Number Game: Part II

Numbers Game: Part II

By: Barrett Elkins

I would like to send a special thanks to all of those who commented on my post last week. This week, there are some tough choices. I would like to apologize for missing an obvious pick last week (picking Chipper Jones over Pele). Let's see how I do this week.

No. 11 Mark Messier

Messier is one of the best hockey players of all time. He ranks second all time on the regular season scoring list, behind The Great One. He led two separate teams to the Stanley Cup and has had his jersey retired in two different cities. I would like to give him credit for every game I won on my Sega Genesis, too!

No. 12 John Stockton

While the obvious pick here would have been Bro Namath, John Stockton earned this choice. He leads the NBA in all time assists and steals. In a league where selfishness rules, Stockton made a Hall of Fame career out of playing defense and making his teammates better. Try and imagine Karl Malone without Stockton.

No 13. Wilt Chamberlain

With a career average over 30 points and over 22 rebounds per game, his statistics are better than most video games. His 100-point game is and will be the best of all time.  Normally, I try and leave out players with horrible moral standards unless they truly were the best of all time. In this case, I cannot turn my back on Wilt Chamberlain. 

No. 14 Pete Rose

Speaking of incredible moral standards, Pete Rose gets the green light for No. 14. He holds the record for all-time hits, games played and at-bats. He gave everything he had into every game, including All-Star games. Even though he bet on his own games, I hope he ends up in the Hall of Fame one day.

No. 15 Bart Starr

I don't know much about him, but I have heard nothing but praises. He won Championships in the NFL in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967. He was the MVP of the first two Super Bowl games. Anyone with that amount of staying-power deserves the choice here.

No. 16 Bro Montana

Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins and was MVP of three of them. He had ice in his veins and was known for his calm demeanor.  Not only was he an incredible quarterback, he was a better team leader.  He was a true Bro.

No. 17 John Havlicek

John Havlicek has given hope to every basketball player that is not a starter on his team. He is known as the best sixth man in the history of the game. Havlicek played for eight Celtic championship teams. Again, as much as I do not like Boston, I could not leave them off of this list either.

No. 18 Peyton Manning

Manning will prove to be one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and has done it all for one team. He is a true leader that knows the game and studies it more than his peers. Not only is he a great team leader, he is also great with the media and a true role model. I have to admit that I think he is a very funny guy too. I love his commercials.

No. 19 Johnny Unitas

To make Boston fans mad, I picked two quarterbacks from Indy directly following my pick from Bean-town.  Unitas was the first super-quarterback and is consistently used as a bar of comparison. He was the first player to throw for over 40,000 yards, but Chuck Norris refers to this as a slow Tuesday.

No. 20 Barry Sanders

Detroit fans can only reminisce of times with Barry Sanders. He was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the NFL. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first ten seasons. I remember growing up and watching him ever weekend (my dad is from Michigan). When asked how he ran so quickly, he responded with "if you were being chased by guys that big, you would run that fast too."

Please let me know if you agree with my picks this week.  I will be working on 21-30 for next week. There are some great athletes that I have to overlook with each of these picks. Which picks did I miss?