Best halfback -- so many to choose from

There are two positions in football where passion really comes into play -- quarterback and halfback.

Chicago fans take it as a personal affront if you argue that anyone was better than Walter Payton.

Detroit fans who watched Barry Sanders carry a mediocre team to winning seasons most of his stellar career can not believe anyone could be better.

Dallas fans like to point to Emmitt Smith's records, yards, touchdowns, and the fact that the Cowboys won relentlessly with him in the backfield.

So which is it? The overall play of Payton? The wow factor of Sanders? Or the lead horse in one of the best teams ever put together?

Rank, player, years, points
1. Emmitt Smith, 1990-2004, 25873.5
2. Walter Payton, 1975-1987, 25583.5
3. Marshall Faulk, 1994-2005, 24782.4
4. Barry Sanders, 1989-1998, 24535.2
5. Thurman Thomas, 1988-2000, 24154.5
6. Marcus Allen, 1982-1997, 23791.3
7. Lenny Moore, 1956-1967, 22937.2
8. Tony Dorsett, 1977-1988, 22675.4
9. Franco Harris, 1972-1984, 22517.3
10. Leroy Kelly, 1964-1973, 21834.9
11. Ladainian Tomlinson, 2001-2007, 21661.4
12. O.J. Simpson, 1969-1979, 21312.6
13. Eric Dickerson, 1983-1993, 21240.5
14. Steve Van Buren, 1944-1951, 21009.7
15. James Brooks, 1981-1992, 20602.4
16. Frank Gifford, 1952-1964, 20324.9
17. Edgerrin James, 1999-2007, 20301.9
18. Chuck Foreman, 1973-1980, 20266.3
19. Curtis Martin, 1995-2005, 20028.2
20. Earl Campbell, 1978-1985, 19727.4

My earliest memories of a great running back was Earl Campbell. I was shocked he finished so low. But his career went south early and the Oilers didn't score him a lot of points with wins and points.

O.J. Simpson was another one who I thought would finish higher. The Bills for most of his career were terrible and they didn't use Simpson much as a receiver.

Team success certainly carried Franco Harris higher than most would put him.

But let's look at the top five. Sanders at No. 4 seems low but he chose to walk away from the game rather than set records. That hurt him when compared to Smith. Team success gave Smith the edge over Payton and Faulk's central role in one of the greatest offenses helped as well.

Let's look at how the career stats helped Smith.

Best 3-year average:
1. Marshall Faulk; 2. Emmitt Smith; 3. Thurman Thomas; 4. Walter Payton; 5. Chuck Foreman. Sanders is seventh because his teams didn't go deep into the playoffs. All the guys in the top five played in Super Bowls.

Best 6-year average:
1. Emmitt Smith; 2. Walter Payton; 3. Barry Sanders; 4. Marshall Faulk; 5. Thurman Thomas. You see Sanders' year-in, year-out greatness start to come to the front.

Best 10-year average:
1. Walter Payton; 2. Barry Sanders; 3. Emmitt Smith; 4. Marshall Faulk; 5. Thurman Thomas.

Best career scores:
1. Emmitt Smith; 2. Walter Payton; 3. Marcus Allen; 4. Marshall Faulk; 5. Barry Sanders. Sanders finished nearly 700 points behind Smith in this category.

When Sanders retired he was 31 years old. For many running backs, that's when they begin to slow down. So to expect him to maintain the level he was playing at in his 20s perhaps is unrealistic.

But as a 30-year-old, Sanders gained 1,491 yards on 343 carries. That's 4.3 yards per carry and 93.2 yards per game. The Lions could have spelled him more. Perhaps cut his carries to 250 and use him more in the passing game. He had at least 3,000 yards still in the tank. That would have pushed him to No. 2 and perhaps No. 1.

But that didn't happen and he's No. 4 in my book.

Not done yet, Mosely moves up a couple

Sugar Shane Mosely's knockout over Ricardo Mayorga shows he may have some big fights left.

He wants to fight Antonio Margarito. Paul Williams wants to fight Margarito. Everyone wants to fight Margarito.

Time is running out on Mosely but he's done enough to safely be in my top 100 all-time fighters.

While Mosely was generating more press, Juan Carlos Gomez of Cuba was moving into position for a title fight. He beat Ukrainian heavyweight Vladimir Virchis in a final eliminator for the WBC crown, meaning he's in line to fight the winner of Samuel Peter-Vitali Klitschko.

Gomez, who now fights out of Germany, was a dominant cruiserweight champion from 1998 to 2001. He's been fighting at heavyweight since 2002 and still hasn't been given a title shot despite the fact the division is a mess.

With the win, Gomez, who is 19-0 in title fights in his career, moved up two slots in the top 100. Here's the updated ranking from 75-90.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
75. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 47.446
76. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.282
77. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.103
78. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.096
79. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.000
80. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 46.840
81. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 46.836
82. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.653
83. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 46.639
84. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand, 46.551
85. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 46.502
86. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 46.440
87. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 46.370
88. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.315
89. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 46.195
90. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-08, Puerto Rico, 46.156

No 1 for all-time

I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan so naturally I hate every other team in their division.

But I'm at least rooting for one player from an opposing squad -- Le'Ron McClain. McClain, a second year player, has 152 yards rushing on 36 carries in Baltimore's first two games. For a fullback in this day and age, that's amazing.

The position has evolved essentially into a sixth offensive lineman. Long gone are the days of Csonka, Nagurski, John Henry Johnson. Even a Larry Centers, who blocked, ran sometimes and mostly became a receiver, are over.

My favorite Bengals team, the Super Bowl '88 Bengals, featured 1,000-yard rushers at halfback, James Brooks, and fullback, Ickey Woods.

I don't know why teams went away from triple threat fullbacks, but I miss them.

So go McClain go. Until offensive coordinators get creative again, this list of the top 20 fullbacks of all time isn't likely to change.

Rank, player, years, total
1. Jim Brown, 1957-1965, 26200.3
2. Jim Taylor, 1958-1967, 21848.9
3. Roger Craig, 1983-1993, 21115.4
4. Larry Csonka, 1968-1979, 20310.2
5. Bronco Nagurski, 1930-1943, 19796.4
6. Marion Motley, 1946-1955, 19256.6
7. John Riggins, 1971-1985, 18265.7
8. Dan Towler, 1950-1955, 18089.5
9. Bill Brown, 1961-1974, 17053.3
10. John Henry Johnson, 1954-1966, 16884.6
11. Tank Younger, 1949-1958, 16726.7
12. Ken Willard, 1965-1974, 16436.0
13. Mike Pruitt, 1976-1986, 16249.9
14. Alan Ameche, 1955-1960, 15622.2
15. Don Perkins, 1961-1968, 15600.6
16. Marshall Goldberg, 1939-1948, 15213.1
17. Hewritt Dixon, 1963-1970, 15174.5
18. Keith Lincoln, 1961-1968, 15023.9
19. Mike Alstott, 1996-2005, 15022.9
20. Cookie Gilchrist, 1962-1967, 14728.9

Golden oldie a bit of a surprise

When I started ranking football players I counted on a few givens, the sun would come up the next day, the property taxes would come due and Jerry Rice would be the No. 1 receiver.

Then I really looked at the stats of the first great wide receiver.

Here are the 40 greatest wideouts in pro football history.

Rank, player, years, total
1. Don Hutson, 1935-1945, 31916.7
2. Jerry Rice, 1985-2004, 31914.9
3. Marvin Harrison, 1996-2007, 26102.2
4. Randy Moss, 1998-2007, 25708.5
5. Paul Warfield, 1964-1977, 25333.4
6. Terrell Owens, 1996-2007, 25106.1
7. Lance Alworth, 1962-1972, 24687.5
8. Cliff Branch, 1972-1985, 24622.8
9. James Lofton, 1978-1993, 24265.2
10. Andre Reed, 1985-2000, 24212.3
11. Fred Biletnikoff, 1965-1978, 23504.9
12. Bullet Bob Hayes, 1965-1975, 23123.4
13. Harold Jackson, 1968-1983, 23112.4
14. Steve Largent, 1976-1989, 23057.4
15. Raymond Berry, 1955-1967, 23050.0
16. Tim Brown, 1988-2004, 22955.8
17. Cris Carter, 1987-2002, 22862.8
18. Gary Clark, 1985-1995, 22591.8
19. Isaac Bruce, 1994-2007, 22587.9
20. Michael Irvin, 1988-1999, 22505.1
21. Crazylegs Hirsch, 1946-1957, 22504.0
22. Torry Holt, 1999-2007, 22368.6
23. Harold Carmichael, 1971-1984, 22078.5
24. Dan Maynard, 1958-1973, 22078.0
25. Art Monk, 1980-1995, 21927.6
26. Mark Clayton, 1983-1993, 21882.0
27. John Stallworth, 1974-1987, 21880.8
28. Stanley Morgan, 1977-1990, 21778.6
29. Gene Washington, 1969-1979, 21593.8
30. Irving Fryar, 1984-2000, 21449.0
31. Dante Lavelli, 1946-1956, 21444.5
32. Charlie Joiner, 1969-1986, 21432.3
33. Pete Pihos, 1947-1955, 21387.1
34. Del Shofner, 1957-1967, 21357.5
35. Charley Taylor, 1964-1977, 21290.8
36. Jimmy Smith, 1992-2005, 21260.5
37. Tommy McDonald, 1957-1968, 21185.5
38. Wes Chandler, 1978-1988, 21147.3
39. Bobby Mitchell, 1958-1968, 21143.5
40. Billy Howton, 1952-1963, 21073.8

I was surprised Harrison was so high. He's not as loud as Moss and Owens, but year-after-year he puts up the numbers. Moss, though, if he stays focused may end up challenging Rice and Hutson.

Some players I initially thought were going to be higher were Steve Largent, Art Monk and Charlie Joiner. Largent was hurt by the Seahawks not being a contender. Monk and Joiner didn't put up big numbers on a consistent basis. They just played forever.

One player you don't see is Lynn Swann. Swann has some great highlight reel catches, but he was only a top player for a couple of seasons. Those great Steelers teams won on defense, defense, defense and Franco Harris.

Swann ranks No. 45 on my list. Isaac Curtis, who played at the same time but for a lesser team -- the Bengals -- in a lesser division, is No. 42. How can Swann be in the Hall of Fame and Curtis not be in as well?

Dual threats

Tight end is an interesting position. For the longest time it was just another blocker. Then Mike Ditka and John Mackey made the position a weapon in the 1960s.

But in the 1980s, there was a small move away from the position. The run-and-shoot, which was employed by several teams, did not have a tight end.

Today, with Antonio Gates, Jeremy Shocker, Alge Crumpler and Jason Witten, it's back in fashion to have a tight end that can break a game open.

It's also the first position I've released that has individual stats to mix in with team success. Still, it's team success that helped our current No. 1.

Rank, player, years, total
1. Shannon Sharpe, 1990-2003, 22131.5
2. Tony Gonzalez, 1997-2007, 21055.3
3. Kellen Winslow, 1979-1987, 19780.6
4. Mike Ditka, 1961-1972, 19505.7
5. John Mackey, 1963-1972, 19353.7
6. Todd Christensen, 1979-1988, 19114.6
7. Dave Casper, 1974-1984, 19068.9
8. Jackie Smith, 1963-1978, 19013.0
9. Pete Retzlaff, 1956-1966, 18653.1
10. Raymond Chester, 1970-1981, 18435.7
11. Ozzie Newsome, 1978-1990, 18259.3
12. Riley Odoms, 1972-1983, 18107.2
13. Ben Coates, 1991-2000, 17592.0
14. Keith Jackson, 1988-1996, 17579.5
15. Brent Jones, 1987-1997, 17446.1
16. Charlie Sanders, 1968-1977, 16720.0
17. Wesley Walls, 1989-2003, 16564.2
18. Fred Arbanas, 1962-1970, 16334.8
19. Steve Jordan, 1982-1994, 16120.3
20. Jay Novacek, 1985-1995, 16075.2

Gates is the No. 24 ranked tight end and will move into the top 20 if he remains healthy this yar. Pete Retzlaff doesn't get enough credit for showing coaches what players at this position could do. Lack of team success really hurt Ozzie Newsome.

Team successes at two different places is what has Shann9n Sharpe ahead of Tony Gonzalez so far. Gonzalez has yet to play on a team that won a playoff game while Sharpe played on three Super Bowl winners.

A short career kept Kellen Winslow from being in the all-time best discussion.

Another note, Mike Ditka once said John Mackey should have been the first tight end in the Hall of Fame instead of himself. Great sentiment but I have Ditka as slightly better.

Tackle -- the glamour position

If there actually is a glamour position on the offensive line it is tackle, especially left tackle. Here are the 40 greatest tackles to play professional football.

Rank, player, years, total
1. Art Shell, 1968-1982, 13849.7
2. Forrest Gregg, 1956-1971, 13810.9
3. Ron Yary, 1968-1982, 13484.1
4. Jim Tyrer, 1961-1974, 13475.6
5. Jim Parker, 1957-1967, 13458.8
6. Anthony Munoz, 1980-1992, 13324.4
7. Rosey Brown, 1953-1965, 12959.5
8. Lou Creekmur, 1950-1959, 12827.6
9. Rayfield Wright, 1967-1979, 12673.5
10. Orlando Pace, 1997-2007, 12439.0
11. Ron Mix, 1960-1971, 12070.3
12. Gary Zimmerman, 1986-1997, 12030.8
13. Joe Jacoby, 1981-1993, 11884.8
14. Jackie Slater, 1976-1995, 11827.2
15. Dick Schafrath, 1959-1971, 11810.6
16. Pat Donovan, 1975-1983, 11645.1
17. Joe Stydahar, 1936-1946, 11570.6
18. Willie Roaf, 1993-2005, 11567.8
19. Walter Jones, 1997-2007, 11546.3
20. Mike McCormack, 1951-1962, 11476.6
21. Richmond Webb, 1990-2002, 11362.2
22. Mike Kenn, 1978-1994, 11298.8
23. Bob Vogel, 1963-1972, 11295.9
24. Jonathan Ogden, 1996-2007, 11272.2
25. Lomas Brown, 1985-2002, 11139.6
26. Winston Hill, 1963-1977, 11039.8
27. Dan Dierdorf, 1971-1983, 11000.0
28. Bob Brown, 1964-1973, 10924.5
29. Russ Washington, 1968-1982, 10824.2
30. Grady Alderman, 1960-1974, 10514.7
31. Erik Williams, 1991-2001, 10505.5
32. Leon Gray, 1973-1983, 10349.2
33. George Kunz, 1969-1980, 10225.7
34. Bruce Armstrong, 1987-2000, 10210.4
35. Ernie McMillan, 1961-1975, 10092.0
36. Turk Edwards, 1932-1940, 9623.6
37. Stew Barber, 1961-1969, 9608.9
38. Bob St. Clair, 1953-1963, 9576.0
39. Marvin Powell, 1977-1987, 9481.8
40. Bruiser Kinard, 1938-1947, 9191.5

The top six tackles, including my favorite -- Anthony Munoz -- are almost interchangeable. In the end, longevity won out.

The top five in terms of best three years -- or their peak seasons?
1. Orlando Pace; 2. Jim Parker; 3. Art Shell; 4. Lou Creekmur; 5. Ron Yary.

The top five for a six year total?
1. Lou Creekmur; 2. Jim Parker; 3. Forrest Gregg; 4. Orlando Pace; 5. Anthony Munoz.

The best 10 year total?
1. Jim Parker; 2. Art Shell; 3. Forrest Gregg; 4. Anthony Munoz; 5. Jim Tyrer.

And for career the top five were:
1. Art Shell; 2. Forrest Gregg; 3. Ron Yary; 4. Jim Tyrer; 5. Jackie Slater.

Of the top six, Munoz clearly had the least help. Shell was on the Raiders dynasty of the 60s and 70s, Gregg on the Packers dynasty, Yary with the famous Vikings Super Bowl losers, Tyrer on the great AFL/AFC Chiefs teams and Parker with the Unitas-Lenny Moore Colts.

Munoz powered the Bengals to two Super Bowls and several other playoff appearances, but his teams weren't nearly as dominant. A shoulder injury also shortened his career, especially when compared to Shell. A short career also cost Jim Parker a spot on my first-team offense.

Final question, why isn't Jim Tyrer in the Hall of Fame? Can anyone explain that?

Greatest offensive guards ever

Iron men make all-time team.

Rank, player, years, total
1. Gene Upshaw, 1967-1981, 14530.7
2. Bruce Matthews, 1983-2001, 14403.8
3. Larry Little, 1967-1980, 13317.9
4. Danny Fortmann, 1936-1943, 13061.0
5. Tom Mack, 1966-1978, 12947.2
6. George Musso, 1933-1944, 12878.2
7. Randall McDaniel, 1988-2001, 12755.3
8. Will Shields, 1993-2006, 12641.5
9. John Hannah, 1973-1985, 12575.4
10. Gene Hickerson, 1958-1973, 12466.2
11. John Niland, 1966-1975, 12321.5
12. Ed White, 1969-1985, 12244.3
13. Ray Bray, 1939-1952, 12129.2
14. Alan Faneca, 1998-2007, 12075.8
15. Russ Grimm, 1981-1991, 12041.9
16. Nate Newton, 1986-1999, 12015.2
17. Jerry Kramer, 1958-1968, 11941.6
18. Steve Wisniewski, 1989-2001, 11859.0
19. Ed Budde, 1963-1976, 11837.4
20. Walt Sweeney, 1963-1975, 11780.5
21. Bob Kuechenberg, 1970-1983, 11728.9
22. Stan Jones, 1954-1966, 11672.2
23. Abe Gibron, 1949-1959, 11639.6
24. Mike Munchak, 1982-1993, 11558.9
25. Ed Newman, 1973-1984, 11511.0
26. Larry Allen, 1994-2007, 11471.3
27. Max Montoya, 1979-1994, 11182.0
28. Joe DeLamielleure, 1973-1985, 11019.9
29. Duane Putnam, 1952-1962, 10974.2
30. Ken Gray, 1958-1970, 10440.0
31. Bruno Banducci, 1944-1954, 10408.2
32. Bob Talamini, 1960-1968, 10388.9
33. Dennis Harrah, 1975-1987, 10303.8
34. Wayne Hawkins, 1960-1969, 10246.3
35. Billy Shaw, 1961-1969, 10187.7
36. Jim Ray Smith, 1956-1964, 10167.4
37. Kent Hill, 1979-1987, 9841.5
38. Harley Sewell, 1953-1963, 9719.7
39. Ruben Brown, 1995-2006, 9554.2
40. Bruce Bosley, 1956-1969, 9382.3

Few will argue that Gene Upshaw and Bruce Matthews deserve top mention. One guy farther down the list may be a surprise. John Hannah at No. 9.

Hannah played in 10 pro bowls and was first team all-pro nine times. The teams he played on though were good, never great. The only playoff wins he was a part of came in his final seasons when the 1985 Patriots snuck into the Super Bowl, where they were annhilated by the Super Bowl Shuffle Chicago Bears.

The Patriots offenses in those days also were good but not great, so Hannah didn't receive high point totals there either. His ranking shows, absent of statistics, how much lineman rely on the overall totals.

Of course, that shouldn't detract from Upshaw and Matthews. Upshaw was first team all-pro five times, missed one game in his career, blocked for one of the most potent offenses of the 1960s and 1970s and played in three Super Bowls, winning two.

Matthews was a nine-time all-pro who played in one Super Bowl and played every game in 18 of his 19 seasons. He thrived when the Oilers were both a grind-it-out offense with Earl Campbell and Eddie George and when they ran the run and shoot with Warren Moon.

Leading off with the snappers

Without further ado, here are the greatest centers in pro football history heading into the 2008-2009 season.

Rank, Center, Years, Total
1. Bulldog Turner, 1940-1952, 14731.3
2. Jim Otto, 1960-1974, 13951.9
3. Mike Webster, 1974-1990, 13828.3
4. Jim Ringo, 1953-1967, 12986.9
5. Mick Tingelhoff, 1962-1978, 12751.2
6. Frank Gatski, 1946-1957, 12692.1
7. Mel Hein, 1931-1945, 12665.7
8. Jim Langer, 1970-1981, 12260.8
9. Tom Nalen, 1994-2007, 12157.0
10. Dermontti Dawson, 1988-2000, 11811.5
11. Jay Hilgenberg, 1981-1993, 11768.3
12. Dwight Stephenson, 1980-1987, 11348.3
13. Bart Oates, 1985-1995, 11173.1
14. Rich Saul, 1970-1981, 11126.9
15. Mark Stepnoski, 1989-2001, 11116.5
16. Ray Wietecha, 1953-1962, 11091.4
17. Kevin Mawae, 1994-2007, 11080.0
18. Forrest Blue, 1968-1978, 10951.6
19. Len Hauss, 1964-1977, 10833.2
20. Jeff Van Note, 1969-1986, 9901.4

Since there are no individual statistics to crunch, to score well as an offensive lineman you have to have won a lot of honors, been on a number of winning even championship level teams and played for offenses that were among the top in the league in yards and points.

Turner fills every bill. He was first team all pro seven times. He played in four pro bowls and would have been in more if the game wasn't canceled for much of the 1940s.

His Chicago Bears suffered just two losing seasons in his 13 years, won four NFL titles and one runner-up finish, ironically in a year the team went undefeated.

Those Bears, with Sid Luckman at quarterback, perfected the T formation and Turner's teams lead the league in points in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946 and 1947 and in offensive yards in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1947 and 1949.

Turner, who was a standout linebacker with 17 career interceptions, also played every game of every season, except 1945 when he played in just two of 10 games. Without Turner for most of the year, the Bears went 3-7.

Stepping into the fire

I've gotten a few comments over some of my rankings. NASCAR fans didn't like the fact their drivers didn't rank very high on my worldwide rankings. Jordan fans didn't like his No. 3 ranking in basketball. I've gotten comments on the boxing rankings over guys who are in who shouldn't be and who aren't in and should be. I've even gotten a comment from someone who insisted Julio Cesar Chavez was the greatest boxer ever.

But I bet I get worse once all of my football rankings are out there. People really like other sports, but they love football. It's not the national pastime like baseball, but it is the national passion.

There are a lot of hurdles in ranking football players. Many positions have few statistics to judge. Individual success for quarterbacks and receivers is difficult if the offensive line doesn't do its job. Defensively, a guy can be great at sacking the quarterback but terrible against the run or a corner back can have several interceptions but still be a liability because he's gambling too much and giving up big plays.

The system I've created tries to measure what we can.

Individual honors -- all pro, pro bowls, MVP awards

Team success -- points for winning percentages, playoff wins and world titles.

Unit success -- points for where offenses rank in points and yardage for offensive players and for where defenses ranked in fewest points and fewest yards for defensive players.

Finally, durability. If a player played just 12 games out 16, they are credited with just 75 percent of what they would have received if they'd suited up all 16 games.

Then I started giving points for individual stats. The more stats available, the less the ranking is tied to team success. Quarterbacks have the most numbers to scrutinize, followed by the running backs, receivers and tightends. As you'll see, the top offensive lineman in my system were tied to the great teams.

In the next seven days, I'll release my rankings for the offense -- center, guards, tackles, tight ends, wide receivers, full back, half back and quarterback.

Then, hopefully, by the end of the season I'll finish up the defensive rankings. The fact that the NFL didn't recognize sacks as an official statistic until 1982 has slowed me down. There's a researcher named John Turney who building the sack stats before 1982 by reading the official game accounts for every team back to the beginning of the league. I talked to Turney and his work is far from done.

While I wait on Turney, I'm estimating sack totals from the pre-1982 era using statistics from the 20 years since it was established. It's far from perfect and certainly will undervalue some players and overvalue others.

My men's basketball rankings had the same problem. They didn't keep steals and blocks in the Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell eras. It's likely Chamberlain and Russell especially would have scored higher if they had.

Still, it's the best I can do.

Roger takes final bow in Nadal's season

Only Roger Federer could win one major title, make the finals of two others and the semifinals in a fourth and be able to call the year disappointing.

His demolition of Andy Murray wouldn't have rated a mention last year, but in 2008 Federer was finally beatable.

Not Monday. Perhaps he played more freely since Nadal wasn't on the other side of the net. In the end, that doesn't matter. Federer moved within one title of Pete Sampras, although in my system he already is the greatest player ever.

His win benefitted Nadal as well. Since a player receives bonus points based on the number of major titles won by players he has defeated, Federer's additional title added points to Nadal since he's beaten Federer in four finals.

That was enough to push Nadal to No. 9 with Andre Agassi soooo close in his sites. Nadal finished the year with 39 points, the eighth best year in open history.

Here's the top 10 greatest seasons:

1. Rod Laver, Australia, 1969, 55.00 (grand slam, still the gold standard)
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2007, 45.50
3. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2006, 45.00
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974, 42.00
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1984, 41.00
6. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2004, 40.50
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1988, 39.50
8. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2008, 39.00
9. Pete Sampras, United States, 1995, 37.00
10. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1978, 37.00

Here's my updated rankings of the 32 greatest men's tennis players of the open era.

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2008, 110.83
2. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 92.63
3. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 90.42
4. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 86.07
5. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1973-1991, 85.57
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 81.72
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 68.92
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1988-2005, 65.32
9. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2008, 63.33
10. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 62.07
11. Stefan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 59.37
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1995, 52.67
13. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 50.00
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 48.60
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 39.33
16. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 36.12
17. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 35.00
18. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1977, 32.58
19. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2000-2005, 30.17
20. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2008, 29.00
21. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 28.83
22. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 25.33
23. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 24.50
24. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 23.50
25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 23.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1984-1988, 22.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 21.67
28. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2007, 20.67
29. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 20.33
30. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1990-2001, 19.83
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 18.83
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 18.00

Serena finishes fine Williams summer

Venus and Serena Williams have been counted out for several years yet keep showing up at the events that really matter.

Today's win by Serena Williams means little in my standings. She remains No. 8 and has to win a couple more major titles to pass Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Serena's wins, though, did add some more bonus points to her sister's total. Serena has only lost three times in major tournament singles finals, twice to Venus -- including Wimbledon this summer -- and once to Maria Sharapova.

The extra bonus points pushed Venus past Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario and into my all-time top 10.

Richard Williams is a nut, but he raised two of the greatest women's tennis players ever. That's amazing.

My updated top 32 women's tennis players:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 165.63
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1985-1999, 154.13
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1971-1989, 113.40
4. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 96.75
5. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1989-2002, 92.85
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1983, 88.14
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 83.35
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1998-2008, 75.37
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.47
10. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2008, 64.39
11. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-2000, 64.35
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 62.14
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 47.65
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1996-2005, 47.40
15. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 32.29
16. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 29.93
17. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 28.92
18. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 28.55
19. Mary Pierce France, 1994-2005, 27.15
20. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 27.03
21. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 25.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 23.76
23. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 22.69
24. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 21.55
25. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 20.17
26. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 15.61
27. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 15.40
28. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2007, 15.22
29. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 2007-2008, 14.76
30. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 14.74
31. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 14.41
32. Mary-Joe Fernandez, United States, 1989-1997, 13.33