Five years ago. Has it really been five whole years? I'll never forget. God Bless.
This past weekend was filled with football. I'll only touch on a couple topics before getting right back into my list. First of all, Notre Dame looked good. They looked very good. Brady Quinn and the offense scored 41 points, and the defense held its own. Big game coming up this weekend against Michigan. If they win that one, watch out.
The Ohio State Buckeyes looked good as well. Now, I'm not trying to take anything away from their accomplishment. They went down to Texas and beat the defending national champs and in the process, ended their 21 game winning streak. However, that Texas team is not the 2nd best team in the nation. They only got that ranking from what they did LAST year. They start a true freshman quarterback. They really had no chance of winning that game. I don't see them winning the Big 12 let alone competing for another national championship.
Finally, I was in attendance for the Cleveland Browns opener. Unfortunately. Charlie Frye showed moments of brilliance, yet looked uncomfortable in the pocket. The defense had its bend but don't break mentality that kept the Brownies in the game until the end. Kellen Winslow looked solid, finally. But, they lost, to the saints. To a team that doesn't have a home, they lost. The Browns need help, lots of it. I see them winning no more than 5 games this year.
All right, enough football, on to the list. We're getting close to the top.
#15 - Tom Brady
Two years ago, this guy would not have been anywhere near my top 40 list. Now, he sits comfortably in the top 20, and with a few more solid years he might find himself within the elite status of the top 10. I have one person to thank for the addition of Brady. That would be the one, the only, the Joe Barrett.
Joe loved Brady well before I started to. Joe's love for Tom was so strong that I began to feel the same way for Brady. Joe has made whatever team Tom Brady is on, my second favorite team behind the Browns of course. There is one story in particular that I remember that made me a Brady fan for a lifetime.
Joe is a very good NFL gambler. Last year we each bet on games throughout the season. Whenever Joe won, he would put all that money on a game the following week. He continued that process until he had quite a lot of money. I'm guessing he had over 125 bucks riding on this game. The game was the New England Patriots versus the Miami Dolphins. I believe the Dolphins were getting six points. Joe came downstairs to watch the game, which turned into a tight contest. With under 2 minutes to go, the game was tied. Joe needed a touchdown. Joe screamed and screamed, and with each scream it seemed Brady was completing another pass. Right on down the field he went, and the next thing I know ... touchdown Patriots. Brady had delivered again. Joe had just won 125 bucks.
Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL, hands down. He is better than Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, and even Ben Toothlessberger. With one game to play to win it all, who do you want throwing the passes for your team? If you don't answer Brady, then you are kidding yourself.
Brady has won three Super Bowls, and was the MVP in two of those. In his first two Super Bowl wins, he had to lead the Patriots down the field on its last drive to win the game. He won his first 10 playoff games. That is a remarkable feat. 10 in a row!
He is the modern day version of Joe Montana. Never before has their been more of an accurate comparison of players from different generations. Both were the best clutch quarterbacks of their time. Both were picked after the first two rounds. Montana in the third, and Brady in the sixth! And finally, both are winners. My entire life might have changed had the Browns not drafted Spergon Wynn, and instead drafted Brady. Either way, thank you Joe.
#14 - Silver Charm
It took me until now to get my first non-human on my list. This might be the only place in the entire world where you will see Silver Charm ranked ahead of Tom Brady. Welcome to my life.
The year was 1997. I was an eager 11 year old. The Kentucky Derby was coming on, and our entire family was gathered around to watch it. We had all made our picks. Dad and Josh both went with Jack's Flash. Mom chose Celtic Warrior, while I picked Silver Charm. I knew I was going to win. I just felt it.
Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm went on to win the Derby and gave me bragging rights for an entire year. The next big race was the Preakness. I again watched and cheered for Silver Charm, who again went on to win. This was getting too good to be true now. He was just one race away from winning the Triple Crown.
No horse had won the Triple Crown since 1978, when Affirmed beat runner-up Alydar in each race. It had been almost 20 years, and Silver Charm was going to be the next.
On the day of the Belmont Stakes, my mom and dad went away for some reason. Instead of bringing in a cousin or a grandmother to baby-sit me and my brother, they took us to my aunt JoAnn's. I was not too happy about this. I had watched Silver Charm win the first two races in my living room. At 11, I was already superstitious about these things, and watching the last and most important race in a new location made me feel uneasy.
My aunt put on the race, and I was ready to watch history. Silver Charm had the lead for most of the race. During one point on the backstretch I said, "He's going to do it." However, the Belmont is a bit longer than the previous two races, and he fell short. Touch Gold came on strong at the last moment to win by half a length. I was crushed.
Since that time numerous horses have won the first two legs but have failed to win at Belmont. Real Quiet in 1998, Charismatic in 1999, Funny Cide in 2003, and Smarty Jones in 2004. Silver Charm was the first of this recent wave of close calls, but more importantly, he was my horse.
#13 - John Daly
Jared is going to hate me for this. He says Daly is an overweight and lazy hill-billy. For every reason Jared hates him, I in turn, love him.
I don't know when or how I ended up liking Daly. He is a two-time major champion. He won with his mullet back in the 1991 PGA Championship. He won his second major in 1995 at St. Andrews for the British Open crown. I don't remember any of those titles. I do remember his swing though. It is un-mistakable.
"Long John" swings past parallel on his backswing, with the club nearly touching the ground. It is unconventional and indistinguishable. It also generates a lot of power. He has led the PGA Tour in driving distance a record 11 times.
Daly's life resembles the song by Gary Allen, "Life Ain't Always Beautiful." John's career has been interrupted with problems in his household, problems with drinking too much, and problems with gambling too much. That is the beauty of JD however, and what Jared fails to see.
John has defied conventional thinking in that golf is a rich man's game. He is an everyday "Joe" who has tremendous talent on the golf course. Despite all of his problems in his past, JD has rose above them and still managed to thrive with his golf game. In 2004, JD outplayed Vijay Singh to win the Buick Championship. Daly is an inspiration to all those who have had similar problems in their lives.
Another aspect that I love about Daly is the fact that he hardly ever practices. He doesn't spend time with a swing coach, or time on the driving range or putting greens. He just goes out there and hits the ball long. He hardly takes any time preparing before he hits the shot. When star players like Sergio Garcia take 10 minutes to hit a shot, its refreshing to see JD go out there and just hit the damn thing.
One last upside to Daly. He is sponsored by Hooters. They have great wings. Not liking that is un-American.
#12 - Michael Johnson
In the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, this guy had a performance that will not soon be forgotten, or repeated. It was so great that one single moment propelled him to this spot on my list.
In those Olympic games, Johnson was attempting to be the first man ever to win both the 200 and 400 meter races. This was thought to be impossible due to the conflicting time schedules in both of the races. Johnson was out to prove them all wrong, which he did. He won the 400 meter race by nearly an entire second. As impressive as this was, his 200 meter race was more so.
The world record for the 200 meters was 19.66 seconds, set by Johnson himself. That record was previously held for almost 17 years. It would take 3 months for Johnson to break that record twice.
The race was held on a Saturday night, and I will never forget sitting in my living room watching this enormous event. All eyes were on Johnson and his "golden shoes." He did not disappoint. Hardly. All he did was run a record that I truly believe will never be broken. He won the 200 meters by running a world record time of 19.32 seconds.
He ran the opening 100 meters in 10.12 seconds, reached a max speed of 25 miles per hour and then ran the closing 100 meters in 9.20 seconds. The current world record for 100 meters is right around 9.8 seconds. If you ran that twice in a row, you would have ran 200 meters in about 19.6 seconds, still well short of the mark Johnson put up. Like I said, it will never be broken. No one has come close since.
Johnson ended up with 5 gold medals when his career was all said and done. He made a special appearance on TV when Donovan Bailey (then world record holder in the 100 meters) challenged him to a 150 meter race. It was a pretty big deal, with the winner getting 1.5 million. Johnson lost because he pulled up lame.
Johnson will not be remembered for that event, but rather for his unique style of running, his golden shoes, his double gold in 1996, and for a 200 meter record that will stand for many lifetimes.
#11 - Chris Thomas
Not my first basketball player by far on this list, and not my first Notre Dame athlete on my list either. However, Thomas is my first Notre Dame basketball player on my list.
Like I have previously mentioned throughout the last several posts, I was never a big Notre Dame basketball fan. It was very hard for me to be one. They were never on television and they were never in a conference. That all changed when Thomas came around.
Notre Dame finally entered the Big East Conference in basketball back in 2000. They were not very good the first couple of years. In the 2001-2002 season, a freshman point guard named Chris Thomas started to play, and I started to follow.
Thomas, whose #1 jersey I bought a few years ago, immediately made an impact on the entire Notre Dame program. The Irish actually made it into the NCAA tournament in 2002, with Thomas winning the Big East Freshman of the Year award. They won their first tournament game against Charlotte by almost 20 points. Their next game was against the number one seeded Duke Blue Devils. They played that game on a Saturday, and it was the only game on at the time.
I watched that game in our recently added addition to our house by myself. I lived and died with each shot. Notre Dame outplayed Duke that day. They were winning late in to the second half, but couldn't come up with the big plays in the last few minutes, losing 84-77. I was ready for next year.
Thomas, as a sophomore had an outstanding season. He led Notre Dame to a #5 seed in the tournament. It could have been much higher had it not been for a slow stretch towards the end. Their first game was against UW-Milwaukee. It was a back and forth game with Notre Dame surviving 70-69. Their next game was against the 4th seeded Illinois Fighting Illini. The Irish played a complete game and smoked Illinois. That run came to an end in the sweet 16, losing to Arizona.
Thomas was debating about entering the NBA Draft after that season. He decided to stay. The next two years were tough on Thomas as he and the Irish failed to make it to the NCAA tournament in either of those years. However, Thomas would end up the career assist leader for Notre Dame. He is also 8th in points scored and third in steals.
Chris Thomas was the reason I became a fan of Notre Dame basketball. After he graduated, he did not get drafted in the NBA. He currently plays overseas in a professional European league. Last summer I sent Thomas an e-mail, thanking him for his 4 years at Notre Dame. He responded by telling me what he was up to and how much he appreciated my support. The Notre Dame basketball program will never be the same without him.
Well, that wraps it up for now. 30 down and only 10 to go. My next five include a memorable coach, a felon, a suspected druggie, a domer, and a penguin. If you can guess the next five, then you might be qualified for the upcoming series titled "Heroes" on NBC. Judging by the previews, don't watch it.
Anyways, God bless, and "Read it, Roll it, Hole it."
1 comment:
i cut a promo the other day and used silver charm video
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