Lists

This is the final blog for 2019. As we close the calendar year, so does the NFL season come to an end. The college football playoffs are upon us (finally!) College basketball conference play starts in earnest. The NHL Winter Classic is in Dallas?? The NBA Christmas Show—5 games on national TV—is history. I can almost hear the sounds of bats and gloves at Spring Training …almost.

The NFL has some drama left in Week 17. The Cowboys and Eagles still haven’t decided which team will go out in the first round of the playoffs as the winner of the NFC East.

San Francisco and Seattle meet on Sunday night in the last game of the regular season, with the NFC West crown and possible top seed in the conference at stake. Playoff positioning in the NFC makes the games for New Orleans and Green Bay important. 

Is it Oakland with a miracle finish and a lot of luck or Tennessee that claims the last spot in the AFC Playoffs? Tennessee has to play Houston, which can still move up in seeding. New England’s game against Miami has meaning too for the Patriots in terms of the all-important home field, where historically, Tom Brady and crew have done much better.

On Saturday, LSU meets Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Ohio State and Clemson tangle in the aptly named PlayStation Fiesta Bowl inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. For the right to head to the CFP National Championship in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Goodyear Cotton Bowl is in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; the Capital One Orange Bowl has its home at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens; the Allstate Sugar Bowl is also being played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Don’t you just love corporate naming rights for bowl games and stadiums?

With Gonzaga the newest team heading the college basketball rankings, how long will it take before the ‘Zags are no longer in the top spot? With conference teams going head-to-head, especially in the Big Ten, which currently sports 6 schools in the Top 25, the rankings are going to go through many changes until Selection Sunday. Heading to Vegas and betting on a team to win the National Championship has to be a crap shoot. 

It was heartwarming to see Steph Curry and Klay Thompson wearing blue and on the floor at the Chase Center when the Warriors took on the Houston Rockets. No matter that neither is anywhere close to playing after their injuries. The team wearing “The City’ jerseys handled James Harden and Russell Westbrook just fine. Steve Kerr’s squad has picked up their third and fourth wins in a row, temporarily escaping the shadows of the Knicks and the Pelicans. 

By the way, Houston is not a contender in the West—the Clippers and Lakers are much better. Those two teams met in the place they both call home—the Staples Center. It was clear that there is more firepower and better personnel on the Clippers when Kawhi Leonard is playing. Patrick Beverley swatted away a three point attempt by LeBron James in the waning moments of Wednesday’s game, deflecting it from King James’ left hand; ball to the Clippers. 

James is playing hurt and it shows. He is still a great player despite the handicap. His groin injury must heal for the Lakers to make a deep run in the playoffs. Anthony Davis too is playing hurt and he needs to get better. Someone said a player like Andre Iguodala is needed to make the Lakers whole. That may be the truth.

The Celtics won their game against the Raptors, who were without Pascal Siakam. Siakam has blossomed into a star for Toronto. Joel Embiid starred for the Sixers as they romped at home over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. New Orleans upset Denver on the road—without Zion Williamson, who is still out, while Nikolai Jokic had a subpar game for the Nuggets. 

What the end of the calendar year brings are lots of awards and recognition. Plus a bevy of lists thanks to the 100th season of the NFL and the 150th season of college football. 

The major sports saw the Washington Nationals overwhelm the Houston Astros to win the World Seies. Clemson won the College Football Playoffs last January. G.O.A.T. Tom Brady and the Patriots again were Super Bowl victors. Virginia won the NCAA Men’s Basketball title. Baylor prevailed on the women’s side. The St. Louis Blues came from the bottom of the Western Conference to garner the Stanley Cup. Rafael Nadal excelled again, as did Novak Djokovic. Serena Williams lost 2 finals at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadow. Tiger Woods captured his 15th major championship with a win at the Masters, tied Sam Snead’s record for most wins in PGA Tour history and led the US team to a stirring win in the recently concluded International. And there is the incomparable Simone Biles, the gymnast for the ages and AP Female Athlete of the Year. Let us not forget Team USA, once more winners of the Women’s World Cup in soccer.

I saw an article from  NYTimes.com which proclaimed that Steph Curry (not LeBron) is the N.B.A. Player of the Decade. The takes are interesting from a number of experts. LeBron may be the better player and appeared in more championships along with winning more M.V.P. awards. It is what Curry attained with the Warriors, a team—their 73 wins in a season—along with his redefining what outside and inside shooting by a guard can be. I ask this—whose uniform do you see worn by more kids—LeBron’s 23 or Steph’s 30? In this era of analytics, the answer is in the numbers…

The first list I saw was one that startled me. It was the top Professional Bowlers Association bowlers of all time. And I cannot find it. Such a shame. 

Instead, there are a few lists that I can access and make a lot more sense to me anyway. They are more in line with the major sports.

MLB had a list of unique achievements in 2019. For the pitchers: Chris Sale became the first to fan 17 in 7 innings; Kyle Hendricks pitched a complete game shutout on 81 pitches with 63 of them strikes—the best percentage since stats on pitch count were kept; Gerrit Cole is the only pitcher to strike out 15 and allow 1 baserunner who homered; his former Astros teammate Justin Verlander is the only pitcher to strike out 15 and surrender 3 home runs; Trevor Bauer is the first to hit 1 batter, walk 6, strike out at least 8 and not give up a hit in less than 9 innings. As to the hitters: Boston’s Rafael Devers is the only player to get 6 hits with at least 4 of them being doubles; Caven Biggio matched his Hall of Fame father in hitting for the cycle, but Caven is the first to steal 2 bases and drive in 4 baserunners; Yuri Gurriel drove in 8 runs on 2 hits yet is the only player to score only 1 run in the process; the Diamondbacks Idelmaro Vargas is the first player to come off the bench as a pinch hitter, have 6 plate appearances, 4 hits, with one of them a homer; and Derek Dietrich of Cincinnati is the first to be hit by a pitch 3 times in a game and score 4 runs and then get hit again the next day.

ESPN has gone gaga over college football in its 150th season. I have viewed programs on rivalries and greatest games. They have also generated some lists.

The 50 best college football programs starts with Alabama at the top. 

The next 9 are: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Yale, Nebraska, Texas and, drum roll please, North Dakota State for all it has accomplished in Division 1-AA and now the FBS. Princeton, Penn State, Harvard, Tennessee, LSU, Mount Union, Miami (Florida), St. John’s (Minnesota), Florida State Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Boise State, Clemson and Grambling complete the Top 25. The rest are: Penn, Wittenberg, Michigan State, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Appalachian State, Linfield, Georgia Tech, Dartmouth, Virginia Tech, Army, Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Colorado, Stanford, Arkansas, Pittsburg State, Arizona State, West Virginia, Georgia Southern, Utah and Wisconsin. Five D-III schools made the list but not  Amherst or Williams. I would have thought that Delaware might have made the list for the championship years they were led by Davey Nelson and Tubby Raymond. Oklahoma State or Iowa might have garnered a mention. It is some impressive list.

Next up are the Top 150 games in college football history. Leading the list is #1Nebraska 35 at #2Oklahoma 31 (1971), Next up is #5 Miami 31 versus #1 Nebraska 30 at the Orange Bowl on January 2, 1984. Appalachian State’s 2007 upset of #5 Michigan is third. The Doug Flutie Hail Mary pass for #10 Boston College at #12 Miami to win 47-45 in 1984 is fourth. Number 5 is #2 Penn State 14 #1 Miami at the Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 1987. Of note is #11, the famous Harvard-Yale game in 1968, which ended in a 29-29, for which Harvard claimed a win. The other games are a who’s who of college football, with many games the most memorable ones for the fans.

The Top 150 of college head coaches is led by Paul (Bear) Bryant, the legendary Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama icon. Right behind the Bear is Nick Saban, the current Alabama head man, who also had stops at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU. Knute Rockne is synonymous with Notre Dame football; his 105-12-5 record and .881 winning percentage remains the highest of all time. The next four men stayed at one school and won big: Tom Osborne at Nebraska, Eddie Robinson at Grambling, Charles (Bud) Wilkinson at Oklahoma and Joe Pa, Joe Paterno of Penn State. Rounding out the Top 10 are Bobby 

Bowden, who spent time at Howard College, West Virginia and most famously at Florida State; Woody Hayes who grabbed fame at Ohio State after stops Denison and Miami (Ohio); and Frank Leahy, who spent time at Boston College before continuing his fabulous career at Notre Dame. The names on the list are the royalty of the sport.

There is a Top 150 of all-time college teams. The number 1 team is that 1971 Nebraska squad. Second is current Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll’s 2004 USC team. The USC team from 1972, Nebraska from 1995, 2018 Clemson, 2005 Texas, 2001 Miami (Florida), 1979 Alabama, 1956 Oklahoma and 2009 Alabama comprise the rest of the Top 10. So Nebraska and USC are the top 4, with Alabama having 2 spots in the Top 10 and the most recent winner of the CFP in Clemson ascending to the exalted list. 

ESPN’s All Time All-America Team is really surprising in some of the picks. The first team offense is as follows: QB Roger Staubach (Navy); RB Jim Brown (Syracuse); RB Herschel Walker (Georgia); WR Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State); WR Larry Fitzgerald (Pitt); TE Mike Ditka (Pitt); C Chuck Bednarik (Penn); T Orlando Pace (Ohio State); Bill Fralic (Pitt); G John Hannah (Alabama); and G Jim Parker (Ohio State). The first team defense is: DE Hugh Green (Pitt); DE Reggie White (Tennessee); DT Bronko Nagurski (Minnesota); DT Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma); LB Dick Butkus (Illinois); LB Lawrence Taylor (North Carolina); LB Tommy Nobis (Texas); CB Deion Sanders (Florida State); Charles Woodson (Michigan); S Jack Tatum (Ohio State); and  Ronnie Lott (USC). The specialists are: K Sebastian Janikowski (Florida State); P Ray Guy (Southern Mississippi) and All-Purpose Player, Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska). The Second Team QB is Peyton Manning (Tennessee), with his running backs Bo Jackson (Auburn) and Archie Griffin (Ohio State). These guys were so good that awards have been named for Guy (punting), Bednarik (defensive player), Nagurski (defensive player), Butkus (linebackers), second team WR Fred Biletnikoff from Florida State (wide receivers) and C Dave Rimington of Nebraska (center).

But wait—the NFL Network has been running its own weekly countdown of the Top 100 NFL players in the history of the league. The Top 12 RB are: Jim Brown; Earl Campbell; Marion Motley; Steve Van Buren; O.J. Simpson; Gayle Sayers; Barry Sanders; Emmitt Smith; Lenny Moore; Walter Payton; Eric Dickerson; and Earl (Dutch) Clark. Some may never have heard of old-timers like tailback Clark (Portsmouth and Detroit) and Van Buren (Eagles), the ground breaking black running back Motley (Cleveland and Pittsburgh) or even Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts. Each one has his imprint on the way they dominated play.

I cannot argue with the linebackers. Lawrence Taylor, Bobby Bell (Chiefs), Dick Butkus (Bears), Chuck Bednarik (Eagles) Derrick Brooks (Bucs); “The Mad Stork,”Ted Hendricks (Colts, Packers and Raiders), Steelers Jack Ham and Jack Leonard, Junior Seau (Chargers), Ray Lewis (Ravens), Willie Lanier (Chiefs) and Joe Schmidt (Lions). They put a hurting on those who came across the line of scrimmage or who dared to pass.

There are 6 Defensive Ends on the list. Reggie White (Eagles and Packers); Doug Atkins (Bears); Lee Roy Selmon (Bucs); Bill Hewitt (Bears and Eagles); Bruce Smith (Bills) and Gino Marchetti (Colts and fast food fame). Some great names and characters.

The 6 Defensive Tackles are: Randy White (Cowboys); Junious “Buck” Buchanan (Chiefs); “Mean” Joe Greene (Steelers and Coke commercials); Bob Lilly (Cowboys); Merlin Olsen (Rams and Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy TV shows); Alan Page (Vikings and a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice); and John Randle (Vikings).

Corner Backs included: Mel Blount (Steelers); Willie Brown (Raiders) Darrell Green (Redskins); Mike Haynes (Patriots); Dick “Night Train” Lane (Lions); Rod Woodson (Steelers) and the incomparable Deion Sanders (Falcons, 49’ers, Redskins, Ravens and Cowboys). Jack Christensen (Rams); Ken Houston (Houston Oilers and Redskins); Ronnie Lott (49’ers, Raiders and Jets); Ed Reed (Ravens, Texans and Jets); Emlen Tunnell (Giants) and Larry Wilson (Cardinals) are the Safeties.

Two placekickers and two punters made the list. Jan Stenerud (Chiefs) and Adam Vinateri (Patriots and Colts who is still active) are the kickers while Ray Guy (Raiders) and Shane Lechler (Raiders and Texans) are the punters. The return men are Devin Hester (Bears, Falcons, Ravens and Seahawks) and Widener College’s Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (Oilers, Falcons and Redskins).

Five Tight Ends made the cut. Tony Gonzalez (Chiefs and Falcons); John Mackey (Colts and Chargers); Mike Ditka (Bears, Eagles and Cowboys); Kellen Winslow (Chargers); and, of course, “The Gronk,” Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) are the Fab 5. 

The Offensive Tackles are: Roosevelt Brown (Giants); Forrest Gregg (Packers and Cowboys); Art Shell (Raiders); Cal Hubbard (Giants, Packers, Pittsburgh Pirates); Anthony Munoz (Bengals); Walter Jones (Seahawks) and Jonathan Ogden (Ravens). Guards named to the top 100 are John Hannah (Patriots); Larry Allen (Cowboys and 49’ers); Dan Fortmann (Bears); Bruce Matthews (Oilers/Titans); Randall Mc Daniel (Vikings and Bucs); Jim Parker (Colts); and Gene Upshaw (Raiders and head of the NFLPA). Centers on this squad are: Mel Hein (Giants); Jim Otto (Raiders); Dwight Stephenson (Dolphins); and the late Mike Webster (Steelers and Chiefs), who was the tragical poster boy for the CTE the NFL first denied then has started to react to.

Wide Receivers were narrowed down to 10 worthy ones. They are Lance Alworth a.k.a. “Bambi” (Chargers and Cowboys); Don Hutson (Packers); Jerry Rice (49’ers, Seahawks and Raiders); Raymond Berry (Colts); Elroy “CrazyLegs” Hirsch (Chicago Rockets and Rams); Marvin Harrison (Colts); Steve Largent (Seahawks); Paul Warfield (Browns and Dolphins); Randy Moss (Vikings, Patriots, Raiders Titans and 49’ers) and the still-active Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals).

How to come up with 10 Head Coaches was a daunting task. Nonetheless, there are the usual legendary ones—George “Papa Bear” Halas (founder of the Bears); New Jersey’s own Vince Lombardi (Packers and Redskins); Tom Landry (Cowboys); Paul Brown (founder of the Browns and Bengals); and Curly Lambeau (the Packers stadium is named after him). More recent honorees are: Joe Gibbs (Redskins and NASCAR team owner); Chuck Noll (Steelers); Don Shula (Colts and Dolphins); trendsetter Bill Walsh (49’ers); and the man who may the best of them all, even if he is disliked for so much—Bill Belichick (Patriots). I thought of Hank Stram (Chiefs and Saints); Jimmy Johnson (Cowboys); Tom Coughlin (Giants); and Weeb Ewbank (Colts and Jets). Current coaches on the horizon might be Pete Carroll (Jets, Patriots and Seahawks); John Harbaugh (Ravens); Mike Tomlin (Steelers); Andy Reid (Eagles and Chiefs); Sean Mc Vay (Rams); Sean Payton (Saints) and Doug Peterson (Eagles). They may supplant some of these names on the 150 year NFL team.

Lastly, the most glamorous position was the last to be announced. That would be the Quarterbacks. That list must and did start with Tom Brady (Patriots); Joe Montana (49’ers and Chiefs); and Peyton Manning (Colts and Broncos). Speaking of the Broncos, a no brainer is John Elway. Dan Marino was so prolific that he could not be excluded even if his teams never won a Super Bowl, so he was on the roster. So, too are Brett Farve (Falcons, Packers, Jets and Vikings), Otto Graham (Browns), Roger “The Dodger” Staubach (Cowboys), “Slingin” Sammy Baugh (Redskins) and last and certainly not least, Johnny Unitas (Colts and Chargers). No Eli Manning, Giants fans. No Joe Namath, Jets fans. I expected Drew Brees (Saints), who continues to set almost every imaginable QB record to make the list, but he didn’t.

That’s it. I have had it with lists for now, even if I saw 19 amazing feats from the 2019 MLB season, including the Mets Jacob de Grom throwing his slider at an average speed of 92.5 m.p.h., with it actually topping 95 m.p.h. a number of times. Phenomenal. 

Here’s hoping that you are on somebody’s good list for 2019 and heading into a happy, healthy 2020.