount of staying-power deserves the choice here.
No. 16 Bro Montana
Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins and was MVP of three of them. He had ice in his veins and was known for his calm demeanor. Not only was he an incredible quarterback, he was a better team leader. He was a true Bro.
No. 17 John Havlicek
John Havlicek has given hope to every basketball player that is not a starter on his team. He is known as the best sixth man in the history of the game. Havlicek played for eight Celtic championship teams. Again, as much as I do not like Boston, I could not leave them off of this list either.
No. 18 Peyton Manning
Manning will prove to be one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and has done it all for one team. He is a true leader that knows the game and studies it more than his peers. Not only is he a great team leader, he is also great with the media and a true role model. I have to admit that I think he is a very funny guy too. I love his commercials.
No. 19 Johnny Unitas
To make Boston fans mad, I picked two quarterbacks from Indy directly following my pick from Bean-town. Unitas was the first super-quarterback and is consistently used as a bar of comparison. He was the first player to throw for over 40,000 yards, but Chuck Norris refers to this as a slow Tuesday.
No. 20 Barry Sanders
Detroit fans can only reminisce of times with Barry Sanders. He was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the NFL. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first ten seasons. I remember growing up and watching him ever weekend (my dad is from Michigan). When asked how he ran so quickly, he responded with "if you were being chased by guys that big, you would run that fast too."
Please let me know if you agree with my picks this week. I will be working on 21-30 for next week. There are some great athletes that I have to overlook with each of these picks. Which picks did I miss?
7 comments:
qwuality list...
Could argue that Tom Brady should be #12...stockton doesnt have any ships. However, the dude was an incredible PG
Yea Tom is def a better fit over Stockton for the best to wear #12. Three time Super bowl winner, two time super bowl MVP, 6 time pro bowler, 2007 NFL MVP(on his way to win his 2nd title in that department) Holds record for most TD passes in a single season and best winning percentage in first 100 starts to name a couple. While John Stockton is by all means one of the best point guards of all time and holds the all time assist and steal records he simply can't compete with with the numbers Brady has put up. In my opinion this one isn't even close.
Shane Skiles
The more I think about it I think Shane is right. Tom Brady is in full on beast mode and has been for 4-5 years now. He has 3 freaking rings to stocktons goose egg.
More Annoying
Stocktons short shorts or Tom Bradys hair
I almost forgot about Terry Bradshaw as well. Maybe not the all around numbers Brady has but the guy does have 4 rings with 2 superbowl MVP's to help his cause. Still believe Brady is the guy though (he had good defenses behind him during his 3 SB wins but they sure weren't the Steel Curtain) Advantage Pretty Boy Brady
Shane Skiles
Barrett- Well played on the 40,000 comment...way to get a true BRO into that by giving Chuck Norris a shoutout...
my personal chuck favorite:
There once was a street named after Chuck Norris, but it was changed because nobody crosses Chuck Norris and lives.
I also agree that Pete Rose should be in the HOF. He finally admitted what he did and the bottom line is the dude can hit. He bet on his own team to win so if anything he should be commended for adding extra incentive to win. You da man pete!
I like the comments on Tom Brady, but I stick with my John Stockton pick. No one ever accused (or caught) the Utah Jazz of cheating. John Stockton is a true athlete, while Tom Brady looks like a girl from the Brady bunch.
I think the New York cavaliers are way better than Stockton, Brady, and Vick all together. The end.
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