What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

2020 Greatest of All Time Sports Draft-Zow wins, Judges still suck (3 Viewers)

13.06 - 1978 Steelers - Greatest NFL Team

14-2, super bowl champs. 

A slew of Hall of Famers - don't really want to mention any names yet. What makes this Steelers team the best is how they adapted to the new rules - the NFL opened things up in regards to passing, and they flourished. Best team I ever saw, and #1 in the category for me, so I'm happy to take them in round 13.

 
13.7 

Man o' War: Greatest Racehorse - Category 52

stoked to snag this beast here before top 20 lists are researched (i know the ponies are not very popular these days)  :D

let's get this out the way - industry cred: Blood Horse, the AP, Sports Illustrated, ESPN - all voted this cat as the greatest thoroughbred of the 20th Century. 

ESPN ranked him #84 in their greatest athletes of the 20th Century poll. 

he did it in sprints and routes - carrying extra weight (handicap), and ringing that register - 19 Stakes wins, turning it on when it mattered most. 

he was the Babe Ruth of horseracing, even sharing "Male Athlete of the Year" in 1920 with the Bambino, himself.  he was most instrumental in catapulting the game right up there alongside boxing as the #2 sport in America (baseball was king).

he was so awe inspiring and legendary that his only loss would result in two phrases still used today:  Saratoga dubbed "Graveyard of Champions", as his only loss was in the 1919 Sanford Stakes up there ... the horse who beat him was named UPSET - forever etching that description of an underdog beating the odds (btw, UPSET broke the existing record by 2 full seconds that day, an otherworldly performance, lest the great one would've been undefeated).

this was the first great star of the era, ushering in a golden age for the sport. 

lifetime record of 20-1, and that "upset" was by roughly a neck, by a horse who obliterated a record. his owner refused to saddle him after his 3 yr old campaign due to the ridiculous handicaps he was gonna have to carry - he actually cared about the animal, and also held him outta the 1920 Kentucky Derby for safety concerns, even though the great Man o' War was by far the best horse on the planet. 

he did go on to take both the 1920 Preakness and Belmont (by 20 lengths) - he continued to dominate his remaining 3vyr old season, setting records and banking more coin than any horse previously.  he ran 11 times as a 3 year old, which is unheard of these days. he won the Travers on 8/21, then returned two weeks later to deliver the greatest performance in history, taking down the Lawrence Realization Stakes by OVER ONE HUNDRED LENGTHS against the only other entrant - broke the 1 5/8th record that day by a full 1 3/5th seconds ... that time would stand for some 40 years.  matter of fact, he ran three races in a 14 day span that September of '20, starting with the Lawrence ... he followed that up ONE WEEK later with another record setting win in the Jockey Gold Cup, and followed that one up one week later with another record setting win in the Potomac Handicap (he even had to ship to Maryland for that, no problem!) - this is the greatest 2 weeks a horse has ever had, and, the way the modern game is, will EVER have. 

his last outing was a match race against 4 yr old powerhouse Sir Barton, who won the Triple Crown in 1919 - this was the talk of the sports world, and captured National headlines - also the first race ever to be filmed start to finish. 

Man o' War dusted the champ by a cool 7 lengths - ending his career on the most awesome note possible. 

his time at stud helped establish classic pedigree, with a great deal on the broodmare side ... his line is nothing short of the river that ran through what would become modern racing. 

@Zow

 
13.8 Greatest MMA Fighter - Jon "Bones" Jones

We are at the point in the draft where value lies by finding choices that a potential judge may deem a choice better than some of the picks in the same category before it. I think that value is there with Jones - who, to me, is in the first tier with Silva and St. Pierre. Frankly, if Jones's career had not been tained by controversy it would likely not be controversial to say he's the best MMA fighter ever. He is the youngest UFC Champion ever. He's had more successful title defenses than anyone ever. He'd be undefeated if he didn't throw an illegal elbow and get disqualified from a match that he was clearly winning. In terms of technique he can and has done it out. He's out-wrestled (even taking down) Cormier, he's out-struck Shogun Rua, and he's submitted Vitor Belfort. Basically, he's the Tiger Woods of MMA and whether he can have a similar resurgence remains to be seen. And, candidly, I wouldn't blame a judge for rolling with the previously chosen guys ahead of him due to the numerous suspensions he's incurred (the last one being just two days ago). But, this is a draft about the greatest, and there's an incredibly strong argument that he is the greatest - personally, I'd take him in a fight pound for pound against St. Pierre or Silva. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Womens Greatest Swimmer - Natalie Coughlin
 

America’s Natalie Coughlin is a twelve-time Olympic medalist. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S. female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympiad, and the first woman ever to win a 100-meter backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she also earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Her total of twelve Olympic medals ties her with Jenny Thompson and Dara Torresfor the most all-time medals by a female swimmer.

Coughlin’s success has earned her the World Swimmer of the Year Award once and American Swimmer of the Year Award three times.

 
Tough one to figure out here.  Let's go with 

13.11 - Greatest Female Gymnast - Category 56

OLGA KORBUT

The Mother of Gymnastics

4 time gold medalist, 2 time silver medalist

First gymnast to perform a backward aerial somersault on the balance beam and the first to do a backward release on the uneven parallel bars; the moves became known as the Korbut salto and the Korbut flip, respectively.

In 1994, Olga was named one of the Sports Illustrated ‘s 40 greatest athletes.  

The media whirl which surrounded her 1972 Olympic debut caused a surge of young girls to join their local gymnastic clubs, and a sport which had seldom been noticed previously now made headlines. In addition to greatly publicizing gymnastics worldwide, she also contributed to a marked change in the tenor of the sport itself. Prior to 1972, the athletes were generally older and the focus was on elegance rather than acrobatics. In the decade after Korbut’s Olympic debut, the emphasis was reversed.

In 1988, Olga was the first gymnast to be inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

 
Long Ball Larry said:
13.11 - Greatest Female Gymnast - Category 56

OLGA KORBUT

The media whirl which surrounded her 1972 Olympic debut caused a surge of young girls to join their local gymnastic clubs, and a sport which had seldom been noticed previously now made headlines. In addition to greatly publicizing gymnastics worldwide, she also contributed to a marked change in the tenor of the sport itself. Prior to 1972, the athletes were generally older and the focus was on elegance rather than acrobatics. In the decade after Korbut’s Olympic debut, the emphasis was reversed.
Click to expand...
This is very much true. Korbut was one of the first ones who performed what we'd recognize as a routine with a modern level of difficulty. Her famous "Korbut Flip" move (16 seconds in) was even banned from competition because it was considered dangerous. 

 
13.12 Roger Clemens, Greatest Baseball Starting Pitcher

3rd highest WAR for a pitcher (not including Babe).  354 wins, 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, more than any other pitcher in history

@Kal El

 
Last edited by a moderator:
joffer said:
13.12 Roger Clemens, Greatest Baseball Starting Pitcher

3rd highest WAR for a pitcher (not including Babe).  354 wins, 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, more than any other pitcher in history

@Kal El
Click to expand...
God choice.  was wondering when he would go. Like Bonds, he's probably a value here because of the roids. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
Womens Greatest Swimmer - Natalie Coughlin
 

America’s Natalie Coughlin is a twelve-time Olympic medalist. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S. female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympiad, and the first woman ever to win a 100-meter backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she also earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Her total of twelve Olympic medals ties her with Jenny Thompson and Dara Torresfor the most all-time medals by a female swimmer.

Coughlin’s success has earned her the World Swimmer of the Year Award once and American Swimmer of the Year Award three times.
Click to expand...
Good pick. Was between her and Jones. 

 
Doug B said:
Long Ball Larry said:
13.11 - Greatest Female Gymnast - Category 56

OLGA KORBUT

The media whirl which surrounded her 1972 Olympic debut caused a surge of young girls to join their local gymnastic clubs, and a sport which had seldom been noticed previously now made headlines. In addition to greatly publicizing gymnastics worldwide, she also contributed to a marked change in the tenor of the sport itself. Prior to 1972, the athletes were generally older and the focus was on elegance rather than acrobatics. In the decade after Korbut’s Olympic debut, the emphasis was reversed.
Click to expand...
This is very much true. Korbut was one of the first ones who performed what we'd recognize as a routine with a modern level of difficulty. Her famous "Korbut Flip" move (16 seconds in) was even banned from competition because it was considered dangerous. 
Click to expand...
Man, she was a big deal back in the day. That Olympics was so memorable: Spitz’a 7 gold medals, huge upsets, controversy, tragedy - I was 10 and my best friend for the previous 5 years was a West German immigrant named Rolph. We really got into watching and following it (I have no memory of Mexico City.)

But Olga was arguably the most compelling athlete at those games.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
joffer said:
13.12 Roger Clemens, Greatest Baseball Starting Pitcher

3rd highest WAR for a pitcher (not including Babe).  354 wins, 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, more than any other pitcher in history

@Kal El
Click to expand...
Dang - thought i might have some rhythm on him. The pitcher of his age and, though there was greed and deception at the base of his steroid use, i believe it began out of curiosity over how far he could take it up the ladder. He'd already shown himself one of the best ever and thought, if his upper musculature caught up w his unprecedented base, this could really be sumn. Bonds-type cheating, to be sure, but begun from a much higher position.

 
timschochet said:
They studied how to be athletes. 
Click to expand...
I was just kidding. That was a famous newspaper headline when Duke beat UNLV the next year. It went something like "Student-athletes beat athletic students..." or something like that, a clear jab at the academic disparities between the two programs, probably not the least of which implicated by race of the athletes and the locale and academic credibility of the institutions they played for. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
13.16 Maaaahvelous Maaaahvin Hagler, Greatest non-heavyweight boxer

Promised myself i would take Brockton's own with my first pick after Sugar Ray Leonard was taken. STILL dont know who i'd bet if they fought today. At any rate, those two and two others of the welter/middle classes stole the focus away from heavyweight boxing for the first time since it became the eminent sport 50 years before. Hagler was more a classic middleweight than the other three, but they remind me of tennis' current Big 3 in that they would have dominated any age in their sport. Fo sho, any of em woulda chewed up Mayweather, spit him out and not even needed a toothpick. Hell, Marvin's brother, Robbie Sims - owner of the most beautiful body i've ever seen (as a promotion, he once trained in the mall of Reno's MGM Grand and women actually passed out, even my Mary almost did, from their wanton vapors) - woulda smoked his meat. nufced

14.1 The Honorable Ken Dryden, Hockey Goalie

I'm hesitant to make this pick because a handful of goalies have already been selected but, the last several rounds, even though i'm not that big a hockey fan anymore, i keep thinking i've seen the work of the others and still believe the greatest goalie ever aint been selected. Only goalie i've seen who changed the way the game was played, making it more like soccer - "how we gonna approach this knowing we aint gonna get but 1, maybe 2 goals past this guy?!". And this was during one of the highest-scoring eras in the history of the sport. If that don't do it for you, howzis? Played 8 seasons, has 6 rings. Only Russell has that beat.

@timschochet

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Greatest heavyweight boxer- Jack Johnson 

He arguably competes with Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali as the most important black American athlete who ever lived. The nation was not ready for his skills, his attitude, his carrying on with white women, etc. He didn’t just dominate his white opponents; he taunted them mercilessly, and this resulted in terrible race riots all throughout the nation. He was paid to finally lose his title; the film shows him shielding his eyes from the sun as the referee counts him out. 

@higgins

 
My "Up Next" list is taking a beating with the last 10 picks or so. Lot's of really good selections happening here. Leave some meat on the bone for me guys  :)

 
otb_lifer said:
hey, kid ...
Click to expand...
One of the best ideas I've had had to do with Joe.  When we were in Africa on a mission, the local churches would have us come in and share with their people.  They were long, hot, dusty meetings.  At the end, they always gave us a cold Coca Cola as a treat and to honor us.  At first we protested that we didn't need it, but we could see how pleased they were to honor us that way.

I got the idea to do that for the men in our church on Father's Day.  So every Father's Day I talk about that experience, how it's an honor to be given an ice cold Coke.  And we show the Mean Joe commercial, and compare husbands and dads to Mean Joe, having given it all, limping off of the field of battle.  Then we open the coolers, pull out glass bottles of Coca Cola (Mexican version now, with real sugar), pop the tops and hand them out to the guys.  Of course the older ones love it especially cause of the Mean Joe commercial.  I take pride in that.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 4 (members: 0, guests: 4)
Top