I thought I would finish up where I left off, by completing this much anticipated list of my top 40 favorite sport figures. I compiled this list back in May, and to my surprise, it hasn't changed at all. Now, I'll put a disclaimer on that: If Notre Dame wins a national championship this year, then Brady Quinn (#21) and Charlie Weis (#38) will make a pretty big jump. Go Irish. Please Coach Weis, do NOT bust out those green jerseys this year. No matter how badly you want to, and no matter how loudly you know the crowd will cheer when they see them, don't do it. USC would have lost last year had you not brought those cursive uniforms out. So take the anti-Nike approach and "just don't do it."
Well, I have some house cleaning to perform before I jump back into my list. On a personal note, I decided not to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism. I had intended to go straight to education, but I've become hesitant. A big part of me wants to keep writing, which would involve a simple switch to print journalism. I really haven't made up my mind yet. More on that to come I'm sure. Congrats to Alex a.k.a "Coach" Lucius who was the only one to correctly answer the question of the most recent N.D quarterback to win the Heisman. The answer: John Huarte, back in 1964. You are the man Lucius.
Just thought I would throw out the fact that God hates the Browns. Our stud center goes down on the very first play of the very first practice. I mean, at least with Winslow it was the second game of the year, and with Edwards, sometime in December. God decided not to wait this time. I bet he was up there laughing his ass off when he pulled that stunt. "Hey guys, watch this ... injured knee (out for season) ... this is just too easy." The last laugh might be on God however. If Cleveland somehow lands Brady next year, then that will be a HUGE conflict of interests for the Almighty One. Okay, enough messing around, onto the list. Let's do it to it.
#20 - Allen Iverson
"The Answer," or "A.I.," if you will, grabs the first spot in the top twenty. His presence here comes from all the stars lining up at the right time. Let's try to explain how he got here and then how good he is. Like it or not, that's the order and I'm sticking to it.
I never had a big brother. I blame my parents, but what can you do. I did however have an older cousin, Tony, who I looked up to quite a bit. He was probably about as close to a big brother as I had. One of the main responsibilities of an older brother is to provide clothes that no longer fit and hand them down to the younger one. I was the recipient of Tony's old clothes. One of the better things I received, was a Georgetown outfit. It was a button up shirt, with a pair of matching shorts. When I had this outfit on, you could not tell me anything. It just so happened, that Iverson was in his 1st year of college at G'Town at about the same time. Next thing you know, I'm following Iverson, and I've liked him ever since.
Iverson starred for the Hoyas for two years (1994 and 1995). He had many memorable moments, including one of the best NCAA games I've ever been lucky enough to watch. The setting was 1995 and it was the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden vs. the Connecticut Huskies. I'll get more into details later due to one of the players on that UCONN team just happens to show up at spot #18. To sum it up for now, it was a very good game. The other moment comes from a game against the Bulls in 1996; the year he won the NBA Rookie of the Year. Michael Jordan was in uniform as he came back in mid-season that year. Iverson promptly came into the game, and gave MJ his patented crossover, which faked Jordan right out of his shoes and allowed for "A.I." to drill a jumper from the top of the key. Money.
Allen Iverson has been an NBA All-Star for the last 8 consecutive seasons. He won the leagues' MVP title back in 2001. He never will be the biggest guy on the floor, but he will probably out hustle you, and more than likely outplay you. "The Answer" can out shoot you both on and off the court. Okay, that last comment might have been too far, but I couldn't pass it up. My apologies to "A.I."; please don't kill me.
#19 - The Fab Five
I have to admit, I kind of cheat my own system here with this decision. The Fab Five isn't a sport figure, they were a team. However, I haven't followed Michigan basketball before or since they have left. So, they get to stay, sorry.
After reading Charles Woodson (#23), you know that my mother is a big Michigan fan. She might not know all the players, or the coaches of the current teams, but she still roots for them. With The Fab Five however, she knew the players. She could rattle them off no problem. She followed the games with great interest, knew their record, and knew who they were playing next in the NCAA tournament. She even played a classic April Fools joke on me. She told me that Kentucky's head coach, Rick Pitino, decided to forfeit their Final Four game against Michigan. I believed her, I got excited, and then I got pissed when I found out she had just got me. I hate to be gotten.
The Fab Five included: Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. They were probably the best freshman basketball recruiting class ever compiled. They all came into Michigan and started their freshman year. How did this young team do? Oh, they made it all the way to the NCAA Title game, only to lose to Duke. Not too bad.
Not only did I like these guys because of my mothers' enthusiasm, but also because they looked so cool in those big baggy shorts. I wanted to be just like them. My mom liked them in spite of those baggy shorts; if I had a nickel for everytime she said, "those shorts are going to fall off." Mothers being mothers I guess. 
Coach Steve Fisher brought these guys in with the aspirations of a national championship. Following their runner up season in 1992, Michigan was supposed to be a dominant force the very next year, as the entire Fab Five were coming back. Chris Webber was the best player on the team by far. Now, the other four were no slouches, but Webber brought it all together. Without Webber, there is no way Michigan makes it to back to back championship games, absolutely none. Now, with all that said, Chris still managed to break my mothers heart in 1993. It all happened so fast.
In 1993, Michigan again found themselves in the title game. Their opponent: the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by the legendary coach Dean Smith. The best player for UNC was a big tall white guy named Eric Montross. Insert enormous amount of laughter here. Nonetheless, it was going to be a tight contest. My dad even let me stay up to watch this game. At that time, it was a big, big deal that I was allowed to stay up. It came all the way to the end, with Michigan trailing by two and less than 15 seconds on the clock, Webber grabbed a missed free throw. Chaos soon followed. After getting the rebound, Webber looked to outlet the ball, a UNC guard made a dash to the passing lane, causing Webber to fight off the pass, which made him travel. The refs did not call it. It was obvious. The play went on. Webber dribbled it all the way down the court only to call timeout when he was trapped. Only thing was they had no timeouts. Technical foul and end of game. Awesome.
Webber left school and entered the NBA draft after that game. Howard and Rose stayed one more year, while King and Jackson played four years. Webber, Howard, Rose all had decent NBA careers. King played for 2 seasons, while Jackson never made it. Four out of five ain't bad.
#18 - Ray Allen
I guess I had basketball on my mind during this section of the list. First three so far, and one more to follow yet. I warned you it was my favorite sport.
Ray Allen can shoot the ball, and he can shoot it well. It looks so pretty when it drains nothing but the bottom of the net. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Allen has the "prettiest looking shot in the game."
Let's start from the beginning to find out exactly how Allen made it this high on the list. First of all, Notre Dame had no basketball team back in the day. Well, they had one, but it wasn't in a conference, so they meant absolutely nothing. I decided to go with UCONN. Why the Huskies? Similar to the Penguins, I have no idea. I can't pinpoint one exact moment or reason, but I did, and so the story continues.
Allen played for the Huskies from 1993-1996. I fell in love with him when he hit the game winning shot against Iverson (#20) in that very Big East Tournament game I previously mentioned. After Iverson had hit a shot to put the Hoyas up one with under 5 seconds left, Allen took the inbound pass, got to the lane, jumped, had no where to go, and floated the ball into the basket for the game winning score. I went nuts and Allen became a favorite. That's how easy it happens when you are younger. One shot.
Ray was drafted by the Timberwolves in 1996, but was traded to the Bucks. He has had a very successful NBA career. He currently ranks second on the all-time list of 3 pointers made. He's a six-time NBA all-star, and holds the record for most 3 pointers made in a season. Another trivia opportunity has arrived: Whose record did Ray Allen break? Same rules as the last one.
Allen also was in the movie He Got Game as Jesus Shuttlesworth. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. It's got Denzel Washington in it, so you know it's good. It's good like Allen's jumpshot. Okay sorry, that would make it the best movie then. Although He Got Game is good, it's no Cool Runnings. Now, that would be the best.
#17 - 1999 UCONN Basketball Team
Yeah, okay, I can here the crap coming right now. "You can't pick a single team in a single season!!" You know what, it's my list, and I can do whatever I want with it. So, the Huskies from 1999 get to stay. This all stems from one amazing tournament that concluded with one amazing night.
Again, N.D did not play in any conference this year, and as I have already mentioned, UCONN took its place. Ray Allen, for as great as a player as he was, could not deliver me a final four appearance, let alone a national championship. Chris Webber couldn't keep track of timeouts, so he blew my shot as well. Leave it to the bunch of underdogs to deliver. That's where these Huskies, led by coach Jim Calhoun come into play.
Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, Jake Voskuhl, and Ricky Moore (the defensive stopper) were the main ingredients to this winning team. All season long, UCONN was solid, but they were never ranked #1. That distinction went to the Duke Blue Devils. They had Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon. They were supposed to be unstoppable. Ha, hardly.
UCONN made its first appearance into the Final Four by escaping the Washington Huskies during the early rounds. They were trailing by one, and had three or four attempts to win the game, but continued to miss. Finally, Hamilton grabbed the rebound, faded away, and threw up the winning basket as time expired. Enter the Final Four.
In that Final Four they beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. Next up was Duke. Playing inspired basketball, UCONN pulled off the upset, beating Duke 77-74. At the time, I was in the 8th grade and had a little TV in my room. I stayed up, against my moms wishes and watched UCONN get the lead and control the game from beginning to end. It was unbelievable. My mom yelled at me many times during that night for making too much noise. I couldn't help it, I finally had my national championship.
#16 - Bernie Kosar
I know some of you were getting tired of all this basketball. I know I sure was. After I made the list, I saw that this one was definitely top-heavy in basketball. Well, insert Bernie and everything is fine. Oh Bernie.
Bernie Kosar was the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns from 1985-1993. After a tremendous career as the quarterback of the Miami Hurricanes, Kosar declared himself eligible AFTER the NFL Draft, so the Browns could draft him in a later supplemental draft. Kosar grew up in Ohio and wanted to play for the Browns. Go figure.
Kosar immediately became the most popular sports figure in Cleveland. He led the Browns to back to back championship games against Denver in the late 1980's. I won't get into the details of those games for obvious reasons.
Bernie doesn't get a lot of credit that he deserves. First of all, he would have won the Heisman trophy back in 1984 if it wasn't for Doug Flutie's miracle throw against him. If you don't remember, Bernie had an amazing game against Flutie's Boston College Eagles. Unfortunately, Flutie chucked it up, it got caught, and with it, Kosar's Heisman was stolen. If not for Byner's fumble and the drive, Bernie would have played in two Super Bowls. Might have won them, might have not. Either way, he would have led the lowly Browns to 2 Super Bowls. If Charlie Frye leads them to the playoffs now, he would be considered in some circles a god.
I don't remember watching Bernie play too much. I do remember Bill Belichick cutting him loose for Vinny Testaverde in 1993. That didn't make too many people happy. At the time, it didn't matter to me because of one reason. Testaverde won a playoff game for the Browns!! I've lived for 20 years, and only one time have I witnessed the Browns win a playoff game. It was 1993 against Bill Parcells, Drew Bledsoe, and the New England Patriots. Anyways, back to Bernie.
I'll never forget Drew Carey's impression of Bernie. Unfortunately for Kosar, it's not flattering. Drew stands by the microphone, says here is an impression of Bernie Kosar, and then knocks the microphone stand over. You got to admit, it's kind of funny.
Okay, thanks for hanging with me through that long one. It had been several months since I had last written anything, so I had a lot pent up in me. Well, we are in the home stretch now. Just 15 to go. The plan is to get the next 10 in 2 posts. That will leave me with my top 5. I'll put 5,4,and 3 in one post. For my top 2, I will do 2 separate posts. Which makes for a total of 5 more posts. I've never used the word post so frequently than in that last paragraph. It happens.
Until next time, don't drink and drive, and as always, "Read It, Roll It, and Hole It."
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