Tale of the Tape Super Bowl LVI

Dusting the blog off to give the longest running post I have, the tale of the tape Super Bowl Preview. I go position by position, give each team an advantage and we try to find a winner. This year I didn't watch much regular season football but I've been pretty locked in for the playoffs, let's see who the winner will be.

Quarterback: These two guys are studs, Matthew Stafford in his first year out of Detroit gets the Rams back to the Super Bowl. Joe Burrow less than two years after being drafted #1 overall, just over 2 years from winning a Heisman Trophy and National Title, and a little over a year since tearing his ACL, is in the Super Bowl. These are two of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. Stafford was always good in Detroit but never had the team to be great, he did play with Calvin Johnson, but the rest of the pieces never quite fit together. He has been great for the Rams with all their weapons on offense, plus a defense he can rely on if he makes a mistake. Burrow is a winner, he set all the records his last year at LSU, engineering the greatest offense college football has ever seen. In Cincinnati he's been just as good, getting the ball to his weapons, and doing his best with a not so great offensive line. Stafford has the experience, but arguably Burrow has more big game experience, in the National Championship game and just as many Conference championship game appearances in the NFL. I can't make a choice here, Advantage: Push

Running Back: Another great match up here. Joe Mixon has been a workhorse for the Bengals. His 1205 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing have made him an All-Pro. For the Rams Cam Akers has come back from injury to be healthy in the playoffs, he almost blew the Tampa game with his fumble, but he's been very good in the postseason, with help from Sonny Michel the Rams have ran the ball decent. I think though with Mixon and Samaje Perine, who broke a huge screen pass for a touchdown vs Kansas City, the Bengals have the advantage in the backfield. Will either team run the ball that much, I'm not sure. Advantage: Bengals

Wide Receiver: This is maybe the most star studded group of Wide Receivers in Super Bowl history. Each team has one of the best in the game. Cooper Kupp leads the Rams with 1,947 yards receiving (Ed Note: That's a shitload of yards) on 145 catches and 16 TDs, which all lead the league. Oh and they also have Odell Beckham Jr. to line up opposite of him, he started off slow since coming over from Cleveland but in the playoffs OBJ has looked like the guy from the Giants. Against Arizona 54 yards Tampa 69 yards on 6 catches and finally against San Francisco 113 yards on 9 catches. As teams look to cover Kupp, he's been open. The Bengals though counter with rookie Ja'Marr Chase, he struggled with drops in the preseason but has since blossomed into one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. In the playoffs he's had games of 116, 109, and 54 yards. That's with getting most of the defenses attention. His partner in crime is Tee Higgins, all he's done the last 2 games is have 96 and 103 yards receiving. These guys are all studs, and that's why I"m not sure the running backs will matter much, running the ball. The defenses will have their hands full, but if we have to pick a winner, it's the Rams. Kupp is amazing and can flip the game instantly, like the Tampa game, and if OBJ continues this trend of getting comfortable, look out. Advantage: Rams

Tight End: I like these guys, but I'm not sure which one is the game changer. Tyler Higbee got dinged up in the NFC Championship game and isn't sure if he'll play yet. He made some big catches for the Rams. CJ Uzomah is also battling an injury. He was out most of the AFC Championship game, in the previous playoff games though he was Burrows safety blanket when under duress, if the Bengals needed a first down Burrow was looking for Uzomah. With guys limping into the game I don't think I can pick a winner here. Advantage: Push

Offensive Line: The Bengals O-Line struggled against Tennessee, Burrow was running for his life. The Titans racked up 9 sacks, in a loss. That doesn't fair well for the Bengals going into a game against the studs the Rams have up front. For the Rams they have been decent, they keep Stafford upright. Against the 49ers elite pass rush they only gave up 2 sacks. I really don't know many players on either line, but after the performance the Bengals gave against Tennessee I think their reputation has been sullied. Advantage: Rams

Defensive Line: The best player on the field is probably in this group, Aaron Donald is a monster of a player. He has been a first team all pro in every year of his career except his rookie year. The guy is a stud, he changes the game just being on the field. I think his presence vs the Bengals line is going to be the match up of the game. If he creates havoc for Burrow, we may be in for a boring game. I just looked at the Bengals depth chart and sadly I don't know any of these guys. They did get after Mahomes in the Chiefs game, so they are capable, but they aren't the Rams line. Advantage: Rams

Linebackers: Again the Bengals don't have a lot of names here, but they are good. They did shut down the Chiefs for the entire 2nd half. The Rams made the trade for Von Miller, hoping to get some more pass rush. He has been pretty alright for them but not the beast he was 5 years ago. The rest of the LBs do the job, but again I don't watch enough to know how great these guys are. I do think though that Von Miller can take advantage of the Bengals line, and get to Burrow. Advantage: Rams 

Secondary: The Rams have Jalen Ramsey, he's one of the best in the league. I saw he's asking to follow Ja'Marr Chase around the field. He did drop a sure pick against the 49ers, but he's still pretty good. The Bengals feasted on the Titans and Ryan Tannehill and also did well against the Chiefs, eventually. Both of these teams will have their hands full, and the pressure to make a play will be immense. The key to me is limiting the big plays and if you have a chance to make a big play, you better make it, you can't give the other offense more chances than what they've earned. To me Ramsey is the difference. Advantage: Rams

Special Teams: Evan McPherson has been the Bengals best weapon in the playoffs. He won the Titans game by bombing 50 yard field goal after 50 yard field goal. He also kicked 4 field goals vs the Chiefs. The dude is awesome. For the Rams, they have a great punter in Johnny Hekker, I know him and I don't watch a lot of NFL anymore, he's great. I don't think you can argue with McPherson though. Advantage: Bengals

Coaches: Sean McVay has been here before, I assume he's still the guy everyone is trying to get a piece of in the coaching circles. Zak Taylor for the Bengals is a McVay disciple of sorts, he was with the Rams for a couple of years. I don't know a lot about Taylor other than he's apparently pretty good at his job. McVay though is the biggest thing in NFL coaching. Advantage: Rams.

Finals Score Rams 6 Bengals 2: I don't think I'm too far out on a limb here thinking the Rams have a huge advantage. I've watched a lot of the Bengals postseason and honestly I don't know how they've done it. They used turnovers to beat the Titans, and Andy Reid Andy Reided all over himself in the AFC Championship game. That said the Bengals have been underdogs for the last two weeks and won, they were also underdogs in their own division, with Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh all there. The Rams made all these moves to win this one, they traded countless draft picks for Stafford, Ramsey, Miller and OBJ. They need to make this happen on Sunday or it will all be for nothing. I think it goes Rams 35 Bengals 30, but I have no confidence in that, perhaps the Bengals shock us one more time.   

The B1G Future

     We're a little over a month from College Football kicking off, but in the news cycle of the last week there was a huge story that was leaked. Texas and Oklahoma are looking to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC, creating the first 16 team Superconference. This news has sent shockwaves through the sport, the speculation about what's true and not true has been flowing. There are questions about who goes where, what conference collapses? Does the Big 12 reach out to schools from the American? Does the SEC have eyes for more than the two biggest fish? Of course what does this mean for Notre Dame? Living in B1G territory we automatically think of ourselves and wonder what the B1G will do. I have an idea that may seem strange to you, but after I explain it you may find yourself in agreement with me. I think the B1G and the Pac-12 should join forces. They need to add a few more teams, which I'll get into, but we'll get there.

   First of all this isn't entirely my idea, I must give credit to Jon Miller, an Iowa podcast host and former radio guy in the Des Moines area. He put this seed in my head and since then I've ran with it. The B16 and Pac-16 will look like this. B16 invite Iowa State and Kansas, the Pac-16 invite Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and one of Boise State, BYU, TCU, or Baylor. I believe the Pac-12 isn't thrilled with the prospect of religious schools in the conference so BYU, TCU, and Baylor are hard sells. West Viriginia can go join the ACC where they belong so they can play Pittsburgh.

   Once the B16 is formed, we build 4 pods. The pods are for football only, you play the 4 teams in your pod every year and play 2 teams from the other 3 pods each year and switch off. That way in a 4 year span you'll have played at home/away vs every school in the conference. The other 3 games come from the alliance with the Pac-16. Kansas and Kansas State want to play, go for it. Ohio State and USC, sign me up. Colorado vs Nebraska, SURE. That's your 12 game schedule, 9 conference games 3 non-con games vs the other conference. The beauty of this plan is, all the money stays in the leagues, no paying someone a million dollars. Plus Fox will own all the broadcast rights for both leagues so we can play 3 nights a week and maybe a double header Friday night. 

  The B16 pods will be as follows. Pod 1: Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, and Rutgers. Pod 2 Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and Purdue. Pod 3 Illinois, Minnesota, jNorthwestern, and Wisconsin. Pod 4 Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Nebraska. Best 2 records play in the B16 title game. Then whomever wins the B16 Title Game goes to Pasadena to play vs the Pac-16 Champion in the Rose Bowl. Winner of that game goes and plays vs the SEC/ACC Sugar Bowl winner for a chance at the National Title. It's basically NFC vs AFC. You get the traditional bowl game and you get a clear National Champion, it's perfect. No selection committees, no schools that don't belong, and hopefully no blowouts.

    I understand that this leaves out the little guys of college football and for that I'm sorry. But you don't see the SEC asking UCF and Memphis to join they are asking Texas and OU. The sport is going to become more elite and sadly the rich are going to continue to get richer. Perhaps the G5 schools can come up with their own version of this playoff format. There will be no relegation as much as people want it, these are state run schools with state approved budgets, they will never agree to take less money. 

   If the B1G and Pac-12, along with Fox can somehow come to an agreement like I outlined above I think it will be the perfect plan to fight the SEC and ESPN who are working together to create this Superconference. If the Big Ten wants to be 2nd best, which they haven't been in revenue for a long time they will think outside the box and try something drastic. Let me know your thoughts, hit me up on twitter @derekbredeson.

Super Bowl LX: Tale of the Tape

     It's the most anticipated sporting event of the year and it's accompanied by the most anticipated blog post here at the Brady Blog. The Super Bowl is days away, but tonight the Super Bowl Tale of the Tape is here. We go position by position and see which team, the Kansas City Chiefs or Tampa Bay Buccaneers will come out victorious this Sunday. Let's break it down.

Quarterback: How do you judge this match up, yes Patrick Mahomes is probably the best QB in the league right now, but Tom Brady is the best QB in the league ever. I almost gave the edge to Kansas City, but you can't ever count Brady out, ever. You also can't give the advantage to Tampa because Mahomes is on a trajectory never seen before. So instead we push. Brady made a few to many mistakes vs Green Bay, but Mahomes wasn't crazy amazing until Buffalo. Excellent quarterback battle that I'm excited for, the GOAT vs The Kid. Advantage: Push

Running Back: Tampa has the advantage RB with Ronald Jones and a fresh/resurgent Leonard Fournette. The Chiefs will be welcoming back Clyde Edwards-Helaire who played in the AFC Championship game but wasn't all the way healthy. They also have Darrel Williams and Le'veon Bell, but the Chiefs backs don't produce like the Bucs backs. Fournette in 3 playoff games has 211 yards rushing, 102 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. Those numbers are more than half of his production from the regular season. The Bucs have had to use him since Jones has been hampered with a quad injury, but has played the last 2 games. I don't think either team wants to lean on their running game, but if they have to Tampa will have an easier time using clock with theirs. Advantage: Buccaneers

Wide Receivers: Tyreek Hill will be the best playmaker on the field on Sunday, but the Tampa quartet of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller, and Antonio Brown are more lethal than the group of Chiefs receivers after Hill. The Chiefs should have Sammy Watkins full go, plus Mecole Hardman, who made a big play in the AFC Championship game. I don't envy either secondary because trying to cover these guys, plus the dudes next is going to be impossible. If Evans and Godwin can stay synced up with Tom Brady I see a long night for the Chiefs defense. Advantage: Buccaneers

Tight Ends: Travis Kelce is either the best of 2nd best TE in the game, I myself am partial to George Kittle, but Kelce has done it longer and has the numbers. On the other side Tampa has Gronk, who is arguably the best ever at the position, but he isn't 2012 Gronk. Cameron Brate is also a target for Brady, but he doesn't measure up to Kelce. Kelce put up 1400 yards and 11 TDs this year, both career highs. If Kansas City keeps him active in the offense, which they will, he will be the difference if they win or lose. He can control the middle of the field, move the sticks and is always there when Mahomes needs him. He's just a match up nightmare, I'm not sure what Tampa does to stop him. Advantage: Chiefs

Offensive Line: This would be close but Kansas City is limping into this game, they are without both starting tackles. Meanwhile the Bucs got the steal of the draft in Tristan Wirfs at RT, the rookie has been stone walling defensive ends all year. The entire line has kept Brady clean and upright all season. That is much more important for them than it is for KC, Mahomes can move and make his own space, Brady can't as much. He's 43 and scrambling or throwing on the run aren't in he repertoire anymore. If either line can get a push running the ball, that could also be a difference. Advantage: Buccaneers 

Defensive Line: Tampa Bay has a stout defensive line, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh are both long in the tooth but make plays. Vita Vea and Shaq Barrett help round out the line that sacked Aaron Rodgers 5 times in the NFC Championship game. The Chiefs have a bunch of guys I've never heard of, now I don't watch a lot of football, but these guys don't jump out to me. The Chiefs were 19th in the NFL with 32 sacks where the Bucs were tied for 4th with 48. From what little I've seen of the Chiefs they don't create a lot of pressure where the Buccaneers can get it with their 4 lineman. Advantage: Buccaneers

Linebackers: Kansas City usually only plays with 2 linebackers, but they rotate them based on situations. They use Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson the most, but Ben Niemann and Willie Gay also play a lot. They work a lot in coverage and have to get sideline to sideline. The Buccaneers have Levonte David and Devin White who wreck shop. White had 15 tackles vs Green Bay. The problem for Tampa will be covering Travis Kelce with these Linebackers, do they have the size and quickness to cover? I think Andy Reid exploits the match up. Advantage: Chiefs

Secondary: Tampa Bay missed both safeties in the NFC championship game for a time. Antoine Winfield Jr. is supposed to play in the Super Bowl, they will need him to make plays. The kid has a nose for the ball. The Kansas City safeties of the Honey Badger and Daniel Sorenson are always in the mix. Sorenson is often another linebacker it seems. At corner, it's the hardest position to play in the NFL and neither team has the shutdown corner that some teams have. With the weapons these offenses employ, whatever secondary can tackle or create a turnover will be a difference maker. The Kansas City secondary seems healthier and have more experience. Advantage: Chiefs.

Special Teams: Jaydon Mickens for Tampa was a huge game changer vs Green Bay he set the Bucs up with great field position multiple times, and in key situations. BUT he ain't Tyreek, and Tyreek can flip a field in a minute. Advantage: Chiefs.

Coach: Both these coaches have rings, Bruce Arians as a coordinator and Andy Reid got his last year as a head coach. I love Bruce Arians but with Mahomes Andy Reid is on another level. He's shaken the stigma of being a poor big game coach. He's one of the best regular season coaches ever and now he's cementing his legacy as an offensive genius. Advantage: Chiefs

Final Score: Chiefs 5 Buccaneers 4 I think that's how the game goes as well. I'll predict 45-42 Kansas City. I will be rooting for Tom Brady obviously but I think the Chiefs win. I hope we have a good game, follow me on twitter @derekbredeson during the game for my thoughts, and I'll have a reaction post next week.

Are You Worthy?

    This week was my annual yell at the BBWAA on social media event. It's the one event that every year you know everyone will be mad, nobody is ever happy after the MLB Hall of Fame announcement. It's the one day we can all agree to disagree with the decision makers. I wrote about this last year and have wasted countless brain cells on trying to figure out the perfect solution for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and honestly other Halls of Fame. This week though a question was posed, what is your criteria for someone to get into the hall of fame? So let's explore what is a hall of fame player.

    To me there are few things in MLB that make you an automatic qualifier. Those are, 3,000 hits or 500 home runs for hitters and 3,000 strikeouts or 300 wins for pitchers, (yes I know I don't think pitcher wins matter but if you get 300 you did something right and you were great, plus you probably finished your games and didn't have a bullpen blow it for you. Also, we may have to lower it to 200 wins for guys who debuted after 2000, but again if they are that dominate than 3,000 Ks is probably withing distance for them.) Those are just the automatics, they should be first ballot guys, no questions asked, if you hit any of those milestones you did enough in the game to be considered in top of the top. And enough of calling guys "compilers," you can't measure guys by stats but then say they only stuck around long enough to compile stats, that's the point of the game, dummy.

     If you don't hit any of those milestones, my next criteria would be, were you dominate. Sometimes guys dominate for only 5-7 years, and then get hurt, or flame out. My example is Johan Santana, from 2002-2008 he put up seasons that are just unbelievable, he won 2 Cy Young awards, finished top 7 in voting every year. That's a dominate 6 years, plus throw in another year he had a 7 year peak of 45.0 WAR. Granted outside those 6 years there isn't much, but in terms of WAR Johan Santana put up 51.7 WAR in 12 season and Sandy Koufax put up 48.9 WAR in 12 years, Koufax won 3 Cy Youngs to Santana's 2, but Koufax didn't face guys with PEDs pumping through their bodies. To me Johan Santana belongs in the Hall of Fame, and no he isn't better than Sandy Koufax, you would be hard pressed to find anyone better than Sandy, but you can make a case for Santana getting another look in a short career. 

    Another thing that should get you in is a dominate Postseason performance. In Game 7 of the 1991 World Series Jack Morris for the Minnesota Twins went 10 innings, gave up 0 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts, before his Twins scored the series winning run in the bottom of the 10th for a World Series title. That performance when added to Jack's career #'s, 254 Wins 3.90 ERA, and 2,478 strikeouts, should have made him a shoe in for the hall of fame. Sure he never won a Cy Young but nobody else went 10 innings of shutout ball in a Game 7. Madison Bumgarner could be going down the Jack Morris road, he has been an ok regular season pitcher but his postseason numbers, especially 2014 have made his a fringe candidate for Cooperstown. In 16 career Postseason games Bum has a line of 102 1/3 innings pitched, 8 wins 3 losses 1 save (oh what a save it was) 2.11 ERA, 3 shutouts, 87 Ks to 18 walks and 0.899 WHIP. I personally don't think Bum is there yet, but he will have a case if he can get about 700 more Ks, which at his pace would take 3-5 more years. It is compelling.

     I'm not sure I'm right on these criteria, but honestly it's a Hall of Fame. What's it matter if 1 guy who is enshrined maybe is the worst player in the building, someone has to be. To me the Hall of Fame should be a way to celebrate the game, celebrate your childhood, and a destination you take your family and tell them stories from before their time. I would love to go and have someone tell me what it was like to watch Willie and Hank play the outfield and hit the snot out of the ball. I would also love to take my kids to Cooperstown and wax poetically about Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens, but sadly since it's harder to get into the Hall of Fame than ever I don't think I'll ever have the urge to make that trip. While we're at it keep politics out of it as well, Curt Schilling may be a dirtball in his personal life has nothing to do with his baseball acumen. I can't stand the guy but he belongs in those halls, the bloody sock alone falls into my 3rd criteria, not to mention 2001 when Arizona shocked the Yankees. It's a museum not heaven and I think some people forget that. I'm for a big hall of fame, and would rather debate someone's inclusion than their exclusion. 

@derekbredeson on twitter, come back next week for the Super Bowl Tale of the Tape, my favorite yearly post.

Power Rankings

    I don't watch the NFL, I follow along, I'll turn a game on but if the race or a good episode of Bluey are on I'll change the channel. I just can't sit and watch an entire NFL game and be invested, is it because I'm a Washington Football Team "fan" probably. Either way I do follow along, I have a fantasy team so I have to at least pay attention to some of the news, so I thought I got nothing better this week why not take a shot at some Power Rankings since it seems everyone is obsessed with those instead of what your actual record is, because Power Rankings are what get you in the playoffs, not actual wins and losses, oh wait that's backwards, in the words of Bill Parcels you are what your record says you are. Let's see how I do.

#32 Jets: Do the Jets have a direction? Their QB is the villain from every 90's Wes Craven horror movie. I know nothing else about the Jets except they have nobody relevant in fantasy and a once great defense is now nothing. This team made 3 straight AFC championship games with Mark Sanchez and now they got nothing, and they are never going to be anything until they get a winning QB.

#31 Texans: They were the "premier" team they put up against the Chiefs on opening night. They suck, they fired their coach who traded the best WR in the league for a running back. I don't care if it was Barry Sanders, you don't trade for running backs, nothing good comes from trading for a running back. They have an elite athlete at QB and nothing else. They have the biggest name in the NFL and do nothing with him. What a waste of JJ Watt and Deshaun Watson, I like the Texans and this pisses me off they aren't great.

#30 Falcons: I put the Falcons ahead of those other 2 teams because they've at least blown 2 should've been wins. The Falcons have brought choking to another level. How a coach with a defensive background can screw up this much is beyond me, and why does he have a job? Perhaps the Falcons are warning to all those fans who want their teams to draft weapons for their elite QB. Atlanta has surrounded Matt Ryan with so much talent his entire career and all for his defense to surrender every lead he ever gets, so yeah 3 franchise defining WRs is cool but maybe a Linebacker who can tackle is cooler.

#29 Giants: Another team who drafts a freak and just wastes his talent. Saquon is a monster and yes I know he's hurt, but they never did anything to make themselves better. I assume Danny Duke QB is a good thrower, but what if they had spread guy like Lamar Jackson or Russell Wilson, get Barkley in some match-ups. Another thing about the Giants was for all my life they had a legit pass rusher or 2, I don't know a damn dude on this defense. They need that back.

#28 Bengals: I still think Joe Burrow is going to tank. They are going to be back for a while.

#27 Jaguars: Maybe I should've put Jacksonville above the Bengals because at least the Bengals have a hope at QB. The Jags have a guy who was going to retire from football in college until Mike Leach called him up, he already had his Graduate Assistant coaching job lined up. The Jags have no direction.

#26 Football Team: I have nothing, they beat the Eagles week 1 then nothing. The Football Team stinks. I do like they are building through the defense, but being a real threat is years away.

#25 Chargers: I actually care more about the Chargers than the Football Team. The Chargers have Desmond King but refuse to play him. I don't understand why a corner who actually likes to tackle can't find the field but that's just me. They have a glimmer of hope in the QB, but between injuries and a lack of playmakers I don't see a bright future.

#24 Vikings: Kirk Cousins sucks at football, I've been saying it for years about time you all caught up with me. I think the Vikings wasted their money on this guy and now between him and Dalvin Cook they got a lot of cap wrapped up in two dudes, good luck.

#23 Lions: Throw TJ Hockenson the ball more, that's all I know about Detroit, Hock needs at least 10 more targets a game. 

#22 Dolphins: They got Tua so they got a plan, after that I don't know what the plan is. This is a blind spot for me, I know about Miami except they play their games in Florida most of the time.

#21 Eagles: They lost to the Football Team and tied the Bengals, that's bad. BUT anytime you count out the stupid Eagles they win. Is Carson Wentz still good? Seems like he peaked that one year.

#20 Cowboys: Sure why not, they have a shitload of talent, but they replaced their idiot head coach with another idiot head coach. What Mike McCarthy ever did to deserve a second chance I'll never know. The league is turning closer to the college game with spread offenses and guys like Lamar and Kyler taking over. Dallas has Dak, he can do those things so you saddle him with a guy who tried to sink Aaron Rodgers? I would've found a guy from an Air Raid or Spread (Lincoln Riley, Joe Brady, Kirk Ciarrocca, or Joe Moorhead) to come run this offense with all these weapons. I'm the last guy who wants Dallas to be good, but this is a joke to have this guy coaching, and Jerry Jones is a shitty operator of a football team.

#19 Broncos: I really want the Broncos to be good, but they suck at drafting QBs and are even worse at signing free agent QBs. Sorry John Elway you aren't going to get neck surgery Peyton Manning again. I hope this Rypien kid is good since he's Mark Rypien's nephew and played at Boise. They've got some pieces, but they need a RB and QB they can build with.

#18 Panthers: Once the Panthers get Christian McCaffrey back I'll be happy since he's on my fantasy team. I had no idea the Panthers were 2-2 and was wondering why they weren't on my list yet. Anyway, keep it up Panthers. 

#17 Cardinals: You know how I feel about Joe Burrow, I kind of feel that way about Kyler, but my thing with him is I'm mad he didn't play baseball that's all. The A's and him agreed 1 year of football then baseball and then he blew up. The Cardinals did help themselves out by getting Hopkins and I think they have a bright future.

#16 Raiders: Is there a more yin and yang QB than Derek Carr, one week it's 500 yards and 4 TDs then it's 150 yards and 3 picks. I want Carr to be good, and the league needs a good Raiders team, let's hope this ship keeps going in the right direction with Gruden.

#15 Saints: Is noodle arm Drew Brees nearing the end? Is Sean Payton still a genius? I watched these guys week 1, they seemed ok, but I still don't think throwing 7 yard passes and hoping to break them is going to work. 

#14 49ers: Injuries are what's holding them back, and the guys who are hurt are always hurt. Jimmy G gets hurt every other month. Fully healthy this team is a threat.

#13 Patriots: Cam is like Derek Carr, but he does it with years, Cam will crush one year and suck the next. This is the year Cam is good, I think if Cam played vs Kansas City they had a chance to beat them. They still got the best coach in the league and an OC who can change with the times, don't count out the Pats.

#12 Browns: The Browns are doing what we all thought they would do last year. They were the exciting pick to win in 2019 and they stunk, now apparently they are winning. Losing Chubb will hurt but lucky for them they got another weapon at RB, plus the LSU connection at WR and of course Baker.

#11 Bears: They might be frauds, but they are 3-1 so it works. Can we move on from the Trubisky talk? I realize it hurts but we don't need to be reminded every game about Mahomes. 

#10 Rams: The Super Bowl loser hangover wasn't kind to them, but they still have a legit defense and weapons on offense. Remember when Sean McVay was the smartest guy in the league? Amazing when losses start piling up, you get less of those stories.

#9 Colts: Phillip Rivers man, he's got that magic touch, until the playoffs.

#8 Buccaneers: The difference between the Saints and Bucs, is yeah Tom can only throw the ball 8 yards, but he still takes shots deep. Plus, Tampa got the best lineman in draft in Tristan Wirfs who has gone against 3 studs in 4 games and hasn't allowed a sack. He's a stud.

#7 Ravens: The Ravens should be higher, but my rankings are based only on records. Lamar is such a revelation, he's doing what RG III was supposed to do to this league.

#6 Bills: They got something building in Buffalo, just wish they had a better QB, I know he's good but, but someone better would awesome.

#5 Titans: Easy to stay undefeated when you don't play your games. Get everyone healthy Titans and please don't expose any other teams.

#4 Steelers: Pittsburgh could draft 11 of me and still win 9 games, I don't know how they do it. Pittsburgh is never mediocre, they just aren't, they are always good. In my life every teams has been bad, except Pittsburgh, it's crazy.

#3 Seahawks: Russell Wilson is just carrying this team, he's damn good. That hurt to type.

#2 Packers: They've had an injury bug. They got a head coach with a brain to help with Aaron Rodgers. Jones at RB is pretty good, and they found some dudes on defense that are awesome. I would like them to lose sometime, but they are good.

#1 Chiefs: The Chiefs are a cheat code, they built this team with so much talent, I don't know how they are under the cap. They are like the Patriots of early 10's and Mahomes is such a stud. They are crazy good and drafted the right guy for their immediate future with the LSU RB. Andy Reid could still turn back into Playoff Andy Reid, but even then Mahomes would bail him out.

That's the power rankings for this week, per usual things could change next week. Hope you enjoyed someone who barely watches telling you how good/bad your team is.

A Blessing

    We are really in the thick of it now, MLB Postseason, NBA Finals, NFL, and college football all in full swing as we continue to navigate this pandemic. There continue to pop ups of cases, MLB had their troubles early and now the NFL and NCAA are both having issues. Games are being cancelled, questions being asked about make up dates and about availability of players. I don't have the answers and though we're still 3+ weeks from seeing the Big Ten play I have a simple request for everyone. Enjoy it while you got it.

Things were moving right along in March, we had spring training, NCAA hoops was starting conference tournaments, football teams were about to start spring practice, NFL teams were looking toward the draft, NBA and NHL were winding down towards the postseason. Then in one night it all went away, it didn't go slowly it was poof gone. There were rumblings of no fans being allowed but a few stubborn organizations stuck with the normal routine. People were flocking to Arizona and Florida for spring training while at the same time the media were told you can't come in the locker room. Then one NBA player tested positive and the sports stopped. NCAA cancelled the winter sports championships, and then spring sports. NBA, NHL, NASCAR, and MLB all delayed everything. We were left wondering what to do with our free time. Give it two weeks we all thought, that's all it takes, 2 weeks of a spike in cases then you move on. Well we never moved on. 

We were all bored, sure you watched Tiger King and other documentaries but you couldn't have a Fantasy Tiger King team, or bet the over/under on husbands killed. We missed sports, we watched old sports, we talked about old games, old players, and lived in the past. We watched old sports movies, we did anything to remind ourselves of what the void that sports was leaving in our lives.

This brings me to now, we still aren't back to "normal" but as I stated above we have more sports than almost ever. On October 24th I'll get my favorite part of the sports year back, when Iowa starts playing college football again. This year though I'm going to take in this season differently. I'm not going agonize over every single outside zone run, or every 3rd down where they only rush four and drop into zone and give up a first down. Instead I'm going to relax and enjoy the game, the game that I've waited almost 2 months longer than normal for. The game that in a usual year we get 13 of and this year we only get 9 or 10. I'm hoping this year it brings me back to that kid who would just watch the game to watch the game, not put everything into that bucket on how my favorite team performed. We've all been there, we all invest in our favorites and when they come up short, we are short, we are mad, we let little things bother us, we just give up for a few days. Don't be that guy this year instead watch the game with joy of a 10 year old watching their heroes. Watch the game and when the results are done move on with your day. Live in the moment and don't let the moments fester. I think if we've learned anything in the last 7 months is that these games can be taken away from us at any time, so being able to watch 1 or 8 will be a blessing, and you can't predict when we'll get that feeling again.

The New NASCAR Team

    There were numerous rumors over the past few weeks that there was a new NASCAR ownership group lurking and they had their driver already picked out. Last night it became official, Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are starting a team together and Bubba Wallace is going to drive for them. This is going to open so many doors for new fans and new money in the sport. If you find yourself intrigued by his Airness getting in the racing game, I"m going to give you a little insight into the key players of the deal, plus I'm going to ask a few questions about the future of the team and what to expect. 

If you read the blog you know I'm a Denny Hamlin fan, he's been driver since he joined the sport. Rusty Wallace had just retired and Joe Gibbs Racing had just pegged this young driver to drive for them, his first race at Daytona he won the Bud Shootout, I instantly became a Denny fan. Since then Denny has been one of the best drivers in the sport, not only in talent but also in influence. Denny is one of the most respected drivers in the garage and someone other drivers go to with ideas and NASCAR sanctioning body listens to. He doesn't have a championship yet but he's come close and we're hoping this is his year. He also was the only driver sponsored by Jordan Brand, if you see a picture of Denny's fire suit it has the Jumpman Logo on it. I'm going to assume Bubba Wallace will also be a Jordan Brand driver. Denny forged this friendship/partnership with Michael Jordan by being a season ticket holder to the Charlotte NBA franchise. They also both golf and have competitive streaks. Denny said in the announcement they had the idea for a race team while on the golf course, and they finally got their opportunity.

I don't have to introduce you to Michael Jordan, you already love him. You know everything about the guy thanks to The Last Dance. You know MJ wants to win and will do whatever it takes to win. My favorite part of MJ coming into the sport is that he's going to bring more fans. If NASCAR is good enough for Michael Jordan than maybe it's good enough for others to watch. Jordan is the most popular athlete of our lifetime, he was an influencer before influencer was a word. His brand is great, the money he can put into the sport is great, and he's got a partner who knows the sport and is ready to help him right away, and not struggle like his NBA Franchise has.

Bubba Wallace was an obscure driver, he was just the "black driver" for a few years. He climbed the ranks but bounced around while climbing. Normally a manufacturer or team will groom guys from trucks to XFinity, to Cup. Bubba went from a Toyota at Kyle Busch Motorsports to a Ford at Rousch Fenway Racing, to a Chevy at Richard Petty Motorsports, not the normal trajectory of an up and coming driver. The thing is he has the talent but he didn't catch the breaks and was always looking for a full time ride instead of staying with a team. Then 2020 happened and Bubba got pushed to the forefront of the sport. His first newsworthy thing happened during iRacing when he rage quit a race and lost a sponsor over a video game. Then the racial unrest during Covid happened and Bubba asked for changes inside NASCAR, and some controversy followed and things started to change. The more certain demographics of NASCAR disliked him the more sponsors he found. He brought new sponsors to his car in the last 4 months from his racial activism, companies like Door Dash, Colombia, Cash App, and Beats all jumped on board. He brings 18 million in sponsorship money to the new team next year. That money will come in handy next year for the fledgling team, a race car costs $400K. Bubba is only 26 and he has a bright future, he's won races in the lower series and I think he's going to win next year.

After the announcement there were lots of questions. 

What will the team be named? I'm hoping for Jumpman Racing, or Jordan Hamlin Racing. 

What car manufacturer will they drive for? I'm going to guess Toyota since Denny is a Yoda driver and I doubt he can own a different brand while driving another.

Will they get technical help from Joe Gibbs Racing? That's the assumption around the NASCAR world, Denny drives for Joe Gibbs would seem he would lean on them for a technical alliance, someone to bounce ideas off of, get set up from, probably rent a pit crew. All things that happen in NASCAR, perhaps when the new car comes in 2022 it won't be as needed but in 2021 if for sure will be. The only way they don't lean on JGR is if Toyota wants them to succeed so they give them their own engineers.

Is it fair to drive for one team and own another? NASCAR does cap how many teams and owner can have at 4 cars. With Denny driving for JGR and being part owner they had to ask NASCAR for interpretation of the rule. Many NASCAR fans site that Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't start a cup team because Rick Hendrick owns 1/3 of his race team. That's right Rick Hendrick can't be part owner of more than 4 cars. Denny doesn't own squat of JGR, he isn't the principle owner of this team. He drives for one and owns the other, it might get a little hairy out there if Bubba and him have contact but that's the risk he's willing to take. I for one hope he's in 2nd when Bubba drives his car to it's first victory.

What's the car #? Denny owns 2 in cars in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing series, they are numbered 23 and 32, the 23 is sponsored by Jordan Brand, seems logical that 23 will be the car number. There currently isn't a full time 23 car so it seems likely.

I wonder where the shop will be, they bought the Germain Racing Charter but I didn't hear if they got the shop as well. I also wonder who will be the Crew Chief, my guess is Denny's first cup Crew Chief Mike Ford who was working for Bob Leavine Racing and they sold their charter and shop a few months ago, so he's looking for a job, why not work for someone who he knows. 

Bubba is now my 2nd favorite driver, I usually root for the Gibbs guys if Denny is out of contention but now those guys are 3rd-5th on the list. I'm hoping for everyone involved this is a success and yeah they may not win championships right away but being a competitive car and being in contention for wins is the biggest thing to show in year one. Let's have some fun and hopefully a few more people hop on the NASCAR bandwagon.

B1G Decisions

   In what seems like the never ending saga, the Big Ten Conference can't seem to decide how to proceed with fall sports, most importantly football. I say most importantly because football pays for everything. The will they or won't they of the last 3 weeks of the B1G playing football is taken straight from a prime time television show. One week it's spring, then it's January 1st, then it's Thanksgiving, now this week it's October 17th and an announcement is coming. But the announcement never comes and twitter sources contradict each other, and what one person says is fact the other says is fiction. How did we come to this spot? Who is to blame? Did the B1G make the right decision? What is the right plan? I really haven't wanted to talk about this because it makes me sad and there is enough in this world right now that' sad so I don't want to be downer. That's why I've stuck to the fun stuff. These are my opinions on the subject at hand and those opinions have been fluid since mid-summer. I wish more people could have their opinions changed with new information, but we aren't conditioned that way, especially in the internet world, you have to take a stance and you aren't allowed to back off it. With college football vs Covid I've gone through many stages, and I may contradict myself even in this post, but I think each circumstance deserves a different solution.

When the B1G decided to postpone the season a few days after releasing a schedule the main question was why? This is where things took a turn for the conference and the reporting on the conference. The power structure of the B1G is much like professional sports. The Presidents/Chancellors are the equivalent of the owners, who select a commissioner. The commissioners job is to be the public voice of the conference. The B1G just hired a new commissioner last January, and he got thrown into a world that he isn't prepared for. Kevin Warren the commissioner is a lawyer, he was hired to negotiate the next TV deal for the B1G, he wasn't hired to shit in everyone's Cheerios and tell them their 12 Saturday's in the fall are ruined. Warren automatically became public enemy #1, but only because he was the messenger, and the message he was sending sucked for everyone. He is paid to be the voice of the conference, the face, so these presidents and chancellors don't have to be the ones taking the blame. Let's be clear, it was their decision, they voted 11-3 to cancel fall sports. Kevin Warren, the athletic directors, and football coaches had no say in the matter. Kevin Warren did screw up the process but it wasn't his fault. He could've tried to get the leaders to delay the start of the season, but he's new and has no equity built up, he was doing what he was told and that's the end of that. I think Kevin Warren is getting an unfair shake and hopefully he can get this thing going in the right direction soon.

This is strictly my opinion, but I think the B1G vote was strictly political. The states with democratic governors instructed their Presidents to vote against football. If you look at the 11-3 vote, with Nebraska/Iowa/Ohio State wanting to play, while everyone else said no you'll notice a trend. Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania all tend to be swing states, that switch from red to blue and vice versa. Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, and Minnesota all blue states. Indiana not sure what happened there but perhaps since they have 2 schools they were trying to protect themselves. That is why the President got involved and why he hasn't gotten into the Pac 12. It's also why the other 3 conferences are playing. It's pretty simple when you think about it.

I'm still not sure if the B1G made the right choice to postpone. I think they had 6 months to figure out a plan and hoped things would fall their way and they didn't. I remember in March everyone thought a month without sports and we'll be back, fans will be back in the stands by the 4th of July and things will be groovy again. Well none of that happened, but we didn't know how this was going to go. The fact the virus became political only made things worse. Coming back in May became coming back in June which turned to July and so on. Then it's August and football is supposed to start in a month and nobody had a plan. The B1G says hey we can only control our schools so lets go conference only schedule, I loved the idea. B1G rolls out a schedule, brags about the flexibility in the schedule, if team A gets Covid, team B can play Team C this weekend and we'll switch their game with Team A. It looked great, then they cancel the season, which obviously the people who built the schedule weren't the one in charge of cancelling the season. The B1G being a little full of themselves think everyone will follow suit, much like the conference only schedule. But they didn't, thus making the B1G and Pac-12 looking scared, and the other 3 P5's looking strong. Now I understand not everyone feels this way, many of you think the B1G made the proper decision, the problem is, the voices on twitter were loud and proud that the B1G was making a mistake. I for one thought the decision was ok, and that the other conferences would never play, there would be outbreaks on campus and schools would cancel games. Well we're heading into week 3 of college football and things are rolling just fine* (for 95% of the time, just like MLB, most of the games are going off without a hitch).

My mind started to change once kids started to come to campus. If these schools are so worried about health that athletes can't play sports than why can they bring thousands of kids to these college towns, force them to live on top of each other just so the university can make some extra bucks by forcing you to attend one class in person. This is a contradiction in philosophy. When the athletes were on campus alone things were fine, then the students showed up and Covid cases spiked. If you actually cared about the athletes than you would've let the students stay home learn online and let the athletes stay on campus and compete. Now the optics of that look bad, BUT the optics of your greed while cancelling sports looks worse. This is why I can't support postponing the season.

My last thing is the twitterverse and the back lash towards the media and the rumor mill. Twitter is full of rumors and honestly it's why I use the website. I have Facebook for my friends and twitter is my sports hub, I use twitter for baseball, NASCAR, and college football news. The rumors though on twitter these last couple weeks were insane and especially this last weekend, up until now when we're supposed to hear the announcement the B1G is back tonight, yet still nothing. The thing I think people get lost in is, when they want a rumor to be true they fall in love with it, and the person who said it. When someone says something they don't want to hear, they again rally against the messenger and not the message. If someone writes a news article and puts an opinion in it, than that's bad. But if someone writes a tweet with their opinion, that should be fine, it's what the website is for, opinions. Just because a reporter works for someone doesn't mean they aren't entitled to their opinion and if their opinion doesn't jive with yours doesn't give you free reign to target them with abuse. If people could just be civil on the socials this entire situation would be easier to handle.

That's all for this week, stay tuned because if some huge NASCAR news happens I may have to write another post. Plus who knows how long before the B1G changes their minds again.

By The Numbers: Extra Credit Edition

    Been a while between posts. I got deep into some books the last couple weeks so I was very interested in reading and not so much in typing. Baseball is crazy right now with the Marlins and Giants both in the playoff race, the Yankees on the verge of being out plus all the other races. I'm paying attention but not watching much, again the books have been taking up my time. If you are a reader and enjoy political thrillers, I hope you've read Vince Flynn and his character Mitch Rapp, I've just started my journey in March and have been making progress on the novels. This post will be the final in the numbers edition and I'm going to talk about some oversights, and numbers beyond the top 100.

500 Miles: There is something about 500 miles and a car race that are just special, the Daytona 500 is the crown jewel of stock car racing. The Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of all racing. The Southern 500 is maybe my favorite race of the year. I for one don't think all car races should be marathons and a test of endurance, I enjoy the shorter races that Nascar has rolled out this year, a shorter race means more urgency. That said, the 500 mile races at the right tracks and the right situations are incredible and must watch. Indy is so special to watch and even though I don't go nuts for the race it's still cool. Daytona is incredible and edge of your seat racing for 4 hours, you know one little mistake can ruin your day and since the entire season in front of you the only goal of the Daytona 500 is to win. The Southern 500 has become even better the last couple years as NASCAR has gone with the throwback weekend, where teams pay homage to the past and run old school paint schemes. Some are lame but most are great tributes and the spectacular ones really make the race memorable.

13 Johnny Gaudreau: I feel bad for leaving Johnny Hockey off my first round of numbers, instead opting to talk about The Program. Johnny currently plays for Calgary but in 2010-2011 he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL and he was awesome, leading the Saints to a championship in their first year back in the league. Johnny is on the smaller side for hockey players, but he's quick and can maneuver in tight spaces. His wrap around goals are so fun to watch and I remember watching him make those same moves when he was a teenager.

3,000 Hits: Baseball is a game of numbers, accumulating stats is part of the game. There are so many special numbers in the game, 500 home runs, 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts, and of course 3,000 hits. To me 3,000 hits is the coolest club. If you look back you can remember a lot of guys 3,000th hits. Derek Jeter hit a home run, so did Wade Boggs and Alex Rodriguez. Robin Yount and George Brett did it within a month of each other in 1992, Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn did it back to back nights in 1999. Ichiro hit a triple. The list is just awesome and to me 3,000 will always be special.

28 Davey Allison: Davey drew the short straw having the same number as 2 of my all time favorites. I talked about Davey a while back and how much I've grown to appreciate his career recently. I wasn't the biggest racing fan when he died, but in recent years he's been someone I've wanted to learn more about. His family was NASCAR Royalty but they had so much tragedy they aren't near the sport anymore. Read about Davey and Alan Kulwicki and their impact on the sport when you have time.

2006 Rose Bowl: The Rose Bowl is special, every Rose Bowl is special. Watching Michigan lose in 1992 and Iowa lose in 2016 are just as great as watching Michigan win in 1993 and 1998. However, the 2006 Rose Bowl is the greatest game ever played. It's easily the most memorable college football game I've ever watched. The stars were stars and Texas vs USC, #1 vs #2 lived up to the hype. Vince Young was outstanding. Reggie Bush did Reggie Bush things. It was just so incredible, go back watch the game and enjoy.

3 and 5 Joe Gibbs: Joe Gibbs has 3 Super Bowl rings with 3 different Quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien). Joe Gibbs has 5 NASCAR Cup Championship with 3 different drivers (Bobby LaBonte, Tony Stewart x2, and Kyle Busch x2). Joe Gibbs is a damn legend. Joe Gibbs is so great they put him in 2 Halls of Fame. I can't talk enough about the great person Joe Gibbs is, he lead my favorite football team, and now he leads my favorite NASCAR driver. Coach Gibbs gave me my earliest sports memory and hopefully he can help me out this year and give me another.

1989 World Series: The Earthquake Series between Oakland and San Francisco was my second sports memory. Sitting down to watch the Giants and my cousin Robby Thompson play the A's when the TV started shaking. I don't remember all the details but the city of San Francisco took a lot of damage that day. The Series took a couple weeks off before the A's finished off the Giants in a 4 game sweep. The actual series itself was boring but when the world shook it became memorable.

That all I got for this one. Next week I'll get back into some regular posts about regular sports. Baseball is heating up, and college football kicks off, let's talk sports and have some fun.

By The Numbers 91-100 Edition

    It's the last structured post. I got a few more numbers I'm going to do in one more post but they won't be in order. Another week of sports has happened, I've watched lots of hockey this week, it's been my hey nothings on, let's watch hockey. Been a while since I gave hockey this much time and man is it a fun game to watch. It's a team game but individuals can make so many great plays and the goalies, man are the goalies good. It's fun to watch. On to the numbers.

91 Dennis Rodman: The last 3 Bulls championships don't happen without Rodman. He was the ultimate super star who didn't have to be a super star. He did the the dirty work, he played the mind games, he worked his ass off and made the difference without dropping 20 points a game. His star shined even brighter off the court, with his super model girlfriends, colored hair, marrying himself, and unusual antics. There will never be another Dennis Rodman.

92 Reggie White: I will forever say Reggie White was the tide that turned the Green Bay Packers. They were nothing from the 60's to the early 90's. Even with Brett Favre taking over they weren't a serious threat, then Reggie showed up and suddenly the defense had a pulse. Aside from his own stellar play Reggie got other guys who wanted to play with him to join him in Green Bay, Santana Dotson came from Tampa and Sean Jones from Houston. Reggie was so special to watch, he was a huge man but wasn't cut. He played with power and speed. His "Hump" pass rush move was just amazing, and he didn't come from the blind side, instead he just beat every Right Tackle in NFL for over a decade. 

93 1993 Daytona 500: Dale Jarrett won the 1993 Daytona 500, and that when is special for many reasons. First of all Jarrett's dad Ned was calling the race on CBS, and Ken Squier the greatest announcer in racing history new how the big moment was and let Ned call his son in, instead of doing it himself. 2nd it was the first win for Joe Gibbs Racing, a hell of a start for a team with only 1 season under their belt. Obviously now JGR is power team in NASCAR, but then they were just thought of as the football coaches team. Lastly it was another 500 that Dale Earnhardt finished 2nd, he got so close so many times before finally getting one in 1998. 

94 AJ Epenesa: Iowa doesn't get 5 star athletes out of high school. AJE was a 5 star, AJE came to Iowa, AJE didn't start till his Junior Year.. He was special to watch and I'm excited to see what he can do in the NFL this year. AJ may have been a 5 star but he worked like a 2 star and played like he had something to prove every week. I never blamed the coaches for not letting him start but he did play a lot and he'll be better off for not playing so much early.

95 1995 Atlanta Braves: I"m not doing this to give credit to the Braves. Instead this is about how the greatest pitching staff of the modern era only has 1 ring. Three Hall of Fame pitchers on one staff and 1 ring, just terrible. I know World Series rings are hard to win but if you go into a series with 3 hall of famers they should be worth at least 4 wins in a 7 game series. So congratulations Braves you got your 1 ring and 4 guys in the hall of fame, while the Giants who won 3 in 5 years will maybe get 2 in the Hall when it's all said and done, and that annoys the hell out of me. Be better Atlanta.

96 Charlie Conway: I"m going to be honest, I have lots of problems with the Mighty Ducks. #1 Gordon Bombay is shitty coach and a bad person. #2 Charlie was ok, but Adam Banks was the best hockey player in his age group and should've gotten more camera time. Conway was alright and what he lacked in talent he made up for in leadership, which as a kid he needed because his coach sucked. As I've grown older I've grown nostalgic for many movies from my youth, but The Mighty Ducks I've only grown more mad at. 

97 Cornelius Bennett: I have no idea good of a player Cornelius Bennett was in real life, but in Super Tecmo Bowl he played outside linebacker and I could rush the passer like none other with him. I was every great pass rusher rolled into one with Bennett, I was better than LT. There was a good 5 year run where I played 3 games a day of Tecmo and Bennett was my best player on defense in the entire game. I want to play now.

98 Brian Orakpo: I was a big fan of Orakpo when he played in DC. He had a knack for getting to the QB, I often called him OSackpo since he got to the QB so often. He eventually moved on to Tennessee and I think he just retired. I liked him with Washington.

99 Rick Vaughn: Wild Thing was so good in the first Major League. His story arch made sense and his confrontation with Clew Haywood is so memorable, from him coming in and Dorn talking to him, to Lou saying forget the curve ball Ricky give him the heater. Major League is such a damn good movie and Wild Thing was a huge part of it.

100 Joe Posnanski Baseball 100: Lists of 100 are awesome, 100 greatest anything will create debate. Joe wrote about the 100 best baseball players ever and listed them off every day for 100 days, it was the best 100 days ever until Covid hit. I enjoyed it so much I did my own version on the blog. It's an incredible read and if it's ever a book I would suggest you read it. 

Another one in the books, this has been great fun, and I probably gave it a little too much thought but it worked out for the good. Hope you enjoyed the lists and come back next week for a grab bag of numbers.

By The Numbers 81-90 Edition

     The Big Ten postponed the season yesterday, I'm not surprised. I don't want to get into it because it's depressing enough already, deep diving it is useless. Until everyone can agree on the best solution for this pandemic we're stuck with these situations. On with the numbers, lots of star power tonight as we navigate the me guys. 

81 Calvin Johnson: I've talked about my love of Megatron multiple times on this site. He's probably my favorite player from the last decade that had nothing to do with any of my favorite teams. He went to work, did his job, put up numbers, and did so quietly. I'm not the biggest act like you've been there before guy, I like personalities, but when guys decide to not be a showboat it is refreshing. Tron put up great numbers in his short career, I feel like he belongs in Canton. His day will come and I'll be excited for him if he can get in there.

82 Charlie Tweeder: I think Tweeder had a future in the league, especially in the Patriots offense, he had that Edelman build. Problem is Tweeder was going to end up in jail. He talked about drugging girls, he kidnapped some girls and threw their clothes out the window, while stealing a cop car. He put his wanger on the glass over at the Allano Club while the girls were practicing their Christmas performance. But damn it he could run routes, catch anything and break free. In the oopity oop Mox wanted to single him up on the one side, but he still lined up in the slot with the other 3 receivers. Varsity Blues is still my favorite football movie.

83 Ricky Sanders: There once was a group of receivers in Washington, they were called "The Posse" it consisted of Art Monk, Gary Clark, and Ricky Sanders. They were an awesome trio, and though only Monk made the Hall of Fame, all of them have a special place in team history. Ricky helped win 2 rings. Washington's offense was a run first scheme with the Hogs and good running backs, but the three receivers helped them stretch the field and keep teams honest.

84 Sterling Sharpe: I only got to watch Sterling Sharpe a couple of years before he ended his career prematurely due to foot injuries. He was the first receiver to record back to back 100 reception seasons. For that I will always remember him. I'm not a Packer fan but I watched them a lot since my family is all Packer backers. He wowed me as a 9 year old with how he played and how he didn't seem to drop anything. Those early 90's teams set up the Packers for the late 90's success and I think Sterling helped Brett Favre get the confidence he needed early on in his career. 

85 Chad Johnson: I have a crush on the Bengals. I don't "root" for them but when they are good I enjoy watching them. Not sure if it's the helmets or the color scheme, but I enjoy good Bengals teams. When they had Carson Palmer, TJ Houshamazillah, and Chad 8-5 I paid attention. Johnson was what a receiver is supposed to be, loudmouth, brash, and super talented. He was a top 5 receiver for a few years and though he didn't have the most success outside of Cinncy he was still fun to watch.

 86 Brian Murphy: Murphy was the deaf Tight End for the Washington Sentinals. Him and Shane Falco had a bond that developed very fast and nobody could predict. The last game was on the line and Falco asked who wanted the ball, Murphy signed me, and Falco said let's hook up. Of course Murphy catches the pass and they beat the team full of regular players. The Replacements is a fun football movie and a great way to pass some time if  you find it on. 

 87 Rob Gonkowski: I love Gronk, everything about Gronk is awesome. We need more Gronk.

 88 Greg Olsen: Olsen was a great tight end, loved him at Miami, loved him on the Bears, loved him Carolina. Was always a good sneaky fantasy guy to take if you missed the top tier tight ends. Anyone else who's worn 88 sucks.

 89 Mike Ditka: Ditka, Polish Sausage, Ditka, Polish Sausage. Ditka was a bad ass in a time of bad asses. He played tight end in the NFL and then coached the Bears to their only Super Bowl. Ditka is a damn legend and deserves all the recognition. Ditka 333 Detroit -43.

90 Neil Smith: Neil Smith invented the breathe right strip. After breaking his nose he started putting tape over his nose and decorating it. While the Chiefs teams in the early 90's that had Smith, Derrick Thomas, Joe Montana, and Marcus Allen I took a liking to Neil. He was a dominate inside player on the defensive line and had fun kicking everyone's ass. The fact he brought the breathe right strip only helps enhance his legacy. Great player should probably get a little more recognition. 

 That's all the numbers for this one, getting to the end  of the top 100. I'll try to get the next group done soon. In the meantime stay safe and enjoy what taste of sports you can get. 

By The Numbers 71-80 Edition

   Here we are, sports are back and yet I can't get into them. The fear of them being taking them away at any moment does. n't allow me to enjoy them. Today the Big Ten announced their football schedule and that got me going a little bit, but for the most part I'm pretty impartial to sports right now. Sadly the biggest sporting event in my recent life was cancelled, as the sports world was going to be focused on Dyersville for one night, but it won't be happening. I did take in lots of baseball last week but it was of local talent. Well let's get back to the topic at hand, these numbers are going to harder than even the last group.

71 Trent Williams: I talked about Williams in the draft revisited posts, Washington took him instead of Russell Okung. Williams was stalwart for the offensive line for all his years. He made a bunch of pro bowls and for the most part has worked out very well for a top 5 draft pick.

72 Carlton Fisk: Pudge wore 72 when he signed with the White Sox, he was 27 in Boston, then flipped his number in Chicago. The White Sox have since retired 72 in his honor. I remember watching Fisk in his twilight years, I thought the White Sox of the early 90's were destined for great things, and Fisk was the old veteran on a team of youngsters. He has one of the top 5 most famous home runs in baseball history.

73 Marshall Yanda: He's the best offensive guard in the last decade in the NFL, Yanda was an 8 time Pro Bowl player, first team all pro twice and second team all pro 5 times. He was named to the 2010s All Decade team. After leaving Iowa after the 2006 season he played 13 years all for the Ravens, won a Super Bowl and gained the respect of his teammates and the league. A great guy and great player.

74 Tristan Wirfs: The offensive line parade continues. Wirfs is an absolute beast on the field and one of the nicest guys off the field. He had a great relationship with Iowa band and they often celebrated with each other after wins. He was a 3 year starter on the offensive line for the Hawkeyes, even as a true freshman. He made a mistake at least once a game in his freshman year but he grew so much in his 3 years, especially in the weight room. He's now the strongest player in program history, and you know he did ir the right way when he played.

75 Brandon Scherff: It doesn't happen often, but when your favorite NFL team drafts a player from your favorite college team, you know it's meant to be. Scherff got taken by Washington in the top 5 after playing at Iowa for 4 years. He's been a great NFL interior lineman, he has battled some injuries but when he's healthy he's a force.

76 Shawn Bradley 77 Gheorghe Muresan: I put these two together for one reason and one reason only. Who doesn't love having guys with their heights as their jersey numbers. Bradley at 7'6" and Muresan at 7'7" were two behemoth men in the NBA in the days I actually watched the NBA. Two giants in a sport dominated by giants, they never really made it to super stardom, but they were both know and did get to be in movies. Bradley was in Space Jam with Michael Jordan and Muresan was in My Giant with Billy Crystal. Absolute Legends.

78 Martin Truex Jr.: In 2017 Truex won the most improbable Cup Championship since Alan Kulwicki won in 1992. A single car team took on the giants of the sport and beat them, as Furniture Row Racing won the championship with Cole Pearn on the box and Truex in the drivers seat. Even being a Joe Gibbs Racing fan, I was ecstatic when Truex won his championship. It was a great moment for Nascar that was sadly gone as soon as it happened, because FRR closed their doors within a year of winning the title.

79 Jim Lachey: My final offensive lineman on the list is the best lineman from Washington in the 90's. At the tail end of the hogs, Lachey was the last man standing. He wasn't the most well known guy, but he was the anchor on the super bowl team in 1991.

80 Jerry Rice: He's the best football player ever. You can't watch highlights of Rice without being wowed. He had great hands, great speed, and was a great route runner. Jerry would outwork you and then outplay you. I probably didn't give Rice enough credit when he was in the league and time has given me perspective. Much like Michael Jordan I missed the early years when the athleticism really shined, and I saw the more polished player who outsmarted you as well as outphysicalling you.

Now that we're thought the 70's we can get into the fun of the 80's and some play makers in the next edition. As always let me know who you like for some of these, this one was a little strange, but lineman are cool.

By The Numbers 61-70

    What a crazy week, baseball is back and soon it's almost gone. It's still happening but if a couple more teams have the same results as the Marlins we could be done. I do question the MLB testing procedure, I don't take these positive tests at face value. The problem though is if the MLB testing isn't good than any number they put out isn't good. 11 positives on one team is a bad look, whether the legitimate or not, and I'm pretty sure MLB isn't trying sabotage themselves. Anyway, this is going to be a strange grouping tonight, let's get some more numbers.

61 61*: I've talked about this movie a lot. It's probably my favorite baseball movie. I talk about Little Big League, Major League, and A League of Their Own a lot, but 61* is my favorite. It tells the story of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chasing 60 Home Runs of Babe Ruth, and the scrutiny and attention the two players got. Roger Maris was the unassuming superstar, he wasn't a true Yankee, as he didn't come up the system like the previous great Yankee outfielders. He was chasing the legend, the revered Babe Ruth. Throw on the fact that Major League Baseball added games to the schedule, many Ruth defenders refused to acknowledge Maris record as the true record, hence the asterisk affixed to the 61. It was an excellent movie, it only played on HBO so I suggest trying to fine it and watch it.

62 #62 from the Waterboy: This really an excuse to talk about the Waterboy. The scene in particular is when the SCLSU Mud Dogs are playing Western Missiissippi and an offensive lineman from Western tells Bobby he's going to play with his mama later that night. Bobby doesn't like that so he throws the ball at 62 and lets him score a touchdown before drop kicking him, and telling him he loves his mama very much. The Waterboy is such a fun movie, and when it comes to Adam Sandler movies it's from his wheelhouse time. #62 was an actual college football player at Florida, James Bates. He is involved in college football still.

63 Spencer Lee: Spencer Lee has 63 wins wrestling for Iowa. His career record is 63-5 in 3 years of wrestling. Spencer is my favorite wrestler to watch, he is so good at what he does, it's an absolute clinic when he's on the mat. He even topples the bigger oppenents with ease. He was on his way to his 3rd national title this year when Covid-19 cancelled the NCAAs. It sucks because it takes away his shot becoming a 4-time National Champion, which is rare air. I'm guessing he'll get his shot at #3 next year, and hopefully go to the Olympics and get the gold.

64 Randall McDaniel: It takes a lot to get noticed as an offensive lineman. When Randall McDaniel played I noticed him. He played guard for the Vikings in the 90's. He's in the NFL Hall of Fame. Guard play is usually only seen when they make mistakes but McDaniel made so many plays you knew who he was. Plus his name rhymes so it's perfect.

65 Willie Mays 1965 Season: In 1965 Willie Mays put up his best season as a pro. He was 34 and had career highs in Home Runs 52, slugging 645, OPS+ 185 and WAR 11.2. He won his 2nd MVP award that season. I never watched Willie play, but from what I've heard he's the greatest player ever. He played Gold Glove defense, he hit homers, he swiped bases, and he played in more difficult era than Babe Ruth. The fact Mays had this good of a season at age 34 is unbelievable to me. Plus he was doing it having to travel across the county to play most of his games. Just crazy to see.

66 Mario Lemieux: I'm not as big of a hockey fan as I used to be, but Super Mario is my 2nd favorite player, we'll be seeing my favorite in a couple numbers. Mario was so good, that instead of paying him the owners of the Penguins just gave him the team. He was the 2nd best player in the NHL for most of career. He missed 3 years battling cancer and came back just as good.

67 Richard Petty: In 1967 Richard Petty won 27 races out of the 48 he ran, including 10 in a row. I don't talk about Petty a lot since I never really watched him race. But to dominate a sport, any sport that much for 10 straight races is just incredible. There is so much that can go wrong in a car, especially in the 60's when the cars weren't very dependable. Petty though pushed through all that and won races, lots of races, a record that will never be touched. These days if a guy wins 8 races he's dominate, but winning over half your races is unheard of.

68 Jaromir Jagr: Here is my favorite hockey player ever. I loved watching Jagr in my younger days when he had his long hair coming out of the back of his helmet. He played such a different game when I watched, it was so cool.  He's won 2 Stanley Cups and has amassed almost 2000 points in his career. He was just so good and he's still good as he just retired 2 years ago.

69 Billy Bob: I give it a 10 a motherfucking 10. William Robert was the heart and soul of the West Canaan Coyotes, when he was right they were unstoppable, and when he was having concussion problems the team struggled. He made all the key plays, he opened up the hole for Tweeder to block the punt, he caught the ball on the hook and ladder and scored the winning Touchdown. Then he cried because Billy Bob cries. Varsity Blues is such a good movie, I love it so much. Puke and rally baby.

70 The Summer of '98: Mark McGwire broke the previous record from earlier in this post by hitting 70 home runs in 1998, much like Maris he was pushed along the way by someone close to him. However instead of a teammate it was a player from a rival team. Sammy Sosa helped push McGwire to the finish line by hitting 66 home runs of his own. I watched McGwire chase those 70 home runs with wide eyes and I'll never forget watching him hit 62 or 70. Those were iconic moments and steroids or not they were very memorable.

Per usual this was more fun than I though it would be, I only had a couple things in mind for this set and the rest of the pieces fell into place. Not sure I'll kick another one out this week, but stay tuned and keep enjoying these as much a I like writing them.

By The Numbers 51-60 Edition

    50 up 50 to go, provided I don't go past 100, which I probably will because this is pretty fun. Meanwhile real sports are coming back so I might have to sprinkle some of those in. Let's see what these next 10 have in store.

51 Randy Johnson: The Big Unit is the best lefty of our times. A late bloomer it took a while for Johnson to find his footing but once he found it he didn't let it go. He was so dominant and put so much fear into players, fear that a 6'10" guy who throws sidearm at 99 miles per hour can bring. He bounced around a lot but Johnson got the big numbers 300 Wins 4,875 Strikeouts (2nd all time) and an ERA under 3.30 for his career.

52 Patrick Willis:  I warned that there would be a lot of linebackers. Patrick Willis was awesome in his short career, he only played 8 seasons. He lead the league in tackles as a rookie. He was 1st team all pro 5 times, firmly placing himself in the upper echelon of Linebackers of his time. He had a nose for the ball and made so many plays. Hate when guys hang it up early but Willis being able to take care of himself as he gets older will be good.

53 Anthony Hitchens: Hitch wears 53 for the Chiefs, but I remember him for wearing 31 at Iowa, dude a was beast for the Hawkeyes, and he was part of a trio linebackers that were amazing. I was happy for Hitch when he won the Super Bowl this year, and I was really happy he won it in Kansas City and not Dallas since that's who drafted him. I hope for continued success for him.

54 Sergio Romo: I can't express what a huge deal Romo was for the Giants in their run. I've talked about him before being one of the best bullpen arms the Giants had. Relievers are usually flash in the pans with only a couple good years. Romo had a few great years, he set up in 2010 and was the closer in 2012. The fastball he threw to Miguel Cabrera to end the 2012 World Series is still one of my favorite pitches ever.

55 Dikembe Mutombo: There are 2 very vivid images of Dikembe that I have. The first is the easy one, the finger wag. When he would block a shot he would wag that finger in your face and let you know. The 2nd is when the 8 seed Nuggets beat the 1 seed Supersonics in 1994 and Mutombo was on the floor crying with the ball over his head. That image was just incredible, and is everlasting.

56 Alvin Mack/Luther Lavay: The 2 best movie linebackers ever. Mack was on his way to the next level once he finished his season at ECU. He couldn't read, but he could read an offense and knew what to do every snap. He also had the gift of shit talk, he got into the opponents heads so easily and that would eventually cost him. Shark Lavay was the anchor of the Miami Sharks defense, he got his million dollar bonus on a play where he breaks his neck. He throws the best parties and can cut a car in half with a chainsaw. I'm guessing Lawrence Taylor didn't have to stretch too far to play Shark but I wasn't giving him an official spot on this list.

57 Dereck Rodriguez: I don't care he spells his name wrong, Pudge Rodriguez's kid is a good pitcher for the Giants. He's got great hair and though he still has to learn how to pitch a bit more consistent, he's nice to have on the team.

58 Derrick Thomas: He's my favorite football player who didn't play for Washington. Not only because we share a name, which he also spelled wrong, it was how he played. I loved watching DT just wreck shop on opposing offenses. He had 7 sacks in a game, which is a record. He died after a car accident the day the Rams the won the Super Bowl. For some reason they waited until 2009 to put him in the Hall of Fame which is crap since he was the best LB in 90's.

59 London Fletcher: Underdog, heart, fight, leader. Those are what I think of when you say London Fletcher. He broke through with the Rams but eventually ended up in Washington. He was a true pro MLB and despite being smallish he made a shit load of plays. London was a great player and probably first ballot Hall of Very Good.

60 Bill Mazeroski Walk Off: The 1960 World Series ended on one of the greatest home runs ever. With the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, he took a 1-0 pitch deep to left field to win the World Series for the Pirates. It's the only Game 7 Walk Off in World Series history. Forbes Field was a big park and it took a shot to get one out of there. The ball actually goes over the 406 sign in left field when it left. Just amazing.

Another 10 down, lots of linebackers and I left a few off the list. Another acknowledgment of Derrick Thomas, he was amazing and I loved watching him play. See ya next time.

By The Numbers 41-50 Edition

   After doing 4 of these I feel like I'm going to have to do another batch just of honorable mention guys. There are so many I would've loved to add to the list, but they just had bad numbers. I couldn't talk about Davey Allison at 28 because there were already 2 guys. Muggsy Bogues should get a mention for #1, I could go on but I won't. This one has some special numbers in it, let's see what the next 10 have.

41 Glen Rice: This is the first time I'm putting someone on this list solely for their prowess in a video game. We played NBA Live 98 a lot in high school and we always put Glen Rice on our team to shoot 3's, pairing him with Mitch Richmond made you unstoppable against the computer. We would shoot 3 after 3. I never watched Glen Rice the actual player, but on that video game he was deadly from deep.

42 Jackie Robinson: I don't think there is a number more synonymous with a name than 42. 42 is Jackie Robinson and Jackie Robinson is 42. Obviously Jackie is remembered for breaking the color barrier in baseball, but he was also pretty damn good. He made his Major League debut at age 28 giving away at least 4 years of his career. He could've reached 2,000 hits with those years, and he probably would have 100 more stolen bases for his career with those years. I love how we've recently celebrated Jackie more than ever before, but the state of baseball for American black players is slowly going back to before his time.

43 Josey Jewell: I've been to one Iowa football game, Josey Jewell got tossed in the 1st quarter for a targeting call while blocking on a punt return. There is nothing more memorable than that. The starting MLB gets the boot on a punt return, that's some shit. Josey was a tackling machine at Iowa, the 2nd best players on the defense in 2015 he made so many plays. He played so hard and really made himself better. I've recently learned he read comments from people on twitter who questioned his play and that made him play harder. That's kins of crazy but Josey is that dude. He also made this video which is badass.

44 Dallas Clark: Granted I wasn't an Iowa fan when Dallas Clark was at Iowa, and I never really like the Colts, but he was the exception on those teams. He was absolute beast on the Colts with Peyton Manning. He averaged over 10 yards a catch, scored double digit TDs a couple times. The dude was just really good, and he blocked pretty tough.

45 Adam Steinmann: There is something special about your high school best friend. Mine was Adam, we did a lot together. Some nights it was party till I puked, other nights it was Mt. Dew, chips and the Playstation, we would road trip just us two and talk about everything. Adam wore 45 in football. There are so many stories I could share about us but my favorite will always be the 2 winters we coached basketball together, he was the 8th grade coach and I was the 7th grade coach. The league we coached in the games were always Saturday. Well 1 Friday night we had a party, and we slept in. We were supposed to meet the kids at the school at 9 or something, this league you didn't take a bus so we would have a caravan of parents driving to the games. The players came and woke us up with a garbage can full of beer cans in the doorway, luckily no parents followed them in. We eventually got up and got going but we were in rough shape, and that's when hangovers didn't last more than a couple hours. I love Adam like a brother and though we talk less these days we still have those times when we shoot each other a message. I'll never forget the good times we had.

46 George Kittle: I'm sure you know who George Kittle is. He's the best Tight End in the NFL right now. When he was at Iowa he was a Touchdown machine. He made so many huge touchdown catches in 2015. He was CJ Beathard's safety valve inside the red zone. Kittle has an infectious attitude and just loves to have fun and play the game. George seems like a good dude and I can't wait to see him get paid when he gets that 2nd contract.

47 Rod Beck: The Giants have had a lot of closers in my time. Rod Beck is probably my favorite. Brian Wilson has the ring, Rob Nen was probably the best, but Beck is the most iconic. Him looking in for the signs with his arm dangling there, just loose, plus that horseshoe mustache, he was intimidating on the mound. Beck was huge part of those Giants teams in the mid 90's that weren't the best but they were in the race a lot, and he was fun to watch and imitate.

48 Pablo Sandoval: You hit 3 home runs in a World Series game for my favorite team you'll always be one of my favorites. The Panda did just that in 2012 when he started off the eventual sweep of the Tigers with 3 homers in Game 1. He also caught the foul pop up to clinch the 2014 World Series championship. That's 2 huge moments in 3 championship runs. He's had his issues with the team, mainly leaving after 2014, but all has been forgiven and he's back with the Giants to finish off his career being appreciated as he should.

49 Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson debut: In 1949 the New York Giants debuted their first 2 African American Players, Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson (who was actually playing for his 2nd ML team). Irvin had played in the Negro Leagues for 9 years before joining the Giants, he eventually got enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

50 Neon Boudeaux: He's probably the greatest college basketball player ever. He was an underrecruited high school player from the bayou in Louisiana. Coach Pete Bell watched him play in a pick up game and for some reason gave him a car so he would attend Western University. Neon was an absolute force in his game against #1 Indiana, a game the Dolphins go on to win, but Pete Bell can't stomach the fact he cheated to win so he outs himself and quits. Neon eventually found his way to the NBA.

This one was full of Hawkeyes and Giants, but hey sometimes that's how it goes. The 50's will be full of linebackers so prepare yourself now. Feel free to let me know who you like in these numbers, again it's been a ton of fun. 

By The Numbers 31-40 Edition

   This is such a fun exercise and the higher the numbers go the harder it will be. Not many players have numbers above 50, there will be a few easy ones but not as many options as what the first 40 have. I'm pumped for tonight's group let's get it.

31 Reggie Miller: I never liked Reggie Miller the basketball player, but I love Reggie Miller the shit talker. When Reggie went toe to toe with Spike Lee, that was quality entertainment. The Reggie Miller part of the Jordon Documentary was outstanding, I could listen to Reggie tell stories for hours. He had an ugly shot and a worse hair cut, but he was a great shooter. He may been ahead of his time, with the volume, of 3's shot today he could've been even more cerebral.

32 Anthony Thomas: The A-Train is my favorite Running Back from my years as a Michigan fan. The dude was unbelievable, he was so big and so fast. As a younger player he would catch passes out of the backfield and as he got older he got better between the tackles. He was an enigma at his size to be able to be that fast, he eventually got drafted by the Bears and won Rookie of the Year in 2001 but that was the height of his career.

33 Scottie Pippen: Scottie is my favorite basketball player ever. I loved watching him play. His length made him a great defender, his arms seemed to stretch forever. He was listed at Small Forward but in the triangle he brought the ball up, so he was actually a Point Forward. He was the perfect 2nd man for MJ, he could distribute, he could score, he could get to the basket, and he didn't need to dominate the ball to be difference maker. The Jordan documentary shit on Pippen a lot, he had a few brain cramps and I thought they focused a little to much on those, but that doesn't matter, nobody can be perfect like MJ so I don't hold those moments against Pippen.

34 Bo Jackson: Is he the single greatest athlete of our time? He could be, he played 2 professional sports at All Star levels. He broke Tecmo Bowl and he broke baseball bats. I think if Bo had focused only on baseball he would've been a Hall of Fame player, he could've been Barry Bonds with an arm. He had the speed and the power, plus he could throw it on a line from the warning track to home. His body failed him before he could really hit his peak, but everyone will still remember his greatness.

35 Justin Verlander: I've written a lot about Verlander since firing this back up. JV is probably my favorite pitcher from the last decade, (who didn't pitch for the Giants). I watched him work in Kansas City and I'll always remember that night, not for his pitching but for his pregame routine. Watching him prepare was the highlight of the game for me. He's also got the super model wife and he seems to be one of the voices int he game who carries some weight.  JV is heading to the Hall of Fame and I'll be happy he got there while also happy he gave up those 2 homers to Panda in the 2012 World Series.

36 Sean Taylor: I'm cheating on this one, Sean Taylor was actually #21 when he passed away, but when Washington drafted him he wore 36 his first season. I wanted to talk about Clemente so I save Sean T. for this here. He was on his way to Canton. The dude was a damn missile for the ball, he could find anyone and ruin their day. He was maturing as a player when he was murdered and I only saw good things for his future. We are born a year apart, both on April 1st, me 1982 and him in 1983. After Darrell Green, Sean T. is my favorite player in franchise history.

37 The 1937 Baseball Hall of Fame Class: The inaugural class in 1936 had all the guys you would expect, the 2nd class in 1937 though had some big names. The players elected by the writers were Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Cy Young. There was also a Centennial Commision that was put in place to get a few of the men who showed outstanding service to the game, those men were Connie Mack, John McGraw, Morgan Bulkeley, Ban Johnson, and George Wright. The players you've heard of, mostly. The others though you might not have. Mack and McGraw had the most wins in each league, Mack is still has the most managers wins in MLB history, 3,731 and he was still managing at the time of his induction. McGraw is 2nd on the list, and most wins in NL history with 2,763, almost a thousand behind Mack. Morgan Bulkeley was the first president of the National League and Ban Johnson was the first president of the American League, Ban Johnson was the defacto commissioner before there was an official commissioner, and he personally paid to transport gamblers to the trial of the 1919 White Sox to make Charlie Comisky look bad. George Wright was the first owner of a professional team. I've never been to the Hall, but with my recent dive into the 1919 White Sox I want to go now more than ever.

38 Brian Wilson: Fear the Beard, it was the rally cry in 2010. Wilson was the closer for the first World Series title, and his performances were stressful, the Giants announcers labeled it torture. He had to put at least a couple guys on base before wiggling off the hook. I did get to watch Wilson live in 2009, he was throwing 100 MPH heaters past the Brewers hitters, and he tried to blow that save as well. Wilson is a character and his antics were almost as legendary as his beard and his pitching. He flamed out like most closers, but he was awesome for those couple years.

39 Ted Williams debuts: I don't get to talk about Ted Williams very much, but in 1939 one of the best hitters ever debuted for the Boston Red Sox. All he did was lead the league in RBIs and finish 4th in MVP voting as a 20 year old. He hadn't faced big league pitching yet and he still hit .327, that's incredible, if a 20 year old hit like now he would be set for life. Williams lost his prime years to the war and lost even more years to the Korean War. He was a special player, a bit of a thorny personality but a great great player.

40 Madison Bumgarner: There is nobody else to put here, Bum is the damn man. He carried the Giants to the title in 2014. He tried to do it again in 2016, but there wasn't enough around him. He is statistically the best postseason pitcher in history. He has 2 amazing performances in the Wild Card game, 2014 and 2016. He World Series debut in 2010 he pitched a gem in Game 4 setting up the Giants to close the series in 5 games. 2014 we all know the World Series stories he had. He is the ultimate big game pitcher, and yes he doesn't have the hardware of Kershaw or Verlander, but he has the rings that they don't and he had a huge part in all 3. He'll be always be a legend for the Giants.

This as always was a fun one, got to do a little research on guys and found some neat things. Come back again for 41-50 as we keep this train rolling without many sports to talk about.

By The Numbers 21-30 Edition

    This is going to be loaded group. Some of the best athletes of our time have worn these numbers, cutting the list down was a little tough. Let's see what we got.

21 Roberto Clemente: I'm not a huge fan of players from before my time, Clemente though is the exception. I read about him in Grade School and grew to love him. His charity was the reason for my initial love, but the more I learned about the ballplayer the more I liked him. He had a rocket of an arm in right field. Hit over .300, while amassing those 3,000 hits and 240 home runs. A career WAR of 94.8, he was just an impressive player and an even more impressive person.

22 Andrew McCutchen/Will Clark: The last few lists I've made of baseball players, I've wanted so bad to put McCutchen on the list, but he plays Centerfield and whenever I pick my favorites Mike Trout is my CF. So when I talk about 22, I was all ready just to ramble about Will Clark, but I realized I can finally talk about Cutch. He was a dynamic defender while also swinging a pretty stick. He left off every all decade team though because of Trout. Will Clark broke my heart when he left the Giants after 1993. I thought he would be there forever. He has since reconciled with the team and is the bridge from the great late 80's early 90's teams to today.

23 Michael Jordan: There is nobody else, he's the best basketball player there ever was. Jordan changed the game and I think basketball would be different if he never played. The 6 Championships, 2 Olympic Gold Medals and the ultimate brand. Jordan is special and yes I do fight against the LeBron bashing by MJ fans, but it has nothing to do with Jordan and more to do with people just being stupidly unfair to LBJ.

24 Champ Bailey: He only was on Washington for 4 seasons but he's still one of my favorites. Champ was just like Charles Woodson in college, he played both ways at Georgia. When Washington drafted him it was the next best thing since we didn't have a shot at Woodson the year before. He did force himself out which lead to him being traded to Denver but I still paid attention to him and enjoyed watching him play.

25 Barry Bonds: We got a hell of an outfield going here tonight, Bonds in left, Cutch in center and Clemente in right, plus we got 27 coming up in a little bit. If you read the blog you know Bonds is my guy, love everything about him, own 3 jerseys of his. I love talking about Bonds and his amazing feats on the diamond. I always come back to the 500/500, or even the 400/400 which he's the lone member of each club.

26 Babe Ruth 1921 season: At the age of 26 Babe Ruth put up his 2nd best season in terms of WAR but m terms of counting stats it was his best season 59 home runs, 168 RBIs, 177 runs scored, .377 batting average and 17 stolen bases. That's career bests in RBIs, Runs and SBs, while his 2nd best season in HRs and Avg. His age 28 season he had a better WAR but because he walked more. In 1921 it was his 2nd season in New York and the 2nd season with the live ball, which Ruth didn't exactly need but it helped. I often discount the Babe but what he was truly magical. The Babe would just fall out of bed and have 10+ WAR seasons, just amazing.

27 Mike Trout: Best baseball player on the planet, next number.

28 Darrell Green/Buster Posey: Darrell Green is my favorite football player ever. I've never been to a Washington game, but I did go to watch Darrell Green get enshrined into the Hall of Fame in Canton. A truly memorable day. Green was a special talent who even when he retired he was the fastest man in the NFL.He was amazing. Buster Posey is the turning point for the Giants, before him no World Series titles since New York, with him 3 in 5 years. There is nothing we can do to pay Buster back for what he's done for the franchise. His 2012 was a great season, and though his skills at the plate were great his prowess behind the plate have been just  as good. Needless to say, both of these guys are franchise greats.

29 Kevin Harvick: Needless to say 29 isn't exactly deep. Though I'm not the biggest Harvick fan what he did when he took over driving the Dale Earnhardt car is truly remarkable. He was a young driver and was thrust into the spotlight of the sport, to no fault of his own. He did well in that 29 car but found more success later in his career in the 4, but that first season driving the white car with red letters will always be something I remember.

30 Aaron White: The Ginja Ninja was one of the biggest reasons for the jump Iowa basketball took in the 20teens, after falling off the planet in the late 00's. White was a fun player to watch, he had amazing dunks and when he jumped a pass on defense, you knew the thunder was coming. He was so fun to watch and was a great college player, you knew he wasn't built for the pro game, but he's found success in Europe.

This group was fun to talk about, hopefully the 30's are just as good.