Notre Dame kept their season alive last weekend with a big come from behind victory at Michigan State. In sloppy conditions, Brady Quinn performed well enough to throw for five touchdown passes. Coach Weis has still not lost a road game, and I don't anticipate him losing one this year as well.
On a personal note, I finally made some decisions about what the future will hold for me. I have a good plan put in place. Some might not like how quickly this plan will start up, but I have to do what's best for me. It sounds selfish, but it is what it is. I mean, it's MY life. I'm not going to tell you exactly what the plan is here, but if you want to know, just ask. You know where to find me. On we go.
We have reached the top ten. For those of you that have been following this from the beginning, give yourself a pat on the back. It has been a long journey to make it to this point, and we are almost home. Not going to lie, I didn't think I would make it this far. Usually I start a lot of things but very rarely follow through on them. We aren't done yet, but the end is in sight. Now to the list.
#10 - Bob Knight
The last of the two coaches on my list gets a spot in the top ten. "The General" is my favorite coach by far. Not only is he a great basketball coach, but he is a great interview as well. He has had several memorable moments. Let's take a look.
Coach Knight was the head basketball coach at the University of Indiana. Indiana is a basketball school, similar to Duke. They both expect to win each and every season. When Knight was coaching the Hoosiers, they were winning a lot. He started coaching Indiana back in 1972. By 1976, he had won a national championship. He won the whole thing again in 1981, and then one more in 1987. He also coached the Olympic team that won gold in 1984. Going into this season, he is 10 wins short of breaking Dean Smith's record of most NCAA basketball wins of all-time.
Without going into too much detail about things, Knight has a reputation for being a disciplinarian. He doesn't take too much crap and is a straight shooter. He also has provided several moments I'm never going to forget.
1) He threw a chair across the floor in protest of a referee's call in 1983.
2) His interview when asked about "game-faces." Knight went on to demonstrate what he thought a "game face" was. Hilarious.
3) His interview when he brought a whip in. "Right here is the key to success in coaching. Probably no motivational device I've ever come across is as good as this." He demonstrated the proper technique and then asked if the reporters minded if he prepared for the next practice during the interview. He then soaked the tips of the whip in water.
4) "When my time on Earth is gone and my activities here are past, I want that they should bury me upside down so my critics can kiss my ass." - Awesome.
5) "All of us learn to write in second grade, and most of us go on to better things." - Knight commenting on his dislike for journalists.
6) "Hell, I don't even watch the pros. If the NBA was on Channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on Channel 4, I'd watch the frogs--even if they came in fuzzy." - when asked if he would ever coach in the NBA.
7) Reporter: Did Luke Recker only play 10 minutes in the second half because he was tired? Knight: "I was tired of watching his defense."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ukj6Qi5W_k - Check it out for yourself. This is why I wish I could have played for The General.
#9 - Albert Belle
As you may or may not have picked up by now, for some of the members on this list, performance on the field overshadows character problems off the field. Belle fits this description perfectly, but, we are not going to talk about him running over kids during Halloween.
My very first baseball game at Jacobs Field was back in 1995. The Cleveland Indians were playing the Kansas City Royals. Albert came up to the plate, and hit his 50th home run of the year. This was in a shortened season too, they only played 144 games. This was also back when 50 home runs meant something. This is why Albert Belle is my all-time favorite baseball player, unfortunately.
With that home run, Belle became the first player in major league baseball history to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in one season. Willie Stargell back in 1973 was the last person to hit 40 and 40. How did Belle not win the MVP that year? Apparently the media likes to hold grudges, and voted for Mo Vaughn instead. They just overlooked the fact that Belle led the AL in runs scored, homers, RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases.
Albert never won an MVP award, but he did finish in the top three for three consecutive years (1994-1996). Belle was the power behind the Indians during the mid-90's. He has had some very memorable moments on the field, including running over Fernando Vina on a force out and pointing at his muscles while the umpires checked his bat to see if it was corked.
Belle was a five time all-star and hit for over 100 RBI's in 9 consecutive seasons. He had power, but he also had mental problems. Either way, I loved him for his bat and his unique batting stance. Quick trivia question: What is Albert's real name?
#8 - Lance Armstrong
I guess I have a soft spot in me somewhere. It was very hard not to root for this guy. If Lance's story does not inspire you somehow, then you might want to check to see if you have a pulse.
Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer back in 1996. He was told he had less than a 40 percent chance of survival. Not only did Lance survive but he thrived.
Before his cancer, Lance was a well-known cyclist. He was not known for his victories, but for his attitude. He was a young, brash Texan who thought the world centered around him. However, after defeating cancer he became a well-spoken and mature individual. I don't care what the Hershey bar says, "Change is good."
Lance Armstrong completed his comeback in 1999 when he won the Tour de France. For those of you who do not know, the Tour de France is the Super Bowl of cycling. Lance didn't stop there either, he won it again in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. That is seven in a row, which is an all-time record.
Lance was the only reason I cared about the Tour de France. Before Armstrong, and even since he retired after his '05 win, I haven't watched. However, when Armstrong was racing I was glued to the tv set and was cheering him on. I think we all were.
#7 - Joe Montana
Did I cheat on this one a little? Nope, if you remember the rules all I said was that I had to have remembered watching the person play. Do I remember Montana playing for the Irish? No. Do I remember watching Joe play for San Francisco? No. Do I remember him playing for Kansas City? Yes, on we go.
Many consider Montana as the greatest quarterback of all-time. I'm not getting into that conversation, but he is definitely my favorite. Montana is one of the most clutch football players and he is also a winner. Joe led the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles and is the only player to win 3 Super Bowl MVP's.
What helps put Montana on this list is the fact he played his collegiate ball for Notre Dame. He was the winning quarterback against the top ranked Texas Longhorns back in 1978 which vaulted the Irish to a national championship. His best performance for the blue and gold was a year later in the Cotton Bowl. Down 22 in the fourth quarter to Houston on a bitter cold day, Montana left the game in the 3rd quarter due to hypothermia. He came back in the fourth and won the game 35-34.
Joe was drafted by the 49ers and the rest was history. His most memorable moment is back in 1981 when he threw the game winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. That pass became known as "The Catch."
Everything I know of Montana has come from ESPN Classic and history books. However, Montana stuck around until 1994, which allowed me to watch and remember his last year with the Chiefs. Good thing for me.
#6 - Mario Lemieux
We all know that I have no specific reason for my love of the Penguins. This however does make sense: if you take the best player from the Penguins and add a nice little comeback, you have Mario at #6.
Mario, also known as "Super Mario," is the second best hockey player of the last 30 years. Only Wayne Gretzky has been better. That is a proven scientific fact.
Lemieux scored 199 points in 1989, coming up just one point short of the prestigious 200 club. Gretzky is the only member of that club. Lemieux also holds the record for scoring a goal in the five possible scoring situations, all in one game. I'll fill you in on them: short-handed, even-strength, power-play, empty net and penalty shot. Not too shabby for one game.
Mario led the Penguins to back to back Stanley Cup titles in 1990 and 1991. However, during their quest for a third title, Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He missed several games, but came back in time to get bounced out of the playoffs. He probably came back too soon, because he sat out the entire next season.
However, after he was fully recovered, he came back and was the same old Super Mario. He led the league in scoring, and also won his third MVP (Hart Trophy) as well. I don't think you can do too much better than that.
Personally, Mario was unstoppable in the video games. #66 was better than everyone else. Faster, stronger, and yeah, just better. When you put him and Jagr on the same line in those games, forget about it. It was over before it started.
Well, I know this post is a little overdue, but I managed to take care of business. My next post will be numbers 5-3. The top two will have their own separate posts.
I'm going to invite all of you who are still reading this to guess who you think my top five is. For those of you that really know me, you should probably get 3 or maybe 4 of them. If you can get all 5, then I will build you a cake or something. But, give it a shot. The worse thing you can do is be wrong, and trust me, I've been wrong a lot. I mean I have Albert Belle in my top ten.
1 comment:
wait, you start things and don't finish them? NO WAY
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