Skywalker's Top 40 (21-25)

I must be in a productive mood. Two posts in two straight days? I am swimming in un-chartered waters with this. What you are reading is the product of mid-terms being last week, and not having too much to do this week. Either way, you get a brand new group of players to read about, and I get closer to completing this list. It’s a win-win situation. Speaking of wins, or the lack there of, I have officially given up on the Indians. I might go to a few games, and reluctantly cheer them on, but my passion for this years’ Tribe is gone. Go Browns.

NFL Films intern Evan Shaw pointed out correctly that Jeremy Miller was the first tennis player on my list, not Gustavo Kuerten. I was trying to say this: Guga is my first professional tennis player on the list. We all good now? Good eyes Evan. That’s why they pay you the big bucks.

My mother dropped in to say that professional wrestling is not a sport. That’s all I got about that. Happy belated Mother’s Day mom. You make a couple of appearances in this. Consider it my gift to you. You’re welcome. I do what I can.

Here we go, my second post in as many days. If only the Indians could do the same with wins. Let’s do it to it.

#25 – Omar Vizquel
My mother’s all-time favorite baseball player. I must have heard her say, “When the Indians get rid of Omar, I’m done watching them forever,” at least a dozen times. She stayed true for about a year, but she’s back now when the Indians got good (might want to check out her status due to recent events). Her constant praise of Omar finally rubbed on me, but with some help from a couple of Little League coaches as well.

Baseball was the sport I was the best at. I hate bragging, and try to avoid it all costs, but, I could play. In Little League I played pitcher and shortstop. I played on traveling teams every summer beginning when I was 10. Shortstop was where I shined. Often making pretty good stops, and turning double plays sporadically, every single coach called me “Omar” after one of my defensive plays. That’s not bull either. Except for one coach; who, after I made a nice play called out “Felix Fermin.” Just now I laughed. So, in short, Omar and I grew up together.


Omar has made so many spectacular plays at short that it’s impossible to pick out one. Diving to his right and making a long throw or bare-handing the ball on a run … he was the best I’ve ever seen. He is a ten time Gold Glove winner, including a record 9 consecutive times. He has tied the American League record for consecutive games without an error, with 95. How do you tie that record? Someone had to bring that up to Omar before the 96th game. Omar also has the highest career fielding percentage for a shortstop. Ozzie Smith was a shortstop. Omar has a better fielding percentage. Sorry “Wiz.”

Omar was a member of the Indians from 1994 to 2004. He played on the good Indian teams. The teams that made it to the 1995 and 1997 World Series, but came up just short. Omar made double plays with the likes of Carlos Baerga, Jeff Kent, Joey Cora, Alvaro Espinoza, Tony Fernandez, Brandon Phillips, Roberto Alomar, Bip Roberts, and Jose Vizcaino. How do you like that list? I kind of impressed myself with that one. The 2nd baseman that he played the best with was by far Alomar. They turned some ridiculous double plays. That Vizquel-Alomar duo won three gold gloves, making themselves just the eighth shortstop-2nd baseman combination to achieve that feat while playing on the same team.

My dad is lucky. If my mom ever meets Omar, she might just stay with him. I’m serious. She loves Omar. As for myself, well, I AM Omar.

#24 – Jaromir Jagr
Jagr’s presence on this list poses a conundrum for me. How did he get here? Where did he come from? Is he lost? Let me try to explain as best I can about Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

My favorite professional teams, in order are: Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Bulls, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Browns and Indians because of my dad, the Bulls because of Tony, and the Penguins because of …? I honestly have no re-collection of why I like the Penguins. Maybe when I was born God just said, “and thy shall like the Penguins.” That’s the best explanation I can come up with. If everyone can accept that, we can move on. Good. On we go.

I started following the Penguins in 1995. Jaromir Jagr was one of the best players in the league. In ‘95, Jagr put up 149 points. He still hasn’t bested that mark yet in his 16 year career. One of the reasons I liked Jagr was the fact he was so good in the NHL video games by EA Sports. He was faster, stronger, and just flat out better than everyone else in those games.

Similar to the NBA, the NHL season really doesn’t start until the playoffs. I have several memories from Jagr and Pittsburgh from the postseason. My best memory has got to be on May 4, 2000. Ring a bell? Well, the game started on the 4th and didn’t end until the 5th. I stayed up for the entire game, all 5 overtimes. That’s correct, 5 O.T’s. The Pittsburgh Penguins were playing the Philadelphia Flyers. It was Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. It was a crucial game. The Penguins were up in the series 2-1. Pittsburgh won the first two games at Philly, only to lose the 3rd game in overtime at home. They needed to win this one. Pittsburgh scored on their first shot of the game, and didn’t score any more. The Flyers scored at about 2:30 a.m., only about 7 hours after the start to win the game 2-1. The Penguins had nothing left in their tank, and would lose the series in 6 games. It would be Jagr’s last season with the Penguins. I haven’t followed him too well since. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think he plays for the New York Rangers now?

I still hope to see the Penguins win, and I promise to watch their games if they ever make the playoffs. Who knows, in a couple of years maybe Sidney Crosby will appear here?

#23 – Charles Woodson
I know you Ohio State fans are going to love seeing this guy here. FYI, there are ZERO players from O.S.U on this list. Sorry. Continuing with people who did make it, Woodson makes it here for a couple different reasons.

Charles is from Fremont, Ohio, just about 25 minutes away from Tiffin. He played for Fremont Ross High School, which played Tiffin Columbian. My dad took me to the game at Tiffin, and I got to watch this stud play. He was the quarterback, running back, and basically the entire team. He was just like Jagr in the video games; faster, stronger, and simply better than everyone else.

Michigan is not my favorite school by any means. However, when the Wolverines meet up with the Buckeyes, I tend to root for Michigan. I guess I side with Michigan because they are my mom’s favorite team. Hey, I’m just trying to be a good son. Back off.

I became a huge Charles Woodson fan when he returned a punt for a touchdown and intercepted a pass in the end-zone against Ohio State, leading the Wolverines to their 11th win of the 1997 season. Michigan then played Ryan Leaf and Washington State in the Rose Bowl. Woodson had another end-zone INT in the game, as Michigan won, 21-16. The Wolverines went 12-0 and shared the National Championship with the Cornhuskers of Nebraska.

Woodson won the Heisman Trophy that year. He was obviously not the favorite, as Peyton Manning was the leading candidate. Woodson became the first primarily defensive player to win the award. He went on to be drafted by the Raiders with the 4th pick in the 1998 draft. Oakland, which happens to be my 2nd favorite NFL team, was the best fit possible for Woodson as far as I was concerned. See, he couldn’t play for the Browns, because in 1998, there were no Browns. I hate you Modell. May you NOT rest in peace. Ever.

He really hasn’t turned into a great cornerback in the NFL. He did make it to the Pro Bowl for three straight years starting in 1999 though. He also was the 1998 Defensive Rookie of the Year. His best days will be remembered when he was wearing the maize and blue.

#22 – Jeff Gordon
Gordon and his crew of Rainbow Warriors make for the first and only spot NASCAR has on the list. He is the only reason I even sporadically watch a couple of laps on television. Any guesses of who I got the idea of liking Gordon from? How bout Mr. Kevin Hunt? Yea, you would be correct. Good guess.

Back in 1994, NASCAR really wasn’t a mainstream sport. Outside of the southeastern states, not too many people watched it. Hunt watched it. Hunt liked Gordon. Seemed like an o.k. choice to me, so I went with it. It also helped that Gordon went on to win the title in 1995 as well. Hey if you are going to root for someone, it can’t hurt that he is good.

My first memory from Gordon dates back to ’94, when he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That was the first race at Indy for NASCAR I believe. The sport kind of jumped from that point on.

Winning night races in the Coca Cola 600 and taking the checkered flag in the Daytona 500 three times are several of Gordon’s impressive victories. All in all, Gordon has won 73 races, just 3 behind the late Dale Earnhardt. Gordon won titles again in 1997, 1998, and 2001. He would have won again in 2004, if not for that stupid Race for the Cup crap they have. Gordon’s four titles are the 3rd most of all-time, only behind “The King” Richard Petty, and Earnhardt. They both have 7 titles.

Could I have put Gordon in the #24 spot to be cute? Sure, but, I didn’t even think about it until just now. See, I got good ideas popping into my head all the time.

I also think Gordon reminds me of Tom Cruise. Any takers?

Gordon gets a lot of credit for bringing me into a completely new sport. I am not a full follower of racing at all, but the little I partake in should be credited to Gordon.

#21 – Brady Quinn
My 2nd Notre Dame quarterback shows up just outside of the top 20. Not too bad, considering I am basing this on just one year’s performance. Crazy to think of the potential Brady has in coming years.

This Dublin Coffman native had a pretty good 2005 season to say the least. He broke Notre Dame’s single season records of attempts, completions, yards, yards per game, and touchdown passes last year. He also is the career holder for the Irish in all those categories as well.

Quinn started nine games for the Irish as a freshman and played decently. I didn’t think too much of him, but I didn’t think too much of the Notre Dame team in general at that time. Sophomore year came and went, again, nothing special. Enter Charlie Weis (#38), and Brady is now a super-star in the making. He led the Irish to a 9-3 record in 2005, including a close call against USC. Notre Dame finished ninth in the AP rankings, their highest since 1993. Brady finished fourth in the Heisman voting, and looks to be the leading candidate for the prestigious award in 2006.

Weis has done wonders for Quinn. Not just his coaching, but the system he implemented as well. It brought the best out of Maurice Stovall, Anthony Fasano, and the rest of the Notre Dame offense. Weis allowed us to see that Quinn is a strong kid, with an accurate arm who can effectively lead a high profile offense. It begs to ask what Brady would look like if Tyrone Willingham was still the coach. I doubt he would hold half the records he owns now. See, things happen for a reason. And, if God had to pick one team to root for, it would be Notre Dame. Touchdown Jesus for Christ’s sake.

When you are a Notre Dame quarterback, I will always root for you, even if you go and play for the hated Steelers. I might hope you don’t have the best game against the Browns, but in every other game, I will root for you. It held for Mirer, and it will hold for Quinn wherever he will go.

Quick trivia question: Who was the last Notre Dame quarterback to win the Heisman? First person with the correct answer gets a shout-out in the next post.

Don’t get too used to these posts happening every day. I doubt this happens again, but you never know. If the Indians can win a game against the Royals, then anything is possible.

You know how these things end by now. “Read it, Roll it, Hole it.”