THE BEST OF THE BEST

With the wind-down of the NBA and NHL playoffs beginning, and Major League baseball in full swing, I got to thinking about some of the greatest athletes of all time. The sports world is a great place to go and learn, learn about amazing feats, or learn how to read. When I was shut in with health problems of any sort, going to the record books was interesting and made the time fly by.

THE ‘BABE’

I guess I would start with Babe Ruth. If you look at the impact he has had on not only baseball, but sports in general and society as a whole, you see what I see. He ignited interest in baseball, first as a pitcher, then as a fearsome hitter: he set the standard for greatness, and the record that still stands for 154 games, 60 homeruns. His form of steroids was hotdogs, which he ate at ‘Ruthian’ proportions, while setting ‘Ruthian’ numbers on the field. His personality was bigger than life itself, and he was admired and respected for his heart as well as his power.

MICHAEL JORDON

How could you not mention his name as #2? He remade basketball: he is the barometer for all the rising NBA stars since his retirement. The one thing about him was his consistency. He played the game like it should have been played, giving all he had, every game he ever played. His skill was not only: scoring baskets, but how he scored, how he got there, and his determination, carrying every team he played on, on his shoulders. From his college days at UNC to Chicago, he was the greatest. Record: scoring average NBA Finals - 41.0 (1993)

Record: Regular Season Career Scoring average 30.1 Points per game in Playoffs, career average - 33.4
Record: NBA Scoring Titles-10 (1987-93, 1996-98)

Record: Consecutive NBA Scoring Titles-7(1987-93)

Record: most points in a playoff game – 63 against Boston on May 20, 1986, first round)

Record: most Finals MVP-6 (1991-93, 1996-98)

Record: All-Defensive First Team - 9 (1988-93, 1996-98)

Record: total points, playoffs, career - 5,987

Record: Field Goals Attempted, playoffs  - 4,497

Record: Free Throws Made, playoffs - 1,463

Record: Consecutive games with 10 or more points  - 866

Record: Slam Dunk Contest Titles -2 (1987-1988)      

MUHAMMAD ALI

AKA Cassius Clay, AKA: “The Greatest” like Michael Jordon, he was the Babe Ruth of his sport, boxing.  Ali took the sport of boxing and did something no other boxer did as well, make you hate him, love him, root against him then root for him! Ali brought color to the drab sport of boxing, making careers for his opponents was well as himself. His poetry, (Float like a butterfly, stink like a bee) predictions and outrageous statements all hyped his fights, bringing additional untold millions into play.

JIMMY BROWN

To this day some fifty years after he played, Jimmy Brown invites comparisons to his ability, record and punishing play in the NFL. Playing in a shorter schedule than they do today, if he had played those additional games, he would have set records no one could have beaten. When he hung up his spikes, he then took on the acting field where he carved out a niche for himself. Brown’s claim to the title of greatest running back of all time is supported by statistics. In 118 career games, Brown averaged 104.3 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. No one has come close to those career stats!

WAYNE GRETSKY

The “Great Gretsky” as he was known from when he was 9 years old, lived up to that title all his playing life. When he retired in 1999, he had scored 2,857 points in the NHL. Gordie Howe, Gretzky's idol as a youngster, has the second most points in NHL history and he's more than 1,000 points behind him. Gretzky has more assists (1,963) than any other player has points. Known primarily for his playmaking, Gretzky has scored a record 894 goals in his 20 NHL seasons. When few players were scoring 100 points in a season, Gretzky was surpassing 200. Four times he accomplished this feat, the only four times it has been done, peaking at 215 in 1985-86. Of the 11 times a player has scored more than 161 points, Gretzky has done it nine times and Mario Lemieux twice. Gretzky shocked the hockey world by scoring 92 goals in 1981-82, beating Phil Esposito's record of 76 by 21 percent. Gretzky also has the second best season mark, with 87 goals in 1983-84. Nine times he scored more than 50 goals in the eighties.

That's all I wrote, folks!