The Student Voice

10. Tim Lincecum – Baseball
Lincecum won last year’s National League Cy Young Award at age 24. Lincecum had 265 strikeouts in 227 innings to go with a 2.62 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. That’s all very impressive, but perhaps Lincecum’s best statistic from last season was his 18-5 record for a San Francisco Giants team that finished with a 72-90 record for the year. Lincecum is currently the best pitcher in baseball and may continue to be for the next ten years. 

9. Jimmie Johnson - NASCAR
Winning three consecutive NASCAR series titles from 2006-2008 and currently sitting second in the points standings for 2009 gets him on this list. Being a NASCAR driver who doesn’t necessarily win a lot of individual races and sitting in a car (meaning that saying he is an athlete is somewhat questionable) make him stay this low on the list. 

8. Tom Brady – Football
So he hasn’t been in the news a whole lot lately other than for his marriage to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Doesn’t matter. Brady was injured almost all of last season, but had 50 touchdown passes and averaged over 300 yards per game in 2007. He’s only this low on the list because he missed almost the whole season last year. If his numbers are even close to what they were in 2007 he could easily be in the top five on this list. 

7. Dwayne Wade – Basketball
Except for two guys who appear ahead of him on this list and both are known better by their first names, Kobe and LeBron, he would easily be the best player in the NBA. Wade has lead a team of nobodies and rookies to a 42-38 record as of Sunday – good for fifth in the Eastern Conference. Wade dropped 55 on the Knicks in a recent game and led the league averaging 30.2 points per game this season. 

6. Rafael Nadal – Tennis
Nadal is the first male tennis player ever to hold Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces at the same time and is only the fourth player ever to even win titles on three different surfaces in his career. He has been the number one male tennis player in the world for the last eight months. Nadal was number two in the world to Roger Federer for 160 weeks in a row before taking over as number one.  

5. Roger Federer – Tennis
Federer has fallen off slightly of late, but 13 Grand Slam titles and a streak of 19 consecutive semi-finals appearances and counting help him to this spot on the list above Nadal who is currently the top ranked player in the world. Federer has also won over 50 tournaments and holds the record for the most win on both grass and hard courts. Federer held the number one world ranking for 237 weeks before falling to second behind Nadal in August 2008. 

4. Michael Phelps – Swimming
So he smoked pot. Whoop-de-doo and fa-la-la. How many other 23-year-olds smoke pot? (For those who don’t know – the answer is a lot.) And no other 23-year-old won eight, eight,gold medals in one Olympics. He won every event he entered, while dominating many of them. His rigorous schedule makes the feat even more impressive. Phelps’ 14 gold medals are the most by any Olympian ever. I hope he dominates every event he enters in the 2012 Olympics in London and shuts up the haters. 

3. Kobe Bryant – Basketball
Many will argue that he should be higher than LeBron because he has won more. Go back in the archives and read my article about Kobe vs. LeBron to see why Kobe ranks behind LeBron even though he has won championships and LeBron thus far has not.  

2. LeBron James – Basketball
If you read my blog regularly you already know that I think this guy is pretty good. I think he has a very good chance to win his first NBA Championship this year and that in the long run he may turn out to be even better than Michael Jordan. 

1. Tiger Woods – Golf
He didn’t win the Masters last weekend and many were surprised. This one isn’t even a question. When people place bets on one guy versus the whole field to win a tournament you know that player is has transcended dominance and has nearly reached superhero status.

-Andrew Sagarin

On September 12, 1980, the phenomenon that is Yao Ming, a genetic wonder, born with his life already laid out ahead of him, entered the world. It was known throughout China, the world’s most populous country, that this child would bring the nation recognition, pride, and glory as a basketball player. At 11 lbs. 2 oz., the already enormous child of two retired basketball players would always huge for his age, eventually reaching the 7’5’’ and 310 lbs. he is today.

      But let’s leave the man who now towers over NBA players and billboards all over the world and investigate his beginnings. In 1965 Fang Fengdi entered the elite sports training facility. The tall, lanky, awkward fifteen year old did want to be there, but coming from a poor peasant family she was assured of always having food and a livelihood, the opportunity was her so called “iron rice bowl.”

      She had been recruited not because she had any basketball talent, but solely because of her height (she eventually grew to 6’ 3”). Many other girls and young women had also been channeled to the facility, where the ten hour practices bordered on torture; players were routinely whipped for performing poorly, and no one gave any thought to giving a sick or injured player time off. One woman played for months with a severe kidney infection and never once complained for fear of what would happen to her if she did.

      Not only were the players abused physically, they were also forced to study and abide strictly by ruler Mao Zedong’s teachings. It was said that the head of the Shanghai sports facility, Zhu Yong, knew Mao’s Little Red Book better than he knew the basketball rulebook. Da Fang or “Big Fang” lived under these miserable conditions for years, being molded by the Communist party and the basketball coaches.

      Da Fang became more and more steadfastly patriotic, just as her country wished her generation, the first under Mao, to be. When the Red Guards began demolishing everything remotely western, Da Fang joined in. She became a leader in the basketball division as young revolutionaries imprisoned the coaches and officials. They harassed the officials mercilessly and treated them in ways similar to the wrongs that had been done to them, forcing recitations and confessions.

      Mao didn’t need the Red Guards for long; soon he called in the army to take control. Many of the basketball players were sent out to the country to do heavy labor and were never heard from again. Basketball, however, was restored and Da Fang, now more comfortable with her body and with many of the veterans gone, became a star. She was named team captain year after year. The conditions of her life took their toll on Da Fang and a number of injuries forced her to retire at the age of twenty-eight.

      When Chinese athletes’ playing careers ended, they were not released from the sports system. Up until recently the sports system took all retired players and made them coaches, and, if they were especially tall or accomplished, they, like thoroughbred horses, were expected to breed champions. When Da Fang retired she was encouraged to do so, but she had no clue whom to marry. With her entire life up to that point focused on the revolution and basketball, the twenty-eight year old had never kissed a man before. The officials in the system found her a partner, the tallest man on the men’s team, 6’ 7” Yao Zhiyuan. Though their marriage was not arranged or forced, it was strongly encouraged.

      Four years later the anticipated child was born to the celebrity couple. Yao Ming had been bred to play basketball. He was sent at age eight by his parents to the Xuhui Sports School, where the young boys practiced until they nearly collapsed, giving up his dream of becoming an explorer or an archaeologist.

      Ming did not like basketball at all, but did not complain out of reverence for his parents. His turning point came when his mother managed to get her hands on a pair of Harlem Globetrotters tickets. When Ming saw basketball played so joyously it was a monumental event for him. He began to enjoy basketball, emulating the players he had seen.

      As he grew and practiced Yao Ming began to receive even more recognition. Nike discovered him in 1996, and the company influenced many of Da Fang’s decisions about her son’s career. Nike at first supplied Ming with clothing and with shoes big enough to fit his enormous feet, while getting close to his family. Nike told the Yaos that for Ming to reach his full potential he would need to compete elsewhere than China, where basketball was not a great market. They took him on tours in the U.S.

      This was the beginning of two different worlds, corporate America and the Chinese government, tugging at Yao Ming’s extremely long arms.

      After a scandal in 1999 was resolved in which a greedy, conniving agent had weaseled Ming into signing a contract promising him one third of all his future earnings (in a court case Ming’s lawyers claimed that the contract was extortion, as the maximum percentage allowed by the NBA was four percent), Ming faced only one more hurdle before realizing his dream of playing in the NBA: the government that had essentially made him to use for their purposes.

      The Chinese realized the exposure that playing in the NBA would bring to Chinese basketball and the glory that, if their giant was successful, his success would bring to the nation. But their deep-seated patriotism made them nervous that Ming would abandon them, as Wang Zhizhi had done in 2001 when he refused to play for the national team.

      Once they were given the greatest assurances that Ming would play for the national team in every World Championship and Olympics as long as he is an active player, they consented to let him go to the NBA. In 2002 he was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection in that year’s NBA Draft.

       “I’m just one of 3 billion Chinese,” Ming stated humbly. “I understand basketball is not my entire life. It’s only a part of my life. And there are a lot of other things that interest me a great deal.”

      “I only want to play basketball, and play it well, and be happy about it. But I realize that with being famous comes a lot of demands,” Ming said. “All of the Chinese people, the Asian people say, ‘Oh Yao Ming, you are all the Chinese, all of Asia's hopes.’ That's a lot of pressure. I'm just a basketball player.”

      Through his experiences Ming has become wise, saying, “We’re all basketball players, and we’re all out there on the court, but we all live together on this earth.”

      Though Joe Sportsfan may see the hulking Yao Ming as somewhat of a disappointment so far in his career - he has played well and been an All-Star, but hasn’t won anything significant and seems to be injured often - knowing the obstacles he has overcome, he is a hero. One generation removed from Communist China, he is helping re-establish the world’s most populous country, providing hope and pride. In a sense he is doing what the Dr. Frankensteins who created him wanted him to do, but in a new, more hopeful era.

-Andrew Sagarin

A few years ago I remember a family friend talking to my mother about seasonal affective disorder. The friend replied to my mother’s question about it by saying, “Of course people get a little bit depressed at the end of winter. Football season is over and baseball season hasn’t started yet.” 

Except now it has.

Last night Brett Myers gave up four runs in the first two innings and Derek Lowe was dominant, allowing only two hits in eight innings as the Braves beat the Phillies 4-1.

I now sit here, seemingly appropriately having been let out of class early, watching Johan Santana do his job in Cincinnati. 

Later this afternoon will C.C. Sabathia will take the mound in the Yankees first game of 2009. And then 161 more games will follow for every major league baseball team.

More than any sport baseball provides fans with a true champion. Though they only work for three or four hours a day that most people know about, baseball players endure 162 games playing six or seven days a week, nagging injuries like strains and bruises, bickering teammates, and sometimes day games after nights of heavy drinking.            From Spring Training in February until the playoffs are over in October players go all out (*cough* right Manny being Manny? *cough, cough) to play America’s pastime at its highest level. From players who can’t drink legally to 46-year-old Jamie Moyer, who is entering his 23rd season in Major League Baseball, men take to perfectly manicured fields inside 50,000 seat stadiums to play our country’s game. (Yes, I know Japan has won the World Baseball Classic both times that it has been played and other countries have baseball ingrained in their cultures, but baseball is American first.)

Many young boys grow up hoping they can be professional baseball players. They imagine the scenarios – up to bat with two outs, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded – but most of us end up feeding our families by some other form of employment. We are construction workers, real estate agents, bankers, janitors, mechanics, waiters, and washed-up athletes whose sports careers ended in high school and now report sports news just to stay close to the atmosphere of baseball.

Us fanatics and addicts wish for baseball all year. We know every statistic, player, and rumor. We know that the same day the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira they also signed backup catcher Kevin Cash, who is now in AAA. We know that Cody Ransom and David Freese should fill in decently for Alex Rodriguez and Troy Glaus. We know who David Aardsma, Travis Ishikawa, Elvis Andrus, Denard Span, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Josh Johnson are and what their prospects are for the year.

We know all this and wish we could be out there cracking line-drives, diving for grounders in the hole, striking out Albert Pujols, wearing rally caps, charging the mound after a high and tight fastball, and flirting with hot girls in the stands.

Now baseball season is finally here. We are content. No, we are ecstatic!

 -Andrew Sagarin           

Baseball season is almost here. Every season is full of ups and downs for all fanatic baseball lovers. There are unexpected twists and along the way questions are answered. Here are one guy’s top 10 questions for the season. 

10. Can Chris Carpenter return to form?
Carpenter has been injured for most of the last two seasons, but has been a dominant pitcher in the past. Carpenter won a Cy Young award in 2005, but has been under the radar since then. All signs from spring training point to Carpenter being ready to go. Carpenter finished spring training with a 1.52 ERA in six starts, struck out 17 against six walks and did not allow a home run in 23 2/3 innings. 

9. Is Justin Upton as good as rumored and will it show in 2009?
The younger Upton (his brother B.J. Upton plays for the Tampa Bay Rays) has been touted by scouts as the best pure hitter to come into baseball in the last few years and has been compared to Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Last season at age 20 Upton hit .250 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI in 365 at bats. Consensus seems to be that Upton will be a superstar. The question is whether or not it will be this year. 

8. Will the San Francisco Giants have the best starting rotation in baseball?
It’s easy to say that the Yankees have the best rotation in baseball with C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. But this reporter likes a dark horse. Tim Lincecum is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Randy Johnson claims to be healthier than he has been in years and was once one of the greatest pitchers ever to play the game. Matt Cain is probably the most underrated pitcher in all of baseball. Jonathan Sanchez is a very solid prospect who had 157 strikeouts in 158 innings last year. Barry Zito has won a Cy Young and if he can return to his Oakland form is a very solid pitcher. The Giants offense is awful. But their starting pitching has the potential to be the best in baseball.  

7. When will David Price be called up to the majors and what will his impact be?
Price was sent to the minors after losing the competition to be the Rays fifth starter. But being perhaps the best prospect in baseball he won’t be there long. Will Price be dominant or just serviceable or somewhere in the middle? 

6. Will the Rays contend for a playoff spot again?
Last year the Rays shocked many by making it to the World Series. The Yankees reacted by spending over $400 million to ensure that they will be better this year. The Red Sox also quietly made moves to improve. The Rays pretty much have stayed with the guys they had last year. Carl Crawford will be healthy for a full year and Tampa Bay has a core of young superstars. But can they compete with the Yankees and Red Sox again? 

5. How will the Yankees investments in C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira pay off this year?
The Yankees are paying Teixeira less this year than they paid Jason Giambi last year and Teixeira should be a big improvement. He should be solid with around 35 home runs and 120 RBI if he stays healthy all year. The question is whether he will play well under pressure or choke like A-Fraud. Sabathia was dominant over the second half of last season, posting statistics that are almost unheard of these days. He likely will not continue that type of production, but should still easily be one of the top five pitchers in all of baseball. Will these things happens or will the bright lights of New York melt these stars? 

4. How will Alex Rodriguez fare this year?
Steroids. A-Fraud. Madonna. A stripper. A madam. An injury. What next? 

3. Which teams will be surprise contenders?
I’m going with the Cincinnati Reds as my dark horse team. The Rays are proven. If they are successful again it will not be surprising. I also think the Giants could be a nice long-shot to win the National League West.  

2. Who will win the American League East?
The Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox may all be among the best five teams in baseball. All will be slugging it out for the AL East title. I’m picking the Yankees, but I’m biased. This will be fun to watch. 

1. Who will win the World Series?
I’m going with the Yankees again here, but if they don’t win the AL East then insert the division winner as my pick. In the NL I’m going with the Cubs, but they’ll lose to the AL team. Check back in October so you can make fun of me when the White Sox beat the Mets in the World Series.

March Madness is great. College basketball grabs the attention of the nation, sucks us in, and ultimately crushes us. We drink. We sit on the couch transfixed on the TV when we should be writing the 11-page paper that is due tomorrow. We eat too many chips. We don’t call our girlfriends. The only people we talk to on the phone are friends at other colleges once their team loses – to rub it in. We see too many beer commercials. We Drink. And we watch as our brackets are busted and our favorite players play their last games before leaving for the NBA or to never be heard from again. The Top 5 “Sadness During Madness this year are: 


5. Blake Griffin’s last games?
Griffin likely will be teaming with Kevin Durant in Oklahoma next year. Though he is young enough, Durant is not going back to college. Griffin is NBA-bound. He will be a very good NBA player, but will not have dominating entertaining LeBron-like performances like he has in college. 


4. SU’s draw in the brackets
It’s great that we got a three seed. It’s not great that we’re in the same bracket as Oklahoma and North Carolina. Aren’t we much closer geographically to UConn and Memphis? Why couldn’t we be in a bracket with those two as the top two seeds? We can beat those teams. Maybe I’m going out on a little limb, but I picked Oklahoma to win the whole tournament, meaning SU loses in the Sweet Sixteen. 

3. Johnny Flynn’s last games?
We won’t know whether Flynn will leave school early for the NBA until well after the tournament is over. But it is likely that he will.

My plea: Johnny, if you come back and Paul Harris and Devendorf do too we can contend for a National Championship next year. If everyone comes back we will only lose Waffles from the rotation. We will add some good recruits and we easily be a top 10 team in the country and maybe even number one. 

2. Early hope
After the first night of play my bracket looked great. I had 15 of the first 16 games picked correctly. I got Western Kentucky and Maryland. The only one I got wrong was picking VCU to upset UCLA. 

1. Reality
Some lucky bastard wins your bracket pool. But even this guy is probably the square who picked a number one seed to win the tournament and doesn’t even have a great percentage right in the first round. By the time I went out to drink and party away mad bad bracket, my upset teams of West Virginia – who I had all the way in the Elite Eight – and Utah State – who I had going to the Sweet Sixteen – had lost as well as Tennessee and Utah – who I also had in the Sweet Sixteen. It got worse from there, but I don’t want to talk about it. 

-Andrew Sagarin

For those who don’t know, fantasy baseball is a growing multimillion-dollar industry. Basic fantasy baseball consists of a group of people “drafting” individual Major League Baseball players to make a team. Each team gains points based on the real players statistics in that season’s MLB season. Just like  

Five best things about fantasy baseball

5. You're not looking at Porn
      ‘Nuff said. 

4. It's acceptable to know too much about sports
      Many may chide those who know how many saves Francisco Rodriguez had last year (62) or to go further what Rickie Weeks’ batting average was (.234). Outsiders may ask about these people’s social and sex lives (some are doing just fine, thank you). But in fantasy baseball circles these stats - along with the facts that Rodriguez will certainly have less saves this year and Week’s batting average will very likely be higher - are known to all who are competitive. 

3. Knowledge
      Serious fantasy baseball players follow the game closer than many serious fans and remember essential statistics that can end Saturday afternoon couch arguments over whether Jose Reyes or Hanley Ramirez is an all around better shortstop with the player the emphatic winner and his challenger drowning his sorrows in his Bud Light.  
 
2. Smack Talk
     After your sleeper starting pitcher who your buddy has been hating on all season (for this year let’s say someone like Chris Carpenter) gets a seven inning win allowing one run and striking out eight on Sunday, giving you a narrow win over the buddy for the week you get to throw it in his face. “Carpenter nailed the win for me, scumbag. Gotcha!” you might say and throw in some expletives for good measure. 

1. Winning
      Getting the money (if you play for money) is one thing, but bragging rights over your buddies for the entire off-season are glorious. 
 
Five worst things about fantasy baseball

5. People lump you in with other nerds
      Fantasy baseball is based in reality and accompanies an obsession with sports. It is an outlet for those whose claim they know more about sports than their friends to prove it. Fantasy baseball is a social activity that is more real than “Magic” or role-playing games (not that kind pervert, we’re talking about people who re-enact battles and things of this nature, like in “Role Models”). 

4. It can be addicting
      Spending an hour and a half looking at stats and trying to decide whether or not to drop Matt Cain to pick up Randy Wolf is over the top. Spending five minutes doing this is okay, but then you need to write that five-page psychology paper that’s due tomorrow. 

3. Rooting against your team
      I would never do this in the stretch-run in September if the playoff race is close, but I have found myself in June rooting for Orioles closer George Sherrill to get a save against my Yankees because he is on my fantasy team.  

2. Smack talk
      If someone beats me with Nate McClouth, Lance Berkman, Kevin Youkilis, Matt Holiday, Adam Dunn, Cliff Lee, or Troy Percival achieving the same stats or better stats than last year I’ll have to eat my now printed words stating that all of these guys will fall off significantly from last year. 

1. Losing
      Any ultra-competitive person knows losing sucks. 

Bonus
Some of my favorite sleepers for this season:
1. Chris Carpenter SP St.L 
2. Nelson Cruz OF Tex 
3. Joey Votto 1B Cin 
4. Justin Upton OF Ari 
5. Clayton Kershaw SP LAD 
6. Cameron Maybin OF Fla 
7. Xavier Nady OF NYY 
8. Chris Iannetta C Col 
9. Randy Johnson SP SF 
10. Shin-Soo Choo OF Cle 
11. Chad Qualls RP Ari 
12. Jorge Cantu 2B Fla 
13. Travis Hafner DH Cle 
14. Hank Blalock 1B/3B Tex 
15. Clint Barmes 2B/SS Col

-Andrew Sagarin

Brian Jordan, Danny Ainge, Mark Hendrickson, Todd Helton, Dan Marino, Jim Brown, Kirk Gibson, Julius Peppers, and Charlie Ward (who won the Heisman trophy but opted for the NBA) all deserve honorable mentions, but here are my chosen 10: 

10. LeBron James
The current best player in the NBA (see my blog from last week for a lengthy explanation) was also recruited as a wide receiver by college coaches while in high school and was named All-Ohio at the position as a sophomore, before quitting football to focus on his basketball career. (I guess you could say that move worked out well.) There is a commercial playing in which LeBron signs with the Cleveland Browns. Many don’t know that if he wasn’t so good at basketball this may have actually happened. 

9. Tom Glavine
Glavine is still in baseball having recently signed a one-year contract with his original team, the one that made him successful and famous, the Atlanta Braves. Glavine returned to the Braves last year after spending five years with the New York Mets. Even with the speculation that he would likely choose baseball, Glavine was chosen in the 4th round, 69th overall by the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. To put it in perspective – Glavine was drafted ahead of Brett Hull. 
8. Antonio Gates
The best tight end in the NFL did not even play football in college. He was recruited as a linebacker, but chose to play basketball instead. After bouncing around a few schools, Gates landed at Kent State University where he became a star. Gates helped Kent State win a MAC championship and advance to the Elite Eight as a junior. As a senior Gates averaged 20.6 points per game and was an honorable mention All-American. After NBA scouts told the 6’4” big-bodied forward that he was a “tweener” and he went undrafted, Gates scheduled workouts with several NFL teams. The first was with the San Diego Chargers, who immediately signed him and turned him into the best tight end in the game today. 

7. Joe Mauer
Mauer, a former number one overall draft pick (GREAT call over Mark Prior in retrospect), is arguably the best catcher in Major League Baseball. Though is seems like he’s been around for a while, Mauer is only 25 years old. What many don’t know is that Mauer won multiple awards in football as a quarterback in high school and was offered a scholarship to football powerhouse Florida State. In addition to his personal achievements in high school football, Mauer lead his team to consecutive state championships, winning the Class 5A state championship in 1999. His sideburns could use a trim, but – a great quarterback and a great catcher – this guy is a multi-talented leader. 
6. Michael Jordan
Arguably the greatest and most dominant athlete ever, he only makes it this high because of his basketball supremacy. Jordan’s time off from basketball – when he played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox – was not a result of his wanting to play baseball as many people believe. He had (and probably still has) a huge gambling problem. NBA Commissioner David Stern did a phenomenal job of keeping it quiet for the benefit of his league. In fairness to Jordan, this came at the same as his father’s murder, so I don’t fault him for taking time away from basketball. Though easily the greatest basketball player of all time, MJ’s baseball foray into baseball was less than impressive. He batted .202 with 3 home runs, 51 runs batted in, and 11 errors in the outfield. His one impressive statistic was his 30 stolen bases. 

5. Dave Winfield
Winfield was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, getting immortalized in Cooperstown after a great professional baseball career with the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and a few other teams. Winfield is one of only a very few professional baseball players to go straight to the major leagues after being drafted, without ever playing in the minor leagues. Winfield’s talents made him the guy with perhaps the most impressive record of being drafted into professional sports. The Padres drafted him number four overall and he was drafted into two professional basketball leagues, the NBA by the Atlanta Hawks and the ABA by the Utah Stars. Not only that, he was also drafted, albeit in the 17th round, by the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. 
4. Deion Sanders
“Prime Time” is the only athlete ever to play in both a World Series and a Super Bowl. There have been a few players who have played both Major League Baseball and in the NFL. Sanders has been the most successful in both sports combined of any of them. “Neon Deion” not only has two great nicknames, he has more swagger than maybe any pro sports figure and is a decent NFL commentator, currently with the NFL Network. Sanders was one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time. In addition to his football prowess, Sanders was a decent baseball player, but actually earned the “Prime Time” nickname for his high school basketball skills and was an assistant coach for the Dallas Fury of the National Women’s Basketball League in 2004. (Cynically though, I have to wonder if he was qualified for the job or if it was a publicity stunt for a league that no one has ever heard of. That’s not me being misogynistic – the WNBA and other women’s leagues are great, but have you ever heard of the NWBL?). 3. Jim Thorpe
The Associated Press named Thorpe the top athlete in the first half of the twentieth century in 1950. The AP named Thorpe the number three athlete of the whole twentieth century in 1999. Thorpe’s biography is fascinating. There is not nearly enough space here to scratch the surface of his athletic accomplishments, let alone what he did in life. Briefly, Thorpe furthered opportunities for Native Americans, not just in sports but in the world, won Olympic gold medals in the multi-event pentathlon and decathlon, and played professional football, baseball, and basketball. 

2. Bo Jackson
So how do you beat Jim Thorpe? With an absolute freak of athleticism, easily the most athletic person to play professional sports during my lifetime. Bo Jackson would snap baseball bats over his knee like they were twigs. Can you imagine that? For almost anyone else trying to snap a baseball bat over their knee would likely turn out with the bat still fully intact and the person writhing on the ground. The story of Jackson’s rise from poverty to great athletic achievement is another great read. Jackson won the Heisman at Auburn and ran a 4.12, 4.12!, in the 40 yard dash. And at 6’1” 225 lbs. he was not a small running back. He could have been an Olympic sprinter, but opted for the money offered by the NFL and Major League Baseball. Jackson is the only athlete ever to be named to both a Major League All-Star Game (he the 1989 All-Star Game MVP) and an NFL Pro Bowl. The “Bo knows…” ad campaign was genius (and not that much of a stretch – Jackson also briefly played semi-pro basketball). Unfortunately a hip injury cut him way short of what he could have done, but those who know sports know Bo. 

1. Jackie Robinson
Obviously an iconic American hero for what he accomplished to further race relations in the 1950s, Robinson was also arguably the greatest athlete to ever live. Not only was he a great baseball player in his ten seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1936 Robinson won the junior boys' singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. Robinson was the first athlete in UCLA history to letter in four sports - baseball, basketball, football, and track. Robinson was the high scorer in basketball in the Pacific Coast Conference – twice. He was also a national champion long jumper. Robinson was an All-American running back. Robinson actually played semi-pro football before ever playing professional baseball. It has been said that baseball was only Robinson’s third or fourth best sport.

-Andrew Sagarin

"Alright guys, lets settle this."

The debate over who is the best player in the NBA has been raging recently and knowledgeable NBA fans know that it comes down to two guys who most people recognize by their first names; Kobe and LeBron.

      The debate grew especially heated after Kobe dropped 61 points in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks and then LeBron came one rebound short or a triple-double the next night in the World’s Most Famous Arena and dropped 52 points. 

Important Facts 

1. Kobe has obviously won more. He’s won three championships and the Lakers nearly always have a better record than the Cavaliers. That said, Kobe has always had a strong supporting cast, from Shaq (big props to the big fella for his dancing at the All-Star game) to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (who is out hurt right now). This year LeBron has another player on his team who can take some pressure off of him, Mo Williams, for the first time in his NBA career. 

2. This year LeBron is averaging more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game than Kobe. LeBron has a higher points per game average than Kobe, 28.37 to 27.37. Not only does LeBron average more points per game, he does it with a better field goal percentage, 49.1 to 47.2 

3. Playing for the USA in the 2008 Olympics LeBron outscored Kobe with 124 total points to Kobe’s 120. Virtually no difference there you say? LeBron did it on 21 less shots. In the Olympics LeBron nearly doubled Kobe in rebounds and assists – 42 to 22, and 30 to 17. LeBron doubled Kobe in blocks – 8 to 4, and more than doubled him with 19 steals to Kobe’s 9. Kobe fans might try to argue that LeBron got more playing time, but PT was virtually even. Kobe got 188 minutes while LeBron got 198 minutes. 

4. Both brought their teams deep in the playoffs last year. But both lost to the three-headed dragon that is the Boston Celtics. (That dragon is growing a fourth head these days in Rajon Rondo, who joins Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.) LeBron’s Cavs lost to the Beantown Triad and company in seven games, while the Kobe’s Lakers lost in six games. 

5. This in the past, so it’s not as relevant to this argument as the other points, but it counts. Both Kobe and LeBron came to the NBA straight from high school. LeBron was the #1 overall pick in 2003. Kobe was drafted #13 overall in 1996. From the “Did you know?” category – Kobe was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets (remember them?) and traded to the Lakers for famous flopper Vlade Divac before he played his first NBA game. LeBron had an immediate impact as a rookie in 2003-04, averaging over 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while helping the Cavaliers win 18 more games than they had in 2002-03. Kobe averaged 7.6 points per game and less than 2 assists per game as well as less than 2 rebounds per game in his first season. 

Irrelevant Comparisons 

1. LeBron is funnier. He is in some commercials that rival Peyton Manning for the best athlete commercials on TV these days. LeBron also hosted Saturday Night Live. I hesitate to bring this up, but Kobe’s commercial appeal has been shot since the rape allegations against him in 2003. 

2. Kobe has two NBA scoring titles to LeBron’s one. But LeBron’s came last year in 2008, while Kobe’s were in 2006 and 2007. LeBron is poised to win another this year.  

3. I believe that when LeBron gets isolation and decides to take his man to the basket he will score almost 100% of the time. That said, if my team was behind by one point with six seconds left in the game I would much rather have Kobe take the last shot to win the game. 

4. Though LeBron looks like he’s 50 years old and Kobe looks like he could still be 18, Kobe is 30 and LeBron is 24. 

5. Kobe won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. LeBron has never participated in a Slam Dunk Contest, but hinted that he may participate next year. 

Verdict:

A) A random poll of people drinking Bud Light in my apartment found that LeBron is favored 4:1 among five slovenly college guys who watch too much ESPN. The Kobe vote came from a die-hard Lakers fan, so that one comes with a cascading cordillera of salt. 

B) There has been a void in the NBA since Michael Jordan retired – from the Bulls. (MJ with the Wizards was like Joe Montana with the Chiefs or more recently Brett Favre with the Jets.) If anyone is the heir to His Airness it’s King James. He has commercial appeal and can will his team to wins, night in and night out. If that’s not enough, his recent statistics are recognizably better than any other player. The only knock on LeBron is that he has not earned any championship jewelry. But Kobe has never won a title without Shaq Daddy Diesel. LeBron will get a few titles after he signs with the Knicks in 2010. 

I welcome all angry, profane responses from Kobe fans and look forward to a debate. Leave a comment if you have an opinion – but make sure you can back it up. (Read: Don’t say, “Fuck you. Kobe is better.” Support your statement.

-Andrew Sagarin

Let it be known that this is the last time I will discuss steroids in baseball. 

The tired subject was raised again last week when Selena Roberts, a reporter for Sports Illustrated, unearthed evidence that Alex Rodriguez used steroids in 2003.

To his credit, Rodriguez responded quickly to the allegations, admitting he did use banned substances between 2001 and 2003 with the Texas Rangers. 

Some thoughts: 

1. Admitting use has been productive for Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte and others. Rodriguez and his posse handled the confession well. 

2. There are reported to be 103 other names on the list (which was turned over to the Federal Government and was supposed to be confidential) that revealed Rodriguez’s use. Why did only the name of arguably the best player in the game today become public? 

3. How Rodriguez progresses will be interesting. He is the first high-profile player to be exposed while he is still in the middle of his career. 

4. Rodriguez admitted use only between 2001 and 2003 in Texas. If this is the truth – great. If he used in Seattle, after he came to the Yankees, or even back in high school and indisputable evidence of it is found, he will be a villain in the same category as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. 

5. Between the Mitchell Report and this sealed document there is proof that roughly 200 players in the “Steroid Era” used. These are the ones we know about – so you have to figure others used and did not get caught. At any given time there are 750 players on Major League rosters. From that we can estimate that somewhere between 33%-50% of players were using in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 

6. That being said, I am not okay with A-Rod’s use, but I do not judge him as harshly as Mark McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, and Miguel Tejada (who has had his own steroid trouble recently and is facing jail time). Let’s say – for argument’s sake – that 50% of players were using. Let’s set aside the fact that using steroids is morally wrong and look at it objectively. Let’s remember that this is these guys’ job, their livelihood. Yes, they are overcompensated, but baseball is how they support their families. Baseball players have shorter careers in their industry than almost any other. (How many other jobs can you think of where people retire in their late 30s or early 40s?) To stay on top of their games and compete many, including A-Rod, used performance-enhancing substances. 

7. Going all the way back to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (who has not yet been proven to have used banned substances) owners knew about steroid use among players and said nothing while records were broken and attendance soared for the first time since the lockout in 1994.  

8. Journalists further proved that we are the 4th branch of the government by exposing steroid use in baseball and other sports. 

9. Will ESPN and the rest of the sports media please get off A-Rod’s jockstrap already? 

10. And can we drop the subject of steroids and move on? There will always be unethical chemists working on the next designer drug (genetic doping might be the next trend). There will always be athletes looking for that extra edge. But for now baseball, and most other sports, seem to be on top of things regarding performance-enhancing substances.

      Spring Training is under way…

-- Andrew Sagarin