Who's Best

Basketball's 100 greatest players

2012-01-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the rushed 2011-2012 season. My updated 100 best men's professional basketball players.

Rank, player, years, adj. score
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 24025.4
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 23051.0
3. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 22822.7
4. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 21867.3
5. Tim Duncan, 1997-2011, 21419.8
6. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 21202.2
7. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 21161.6
8. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 21016.2
9. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 20984.8
10. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 20560.8

11. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2011, 20448.7
12. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2007, 20311.9
13. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2007, 20272.9
14. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 20268.2
15. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 20153.3
16. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 19695.1
17. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 19651.1
18. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 19606.4
19. LeBron James, 2003-2011, 19401.2
20. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 19309.7

21. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 19161.2
22. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 19076.0
23. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 19034.1
24. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 18623.0
25. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 18584.7
26. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 18545.7
27. Gary Payton, 1990-2007, 18456.1
28. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2008, 18419.0
29. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 18377.2
30. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 18345.3

31. Jason Kidd, 1994-2007, 18253.7
32. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 18179.0
33. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 18032.3
34. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 17876.2
35. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 17718.0
36. Allen Iverson, 1996-2008, 17437.0
37. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 17319.3
38. Dwyane Wade, 2003-2011, 17306.9
39. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 17304.4
40. Steve Nash, 1996-2011, 17198.5

41. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 16873.3
42. Tracey McGrady, 1997-2011, 16740.2
43. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 16738.0
44. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 16374.6
45. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 16304.7
46. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 16289.2
47. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 16175.6
48. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 16161.1
49. Dwight Howard, 2004-2011, 16020.2
50. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 15967.7

51. Alex English, 1976-1991, 15825.2
52. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 15740.4
53. Chris Webber, 1993-2007, 15633.9
54. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 15632.4
55. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 15629.0
56. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 15591.2
57. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 15535.1
58. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 15469.2
59. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 15410.2
60. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 15371.3

61. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 15316.5
62. Shawn Marion, 1999-2011, 15258.6
63. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 15224.0
64. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 15214.5
65. Vince Carter, 1998-2011, 15144.8
66. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 15119.7
67. Kevin McHale, 1980-1993, 15081.6
68. Grant Hill, 1994-2011, 14967.7
69. Jerry Lucas, 1963-1974, 14847.3
70. Alonzo Mourning, 1992-2008, 14765.0

71. Bobby Jones, 1974-1986, 14729.6
72. Cliff Hagan, 1956-1970, 14723.5
73. James Worthy, 1982-1994, 14717.3
74. Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 14697.7
75. Ray Allen, 1996-2011, 14693.4
76. Sydney Moncrief, 1979-1991, 14690.7
77. Bob Dandridge, 1969-1982, 14555.1
78. Dave Bing, 1966-1978, 14512.9
79. Nate Thurmond, 1963-1977, 14496.1
80. Paul Pierce, 1998-2007, 14493.1

81. Amare Stoudemire, 2002-2011, 14455.7
82. Norm Nixon, 1977-1989, 14443.6
83. Terry Cummings, 1982-2000, 14437.1
84. Tiny Archibald, 1970-1984, 14397.2
85. Lenny Wilkens, 1960-1975, 14320.8
86. David Thompson, 1975-1984, 14302.9
87. Wes Unseld, 1968-1981, 14256.6
88. Sam Jones, 1957-1969, 14224.8
89. Marques Johnson, 1977-1990, 14200.5
90. Reggie Miller, 1987-2005, 14199.3

91. Chris Paul, 2005-2011, 14141.5
92. Dave DeBusschere, 1962-1974, 14141.5
93. Spencer Haywood, 1969-1983, 14065.7
94. Gail Goodrich, 1965-1979, 14039.2
95. Dikembe Mutombo, 1991-2007, 13955.3
96. Lou Dampier, 1967-1979, 13931.4
97. Elton Brand, 1999-2006, 13926.4
98. Maurice Lucas, 1974-1988, 13891.4
99. Adrian Dantley, 1976-1991, 13762.9
100. Buck Williams, 1981-1998, 13677.4

2011 wrapup: Boxing's top 100

2011-12-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

Andre Ward's win over Carl Froch to wrap up the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament was the final major fight of 2011.

The Klitschkos dominated. Miguel Cotto found redemption. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather continued to wage war -- in quotes instead of the ring.

I've updated my bonus points to produce a final ranking for 2011. Here are the top 100 boxers since 1900.

Rank, Boxer, Country, Years, Points
1. Muhammad Ali, United States, 1960-1981, 94.86
2. Joe Louis, United States, 1934-1951, 85.18
3. Henry Armstrong, United States, 1931-1945, 79.59
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, United States, 1940-1965, 77.65
5. Carlos Monzon, Argentina, 1963-1977, 69.17
6. Sam Langford, United States, 1902-1926, 66.34
7. Alexis Arguello, Nicaragua, 1971-1995, 66.19
8. Rocky Marciano, United States, 1947-1955, 65.51
9. Ezzard Charles, United States, 1940-1959, 65.04
10. Marvin Hagler, United States, 1973-1987,65.00

11. Roy Jones Jr., United States, 1989-2011, 63.78
12. Carlos Ortiz, Puerto Rico, 1955-1972, 63.46
13. Jose Napoles, Mexico, 1958-1975, 62.45
14. Sugar Ray Leonard, United States, 1977-1997, 62.10
15. Julio Cesar Chavez, Mexico, 1980-2005, 61.52
16. Michael Spinks, United States, 1977-1988, 61.51
17. Archie Moore, United States, 1935-1963, 61.04
18. Larry Holmes, United States, 1973-2002, 60.91
19. Oscar De La Hoya, United States, 1992-2008, 60.37
20. Aaron Pryor, United States, 1976-1990, 60.12

21. Wilfredo Gomez,Puerto Rico, 1974-1989, 60.10
22. Evander Holyfield, United States, 1984-2011, 60.07
23. Jack Johnson, United States, 1897-1932, 59.98
24. Joe Gans, United States, 1893-1909, 59.61
25. Bernard Hopkins, United States, 1988-2011, 59.09
26. Tommy Ryan, United States, 1887-1911, 58.67
27. Salvador Sanchez, Mexico, 1975-1982, 58.49
28. Harry Wills, United States, 1911-1932, 58.42
29. Floyd Mayweather Jr., United States, 1996-2011, 57.89
30. Felix Trinidad, Puerto Rico, 1990-2008, 57.68

31. Willie Pep, United States, 1940-1966, 57.62
32. Barney Ross, United States, 1929-1938, 57.34
33. Eder Jofre, Brazil, 1957-1976, 56.96
34. Roberto Duran, Panama, 1968-2001, 56.58
35. Mike Tyson, United States, 1985-2005, 56.39
36. Abe Attel, United States, 1900-1917, 56.37
37. Lennox Lewis, United Kingdom, 1989-2003, 56.36
38. Sandy Saddler, United States, 1944-1956, 56.23
39. Jimmy McLarnin, United Kingdom, 1923-1936, 56.16
40. Joe Frazier, United States, 1965-1981, 56.05

41. Benny Leonard, United States, 1911-1932, 55.62
42. Thomas Hearns, United States, 1977-2006, 55.53
43. Gabriel 'Flash' Elorde, Phillippines, 1951-1971, 55.40
44. Gene Tunney, United States, 1915-1928, 55.38
45. Hector Camacho, Puerto Rico, 1980-2010, 55.30
46. Bob Foster, United States, 1961-1978, 55.16
47. Joe Calzaghe, United Kingdom, 1993-2008, 55.01
48. Eusebio Pedroza, Panama, 1973-1992, 54.87
49. Emile Griffith, United States, 1958-1977, 54.83
50. Kostya Tszyu, Australia, 1992-2005, 54.64

51. Tony Canzoneri, United States, 1925-1939, 54.43
52. Terry McGovern, United States, 1897-1908, 54.11
53. Ike Williams, United States, 1940-1955, 53.66
54. Manny Pacquiao, Phillippines, 1995-2011, 53.63
55. George Foreman, United States, 1969-1997, 53.53
56. Pernell Whitaker, United States, 1984-2001, 53.33
57. Antonio Cervantes, Colombia, 1964-1983, 53.27
58. James Jeffries, United States, 1895-1910, 52.84
59. Ricardo Lopez, Mexico, 1985-2001, 52.74
60. Nino Benvenuti, Italy, 1961-1971, 52.61

61. Harry Greb, United States, 1913-1926, 52.14
62. Floyd Patterson, United States, 1952-1972, 51.46
63. Azumah Nelson, Ghana, 1979-2008, 51.45
64. Wilfredo Benitez, Puerto Rico, 1973-1990, 51.40
65. Duilio Loi, Italy, 1948-1962, 51.12
66. James Toney, United States, 1989-2011, 51.06
67. Khaosai Galaxy, Thailand, 1980-1991, 50.88
68. Yoko Gushiken, Japan, 1974-1981, 50.79
69. Ruben Olivares, Mexico, 1965-1988, 50.75
70. Maxie Rosenbloom, United States, 1923-1939, 50.71

71. Freddie Welsh, United Kingdom, 1905-1922, 50.67
72. Carlos Zarate, Mexico, 1970-1988, 50.55
73. Gene Fullmer, United States, 1951-1963, 50.35
74. Vicente Saldivar, Mexico, 1961-1973, 50.20
75. Dariusz Michalczewski, Poland, 1991-2005, 49.67
76. Michael Carbajal, United States, 1989-1999, 49.61
77. Vitali Klitschko, Ukraine, 1996-2011, 49.56
78. Erik Morales, Mexico, 1993-2011, 49.53
79. Manuel Ortiz, United States, 1938-1955, 49.52
80. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Thailand, 1994-2011, 49.44

81. Pascual Perez, Argentina, 1952-1964, 49.25
82. Jack Dempsey, United States, 1914-1927, 49.21
83. Naseem Hamed, United Kingdom, 1992-2002, 48.82
84. Mickey Walker, United States, 1919-1935, 48.60
85. Marco Antonio Barrera, Mexico, 1989-2011, 48.41
86. Sandro Mazzinghi, Italy, 1961-1978, 48.30
87. Freddie Steele, United States, 1926-1941, 48.21
88. Humberto Gonzalez, Mexico, 1984-1995, 48.18
89. Lucien Bute, Romania, 2003-2011, 48.10
90. Vic Darchinyan, Australia, 2000-2011, 48.03

91. Miguel Cotto, Puerto Rico, 2001-2011, 47.81
92. John Henry Lewis, United States, 1930-1939, 47.59
93. Ricky Hatton, United Kingdom, 1997-2009, 47.52
94. Wladimir Klitschko, Ukraine, 1996-2011, 47.42
95. Edwin Valero, Venezuela, 2002-2010, 47.40
96. Sugar Shane Mosley, United States, 1993-2011, 47.32
97. Ted "Kid" Lewis, United Kingdom, 1913-1929, 47.24
98. Mike McCallum, Jamaica, 1981-1997, 46.85
99. Jorge Arce, Mexico, 1996-2011, 46.84
100. Nonito Donaire, Phillippines, 2001-2011, 46.79

Hard chargin' Stewart nears top 10 of NASCAR's greatest drivers

2011-11-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Tony Stewart's amazing run to the Spring Cup title -- which honestly wouldn't have been possible under the pre-Chase setup -- moved him within striking distance of the top 10 NASCAR drivers ever.

In my system, the top 12 racers in the Sprint Cup race each year get points, the top three finishers in the Daytona 500 get points and you get points for each win every season. Wins from 1955 through 1971 are worth less because there were 33 percent more races each year -- lots of Richard Petty's wins are on dirt tracks.

I then calculate 3-year, 6-year, 10-year and career point totals and add them up for a final ranking.

Here is your ultimate NASCAR race.

ROW 22
Driver No. 43 -- Jim Paschal (25-time winner)

ROW 21
Driver No. 42 -- Dave Marcis (5-time winner, series runnerup in 1975)
Driver No. 41 -- Greg Biffle (16-time winner, series runnerup in 2005)

ROW 20
Driver No. 40 -- Speedy Thompson (20-time winner, series runnerup in 1956)
Driver No. 39 -- Davey Allison (19-time winner, Daytona 500 winner in 1992, third in series in 1991 and 1992)

ROW 19
Driver No. 38 -- Denny Hamlin (17-time winner, second in series in 2010)
Driver No. 37 -- Sterling Marlin (10-time winner, Daytona 500 winner in 1994 and 1995, second in series in 2001)

ROW 18
Driver No. 36 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (18-tim winner, Daytona 500 winner in 2004, second in series in 2003)
Driver No. 35 -- Junior Johnson (48-time winner, Daytona 500 winner in 1960, second in series in 1958)

ROW 17
Driver No. 34 -- Curtis Turner (17-time winner, series champion in 1950)
Driver No. 33 -- Ricky Rudd (23-time winner, second in series in 1991)

ROW 16
Driver No. 32 -- James Hylton (2-time winner, top three in series seven times)
Driver No. 31 -- Kevin Harvick (18-time winner, Daytona 500 winner in 2007, third in series in 2010 and 2011)

ROW 15
Driver No. 30 -- Fonty Flock (19-time winner, series champion in 1951)
Driver No. 29 -- Harry Gant (18-time winner, third in series in 1981, 1984, 1985)

ROW 14
Driver No. 28 -- Carl Edwards (19-time winner, second in series in 2008, 2011)
Driver No. 27 -- Jeff Burton (21-time winner, third in series in 2000)

ROW 13
Driver No. 26 -- Fireball Roberts (33-time winner, Daytona 500 winner in 1962, second in series in 1957)
Driver No. 25 -- Rex White (28-time winner, series champion in 1960, runner up in 1961)

ROW 12
Driver No. 24 -- Bobby Isaac (37-time winner, series champion in 1970, runner up in 1968)
Driver No. 23 -- Kurt Busch (24-time winner, Daytona 500 runner up in 2003, 2005 and 2008, series champion in 2004)

ROW 11
Driver No. 22 -- Bobby Labonte (21-time winner, series champion in 2000, runner up in 1999)
Driver No. 21 -- Matt Kenseth (21-time winner, series champion in 2003, Daytona 500 winner in 2009)

ROW 10
Driver No. 20 -- Joe Weatherly (25-time winner, series champion in 1962 and 1963)
Driver No. 19 -- Benny Parsons (21-time winner, series champion in 1973, Daytona 500 winner in 1975)

ROW 9
Driver No. 18 -- Terry Labonte (22-time winner, series champion in 1984 and 1996, Daytona 500 runner up in 1986, 1990, 1997)
Driver No. 17 -- Mark Martin (40-time winner, five time series runner up)

ROW 8
Driver No. 16 -- Tim Flock (39-time winner, series champion in 1952 and 1955)
Driver No. 15 -- Ned Jarrett (40-time winner, series champion in 1961 and 1965)

ROW 7
Driver No. 14 -- Buck Baker (46-time winner, series champion in 1956 and 1957)
Driver No. 13 -- Dale Jarrett (32-time winner, series champion in 1997 and 1999, Daytona 500 winner in 1993, 1996 and 2000)

ROW 6
Driver No. 12 -- Tony Stewart (44-time winner, series champion in 2002, 2005 and 2011)
Driver No. 11 -- Herb Thomas (47-time winner, series champion in 1953 and 1954)

ROW 5
Driver No. 10 -- Bill Elliott (44-time winner, series champion in 1992, runner up four other times, Daytona 500 winner in 1985 and 1987)
Driver No. 9 -- Lee Petty (54-time winner, series champion in 1958, 1959, runner up in 1953, 1954, Daytona 500 winner in 1959)

ROW 4
Driver No. 8 -- Bobby Allison (82-time winner, series champion in 1983, runner up five times, Daytona 500 winner in 1978, 1982 and 1988)
Driver No. 7 -- David Pearson (105-time winner, series champion in 1966, 1968 and 1969, Daytona 500 winner in 1976)

ROW 3
Driver No. 6 -- Jimmie Johnson (54-time winner, series champion in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Daytona 500 winner in 2006)
Driver No. 5 -- Cale Yarborough (83-time winner, series champion in 1976, 1977 and 1978, Daytona 500 winner in 1968, 1977, 1983 and 1984)

ROW 2
Driver No. 4 -- Darrell Waltrip (84 time winner, series champion in 1981, 1982 and 1985, Daytona 500 winner in 1989)
Driver No. 3 -- Jeff Gordon (85-time winner, series champion in 1995, 1998 and 2001, Daytona 500 winner in 1997, 1999 and 2005)

ROW 1
Driver No. 2 -- Dale Earnhardt (72-time winner, series champion in 1980, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1994, Daytona 500 winner in 1998)
Driver No. 1 -- Richard Petty (200 wins, series champion in 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979, Daytona 500 winner in 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979 and 1981)

Golf's ultimate playday

2011-08-16T06:19:00.001-07:00

I have been going through some big changes in my life and I let this blog go. Now, I am ready to start building it again -- and turn the rankings into a book.

I'll start with men's golf. With the PGA in the books, here are the 144 greatest golfers in my rankings:

Rank, Name, Country, Years, Total
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 1680.67
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2011, 1524.83
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 1167.91
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 1033.28
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 1030.67
6. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 954.87
7. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 954.50
8. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2009, 944.17
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 928.81
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 917.26
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 803.00
12. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2011, 730.13
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 703.00
14. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 701.58
15. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 697.50
16. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 669.08
17. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 642.17
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-2008, 641.14
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 618.64
20. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2010, 615.61
21. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 603.25
22. Jim Barnes, United States, 1913-1930, 602.21
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 554.20
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 535.95
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 526.38
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 519.50
27. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 505.00
28. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 503.88
29. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 502.40
30. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 499.33
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 487.04
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 486.76
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 474.26
34. Leo Diegal, United States, 1920-1933, 471.14
35. Willie Anderson Jr., United States, 1898-1908, 447.00
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 445.99
37. Padraig Harrington, Ireland, 1997-2009, 445.24
38. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 444.85
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 443.00
40. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 442.41
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 442.25
42. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 441.25
43. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 438.52
44. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 433.00
45. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 421.83
46. Jock Hutchison, Scotland/U.S., 1908-1928, 420.52
47. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 419.17
48. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 409.75
49. Tommy Armour, United States, 1925-1937, 405.76
50. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 396.63
51. Alex Smith, Scotland, 1898-1921, 387.38
52. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 386.38
53. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2010, 385.39
54. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 380.00
55. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 377.40
56. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 375.88
57. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 374.66
58. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 374.20
59. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2009, 372.23
60. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 371.00
61. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 368.00
62. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2011, 363.78
63. Jim Ferrier, Australia/U.S., 1936-1964, 353.00
64. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 347.50
65. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2010, 346.90
66. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 340.92
67. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 340.34
68. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 339.90
69. Harry Cooper, United States, 1925-1942, 338.28
70. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 337.02
71. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 334.76
72. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 329.00
73. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 327.64
74. Sandy Herd, Scotland, 1892-1927, 326.62
75. Chick Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 325.33
76. Roberto DiVincenzo, Argentina, 1948-1971, 322.40
77. Don January, United States, 1958-1979, 317.39
78. Macdonald Smith, Scotland/U.S., 1910-1936, 316.79
79. Willie Smith, Scotland/U.S., 1898-1910, 316.00
80. Jerry Pate, United States, 1974-1982, 313.65
81. Tom Lehman, United States, 1992-2000, 311.79
82. Dow Finsterwald, United States, 1957-1964, 311.50
83. Justin Leonard, United States, 1992-2009, 310.96
84. Steve Elkington, Australia, 1993-2010, 299.50
85. Fred McLeod, Scotland/U.S., 1907-1926, 299.50
86. David Duval, United States, 1991-2009, 286.16
87. Fuzzy Zoeller, United States, 1978-1994, 285.25
88. Bob Charles, New Zealand, 1962-1979, 283.66
89. Ken Venturi, United States, 1956-1964, 283.00
90. Bob Rosburg, United States, 1954-1971, 281.16
91. Olin Dutra, United States, 1932-1935, 278.52
92. Dave Stockton, United States, 1968-1978, 278.50
93. Doug Sanders, United States, 1959-1972, 276.84
94. George Duncan, Scotland, 1906-1924, 276.25
95. Claude Harmon, United States, 1945-1959, 271.26
96. Paul Azinger, United States, 1987-2001, 267.50
97. John Ball Jr., England, 1892-1912, 265.00
98. Chick Harbert, United States, 1942-1957, 263.66
99. Bobby Nichols, United States, 1962-1975, 263.00
100. Sergio Garcia, Spain, 1998-2011, 260.93
101. Walter Burkemo, United States, 1951-1963, 260.00
102. John McDermott, United States, 1910-1914, 258.50
103. Kel Nagle, Australia, 1960-1969, 258.00
104. Jerome Travers, United States, 1907-1915, 255.00
105. Ed Dudley, United States, 1925-1944, 254.80
106. Lee Westwood, England, 1997-2011, 254.20
107. Bobby Cruikshank, Scotland/U.S., 1921-1937, 252.01
108. Al Geiberger, United States, 1963-1977, 247.66
109. Jim Turnessa, United States, 1942-1956, 244.76
110. Corey Pavin, United States, 1985-1999, 243.59
111. Angel Cabrera, Argentina, 1999-2011, 243.10
112. Jeff Maggert, United States, 1992-2004, 242.00
113. Francis Ouimet, United States, 1913-1931, 239.50
114. Ian Woosnam, Wales, 1986-2001, 238.48
115. Craig Stadler, United States, 1973-1995, 236.36
116. Tony Lema, United States, 1963-1966, 236.00
117. Arnaud Massy, France, 1902-1921, 235.03
118. Laurie Auchterlonie, Scotland, 1899-1906, 233.00
119. Mike Weir, Canada, 1999-2009, 231.34
120. Lee Janzen, United States, 1993-1998, 230.99
121. Vic Ghezzi, United States, 1934-1952, 230.09
122. Billy Burke, United States, 1931-1939, 227.89
123. Frank Stranahan, United States, 1947-1958, 227.16
124. Bill Rogers, United States, 1979-1983, 226.50
125. Hal Sutton, United States, 1980-2000, 223.94
126. Colin Montgomerie, Scotland, 1983-2006, 222.66
127. Alf Padgham, England, 1932-1948, 222.50
128. Andy North, United States, 1975-1988, 222.49
129. Gay Brewer, United States, 1962-1973, 222.00
130. Bob Goalby, United States, 1959-1973, 221.85
131. John Daly, United States, 1991-1995, 221.00
132. Charles Coody, United States, 1968-1977, 220.11
133. Johnny Bulla, United States, 1939-1952, 220.00
134. Fred Daly, Northern Ireland, 1946-1952, 220.00
135. Bruce Crampton, Australia, 1963-1975, 219.50
136. Lew Worsham, United States, 1947-1956, 216.51
137. Jack White, Scotland, 1893-1904, 215.00
138. Freddie Tait, Scotland, 1894-1899, 214.00
139. Scott Hoch, United States, 1978-2002, 213.80
140. John Cook, United States, 1978-1998, 212.76
141. Jay Haas, United States, 1977-2004, 211.85
142. Ed Furgol, United States, 1948-1963, 209.00
143. Sandy Lyle, Scotland, 1982-1988, 209.00
144. Mark Brooks, United States, 1990-2001, 208.50

Serena entering second prime?

2009-02-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago you could still have a decent argument over who has been the greatest women's tennis player of this generation.

You had Venus and Serena Williams, who had rocketed to the top and then drifted off into other things. You still had Martina Hingis and her brief but dominant run and Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin were somewhere in the equation.

Venus and especially Serena have ended that argument by showing they may have several years and major titles left to win.

Serena's latest win, an Australian Open blowout, now has her approaching the best of the best in women's tennis history. She's now reached three straight major finals. Really, who out there other than Venus can stay with her when she's playing well.

While Serena's latest win did not move her up in the rankings, it did help sister Venus. Players in my system get bonus points for beating players in finals with major titles. Serena now has 10 and that means Venus' two Grand Slam final wins over Venus are worth 5 points instead of 4.5 points. Plus Venus and Serena teamed up to win the women's doubles title, which is worth 0.5 points. It isn't much but it was enough for Venus to edge past Hingis.

Here is the updated list of the 32 greatest women's tennis players in open history:

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, 1998-2009, 77.09
9. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2009, 65.76
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.47
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, 2004-2008, 32.61
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

No change and big changes in worldwide greatest drivers list

2009-02-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

The team of David Donohue, Antonio Garcia, Darren Law and former Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice held off a team led by Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 24 Hours at Daytona, which kicks off the major auto races of 2009.

None of those four drivers are near my top 100 listing of the greatest drivers worldwide -- Montoya is -- so from that standpoint my rankings are unchanged.

But, as you'll see when I roll out the newest rankings, there were major changes to the top 100. I reset the rankings after long thoughts about the winning point totals for the 24 Hours at Le Mans.

The Le Mans race remains one of the most prestigious in the world, but it is also the one where superior technology and deep pockets plays the largest role. Plus, each member of the winning team, regardless of whether he drove one lap or 100 laps, received 20 points.

My top 100 was loaded with endurance racers. Danish driver Tom Kristensen obviously is a top talent, but even with eight wins in Le Mans no one seriously considers him one of the top drivers in the world.

So I lowered the winning points to 15 for Le Mans victories. I left the rest unchanged, 9 points for second, 8 for third ... at least for now.

Just that change dropped several endurance drivers down the rankings.

With the Daytona 500 on the horizon, here is my updated list of the world's greatest race car drivers:

Pole pos., Racer, Country, Years, Total
1. A.J. Foyt, United States, 1959-1992, 84.49
2. Graham Hill, United Kingdom, 1958-1974, 80.95
3. Richard Petty, United States, 1960-1987, 79.77
4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, 1992-2006, 77.35
5. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, 1984-1993, 69.98
6. Alain Prost, France, 1982-1993, 67.12
7. Al Unser, United States, 1965-1992, 62.05
8. Cale Yarborough, United States, 1965-1987, 60.72
9. Jackie Stewart, United Kingdom, 1965-1973, 58.59
10. Rick Mears, United States, 1979-1991, 56.93
11. Jacky Ickx, Belgium, 1968-1985, 56.58
12. Stirling Moss, United Kingdom, 1953-1961, 56.17
13. Phil Hill, United States, 1958-1964, 54.77
14. Bobby Allison, United States, 1968-1988, 54.53
15. Wilbur Shaw, United States, 1927-1940, 54.29
16. Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil, 1971-1994, 53.34
17. Lou Meyer, United States, 1928-1937, 52.44
18. Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina, 1950-1957, 52.02
19. Mario Andretti, United States, 1965-1995, 52.00
20. Bobby Unser, United States, 1966-1981, 51.17
21. Tom Kristensen, Denmark, 1997-2008, 51.04
22. Derek Bell, United Kingdom, 1972-1996, 50.94
23. Johnny Rutherford, United States, 1963-1986, 48.88
24. Mauri Rose, United States, 1934-1950, 48.83
25. Maurice Trintignant, France, 1953-1961, 47.25
26. Jeff Gordon, United States, 1993-2007, 47.10
27. Dale Earnhardt, United States, 1979-2000, 46.54
28. Frank Biela, Germany, 1999-2007, 46.23
29. Niki Lauda, Austria, 1974-1984, 45.87
30. Denny Hulme, Australia, 1965-1973, 45.63
31. Rodger Ward, United States, 1956-1964, 45.51
32. Jody Scheckter, South Africa, 1974-1979, 45.45
33. Dale Jarrett, United States, 1991-2006, 45.11
34. Al Unser Jr., United States, 1983-2003, 44.91
35. Bruce McLaren, Australia, 1959-1969, 44.89
36. Emanuele Pirro, Italy, 1991-2007, 44.71
37. Bill Elliott, United States, 1978-2001, 43.53
38. Gordon Johncock, United States, 1965-1991, 43.33
39. Jim Clark, United Kingdom, 1959-1967, 43.12
40. Olivier Gendebien, Germany, 1955-1962, 42.81
41. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 2003-2008, 41.49
42. Henri Pescarolo, France, 1970-1999, 40.93
43. Rinaldo Capello, Italy, 1999-2006, 40.71
44. Yannick Dalmas, France, 1988-2002, 40.01
45. Marco Werner, Germany, 2002-2007, 39.73
46. David Coulthard, United Kingdom, 1995-2006, 39.00
47. Hans Joachim Stuck, Germany, 1976-1996, 38.97
48. David Pearson, United States, 1962-1984, 38.59
49. Tom Sneva, United States, 1976-1984, 38.58
50. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, 1999-2008, 38.39
51. Darrell Waltrip, United States, 1974-1997, 37.95
52. Sterling Marlin, United States, 1980-2005, 37.91
53. Tommy Milton, United States, 1920-1927, 37.29
54. Helio Castroneves, Brazil, 2001-2006, 37.16
55. Arie Luyendyk, Netherlands, 1985-1998, 36.97
56. Tazio Nuvolari, Italy, 1932-1936, 36.79
57. Hurley Haywood, United States, 1973-1994, 36.56
58. Al Holbert, United States, 1976-1987, 35.57
59. Bobby Rahal, United States, 1981-1995, 35.49
60. Benny Parsons, United States, 1969-1987, 35.16
61. Jimmy Bryan, United States, 1952-1958, 34.32
62. Michael Waltrip, United States, 1990-2003, 34.15
63. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, 1993-2008, 33.83
64. Klaus Ludwig, Germany, 1979-1988, 33.71
65. Buddy Baker, United States, 1969-1988, 33.71
66. Ted Horn, United States, 1936-1948, 33.62
67. Jack Brabham, Australia, 1957-1970, 33.49
68. Allan McNish, United Kingdom, 1998-2006, 33.27
69. Nelson Piquet, Brazil, 1979-1996, 32.77
70. Luigi Chinetti, Italy, 1932-1951, 32.48
71. Jimmie Johnson, United States, 2003-2008, 32.43
72. Fred Lorenzen, United States, 1960-1971, 32.35
73. Nigel Mansell, United Kingdom, 1982-1993, 32.24
74. Rudolf Caracciola, Germany, 1929-1939, 32.09
75. Mika Hakkinen, Finland, 1994-2000, 31.95
76. Michele Alboreto, Italy, 1981-2001, 31.62
77. Ronnie Peterson, Sweden, 1970-1978, 31.17
78. Dan Gurney, United States, 1959-1970, 31.12
79. Jim Rathmann, United States, 1952-1962, 31.07
80. Jimmy Murphy, United States, 1920-1924, 30.95
81. Buddy Lazier, United States, 1996-2004, 30.81
82. Michael Andretti, United States, 1983-2006,30.63
83. Andy Wallace, United Kingdom, 1988-2006, 30.51
84. J.J. Lehto, Finland, 1992-2005, 30.45
85. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, 1993-2007, 30.11
86. Eddie Cheever, United States, 1981-2002, 29.96
87. Bob Wollek, France, 1977-1998, 29.82
88. Geoff Bodine, United States, 1984-2000, 29.71
89. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, 2001-2007, 29.69
90. Jan Lammers, Netherlands, 1980-2005, 29.55
91. Jochen Rindt, Austria, 1965-1970, 29.11
92. Gijs van Lennap, Netherlands, 1971-1976, 28.95
93. Lorenzo Bandini, Italy, 1962-1967, 28.81
94. Woolf Barnato, United Kingdom, 1928-1930, 28.80
95. Vern Schuppan, Australia, 1975-1984, 28.71
96. Sam Hanks, United States, 1952-1957, 28.69
97. Eddie Irvine, United Kingdom, 1992-2002, 28.35
98. Gerard Larrousse, France, 1969-1974, 28.33
99. Louis Chiron, France, 1929-1955, 28.28
100. Carlos Reutemann, Argentina, 1975-1981, 27.72

Catching up -- first the return of Sugar Shane

2009-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

After watching Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya age overnight in 2008, I was like a lot of people who were worried Sugar Shane Mosley was putting himself in danger against Antonio Margarito.

But Mosley more than answered his critics with a dominant win that may have silenced doubts about his Balco dealings. Margarito, though, has lots of questions left after it was discovered he may have been caught doctoring his hands.

Does that mean eventually his wins over Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey will be reversed?

What Mosley's win sets up is a rematch with Cotto, who before losing to Margarito appeared to be making a charge up my all-time rankings. Cotto and Mosley fought to what the Associated Press judged a draw last year. Now that Mosley has the title, if they fought the same way would the judges give it to Shane?

Where does Paul Williams factor in? No one seems to want to fight him.

Questions, questions.

Anyway, Mosley moved up a few spots in my all-time rankings. Here's a new No. 70-89:

70. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 47.913
71. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-09, U.S., 47.910
72. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 47.772
73. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 47.711
74. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 47.555
75. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 47.467
76. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 47.396
77. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.282
78. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.120
79. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.096
80. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 46.869
81. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 46.800
82. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 46.656
83. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.653
84. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-08, Mexico, 46.469
85. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-08, Cuba, 46.440
86. Jorge Arce, 1996-08, Mexico, 46.420
87. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 46.398
88. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-08, Puerto Rico, 46.372
89. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 46.370

Wrapping up 2008's boxing standings

2008-12-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

It was a tough year for some of boxing's icons of the 1990s while another may have seen his finest hour.

We hopefully have seen the last of Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya. Jones won just one round against Joe Calzaghe and De La Hoya didn't win any against Manny Pacquiao.

Evander Holyfield took yet another shot at a fifth world title and probably defeated Nikolai Valuev but didn't get the decision. He fared well enough though that he'll most likely keep fighting out of stubborness and a need for the money.

Bernard Hopkins on the other hand showed he remains a threat. He narrowly lost to Calzaghe early in the year and then schooled Kelly Pavlik late.

There was a lot of shuffling in my rankings of the top 100 fighters, including Pacquiao finally climbing into the top 100.

It's taken Manny a while to get on the list because a lot of his title fights were for "international" belts. He's now beaten four fighters likely to make the International Boxing Hall of Fame so Manny someday will be a top 40 fighter. For now, he's well down on the list, but if he fights and beats Hatton next year and can somehow lure Floyd Mayweather into the ring and hand him his first defeat, well Manny could be a top 20 champion.

Here's my updated list:

Rank, boxer, years, country, points, change from '07 if any
1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 83.918
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 83.381
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.003
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 74.937
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.826
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 61.101
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 60.739
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 59.866
9. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 59.182 (+2)
10. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 59.142

11. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 58.754 (-2)
12. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 58.499 (+3)
13. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 58.417 (-1)
14. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.407 (+2)
15. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 58.095 (+2)
16. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-08, U.S., 57.818 (+1)
17. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 57.740 (-5)
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.273
19. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 56.750 (+1)
20. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 56.058 (+1)

21. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 55.302 (+14)
(Ryan was the beneficiary of Mysterious Billy Smith's induction into the Hall of Fame. Ryan went 3-0 against Smith with three draws. All those fights gained points for Ryan)
22. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 55.084 (-1)
23. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 54.701
24. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 54.458 (-2)
25. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 54.130
26. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-08, U.S., 53.982 (-2)
27. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 53.310
28. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 53.273
29. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-08, U.S., 52.790 (+23)
(De La Hoya's leap simply is because he was misscored last year. I had not given him the correct point totals for his wins over Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker)
30. Felix Trinidad, 1990-08, Puerto Rico, 52.788 (-4)

31. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 52.397 (-2)
32. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.356 (+3)
33. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 52.353 (-3)
34. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-08, United Kingdom, 52.208 (+28)
(Calzaghe's wins over Hopkins and Jones Jr. gave him the biggest boost of anyone, even if he fought both well past their primes. The question now is will he really stay retired?)
35. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 51.845 (-3)
36. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 51.664 (-3)
37. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 51.619 (+1)
38. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 51.594 (-7)
39. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 51.336 (+4)
40. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 51.276 (-1)

41. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 51.174 (+5)
42. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 51.083 (+3)
43. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 51.079 (-9)
44. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 51.046
45. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 51.018 (-4)
46. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.013 (+3)
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-08, U.S., 50.904
48. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 50.875 (-8)
49. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 50.760 (-12)
50. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 50.695

51. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 50.669 (-9)
52. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.202 (+8)
53. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 50.188 (-5)
54. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 49.632 (-1)
55. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.558 (+8)
56. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 49.489 (+5)
57. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 49.437 (-1)
58. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 49.435 (-3)
59. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 49.427 (-5)
60. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.282 (+4)

61. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 49.188 (-10)
62. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 49.180 (-5)
63. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 49.095 (-5)
64. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 48.970 (-5)
65. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 48.147 (+2)
66. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 48.120 (-1)
67. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.082 (+5)
68. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 47.940 (+1)
69. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 47.931 (+2)
70. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 47.913 (+3)

71. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 47.772 (-1)
72. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 47.695 (+6)
73. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 47.555 (-7)
74. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 47.467 (+1)
75. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 47.396 (+1)
76. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-08, U.S., 47.307 (+1)
77. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.282 (-3)
78. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.103 (+2)
79. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.096 (+3)
80. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 46.852 (+9)

81. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 46.750 (+2)
82. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.653 (+8)
83. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 46.623 (-2)
84. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 46.469
85. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-08, Cuba, 46.440 (-6)
86. Jorge Arce, 1996-08, Mexico, 46.420 (+1)
87. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 46.398 (+9)
88. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 46.370
89. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.315 (+6)
90. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-08, Puerto Rico, 46.172 (-22)
(Cotto's loss to Antonio Margarito sent him tumbling down the rankings because fighters are very closely bunched at this level)

91. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 46.162
92. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-08, Thailand, 46.162
93. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand, 45.970
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 45.941
95. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 45.823
96. Manny Pacquiao, 1995-08, Phillippines, 45.702
97. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 45.668
98. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 45.531
99. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 45.531
100. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 45.464

Could Johnson challenge the King?

2008-11-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

It was a tough year for Cale Yarborough. Not only did Jimmie Johnson tie his mark of three straight NASCAR top series titles, in my system Jeff Gordon's seventh place finish in this year's series gave him enough career points to pass Yarborough for fourth place all-time.

Gordon easily is close enough to Darrell Waltrip to pass him for third with a couple more top-shelf seasons and considering he races for Hendrick, he should have some wins left in him.

But Gordon is no longer the week-to-week force and looks unlikely to challenge Dale Earnhardt for second.

Now, you have to wonder how long Johnson can dominate and how high can he climb. It's not just the titles, Johnson has finished in the top five for seven straight years. He moved up three places at the end of this year to No. 8. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards appear to be the biggest threats to making it four in a row, but right now who is going to bet against him? Perhaps it's Johnson who can advance to No. 2 and make a run at Richard Petty. He'll need another 10 years at the top level to have a chance.

Farther down in the rankings, Jeff Burton moved up two spots to No. 26. Kevin Harvick climbed five spots to move into the ultimate race at No. 40. But even Harvick was passed by this year's rocket rise of Carl Edwards. Edwards enters the race at No. 38, a jump of 12 spots.

Harvick and Edwards knocked this year's Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman and Ernie Irvan out of the top 43.

Pole pos., Racer, Total
1. Richard Petty, 119.68
2. Dale Earnhardt, 91.83
3. Darell Waltrip, 84.33
4. Jeff Gordon, 83.62
5. Cale Yarborough, 83.52
6. David Pearson, 76.66
7. Bobby Allison, 72.36
8. Jimmie Johnson, 70.10
9. Lee Petty, 67.11
10. Bill Elliott, 66.64
11. Herb Thomas, 65.13
12. Dale Jarrett, 60.94
13. Buck Baker, 58.67
14. Ned Jarrett, 57.72
15. Tim Flock, 57.47
16. Tony Stewart, 52.83
17. Terry Labonte, 50.50
18. Mark Martin, 49.90
19. Benny Parsons, 49.75
20. Joe Weatherly, 42.90
21. Bobby Labonte, 41.53
22. Bobby Isaac, 39.26
23. Rex White, 38.27
24. Fireball Roberts, 38.00
25. Matt Kenseth, 37.64
26. Jeff Burton, 37.21
27. Harry Gant, 36.29
28. Fonty Flock, 36.23
29. James Hylton, 35.22
30. Kurt Busch, 35.21
31. Ricky Rudd, 33.77
32. Curtis Turner, 33.56
33. Junior Johnson, 33.16
34. Sterling Marlin, 31.51
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 30.89
36. Davey Allison, 30.29
37. Speedy Thompson, 28.54
38. Carl Edwards, 26.42
39. Dave Marcis, 26.25
40. Kevin Harvick, 25.99
41. Jim Paschal, 25.79
42. Ken Schrader, 24.63
43. Buddy Baker, 23.88

The curtain falls

2008-11-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

Finally on Roy Jones Jr. I paid $49.99 for the Jones-Calzaghe fight and was shocked at how badly Calzaghe beat up on Jones.

I was hoping to see the Roy Jones Jr. who won every round against James Toney. Instead, I saw a fighter who couldn't throw combinations or put up much defense when crowded or use his legs to stay out of a corner.

But one thing should be noted. Jones was only three years older than Calzaghe. You really have to wonder if Calzaghe would have beaten Jones in the late 90s, early 2000s. His smothering style really bothered Jones. There were lots of big Jones punches that whistled by and maybe that would have been the difference. A younger Jones may have done a lot more damage.

Still, I felt like I was watching Muhammad Ali versus Larry Holmes or Mike Tyson against any number of guys at the end of his career.

The fight was big in my system to determine the all-time top 100 fighters. Jones slipped a few notches and Calzaghe climbed 20 spots. If Calzaghe indeed retires, he may climb into the top 25 some day.

My new No. 11 to No. 40:
Rank, fighter, years, country, points
11. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 58.770
12. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 58.499
13. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.440
14. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 58.417
15. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 58.112
16. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-08, U.S., 57.901
17. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 57.740
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.306
19. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 56.766
20. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 56.058
21. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 55.100
22. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 54.851
23. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 54.474
24. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 54.147
25. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-08, U.S., 53.532
26. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 53.310
27. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 53.273
28. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 52.430
29. Felix Trinidad, 1990-08, Puerto Rico, 52.372
30. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.356
31. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 52.353
32. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-08, United Kingdom, 52.058
33. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 51.878
34. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 51.697
35. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 51.619
36. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 51.594
37. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 51.296
38. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 51.191
39. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 51.133
40. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 51.096

Jones vs. Calzaghe, pre fight measurements

2008-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

Of the two fighters entering the ring tonight, a win is much more crucial to Joe Calzaghe's place in history. Jones has titles from middleweight to heavyweight and wins over fighters like Virgil Hill, Mike McCallum, Bernard Hopkins and James Toney.

Calzaghe has the perfect record, but the only real names on his resume are Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler and Hopkins. Lacy is no Hall of Famer, Kessler has a ways to go and many people believe Hopkins beat Calzaghe.

Going into tonight, I have Roy Jones Jr. ranked 12th all time and Calzaghe at No. 50.

How did they get to those positions? I'll break it down.

Joe Calzaghe:

* He has no title fight wins over Hall of Famers -- 0 points

*He has no wins over Hall of Famers in lesser or non-title fights -- 0 points
(This will change when Hopkins is inducted)

* He has one win as a unified champion (in this era I consider 3 of 4 of the major titles to be unified), that was against Kessler -- 65 points

* He has two other wins in WBA, WBC or IBF title fights and none by knockout -- 70 points.

* He has a 19-0 record with 11 KOs in WBO title fights. I grade WBO wins lower than WBA, WBC and IBF -- 543.75 points.

* He has a 2-0, 2 KO record in stepping stone title fights. 37.5 points.

* Since my system ranks fighters on their best 60 fight record. His non-title fight record was adjusted to 36-0 with 31.1 knockouts -- 437.7 points.

* I do another career ranking and Calzaghe's undefeated record helps here -- 1,766.7 points.

That's a total of 2920.6 points.

Where Calzaghe is hurt and where a win tonight would really help is his top 125 bonus points. He's two fighters in the all-time top 125 -- Bernard Hopkins and Kessler. Those are worth 107 bonus points (94 for Hopkins and 13 for Kessler).

So Calzaghe's final total is 3027.6, which I divide by 60 and get 50.46.

Roy Jones Jr.

* He is 1-0 with a KO in Hall of Fame title fights (Mike McCallum) -- 100 points.
(This will grow as Hill, Toney and Hopkins are inducted)

* Jones is 8-0 with 5 KOs in unified title fights -- 601.25 points.

* Jones is 14-4 with 8 KOs and 2 KO losses in 18 WBA, WBC or IBF title fights -- 517.5 points
(This is where the Tarver and Johnson knockouts hurt, points are deducted for KO losses)

* Jones has no WBO title fights and is 3-0 with a KO in stepping stone title fights -- 48.75 points.

* That's 30 title fights. So his non-title fight record is adjusted to 30-0 with 27.7 KOs -- 369.2 points.

* His career record of 52-4 with the 38 KOs and 2 KO losses -- 1626.6 points.

That's a total of 3265.3 points. Well ahead of Calzaghe. Once you add in top 125 bonus points the gap grows even more.

Jones has beaten Virgil Hill (18 points), Mike McCallum (10 points), James Toney (41 points), Felix Trinidad (88 points) and Bernard Hopkins (94 points). That's 251 points.

That gives him a total of 3516.3. Divide that by 60 and you have 58.6 points.

A win tonight would tack on about 60 more bonus points for Jones (after factoring in Calzaghe's loss) and that would lift Jones to No. 9 all time ahead of Archie Moore.

If Calzaghe wins, Jones would be worth about 110 points and that would lift him up to around No. 31 Abe Attell and No. 32 Sandy Saddler.

On the outside looking in

2008-11-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

Vic Darchinyan's dominant win over Cristian Mijares Saturday night was surprising for how easy it looked. I had the Armenian pitching a shutout and Mijares never really looked effective.

What made the win so surprising was that Darchinyan was beaten so badly by Nonito Donaire last year. Donaire showed Darchinyan could be had by a slick boxer.

That desriptino seemed to fit Mijares, but he had the wrong fight plan from the start.

Darchinyan's win gives him three of the four major super flyweight/junior bantamweight titles and makes him a factor again in my all-time top 100 fighters. He sits just outside the top 100.

Here is the updated No. 90 to No. 110:

90. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-08, Thailand, 46.162
91. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-08, Puerto Rico, 46.156
92. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 45.975
93. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand, 45.970
94. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 45.873
95. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 45.701
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 45.627
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 45.531
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 45.531
99. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 45.464
100. Miguel Canto, 1969-82, Mexico, 45.406
101. Vic Darchinyan, 2000-08, Armenia, 45.245
102. Kid Gavilan, 1943-58, Cuba, 45.226
103. Edwin Valero, 2003-08, Venezuela, 45.208
104. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 45.167
105. Sung Kil Moon, 1987-93, South Korea, 45.146
106. Ricky Hatton, 1997-08, United Kingdom, 45.140
107. Yuri Arbachakov, 1990-97, Russia, 45.016
108. Orzubek Nazarov, 1990-98, Kyrgyzstan, 45.014
109. Les Darcy, 1910-16, Australia, 44.987
110. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 44.777

Any questions?

2008-10-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

Depending on how Kelly Pavlik rebounds from the lessons he received from Bernard Hopkins Saturday night this win may be Hopkins' defining moment.

He came in an 8-to-1 underdog despite fighting Joe Calzaghe to what many thought was a draw. But from the opening bell it was apparent that Pavlik was no match for Hopkins, at least at this point in his career.

One of the judges gave Hopkins all 12 rounds.

In a career loaded with solid wins, Hopkins really has few memorable ones. He lost to Roy Jones Jr. way back in 1993. His better wins as middleweight champ were over Glen Johnson when he was undefeated, an overmatched Oscar De La Hoya, William Joppy and Felix Trinidad in 2001 when he was undefeated but unable to bring his power with him to the 160-pound division.

If Pavlik rebounds, returns to 160 pounds and cleans out the division by beating Felix Sturm and Arthur Abraham -- who before this fight showed little willingness to test Pavlik -- then Hopkins will have a domination of one of the greats.

If Hopkins turns out to have solved the Pavlik puzzle then maybe the win loses its luster. In any case, Hopkins was back on top at least for this night even if it wasn't for a championship belt.

In terms of my rankings, because it wasn't for a title it didn't lift Hopkins at all in the rankings. He remains No. 25 behind Eder Jofre and in front of Julio Cesar Chavez. Pavlik dropped to No. 133 just in front of Vitali Klitschko. If Pavlik continues on to a Hall of Fame career, then Hopkins will receive a lot more for the win.

In terms of all-time Middleweights, this is where I have Hopkins:

1. (4 all-time) Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-1965
2. (7) Carlos Monzon, 1963-1977
3. (16) Marvin Hagler, 1973-1987
4. (25) Bernard Hopkins, 1988-2008
5. (36) Tommy Ryan, 1887-1907
6. (56) Harry Greb, 1913-1926
7. (61) Stanley Ketchel, 1904-1910
8. (67) Nino Benvenuti, 1961-1971
9. (76) Marcel Cerdan, 1934-1949
10. (79) James Toney, 1988-2007 (middleweight was his best weight)

There are some other greats who held the Middleweight title at some point, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., Bob Fitzsimmons, but they did way more damage in other divisions. Robinson was better at welter but still best at middle.

Measuring the Klitschko brothers

2008-10-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

I got Showtime just in time to catch the double-header of Vitali Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter and Antonio Tarver vs. Chad Dawson.

I gave Peter a punchers chance and was shocked he showed so little skill. He just stood there, no bobbing and weaving, no feinting. Instead, he just ate jab after jab and then right hands over the top. This was no Frazier-Ali match for sure.

The Dawson-Tarver fight was much better. They were even for a while and then Dawson's speed took over and by the end Tarver looked like a shot fighter. The only drawback is that both were so good defensively neither really got a clean shot or an opening to go for a knockout.

Back to the Klitschko's though. Now the Klitschkos own two of the four major title belts and since they say they'll never fight each other it means we won't have a unified title anytime soon.

So that means relatively few options for those two to move up on my list of all-time greatest fighters. Their records are sterling -- Wladimir is 51-3 with 45 knockouts and Vitali is 36-2 with 35 KOs.

Yet Wladimir is ranked No. 114 on my list and Vitali is No. 131, one behind Valuev. For both it comes down to lack of enough title fights and neither will improve much in retirement because of a lack of Hall of Fame level victories.

Wladimir is 6-0 with 5 KOs in his major title fights and 6-2 with 5 KOs in lesser title fights. Of all his wins, the only fighter he's beaten who has even a small chance at the International Boxing Hall of Fame is Chris Byrd. So Wladimir needs to defend his title several more times to move into the top 100.

Vitali, because of his injuries, has even less of a chance. The win over Peter was his first fight in four years and he's 37 now. Vitali's greatest fight was a loss. He was ahead on points against Lennox Lewis when the referee had to stop the fight because of Vitali's chopped up face.

Had Vitali been able to stop Lewis, arguably one of the 10 best heavyweights ever, then he'd have a chance to finish in the top 100.

Really, both are hurt by the era they fight in. We'll never really know how good they were.

Iron man leads QB rankings -- for now

2008-10-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

I've read lots of different rankings of the QB position. I believe Sports Illustrated has, at various times, picked three -- Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana and John Elway. I seem to remember Dr. Z picking Otto Graham once as well.

Fran Tarkenton owned a lot of the records that Dan Marino broke that just recently were broken by Brett Favre. But between those three there is just one Super Bowl trophy and winning counts for a lot.

So who is my No. 1, the guy who mixes longevity and health with stats as well as a title. If you look No. 6, though, he may not hold on to the spot for long. Unlike the other positions, I chose to put the top 32 out there because some guys with glittery reputations and lots of Super Bowl trophies are pretty far down the list.

Rank, player, years, point total
1. Brett Favre, 1991-2007, 39015.4
2. Steve Young, 1985-1999, 38662.0
3. Johnny Unitas, 1956-1973, 38555.4
4. Joe Montana, 1979-1994, 37691.0
5. Dan Marino, 1983-1999, 37535.2
6. Peyton Manning, 1998-2007, 37256.1
7. John Elway, 1983-1998, 36392.6
8. Fran Tarkenton, 1961-1978, 36136.1
9. Otto Graham, 1946-1955, 36072.7
10. Sid Luckman, 1939-1950, 35928.8
11. Roger Staubach, 1969-1979, 35428.8
12. Y.A. Tittle, 1948-1964, 34935.6
13. Len Dawson, 1957-1975, 34276.7
14. Ken Anderson, 1971-1986, 34224.2
15. Dan Fouts, 1973-1987, 34198.2
16. Sammy Baugh, 1937-1952, 34056.9
17. Randall Cunningham, 1985-2001, 33958.8
18. Warren Moon, 1984-2000, 33741.3
19. Norm Van Brocklin, 1949-1960, 33564.4
20. Boomer Esiason, 1984-1997, 33404.0
21. Sonny Jurgensen, 1957-1974, 33288.1
22. Daryle Lamonica, 1963-1974, 33142.7
23. Jim Kelly, 1986-1996, 33093.3
24. Rich Gannon, 1987-2004, 33031.0
25. Terry Bradshaw, 1970-1983, 32785.9
26. Bart Starr, 1956-1971, 32734.9
27. Bobby Layne, 1948-1962, 32297.2
28. Ken Stabler, 1970-1984, 32266.5
29. Bob Griese, 1967-1980, 32068.0
30. John Hadl, 1962-1977, 32024.0
31. Tom Brady, 2000-2007, 31408.2
32. Drew Bledsoe, 1993-2006, 31300.5

Brady was poised to start moving way up the list when he blew out his knee. Bradshaw was a terrible QB early in his career and the Steelers won most of those titles on defense and a running game. Stabler's career numbers also don't match his reputation.

Ken Anderson deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The only on the list I really question myself is Rich Gannon, but he had some top shelf years.

Looking at the top of the list:

Here is the top 10 of the 3-year rankings (the peak years):
1. Steve Young; 2. Johnny Unitas; 3. Brett Favre; 4. Sid Luckman; 5. Joe Montana; 6. Peyton Manning; 7. Y.A. Tittle; 8. Roger Staubach; 9. Dan Marino; 10. Otto Graham

Top 10 for 6-year rankings:
1. Steve Young; 2. Johnny Unitas; 3. Peyton Manning; 4. Brett Favre; 5. Joe Montana; 6. Roger Staubach; 7. Otto Graham; 8. Dan Marino; 9. Sid Luckman; 10. Y.A. Tittle

Top 10 for 10-year rankings:
1. Johnny Unitas; 2. Brett Favre; 3. Joe Montana; 4. Otto Graham; 5. Peyton Manning; 6. Steve Young; 7. Dan Marino; 8. Fran Tarkenton; 9. John Elway; 10. Sid Luckman

Top 10 for career rankings:
1. Brett Favre; 2. Dan Marino; 3. John Elway; 4. Fran Tarkenton; 5. Joe Montana; 6. Johnny Unitas; 7. Steve Young; 8. Peyton Manning; 9. Warren Moon; 10. Len Dawson

Best halfback -- so many to choose from

2008-09-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-26T21:07:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

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

Historic year -- but in a different way

2008-08-16T08:38:00.001-07:00

There was so much Grand Slam talk in the early part of the golf year.

Tiger Woods came in playing so well and the courses hosting the four majors set up perfectly for him.

Lorena Ochoa finally won her first major in 2007 and dominated the Kraft so completely writers talked about whether she was equal -- in her sport -- of Tiger.

In the end, though, Tiger won just the one major, although it was an impressive feat. Then he limped off with a broken leg and fresh questions on whether his violently strong swing is simply too much to stay healthy long-term.

Tiger already is the greatest player ever, according to my system. But his 14 professional majors and three U.S. Amateurs still trail Jack Nicklaus' 18 and two -- which is his ultimate goal. There has to be at least a small bit of doubt about the quest now considering how much trouble he is having with his left leg.

When Tiger exited stage left, Padraig Harrington entered stage right. By winning the final two majors of the year, Harrington soared up to No. 34 on my all-time list and No. 3 in the Tiger era (behind Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els but ahead of Vijay Singh).

As far as Ochoa, her run of dominance ended at the Kraft. The next three majors saw new faces -- Inbee Park, Yani Tseng and Ji Yai Shin claim titles.

It also marked the end of Annika Sorenstam's run. She announced her retirement and, if she sticks to it, she ends as the No. 2 golfer in women's history.

Here are the updated standings for both men and the women.

MEN
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2008, 182.01
2. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 178.61
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 145.30
4. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 127.39
5. Bobby Jones United States, 1919-1930, 122.57
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 118.94
7. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 118.49
8. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 108.67
9. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 108.41
10. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 103.41
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 101.33
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 90.94
13. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 82.67
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 81.90
15. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 81.47
16. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2008, 79.52
17. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 79.46
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-2008, 77.48
19. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 77.25
20. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 75.77
21. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2008, 72.96
22. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 71.88
23. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 69.27
24. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 67.91
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 66.93
26. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 66.40
27. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 65.57
28. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 65.24
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 64.70
30. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 63.05
31. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 62.58
32. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 60.90
33. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 60.81
34. Padraig Harrington, Ireland, 1997-2008, 60.23
35. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 58.53
36. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 58.13
37. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 57.08
38. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 57.08
39. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 56.74
40. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 55.53
41. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 55.48
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 55.30
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 55.07
44. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 54.47
45. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 54.19
46. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 53.91
47. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 53.05
48. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 51.87
49. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 51.85
50. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 51.18
51. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 50.84
52. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 48.08
53. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 48.03
54. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2008, 47.76
55. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 47.75
56. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 47.67
57. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 45.63
58. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 44.72
59. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 44.67
60. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 44.65
61. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 44.48
62. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 44.42
63. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 44.35
64. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 44.32
65. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 43.97
66. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 43.71
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 43.71
68. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 43.34
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 42.83
70. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 42.83
71. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 42.66
72. Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 42.13

WOMEN
Rank, Player, Years, Points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 143.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2008, 128.46
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 92.15
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 91.11
13. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 86.76
14. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 83.66
15. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 81.77
16. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2008, 81.28
17. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 80.33
18. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 79.58
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 69.94
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 68.88
21. Lorena Ochoa, 2002-2008, 67.66
22. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 67.02
23. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 65.27
24. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 61.52
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 60.04
26. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 59.63
27. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 59.60
28. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 59.47
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 56.85
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 56.17
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 56.00
32. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 52.38
33. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 50.75
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 50.01
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 48.13
36. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 43.90
37. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 43.85
38. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 42.54
39. Cristie Kerr, 1999-2008, 41.76
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 39.45
41. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 39.33
41. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 39.33
43. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 39.17
44. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 38.63
45. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 38.56
46. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 38.55
47. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 35.87
48. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 35.14
49. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 35.02
50. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 34.07
51. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 33.23
52. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 32.84
53. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 32.79
54. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 32.67

Cotto down but not out

2008-07-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

The stars were all lined up for Miguel Angel Cotto. Beat Antonio Margarito and earn a megabucks battle with Oscar De La Hoya.

Considering Margarito had lost to Paul Williams and Cotto had spent the past two years building the reputation as the next big thing and it didn't seem too tall of an order.

Except Margarito was too tall and took it to Cotto from the opening bell until Cotto's trainers called things off in the 11th.

The loss was quite a tumble for Cotto but, thanks to an already long history as an alphabet soup champion, he remains in the top 100.

Margarito, thanks to some losses back in his teens before he knew what he was doing, still is still a long ways from the top 100 -- No. 161 -- but he has a chance to unify the welterweight title and if he can do that he'll zoom up the charts quickly.

As for Cotto, the future is unclear. He didn't really hurt Margarito so moving up in weight isn't really in the cards. He didn't do well enough to demand a rematch. Perhaps De La Hoya will fight him anyway, seeing an easier target than Margarito. In any case, he has to go back and prove himself again before he is considered an elite fighter.

Here's the new No. 60 to No. 100 in my system.

60. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.298
61. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 49.188
62. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 49.180
63. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 49.095
64. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 49.003
65. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 48.180
66. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 48.120
67. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.115
68. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 47.965
69. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 47.957
70. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 47.913
71. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 47.728
72. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 47.705
73. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 47.555
74. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 47.483
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. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 46.836
81. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.653
82. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 46.650
83. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 46.639
84. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand, 46.551
85. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 46.546
86. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 46.502
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
91. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 46.003
92. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 45.983
93. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 45.975
94. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 45.857
95. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 45.701
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 45.627
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 45.531
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 45.531
99. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 45.464
100. Miguel Canto, 1969-82, Mexico, 45.406

Is Roger really the greatest?

2008-07-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Back when Pete Sampras was king I'd occasionally find someone to argue about whether or not he was the greatest player in the open era.

My argument was it depended on where the mythical greatest match was played. If Pete played Andre Agassi at Wimbledon, well Pete is going to win that match. But if they play at the French Open, well Sampras was clueless on clay. The one thing Agassi has going for him in the all-time best player argument was that he was one of the rare players to win all four majors.

So I set up a round robin to see if we matched up the 11 greatest men's players -- that's the number of that have really set themselves ahead of the crowd -- and the 12 greatest women's players at each of the four venues what would their overall records be.

Some of the greatest men and women players have been overwhelmingly good at one tournament and not very competitive at another. How would they fare overall?

Here are the top 11 men's tennis players according to the system I've written about before. They are in the order I have them ranked in my all-time system.

Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Rafael Nadal.

For the women, the field was:

Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert-Lloyd, Monica Seles, Margaret Smith-Court, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Serena Williams, Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Justine Henin.

Determining who won was easy. The player with the most career points at a particular tournament. In some cases it was close. Ivan Lendl earned 56 points at the French Open in my system and Mats Wilander earned 55. When I matched those two, Lendl earned the Win for the French because of the one point.

So how did it turn out? There were some surprises on the men's side.

Sampras, 25-15
Federer, 25-15
Lendl, 24-16
Agassi, 23-17
Borg, 22-18
Connors, 21-19
McEnroe, 18-22
Wilander, 17-23
Edberg, 17-23
Becker, 15-25
Nadal, 14-26

Going in I thought Federer would have the edge because he's reached three French finals and dominated in Australia, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But Federer lost two matches to Agassi, two to Sampras, two to Borg, two to Connors and two to Wilander and one each to the rest.

Of course, Federer has a few years left to add points so perhaps he'll gain enough at Wimbledon to turn around mythical losses to Borg at Wimbeldon or Agassi in Australia. Barring some sudden loss of form he'll most likely overtake Sampras in this ranking as well. Still, I was somewhat surprised.

The other major surprise. Agassi at No. 4. His career grand slam was important as was the emphasis he put on the Australian Open. Played in January, it's a grinder's tournament. Borg and McEnroe put no emphasis on the tournament and Sampras and McEnroe skipped it several times.

Not Agassi. He won it four times, including recording his lone grand slam final win over Sampras in Australia in 1995. So 10 of his 23 wins come from his dominance there.

On the women's side, it was the same top 3 dominating, but Billie Jean King moved up a bit:

Navratilova, 40-4
Graf, 37-7
Evert, 33-11
King, 23-21
Goolagong, 21-23
Smith-Court, 20-24
Seles, 19-25
S. Williams, 16-28
Sanchez-Vicario, 8-20
Henin, 7-21
V. Williams, 6-22
Hingis, 5-23

In the cases of Navratilova and Graf, we can list all of their losses.

First off, Navratilova won 3 of 4 against Steffi, losing only at the French. Graff's other four losses were to Chris Evert at the French and U.S. Open, Margaret Smith-Court at the Australian Open and Evonne Goolagong at the Australian.

Navratilova's other three losses were to Evert and Sanchez-Vicario at the French and Goolagong at the Australian.

All hail Harrington

2008-07-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

When looking for the next great European, most people didn't look at Padraig Harrington.

Instead, talk centered around Sergio Garcia and perhaps Lee Westwood, with Colin Montgomerie's star-crossed career tossed in.

Well, with today's grind-it-out win in the British Open -- his second straight -- Harrington has entered my all-time golf playday.

My list includes the 72 greatest men's golfers and Harrington's moving in moved Jerry Pate out of the playday.

I have to admit though, I was rooting for Greg Norman. The final round of the 1996 Masters was perhaps the most painful thing I ever watched on television. It was like a slow-motion car accident. Eventually, I had to turn it off, only occasionally watching again to see if Norman could right the ship.

Today, he could have written a better ending to his career. It wasn't to be, like so many other near misses. Still, he gathered enough points to move up one spot in the rankings.

Here are the updated rankings:

1. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2008, 182.01
2. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 178.61
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 145.30
4. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 127.39
5. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 122.57
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 118.94
7. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 118.49
8. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 108.67
9. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 108.41
10. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 103.41
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 101.33
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 90.94
13. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 82.67
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 81.90
15. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 81.47
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 79.46
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2008, 79.35
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-2008, 77.48
19. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 77.25
20. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 75.77
21. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2008, 72.96
22. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 71.88
23. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 69.27
24. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 67.91
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 66.93
26. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 66.40
27. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 65.57
28. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 65.24
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 64.70
30. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 63.05
31. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 62.58
32. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 60.90
33. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 60.81
34. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 58.53
35. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 58.13
36. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 57.08
36. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 57.08
38. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 56.74
39. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 55.53
40. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 55.48
41. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 55.30
42. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 55.07
43. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 54.47
44. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 54.19
45. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 53.91
46. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 53.05
47. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 51.87
48. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 51.85
49. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 51.18
50. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 50.84
51. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 48.08
52. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 48.03
53. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2008, 47.76
54. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 47.75
55. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 47.67
56. Padraig Harrington, Ireland, 1997-2008, 46.29
57. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 45.63
58. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 44.72
59. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 44.67
60. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 44.65
61. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 44.48
62. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 44.42
63. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 44.35
64. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 44.32
65. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 43.97
66. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 43.71
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 43.71
68. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 43.34
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 42.83
70. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 42.83
71. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 42.66
72. Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 42.13

Nadal climbing fast ... and a revision

2008-07-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

I was unable to watch all of today's Wimbledon men's tennis finals. I saw a lot of the third and fourth sets and very little of the fifth.

So I missed out on what many are saying is the best match perhaps ever. I saw enough to know a lot of people underestimated the potential of Rafael Nadal.

That won't happen again. He now has five major titles, four on his favored clay, and now this win over a player who is among the three best grass court players ever -- with Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg.

Because my system is weighted toward dominance, and Federer has three of the six greatest years ever already on his record, Roger already is the greatest men's player ever in the open era. Nadal, though, has made a remarkable climb and has now moved into the top 10.

Here are the 32 greatest men's players of the open era:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2008, 106.50
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, 1979-1992, 81.72
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 68.92
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1988-2005, 65.32
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 62.07
10. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2008, 61.33
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

Now, yesterday I published my updated list of the 32 greatest women's players. I was working on a different way to rank players -- which I'll put out later this week -- when I discovered some of my career totals were off.

Last year I added points for semifinals and inserted some rows on my spreadsheet. That altered the totals on several players. After fixing the mistake I found Venus Williams is still just outside the all-time top 10. I think she'll manage to make at least one more final and move back in to the 10 best. But for now here are the corrected standings:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 165.63
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1985-1999, 154.13
3. Chris Evert, 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, 71.00
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.47
10. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-2000, 64.35
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2008, 63.77
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, 31.97
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

All time greats? The Williams sisters already are

2008-07-05T08:32:00.001-07:00

TV announcer Mary Carillo said a curious thing in this morning's Serena-Venus Wimbledon final.

She said she thought both would be all-time greats by now.

I understand her point. She thought both Serena and Venus Williams would have collected more than the 15 major titles they have between them.

Their careers have been derailed a few times by outside interests and injuries.

Still, each of them have either made a Grand Slam final or won a Grand Slam doubles title in 10 different years since 1998. Only Serena had a Navratilova or Graf type run where she won everything in sight.

In my point system, thanks to Venus' win this morning, now both of them are among the 10 greatest womens players in the open era. And Venus needs just one more title to move up to No. 9. Just think where Venus would be if Serena had not taken up tennis. She is now just 2-5 against Serena in Grand Slam finals and 5-1 against everyone else.

People for years have been writing the two off and they keep coming back. I still see 10 individual titles as possibilities for both.

Here's my updated list of the 32 greatest 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, 80.35
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1998-2008, 70.93
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.47
10. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2008, 63.47
11. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-2000, 63.14
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, 31.97
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

NBA's top 100 -- debating Duncan

2008-07-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

If you've read my earlier posts with the top 20 players at each position, you may have already tried to figure out my top 100 men's pro basketball players.

But when compiling my top 100, I adjust the list by position. Many of the things statistically tracked are just easier for centers or power forwards. They play down low and get more rebounds. They naturally block more shots and, being closer to the rim, shoot a higher percentage.

But a team with five centers is not going to win against a balanced squad. Sure, Shaq, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem and Bill Russell will pound you down low. But who would bring the ball up the floor? Who would hit the outside jumpers to free up the lane?

To even out statistical biases, I have a position adjustment that takes the top point totals from the five greatest players at each position and averages them out.

Centers had the highest total and receive no position points. Power forwards had the second highest and received 380.4 points. The next highest was small forward, then point guards and finally shooting guards.

The NBA of the past 10 years has been filled with great power forwards, point guards and shooting guards. Centers and small forwards have been rare. So the position points for power forwards, point guards and shooting guards have gotten smaller.

That means players long since retired can switch places in the standings, which is what happened to Bill Russell and Karl Malone. The continued greatness of Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan have cut down on the power forward bonus points, knocking him below Bill Russell. Considering Russell's teams won 11 NBA titles and Malone's won none, this didn't keep me up at night.

Remember, with players such as Russell and Chamberlain, the NBA didn't keep steals and blocked shots until the end or after their careers. I estimated those stats for old-time stars based on All-Pro and MVP votes versus blocks and steals totals for stars in the past 30 years. This likely vastly underestimated their totals, but it's the best I can do without actual statistics.

Speaking of Duncan, who is in the title. As you'll see below, I have him passing Larry Bird for No. 5 player all-time. I know that'll rankle Celtics fans. But Duncan's teams have won four titles without a player -- other than the fading David Robinson -- likely to make the basketball hall of fame. He has had very, very good teammates in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Robert Horry. But these players are not Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale and even Bill Walton.

Without further discussion, here are the 100 greatest pro men's basketball players:

Rank, player, years, points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22675.9
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21728.5
3. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 21397.6
4. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20665.5
5. Tim Duncan, 1997-2008, 19828.1
6. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19823.6
7. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19820.9
8. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19741.4
9. Karl Malone 1985-2004, 19731.4
10. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 19288.4
11. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 19183.0
12. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 19057.0
13. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2008, 19037.7
14. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2008, 18894.9
15. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18627.9
16. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 18477.6
17. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18417.4
18. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18098.5
19. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18049.0
20. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 18028.8
21. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17985.5
22. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2008, 17933.1
23. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17608.3
24. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17474.0
25. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17363.2
26. Gary Payton, 1990-2007, 17353.0
27. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17249.4
28. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 17091.2
29. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 17017.7
30. Jason Kidd, 1994-2008, 16876.6
31. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16842.6
32. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16821.9
33. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16568.1
34. Allen Iverson, 1996-2008, 16481.4
35. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2008, 16281.9
36. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 16267.8
37. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 16123.7
38. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15878.9
39. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15677.9
40. Tracey McGrady, 1997-2008, 15567.4
41. Steve Nash, 1996-2008, 15404.1
42. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 15296.5
43. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 15283.7
44. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 15268.0
45. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 15220.8
46. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 15084.4
47. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14992.9
48. Alex English, 1976-1991, 14918.0
49. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14668.7
50. Chris Webber, 1993-2008, 14613.4
51. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 14551.1
52. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 14376.2
53. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 14369.7
54. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 14350.3
55. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 14349.0
56. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 14305.9
57. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 14304.3
58. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 14289.3
59. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 14256.7
60. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 14189.3
61. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 14085.2
62. Vince Carter, 1998-2008, 13933.2
63. Jerry Lucas, 1963-1974, 13907.4
64. LeBron James, 2003-2008, 13859.0
65. Grant Hill, 1994-2008, 13858.4
66. Kevin McHale, 1980-1993, 13749.9
67. Cliff Hagan, 1956-1970, 13735.1
68. Alonzo Mourning, 1992-2008, 13702.7
69. Dave Bing, 1966-1978, 13700.1
70. Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 13665.8
71. Tiny Archibald, 1970-1984, 13576.5
72. Shawn Marion, 1999-2008, 13566.5
73. Ray Allen, 1996-2008, 13558.4
74. Nate Thurmond, 1963-1977, 13536.0
75. Lenny Wilkens, 1960-1975, 13514.3
76. Bobby Jones, 1974-1986, 13496.5
77. Sydney Moncrief, 1979-1991, 13473.1
78. Terry Cummings, 1982-2000, 13387.5
79. Bob Dandridge, 1969-1982, 13377.1
80. Norm Nixon, 1977-1989, 13372.3
81. James Worthy, 1982-1994, 13356.6
82. David Thompson, 1975-1984, 13279.6
83. Wes Unseld, 1968-1981, 13209.0
84. Marques Johnson, 1977-1990, 13195.5
85. Spencer Haywood, 1969-1983, 13131.2
86. Reggie Miller, 1987-2005, 13094.2
87. Dave DeBusschere, 1962-1974, 13025.8
88. Adrian Dantley, 1976-1991, 13007.4
89. Gail Goodrich, 1965-1979, 13001.2
90. Elton Brand, 1999-2008, 12988.9
91. Dikembe Mutombo, 1991-2008, 12983.7
92. Lou Dampier, 1967-1979, 12901.0
93. Maurice Lucas, 1974-1988, 12898.2
94. Sam Jones, 1957-1969, 12868.2
95. Buck Williams, 1981-1998, 12837.0
96. Walt Bellamy, 1961-1975, 12718.2
97. Chris Mullin, 1985-2001, 12703.0
98. Latrell Sprewell, 1992-2005, 12699.8
99. Bernard King, 1977-1993, 12641.3
100. Alvin Robertson, 1984-1996, 12632.2

A mid-year boxing revision

2008-07-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Many people believe Manny Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter today. If you look at his last seven fights, he's fought Erik Morales (twice), Oscar Larios, Jorge Solis, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz.

Those fighters had a combined record of 282-17. And now he reportedly is set to take on Edwin Valero in November. Valero is a perfect 24-0 all by knockouts.

Pacquiao doesn't need to fight Valero. He could wait until the other lightweight champions fight mandatories and then clean up the division. But Manny has shown he doesn't duck anyone.

Still, in my scoring system Pacquiao isn't among the 100 greatest fighters of all time will contemporaries such as Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Angel Cotto and Arthur Abraham are.

I started looking at the system to see if it needed to be tweaked and discovered a flaw. I was overvaluing knockouts in non-title fights compared to title fights.

It was a small screwup easily rectified. It didn't change Pacquiao's standing much. I'll get back to him in a little while. But it did affect quite a few fighters, especially ones that wracked up a lot of KOs in non-title bouts, like an Edwin Valero, who was a top 100 fighter before but now will have to beat Pacquiao to climb into the ranking again.

So now that it's halfway through 2008 and with several important fights coming up in the summer and fall, here's my adjusted top 100 boxers:

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 83.984
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 83.331
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.020
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 74.970
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.826
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 61.101
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 60.772
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 59.866
9. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 59.182
10. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 59.142
11. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 58.787
12. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-08, U.S., 58.588
13. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 58.499
14. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.440
15. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 58.417
16. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 58.112
17. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 57.740
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.323
19. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 56.766
20. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 56.058
21. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 55.117
22. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 54.701
23. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 54.474
24. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 54.147
25. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-08, U.S., 53.439
26. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 53.310
27. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 53.256
28. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 52.447
29. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.372
29. Felix Trinidad, 1990-08, Puerto Rico, 52.372
31. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 52.353
32. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 51.878
33. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 51.697
34. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 51.619
35. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 51.594
36. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 51.296
37. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 51.207
38. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 51.167
39. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 51.096
40. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 51.083
41. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 51.046
42. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.030
43. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 51.018
44. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 50.988
45. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 50.908
46. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 50.886
47. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 50.762
48. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 50.760
49. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 50.686
50. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 50.238
51. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.202
52. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-08, United Kingdom, 50.039
53. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 49.648
54. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 49.632
55. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.558
56. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 49.539
57. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 49.437
58. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 49.435
59. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 49.294
60. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.282
61. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 49.188
62. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 49.180
63. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 49.095
64. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 49.003
65. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 48.180
66. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 48.120
67. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.115
68. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 47.965
69. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 47.957
70. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 47.913
71. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 47.870
72. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 47.728
73. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 47.688
74. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 47.555
75. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 47.483
76. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 47.429
77. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.282
78. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.096
79. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.086
80. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 46.984
81. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 46.836
82. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 46.683
83. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.653
84. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 46.639
85. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 46.546
86. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 46.502
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. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 46.061
91. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 45.983
92. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 45.975
93. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 45.875
94. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 45.857
95. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 45.701
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 45.627
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 45.515
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 45.515
99. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 45.464
100. Miguel Canto, 1969-82, Mexico, 45.406

Now, where is Pacquiao. I have him at No. 120, just below Jose Torres and just above Ruben Olivares. The main reason is that Pacquiao has spent much of his career fighting for lesser belts. He held something called the WBC International Super Bantamweight Title from 1999 through 2001 and then the WBC International Super Featherweight Title from 2003 until this March when he beat Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC Super Featherweight Title.

In fact, he's fought just 10 fights for full world titles versus 15 fights for lesser or stepping stone titles. The lesser title fights aren't worth as much in my system.

For a comparison, Cotto already has 12 full title fights (WBO, IBF, WBA, WBC) out of his 32 fights.

But Pacquiao, if he never fights again, eventually will move way up.

Here's how. As I wrote earlier, he's fought an impressive array of fighters. Morales and Barrera are locks for the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Marquez has a very good chance and even Larios may get in.

Right now, in my system, Pacquiao has collected 123.75 points against those four fighters (he is 6-1-1 against them). That's worth 2.06 of his total score. If all four eventually make the IBHoF then his point totals increase to 527.5, which would boost his score by 6.7 points or up to the 50.9 range. That puts him up with James Jeffries and Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- who is going to move up over time -- in the No. 45 to No. 46 range.

And Pacquiao looks like he has several good years left and unlike Mayweather, no problem with his motivation.

Next generation taking over women's golf

2008-07-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

With Annika Sorenstam heading for retirement and Lorena Ochoa already making hints about how long she wants to play, women's golf will need new stars.

How about Inbee Park? The 19-year-old became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open. This follows the LPGA win of Yani Tseng, who had been the first rookie to win a women's major since Se Ri Pak 10 years ago.

Of course, American fans will bemoan the fact that the U.S. stars continue to come up short. Angela Park and Stacy Lewis were right there and didn't get it done. Michelle Wie was not a factor and Paula Creamer wasn't really a contender.

These players are going to get better. When they do they'll have some talented stars to overcome.

With neither Sorenstam or Ochoa in the top 10, there wasn't much movement in my 54 best women's golfers:

Rank, player, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 143.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2007, 128.43
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 92.15
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 91.11
13. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 86.76
14. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 83.66
15. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 81.77
16. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2008, 81.28
17. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 80.33
18. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 79.58
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 69.94
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 68.88
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 67.02
22. Lorena Ochoa, 2002-2008, 65.36
23. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 65.27
24. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 61.52
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 60.04
26. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 59.63
27. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 59.60
28. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 59.47
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 56.85
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 56.17
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 56.00
32. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 52.38
33. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 50.75
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 50.01
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 48.13
36. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 43.90
37. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 43.85
38. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 42.54
39. Cristie Kerr, 1999-2008, 40.98
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 39.45
41. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 39.33
41. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 39.33
43. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 39.17
44. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 38.63
45. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 38.56
46. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 38.55
47. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2008, 35.87
48. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 35.14
49. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 35.02
50. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 34.07
51. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 33.23
52. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 32.84
53. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 32.79
54. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 32.67

NBA's greatest -- finally a ring for KG

2008-06-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

Statistically, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have been very close in their careers. What put Duncan ahead was his and his team's success in the playoffs. Being the focal point of four NBA champions puts him in the company of Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan.

This season, though, Garnett finally removed the one empty line on his resume. He can be the leader of a championship team. That's something Charles Barkley and Karl Malone can't say.

In my system, Garnett didn't move up at all. But he did remove an argument people had to use against him.

Here are my updated top 20 power forwards in pro basketball history:

Rank, player, years, points
1. Tim Duncan, 1997-2008, 19447.7
2. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19351.0
3. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2008, 18657.3
4. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18247.5
5. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17648.4
6. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17227.9
7. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 16982.8
8. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2008, 15901.5
9. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15498.5
10. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14288.3
11. Chris Webber, 1993-2008, 14233.0
12. Jerry Lucas 1963-1974, 13527
13. Kevin McHale, 1980-1993, 13369.5
14. Shawn Marion, 1999-2008, 13186.1
15. Spencer Haywood, 1969-1983, 12750.8
16. Dave DeBusschere, 1962-1974, 12645.4
17. Elton Brand, 1999-2008, 12608.5
18. Maurice Lucas, 1974-1988, 12517.8
19. Buck Williams, 1981-1998, 12456.6
20. Baily Howell, 1959-1971, 11775.9

NBA's greatest -- Can Kobe catch MJ

2008-06-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Going into the NBA finals, some diehard Lakers fans posted threads on CBSsportsline saying Kobe Bryant already is a greater offensive talent than Michael Jordan.

You could throw mountains of stats at them, scoring titles, points per game, shooting percentage, even the fact that Jordan averaged more assists than Kobe. They weren't to be denied.

Until the NBA finals. When the Boston Celtics found a way to slow Bryant down for six games you couldn't find the pro-Kobe posters anywhere on the message boards.

According to my system, Kobe is not going to catch Jordan unless he has some bizarre Barry Bonds-like incredible jump in his later years of his career.

Still, Kobe should be able to catch No. 2. Here are my 20 greatest pro basketball shooting guards:

Rank, player, years, points
1. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20793.3
2. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17873.3
3. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2008, 17328.8
4. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16238.3
5. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15519.4
6. Tracey McGrady, 1997-2008, 14963.1
7. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13744.7
8. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13701.6
9. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13700
10. Vince Carter, 1998-2008, 13328.9
11. Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 13061.5
12. Ray Allen, 1996-2008, 12954.1
13. Sydney Moncrief, 1979-1991, 12868.8
14. David Thompson, 1975-1984, 12675.3
15. Reggie Miller, 1987-2005, 12489.9
16. Gail Goodrich, 1965-1979, 12396.9
17. Sam Jones, 1957-1969, 12263.9
18. Latrell Sprewell, 1992-2005, 12095.5
19. Alvin Robertson, 1984-1996, 12027.9
20. Earl Monroe, 1967-1980, 12013.2

NBA's greatest -- here comes LeBron

2008-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, long ago, small forwards ruled the land in pro basketball.

But then Larry Bird retired and Scottie Pippen retired and the game was lorded over by power forwards.

Then a new hope emerged in Cleveland.

Here are the top 20 small forwards to play in the NBA or ABA. LeBron James is gaining quickly.

Rank, player, years, points
1. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20150.5
2. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19309.6
3. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17471.5
4. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16577.2
5. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16503.7
6. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16307.9
7. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14754.0
8. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14782.5
9. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14706.8
10. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14478.9
11. Alex English, 1976-1991, 14404.0
12. LeBron James, 2003-2008, 13345.0
13. Grant Hill, 1994-2008, 13344.4
14. Cliff Hagan, 1956-1970, 13221.1
15. Bobby Jones, 1974-1986, 12982.5
16. Terry Cummings, 1982-2000, 12873.5
17. Bob Dandridge, 1969-1982, 12863.1
18. James Worthy, 1982-1994, 12842.6
19. Marques Johnson, 1977-1990, 12681.5
20. Adrian Dantley, 1976-1991, 12493.4

Who needs Calzaghe? It's time for Abraham vs. Pavlik

2008-06-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

Germany's Arthur Abraham demolished Edison Miranda Saturday proving he's more than a soft European who won't fight anyone.

As a fight fan, I'd rather see Kelly Pavlik fight Abraham rather than Joe Calzaghe so we can be one step closer to a unified middleweight title.

Speaking of Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler won a vacated super middleweight title Saturday as well. Kessler's only loss is to Calzaghe so Joe gained some bonus points and moved up one spot. Here are the updated No. 40-49 and No. 80-89 standings.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
40. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 52.425
41. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.369
42. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 52.302
43. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224
44. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 52.186
45. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167
46. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.128
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 52.037
48. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-08, United Kingdom, 51.496
49. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.363

80. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.979
81. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 47.845
82. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827
83. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.697
84. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 47.405
85. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.333
86. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
87. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.276
88. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260
89. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195

NBA's best -- centers

2008-06-21T18:46:00.001-07:00

A couple of seasons ago, with Shaquille O'Neal slowing down and Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo on their last legs, the end of the big man as the centerpiece seemed to be here.

After all, you had players such as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, who would have been turned into centers years ago, defining themselves as power forwards.

But then Yao Ming came along and Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard have embraced -- not run from -- being centers.

So the demise of the big man has been greatly exaggerated. Still, until those players get more years in there will be no changes to the list of the 20 greatest centers in NBA and ABA history.

Player, years, unadjusted points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22675.9
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21728.5
3. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19820.9
4. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19741.4
5. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2008, 18894.9
6. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18417.4
7. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18098.5
8. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18049
9. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17249.4
10. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16568.1
11. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 15283.7
12. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 15084.4
13. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 14551.1
14. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 14369.7
15. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 14289.3
16. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 14256.7
17. Alonzo Mourning, 1992-2008, 13702.7
18. Nate Thurmond, 1963-1977, 13536
19. Wes Unseld, 1968-1981, 13209
20. Dikembe Mutombo, 1991-2008, 12983.7

NBA's greatest, let's start with point guards

2008-06-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

The NBA finals didn't feature any future Hall of Fame point guards so we'll start there in updating the all-time standings by position.

One thing you'll note when looking at this list is that a golden era for the position is drawing to a close with Gary Payton already retired and Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash all facing the downsides of their careers.

This list is fairly set in stone until Chris Paul and Deron Williams get some more years behind them.

Player, years, unadjusted point total
1. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18763.1
2. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18657.7
3. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18531.7
4. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 16948.7
5. Gary Payton, 1990-2007, 16827.7
6. Jason Kidd, 1994-2008, 16351.3
7. Allen Iverson, 1996-2008, 15956.1
8. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15742.5
9. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15152.6
10. Steve Nash, 1996-2008, 14878.8
11. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 13850.9
12. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13825
13. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 13664.0
14. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 13559.9
15. Dave Bing, 1966-1978, 13174.8
16. Tiny Archibald, 1970-1984, 13051.2
17. Lenny Wilkens, 1960-1975, 12989
18. Norm Nixon, 1977-1989, 12847
19. Lou Dampier, 1967-1979, 12375.7
20. Derek Harper, 1983-1999, 11154.5

Tiger sets bar higher

2008-06-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Although Tiger Woods still chases Jack Nicklaus' records of 18 professional major titles and 20 majors if you count the two U.S. Amateurs, Tiger surpassed Nicklaus last year in my ranking of the greatest golfers ever.

My system is tilted toward dominance and Tiger already has had three of the 10 greatest seasons in history.

So Tiger's latest win -- the U.S. Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate -- does nothing more than up the score needed by some golfer in the future.

What I found interesting is that the old guard that battled Tiger in the past -- Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson -- no longer seems to be improving. And I'm a Mickelson fan, but it seems his career peaked on the 17th hole at Wing Foot two years ago. It'll have to be a new generation -- the Geoff Ogilvys of the world -- to raise their level of play to take on Tiger.

So there was very, very little movement in my all-time ranking of the 72 greatest golfers:

Rank, player, country, years, points
1. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2008, 182.01
2. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 178.61
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 145.30
4. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 127.39

5. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 122.57
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 118.94
7. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 118.49
8. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 108.67

9. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 108.41
10. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 103.41
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 101.33
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 90.94

13. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 82.67
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 81.90
15. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 81.47
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 79.46

17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2008, 79.35
18. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 77.25
19. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 77.23
20. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 75.77

21. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2007, 72.92
22. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 71.88
23. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 69.27
24. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 67.91

25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 66.93
26. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 66.40
27. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 65.57
28. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 65.24

29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 64.70
30. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 63.05
31. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 62.58
32. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 60.90

33. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 60.81
34. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 58.53
35. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 58.13
36. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 57.08

37. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 57.08
38. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 56.74
39. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 55.53
40. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 55.48

41. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 55.30
42. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 55.07
43. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 54.47
44. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 54.19

45. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 53.91
46. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 53.05
47. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 51.87
48. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 51.85

49. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 51.18
50. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 50.84
51. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 48.08
52. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 48.03

53. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 47.75
54. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 47.67
55. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2007, 47.03
56. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 45.63

57. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 44.72
58. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 44.67
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 44.65
60. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 44.48

61. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 44.42
62. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 44.35
63. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 44.32
64. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 43.97

65. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 43.71
66. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 43.71
67. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 43.34
68. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 42.83

69. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 42.83
70. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 42.66
71. Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 42.13
72. Jerry Pate, United States, 1974-1982, 40.69

Valero moves into top 100

2008-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Few boxing fans, outside of the real hardcore fans, know who Edwin Valero of Venezuela is.

That should change soon. He's now a perfect 24-0 with 24 KOs after Thursday's TKO win over Takehiro Shimada to retain his WBA super featherweight title.

Valero is based out of Japan because in 2003 the New York Athletic Commission ruled he was medically unfit to fight because of an earlier head injury. The ruling still stands despite his continued string of wins.

He could become a world wide phenomenon if he lands a big fight and the one most often mentioned is Manny Pacquiao.

His impressive KO string already has him in my top 100 -- which is based on points earned and guys with high knockout rates move up fast -- and he knocked Jimmy Wilde from the final spot.

Here's my new No. 90 through 100.

90. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.054
91. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
92. Edwin Valero, 2003-08, Venezuela, 46.875
93. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
94. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
95. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
96. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
97. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
98. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.378
99. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.378
100. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371

Endurance marvel moves up in all-time auto race

2008-06-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Denmark's Tom Kristensen won his record eighth 24 Hours of LeMans Sunday and first since his streak of seven in a row was snapped in 2006.

Kristensen was part of an all-star team of drivers, combining with Italy's Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish of the United Kingdom for the win. For Capello, it was his third LeMans win and the second for McNish.

All three drivers moved up in my all-time ranking of the greatest auto racers ever, which gives points to the top 10 finishers in the Daytona 500, Indy 500, Grand Prix of Monaco and 24 Hours of LeMans, as well as bonus points for the F1 standings, Nextel Sprint Cup, IndyCar final standings and 12 Hours at Sebring and Daytona winners.

Kristensen, who has four Sebring wins to his credit as well, is now the No. 2 endurance driver ever, trailing just Jacky Ickx.

The other racer in the top 100 to move up was Canada's Jacques Villeneuve. The 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner was on the runner-up team at LeMans. It was his first top 10 in the event. He finished as high as fourth in the Grand Prix of Monaco. Villeneuve dabbled just briefly in NASCAR.

Here are the updated top 100 drivers:

Pole pos., Racer, Country, Years, Total
1. A.J. Foyt, United States, 1959-1992, 87.69
2. Graham Hill, United Kingdom, 1958-1974, 81.65
3. Richard Petty, United States, 1960-1987, 79.77
4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, 1992-2006, 77.35
5. Jacky Ickx, Belgium, 1968-1985, 70.78
6. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, 1984-1993, 69.98
7. Alain Prost, France, 1982-1993, 67.12
8. Tom Kristensen, Denmark, 1997-2008, 66.64
9. Derek Bell, United Kingdom, 1972-1996, 65.14
10. Phil Hill, United States, 1958-1964, 64.37
11. Al Unser, United States, 1965-1992, 62.05
12. Cale Yarborough, United States, 1965-1987, 60.72
13. Frank Biela, Germany, 1999-2008, 58.90
14. Jackie Stewart, United Kingdom, 1965-1973, 58.59
15. Emanuele Pirro, Italy, 1991-2008, 57.38
16. Rick Mears, United States, 1979-1991, 56.93
17. Stirling Moss, United Kingdom, 1953-1961, 56.17
18. Bobby Allison, United States, 1968-1988, 54.53
19. Wilbur Shaw, United States, 1927-1940, 54.29
20. Olivier Gendebien, Germany, 1955-1962, 53.95
21. Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil, 1971-1994, 53.34
22. Lou Meyer, United States, 1928-1937, 52.44
23. Henri Pescarolo, France, 1970-1999, 52.06
24. Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina, 1950-1957, 52.02
25. Mario Andretti, United States, 1965-1995, 52.00
26. Bobby Unser, United States, 1966-1981, 51.17
27. Yannick Dalmas, France, 1988-2002, 51.15
28. Maurice Trintignant, France, 1953-1961, 50.45
29. Rinaldo Capello, Italy, 1999-2008, 50.31
30. Marco Werner, Germany, 2002-2007, 49.33
31. Johnny Rutherford, United States, 1963-1986, 48.88
32. Mauri Rose, United States, 1934-1950, 48.83
33. Bruce McLaren, Australia, 1959-1969, 48.09
34. Jeff Gordon, United States, 1993-2007, 47.10
35. Dale Earnhardt, United States, 1979-2000, 46.54
36. Hurley Haywood, United States, 1973-1994, 46.33
37. Niki Lauda, Austria, 1974-1984, 45.87
38. Denny Hulme, Australia, 1965-1973, 45.63
39. Rodger Ward, United States, 1956-1964, 45.51
40. Jody Scheckter, South Africa, 1974-1979, 45.45
41. Hans Joachim Stuck, Germany, 1976-1996, 45.37
42. Al Holbert, United States, 1976-1987, 45.17
43. Dale Jarrett, United States, 1991-2006, 45.11
44. Al Unser Jr., United States, 1983-2003, 44.91
45. Bill Elliott, United States, 1978-2001, 43.53
46. Gordon Johncock, United States, 1965-1991, 43.33
47. Klaus Ludwig, Germany, 1979-1988, 43.31
48. Jim Clark, United Kingdom, 1959-1967, 43.12
49. Luigi Chinetti, Italy, 1932-1951, 42.08
50. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 2003-2008, 41.49
51. Tazio Nuvolari, Italy, 1932-1936, 39.99
52. Allan McNish, United Kingdom, 1998-2006, 39.67
53. David Coulthard, United Kingdom, 1995-2006, 39.00
54. David Pearson, United States, 1962-1984, 38.59
55. Tom Sneva, United States, 1976-1984, 38.58
56. Woolf Barnato, United Kingdom, 1928-1930, 38.40
57. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, 1999-2008, 38.39
58. Darrell Waltrip, United States, 1974-1997, 37.95
59. Sterling Marlin, United States, 1980-2005, 37.91
60. Tommy Milton, United States, 1920-1927, 37.29
61. Arie Luyendyk, Netherlands, 1985-1998, 36.97
62. J.J. Lehto, Finland, 1992-2005, 36.85
63. Helio Castroneves, Brazil, 2001-2006, 36.85
64. Bobby Rahal, United States, 1981-1995, 35.49
65. Gijs van Lennap, Netherlands, 1971-1976, 35.35
66. Benny Parsons, United States, 1969-1987, 35.16
67. Michele Alboreto, Italy, 1981-2001, 34.82
68. Gerard Larrousse, France, 1969-1974, 34.73
69. Jimmy Bryan, United States, 1952-1958, 34.32
69. Dan Gurney, United States, 1959-1970, 34.32
71. Michael Waltrip, United States, 1990-2003, 34.15
72. Andre Rossignol, France, 1923-1928, 34.09
73. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, 1993-2008, 33.83
74. Andy Wallace, United Kingdom, 1988-2006, 33.71
74. Buddy Baker, United States, 1969-1988, 33.71
76. Ted Horn, United States, 1936-1948, 33.62
77. Jack Brabham, Australia, 1957-1970, 33.49
78. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, France, 1973-1980, 33.17
79. Nelson Piquet, Brazil, 1979-1996, 32.77
80. Jan Lammers, Netherlands, 1980-2005, 32.75
81. Raymond Sommer, France, 1932-1950, 32.53
82. Fred Lorenzen, United States, 1960-1971, 32.35
83. Jochen Rindt, Austria, 1965-1970, 32.31
84. Nigel Mansell, United Kingdom, 1982-1993, 32.24
85. Rudolf Caracciola, Germany, 1929-1939, 32.09
86. Lorenzo Bandini, Italy, 1962-1967, 32.01
87. Mika Hakkinen, Finland, 1994-2000, 31.95
88. Vern Schuppan, Australia, 1975-1984, 31.91
89. Ronnie Peterson, Sweden, 1970-1978, 31.17
90. Jim Rathmann, United States, 1952-1962, 31.07
91. Jimmy Murphy, United States, 1920-1924, 30.95
92. Jimmie Johnson, United States, 2003-2007, 30.89
93. Hans Herrman, Germany, 1958-1970, 30.88
94. Buddy Lazier, United States, 1996-2004, 30.81
95. Michael Andretti, United States, 1983-2006, 30.63
96. Paul Frere, Belgium, 1955-1960, 30.53
97. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, 1993-2008, 30.11
98. Mauro Baldi, Italy, 1983-2002, 30.01
99. Eddie Cheever, United States, 1981-2002, 29.96
100. Bob Wollek, France, 1977-1998, 29.82

Near missers bigger than the winner

2008-06-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Perhaps Yani Tseng will become the next great player on the LPGA tour. She's the first rookie to win a women's major since Se Ri Pak 10 years ago.

For now, though, it's the two golfers who finished a shot out of the playoff for year's second major who matter more.

Lorena Ochoa had a chance to make it three majors in a row, while Annika Sorenstam had another shot at showing she is the best player in women's golf history -- and not Mickey Wright.

With two majors to go -- the final two for Sorenstam, who is retiring -- Ochoa moves up two spots and Sorenstam remains solidly in second place in my all-time women's golf tournament.

Rank, player, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 143.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2007, 128.43
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 92.15
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 91.11
13. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 86.76
14. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 83.66
15. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 81.77
16. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2008, 81.28
17. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 80.33
18. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 79.58
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 69.94
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 68.88
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 67.02
22. Lorena Ochoa, 2002-2007, 65.36
23. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 65.27
24. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 61.52
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 60.04
26. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 59.63
27. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 59.60
28. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 59.47
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 56.85
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 56.17
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 56.00
32. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 52.38
33. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 50.75
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 50.01
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 48.13
36. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 43.90
37. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 43.85
38. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 42.54
39. Cristie Kerr, 1999-2008, 40.98
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 39.45
41. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 39.33
41. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 39.33
43. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 39.17
44. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 38.63
45. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 38.56
46. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 38.55
47. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 35.14
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 35.02
49. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 34.07
50. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 33.23
51. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 32.84
52. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 32.79
53. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 32.67
54. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 31.97

Subtle shift in tennis power

2008-06-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer's last goals of a grand slam and winning all four major tennis titles is growing even more remote.

Rafael Nadal looked unbeatable at this French Open, and considering how well he has played at Wimbledon, the days of Federer lording over men's tennis is over. Especially in light of Novak Djokovic's win in Australia earlier in the year.

That being said, I disagree with Bjorn Borg's contention that Federer would be considered the greatest ever if he won the French. Unless Borg was including the pre-open era and talking about Pancho Gonzalez and Rod Laver, Federer, at least in my ranking, already is the greatest men's tennis player of the open era.

Sampras never made a French final, in fact he only advanced to the semis once. His legend was almost entirely built at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Borg didn't even bother with Australia and was 0-for-4 in U.S. Open finals. All his titles came at Wimbledon and the French.

Federer already has five Wimbledons, four U.S. Opens, three Australian titles and he's lost three French finals to a player who may go down as the greatest clay court player ever. If it wasn't for Nadal, Federer most likely would have matched Laver's two Grand Slams, and Laver's were won on just two surfaces, grass and clay.

Here are the updated rankings of the greatest men's tennis players:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2008, 102.83
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. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 62.07
10. Stefan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 59.37
11. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1995, 52.67
12. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 50.00
12. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2008, 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. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 28.83
21. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 28.67
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

Where is "The Ghost" going?

2008-06-10T17:56:00.001-07:00

Kelly Pavlik, as many expected, took apart Gary Lockett last Saturday. It was good to see a fighter live up to what was expected. On the same night, Vernon Forrest was losing to former "Contender" fighter Sergio Mora. That had to be considered an upset.

With the win, Pavlik moved up to No. 133 on my list of the all-time greatest fighters. Considering people like Miguel Angel Cotto (No. 65) and Arthur Abraham (No. 88), one of the two other middleweight title holders are ahead of him, one might ask why isn't Pavlik higher considering his stellar record of 30 KOs in 34 unbeaten fights.

Pavlik has just two major title fights. The Taylor rematch was a catch weight and didn't count for much on my scale.

The major fights should be coming, though. Joe Calzaghe still hasn't announced his next fight and Pavlik and Roy Jones Jr. are the top two possibilities. Abraham could be a target and Abraham needs Pavlik more than Pavlik needs Abraham if he's looking for respect.

Pretty and poise

2008-06-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ana Ivanovic is a champion on the tennis court as well as the photo shoot.

Her rather routine victory over Dinara Safina moved into the all-time women's tennis tournament. She bounced Nancy Richey from the standings.

More importantly, perhaps with Sharapova we'll have a new rivalry to carry the sport -- like Court vs. King, Evert vs. Navratilova and Graff vs. Seles.

Here is the updated top 32 women's tennis players of the open era:

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, 80.35
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1998-2007, 68.62
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.15
10. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-2000, 63.14
11. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 62.14
12. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2007, 61.12
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 47.65
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1996-2005, 47.40
15. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2008, 31.97
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

Breaking down 'Pretty Boy'

2008-06-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

What is it with champions today?

Justine Henin can't handle the pressure of being the top women's tennis player?

Annika Sorenstam wants to get off the golf course and start a family?

Now Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement, giving up his mega fight rematch with Oscar De La Hoya.

Even though the last De La Hoya fight was a split decision, Oscar never really hit Floyd so this time I don't think he's protecting his record. Still, by walking away now, Mayweather may have abandoned any real chance to be considered one of the 20 best fighters ever.

On my list right now, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is No. 43, ahead of guys such as Evander Holyfield (No. 47), Jack Johnson (No. 48) and Joe Calzaghe (No. 49). But he trails boxers Sugar Ray Leonard (No. 33), Thomas Hearns (No. 29) and Felix Trinidad (No. 28).

He will move up on the list because in my rankings wins over Hall of Fame fighters are worth more. So as guys are elected to the hall, the guys that beat them gain points.

Floyd's positives are his sterling 39-0 record with 25 knockouts. And nearly half of his fights were major boxing title fights -- he was 19-0 with 9 KOs, winning in five different divisions.

But he beat only two sure thing Hall of Famers in Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. He has some wins over other possible Hall of Famers, Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo.

If all five of those fighters are deemed Hall of Fame worthy then Mayweather's point total would move up to the 58.4 range in my system, which would put him in the Carlos Ortiz (No. 17) and Barney Ross (No. 18) range.

But that's it. Another win over De La Hoya and maybe a mega fight with up-and-comming Miguel Angel Cotto, who is already No. 65, and Mayweather would be looking at perhaps sneaking into the top 10 fighters ever.

Now the question is, does he stay retired?

Forget Celtics vs. Lakers, it's Garnett vs. Kobe

2008-06-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm psyched for this finals because it could be the defining moments for both Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant.

Garnett fills up a box score as well as anyone in the history of the game. He's just lacked wins and for a long time you could chalk it up to a weak supporting cast. I already have him as the 13th best player ever, just ahead of Shaq and Bob Petit, so in my system he's already proven himself.

But if he can't will his team to win this series, he'll always have detractors.

Kobe has three titles as a sidekick to Shaq and is ranked No. 23 on my list. This is his chance to prove he can win as the No. 1 option, something Michael Jordan did six times.

Already, you have some Lakers fans arguing Bryant, who I have as the No. 3 off-guard behind Jordan and Jerry West, already is a better offensive weapon than Jordan. But if he loses this series, the Bryant vs. Jordan talk is just going to be talk.

I'm taking Garnett -- Celtics in six.

New stars stake claims in Indy, Monaco

2008-05-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Two of the world's four biggest races took place Sunday and it was no blood on victory lane.

Scott Dixon of New Zealand's first Indianapolis 500 win puts him at No. 150 on my list of all-time greatest race car driver. Earlier in the day, Lewis Hamilton of the United Kingdom claimed his first Grand Prix of Monaco. Hamilton is well down on the list at No. 181. Both, though, have a lot of years plus the backing to make run up my standings.

There was a little movement in the all-time top 100. Fernando Alonso took 10th in Monaco, but the points did not move him up. Helio Castroneves finished fourth at Indianapolis and pushed him up four spots.

Finally, Rubens Barichello, who first claimed a top 10 at Monaco in 1993, finished sixth. Barichello has never won at Monaco or claimed a Formula One title, still the years of top finishes moved him into the top 100, bumping NASCAR star Geoff Bodine from the top 100.

Here is the updated top 100:

Pole pos. Racer Country Years Total
1. A.J. Foyt, United States, 1959-1992, 87.69
2. Graham Hill, United Kingdom, 1958-1974, 81.65
3. Richard Petty, United States, 1960-1987, 79.77
4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, 1992-2006, 77.35
5. Jacky Ickx, Belgium, 1968-1985, 70.78
6. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, 1984-1993, 69.98
7. Alain Prost, France, 1982-1993, 67.12
8. Derek Bell, United Kingdom, 1972-1996, 65.14
9. Phil Hill, United States, 1958-1964, 64.37
10. Tom Kristensen, Denmark, 1997-2006, 63.84

11. Al Unser, United States, 1965-1992, 62.05
12. Cale Yarborough, United States, 1965-1987, 60.72
13. Jackie Stewart, United Kingdom, 1965-1973, 58.59
14. Frank Biela, Germany, 1999-2007, 58.20
15. Emanuele Pirro, Italy, 1991-2007, 57.18
16. Rick Mears, United States, 1979-1991, 56.93
17. Stirling Moss, United Kingdom, 1953-1961, 56.17
18. Bobby Allison, United States, 1968-1988, 54.53
19. Wilbur Shaw, United States, 1927-1940, 54.29
20. Olivier Gendebien, Germany, 1955-1962, 53.95

21. Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil, 1971-1994, 53.34
22. Lou Meyer, United States, 1928-1937, 52.44
23. Henri Pescarolo, France, 1970-1999, 52.06
24. Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina, 1950-1957, 52.02
25. Mario Andretti, United States, 1965-1995, 52.00
26. Bobby Unser, United States, 1966-1981, 51.17
27. Yannick Dalmas, France, 1988-2002, 51.15
28. Maurice Trintignant, France, 1953-1961, 50.45
29. Johnny Rutherford, United States, 1963-1986, 48.88
30. Mauri Rose, United States, 1934-1950, 48.83

31. Marco Werner, Germany, 2002-2007, 48.63
32. Bruce McLaren, Australia, 1959-1969, 48.09
33. Jeff Gordon, United States, 1993-2007, 47.10
34. Dale Earnhardt, United States, 1979-2000, 46.54
35. Hurley Haywood, United States, 1973-1994, 46.33
36. Niki Lauda, Austria, 1974-1984, 45.87
37. Denny Hulme, Australia, 1965-1973, 45.63
38. Rodger Ward, United States, 1956-1964, 45.51
39. Jody Scheckter, South Africa, 1974-1979, 45.45
40. Hans Joachim Stuck, Germany, 1976-1996, 45.37

41. Al Holbert, United States, 1976-1987, 45.17
42. Dale Jarrett, United States, 1991-2006, 45.11
43. Al Unser Jr., United States, 1983-2003, 44.91
44. Bill Elliott, United States, 1978-2001, 43.53
45. Gordon Johncock, United States, 1965-1991, 43.33
46. Klaus Ludwig, Germany, 1979-1988, 43.31
47. Jim Clark, United Kingdom, 1959-1967, 43.12
48. Rinaldo Capello, Italy, 1999-2006, 42.51
49. Luigi Chinetti, Italy, 1932-1951, 42.08
50. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 2003-2008, 41.49

51. Tazio Nuvolari, Italy, 1932-1936, 39.99
52. David Coulthard, United Kingdom, 1995-2006, 39.00
53. David Pearson, United States, 1962-1984, 38.59
54. Tom Sneva, United States, 1976-1984, 38.58
55. Woolf Barnato, United Kingdom, 1928-1930, 38.40
56. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, 1999-2008, 38.39
57. Darrell Waltrip, United States, 1974-1997, 37.95
58. Sterling Marlin, United States, 1980-2005, 37.91
59. Tommy Milton, United States, 1920-1927, 37.29
60. Arie Luyendyk, Netherlands, 1985-1998, 36.97

61. J.J. Lehto, Finland, 1992-2005, 36.85
61. Helio Castroneves, Brazil, 2001-2008, 36.85
63. Bobby Rahal, United States, 1981-1995, 35.49
64. Gijs van Lennap, Netherlands, 1971-1976, 35.35
65. Benny Parsons, United States, 1969-1987, 35.16
66. Michele Alboreto, Italy, 1981-2001, 34.82
67. Gerard Larrousse, France, 1969-1974, 34.73
68. Jimmy Bryan, United States, 1952-1958, 34.32
69. Dan Gurney, United States, 1959-1970, 34.32
70. Michael Waltrip, United States, 1990-2003, 34.15

71. Andre Rossignol, France, 1923-1928, 34.09
72. Andy Wallace, United Kingdom, 1988-2006, 33.71
72. Buddy Baker, United States, 1969-1988, 33.71
74. Ted Horn, United States, 1936-1948, 33.62
75. Jack Brabham, Australia, 1957-1970, 33.49
76. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, France, 1973-1980, 33.17
77. Nelson Piquet, Brazil, 1979-1996, 32.77
78. Jan Lammers, Netherlands, 1980-2005, 32.75
79. Raymond Sommer, France, 1932-1950, 32.53
80. Fred Lorenzen, United States, 1960-1971, 32.35

81. Jochen Rindt, Austria, 1965-1970, 32.31
82. Nigel Mansell, United Kingdom, 1982-1993, 32.24
83. Rudolf Caracciola, Germany, 1929-1939, 32.09
84. Lorenzo Bandini, Italy, 1962-1967, 32.01
85. Mika Hakkinen, Finland, 1994-2000, 31.95
86. Vern Schuppan, Australia, 1975-1984, 31.91
87. Ronnie Peterson, Sweden, 1970-1978, 31.17
88. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, 1993-2001, 31.07
89. Jim Rathmann, United States, 1952-1962, 31.07
90. Jimmy Murphy, United States, 1920-1924, 30.95

91. Jimmie Johnson, United States, 2003-2007, 30.89
92. Hans Herrman, Germany, 1958-1970, 30.88
93. Buddy Lazier, United States, 1996-2004, 30.81
94. Michael Andretti, United States, 1983-2006, 30.63
95. Paul Frere, Belgium, 1955-1960, 30.53
96. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, 1993-2008, 30.11
97. Mauro Baldi, Italy, 1983-2002, 30.01
98. Eddie Cheever, United States, 1981-2002, 29.96
99. Allan McNish, United Kingdom, 1998-2006, 29.87
100. Bob Wollek, France, 1977-1998, 29.82

Two to stop climbing all-time lists

2008-05-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

Women's pro sports took a couple of hits this week with the announcement golfer Annika Sorenstam would retire at the end of the season and tennis star Justine Henin would put down her racket immediately.

Of the two, Henin is much more surprising. She was still ranked No. 1 and has clearly been the top player, winning three major titles in 2006 and 2007 and making the finals in three more.

There are some rumors that perhaps there is something else behind her retirement than burnout. We'll see. If it is just burnout, my guess is she'll be like Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis and make a comeback in a couple of years.

Sorenstam on the other hand has been talking about retiring for several years. She's 37 and quirky enough that I doubt we'll see her again after this year. When she announced the retirement many writers cast her as the greatest women's golfer ever. I still have her at No. 2 and the only way she can overtake Mickey Wright in my rankings is to win the last three majors.

I doubt that will happen, but I wouldn't put it past her to win two of the last three.

Here are the top 16 women's tennis players and top 10 women's golfers, to refresh your memory.

Tennis:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00
5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 503.00
9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 449.00
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2007, 440.00
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 429.00
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00

GOLF

Rank, Player, Years, Points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 142.82
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2007, 128.43
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5 Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56

Oscar wins and loses

2008-05-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

When you've fought as many title fights and big names as Oscar De La Hoya, tune up fights do little good in my ranking. De La Hoya, as expected, waded through the harmless punches of Steve Forbes for a unanimous decision Saturday night. Most people keeping score gave Oscar all 12 rounds.

But since non-title fights are worth so little and De La Hoya was already ranked No. 53, he actually slipped a couple of percentage points to fall behind Pascual Perez.

Of course, De La Hoya can make all that up and more in his September rematch against Floyd Mayweather.

The 'new' rankings of No. 50 to No. 60.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
50. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315
51. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 51.251
52. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 51.021
53. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 50.932
54. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 50.754
55. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 50.711
56. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 50.704
57. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 50.664
58. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 50.623
59. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 50.605
60. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 50.562

Calzaghe moves into top 50

2008-04-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

It may not have been an official title fight, but Calzaghe's close -- and disputed -- win over Bernard Hopkins was enough to move him to No. 49 in my ranking of the 100 greatest fighters.

Although the fight itself isn't worth much on my scale now -- it will be worth a lot more when Hopkins goes into the International Boxing Hall of Fame -- Calzaghe picked up 92 bonus points for beating one of the best 125 fighters ever. The bonus points pushed him up 13 positions.

The Executioner didn't suffer much with the loss. A win would have eventually pushed him into the top 20. The loss dropped him just one spot. It'll be interesting to see who both fight next or whether Hopkins finally decides to give it up.

Here are the updated No. 20 through No. 50 greatest fighters ever.

Rank, figher, years, country, points
20. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 57.220
21. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 56.234
22. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 56.016
23. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 55.704
24. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 55.341
25. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-08, U.S., 54.374
26. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 54.110
27. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 54.076
28. Felix Trinidad, 1990-08, Puerto Rico, 53.578
29. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 53.432
30. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 53.132
31. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 53.056
32. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 53.025
33. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 53.003
34. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 52.962
35. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.905
36. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 52.803
37. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 52.574
38. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 52.548
39. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 52.547
40. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 52.458
41. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.352
42. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 52.302
43. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 52.236
44. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224
45. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167
46. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.145
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 52.053
48. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.446
49. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-08, United Kingdom, 51.363
50. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315

The new king ... sort of

2008-04-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who somehow found this blog in 2006 or 2007, you'll remember Tiger Woods had a ways to go to catch Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer of all time.

At least in my old system.

This winter I decided to standardize my rankings among the various sports. I was using a mix of ways to decide the greatest athletes and the one for golf -- which was the first system I finished -- was tilted toward longevity instead of dominance.

I had one year, three year, five year, 10 year and career point totals added up, then added the career totals again and divided by two. That meant a players career total ended up being worth 60 percent of the final ranking.

That of course tilted my list Jack's way, since he still has more major victories and a lot more second place finishes than Woods.

But if you look at the 10 greatest seasons in major championship golf history, Tiger has accomplished three of them:

1. 2000 -- Woods earned 91 points in my system, winning the U.S. Open by 15 shots, the British by eight and the PGA in a playoff. He set scoring records in each tournament.
2. 1953 -- Ben Hogan, won all three majors he played in.
3. 1930 -- Bobby Jones, the original Grand Slam.
4. 2005 -- Tiger Woods, winning the Masters and British Open, second at the U.S. Open and fourth at the PGA.
5. 1980 -- Jack Nicklaus, won the U.S. Open and PGA championship.
6. 1962 -- Arnold Palmer, won the Masters and British Open.
7. 1960 -- Arnold Palmer, won the Masters and rallied from seven back to win the U.S. Open.
8. 1972 -- Jack Nicklaus, opens the year winning the Masters and U.S. Open but then is edged by Lee Trevino in the British.
9. 2002 -- Tiger Woods, won the Masters and British Open and loses by a shot to Rich Beem in the PGA.
10. 1948 -- Ben Hogan, won the U.S. Open and PGA championship.

If you look at dominance, even Nicklaus remarked in 2000 that he was never as good as Woods at his very peak.

After changing my rankings to a combined total of the best three year, six year, 10 year and career scores -- similar to all of my other rankings other than boxing -- then Tiger passed Nicklaus last year and just continues to build on his lead.

In fact, there was no movement in my new all-time golf tournament. Mickelson is one more top 10 finish away from passing Seve Ballesteros, otherwise from now on it's Tiger everyone is chasing.

Here's my new top 72 golfers after the Masters -- oh and congratulations Trevor Immelman, who has the potential to make this field in the next few years:

Rank, player, country, years, points
1. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2008, 179.44
2. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 178.61
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 145.30
4. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 127.39

5. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 122.57
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 118.94
7. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 118.49
8. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 108.67

9. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 108.41
10. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 103.41
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 101.33
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 90.94

13. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 82.67
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 81.90
15. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 81.47
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 79.46

17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2008, 79.35
18. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 77.25
19. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 77.23
20. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 75.77

21. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2007, 72.92
22. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 71.88
23. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 69.27
24. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 67.91

25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 66.93
26. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 66.40
27. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 65.57
28. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 65.24

29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 64.70
30. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 63.05
31. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 62.58
32. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 60.90

33. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 60.81
34. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 58.53
35. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 58.13
36. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 57.08

37. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 57.08
38. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 56.74
39. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 55.53
40. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 55.48

41. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 55.30
42. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 55.07
43. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 54.47
44. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 54.19

45. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 53.91
46. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 53.05
47. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 51.87
48. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 51.85

49. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 51.18
50. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 50.84
51. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 48.08
52. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 48.03

53. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 47.75
54. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 47.67
55. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2007, 47.03
56. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 45.63

57. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 44.72
58. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 44.67
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 44.65
60. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 44.48

61. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 44.42
62. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 44.35
63. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 44.32
64. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 43.97

65. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 43.71
66. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 43.71
67. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 43.34
68. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 42.83

69. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 42.83
70. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 42.66
71. Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 42.13
72. Jerry Pate, United States, 1974-1982, 40.69

Cotto, Dawson wins should mean bigger fights

2008-04-13T01:35:00.001-07:00

Miguel Angel Cotto, as expected, outclassed Alfonso Gomez in a WBA welterweight title match and moved up three spots on my list of the 100 greatest boxers ever.

Light heavyweight Chad Dawson also easily outpointed former champ Glenn Johnson.

Cotto, who already has beaten fighters such as Sugar Shane Mosley and Zab Judah, now will get a shot at Antonio Margarito, who knocked out Kermit Cintron.

Should Cotto win that fight, it will increase the public clamor for fellow welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather (No. 43 on my list) to take him on. The undefeated Mayweather's lone legitimate criticism is that he hasn't really taken on a top fighter in his prime.

Dawson can't even get a Margarito-level fight as the top light heavys continue to duck him. Antonio Tarver, who knocked off Clinton Woods Saturday on the same card, has shown no interest in taking on Dawson.

At 39, Tarver seems to be more interested in talking about how great he is than proving it against the 25-year-old Dawson. Dawson is going to have trouble in general proving his ability. Five of the six top light heavyweights in the world are age 35 or above. Fighters like Tarver, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. are taking on hand-picked opponents to build their legacies.

Dawson is No. 143 on my list.

Here is the updated No. 60 through No. 69 standings:

60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.429
61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.428
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 50.066
63. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.893
64. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.476
65. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-08, Puerto Rico, 49.470
66. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407
67. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.112
68. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 49.014
69. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.883

Next week Calzaghe gets his chance to significantly move up the list when he takes on Bernard Hopkins (No. 25). Should Hopkins win, he could move into the top 20.

Ochoa climbing quickly in all-time women's golf tourney

2008-04-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Lorena Ochoa, the pride of Mexico, soared into the top 25 of the all-time women's golf tournament.

Ochoa has won the past two women's golf majors by a total of nine shots and is severely slowing Annika Sorenstam's march to the top of the rankings.

Here is the updated top 54 golfers in women's pro golf history:

Rank, player, years, points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 142.82
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2008, 128.43
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 92.15
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 91.11
13. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 86.76
14. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 83.66
15. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 81.77
16. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2008, 81.28
17. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 80.33
18. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 79.58
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 69.94
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 68.88
21. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 67.02
22. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 65.27
23. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 61.52
24. Lorena Ochoa, 2002-2008, 60.45
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 60.04
26. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 59.63
27. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 59.60
28. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 59.47
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 56.85
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 56.17
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 56.00
32. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 52.38
33. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 50.75
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 50.01
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 48.13
36. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 43.90
37. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 43.85
38. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 42.54
39. Cristie Kerr, 1999-2007, 40.96
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 39.45
41. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 39.33
41. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 39.33
43. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 39.17
44. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 38.63
45. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 38.56
46. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 38.55
47. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 35.14
48. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 35.02
49. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 34.07
50. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 33.23
51. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 32.84
52. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 32.79
53. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 32.67
54. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 31.97

Abraham moves up, Pavlik next?

2008-03-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

Germany's Arthur Abraham moved up eight spots with a win over overmatched Elvin Ayala.

He has a June 7 bout scheduled with an unnamed opponent. He is on record saying he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik, which would be a mega bout for the summer and be a major step up in opponents. His top victories so far are over a then undefeated Edison Miranda in September 2006 and Howard Eastman in July 2005.

Here is the new No. 85 through No. 100 list in boxing's all-time top 100.

85. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.309
86. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
87. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260
88. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 47.214
89. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195
90. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.071
91. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
92. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
93. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
94. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
95. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
96. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

Pacquiao still a ways from top 100

2008-03-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Although many people consider Phillippines fighter Manny Pacquiao one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters today he still remains a ways from my all-time top 100.

After his thrilling but controversial win of Juan Manuel Marquez last night he sits at No. 134. Just behind Michael Nunn and just ahead of Fernando Montiel.

That will change as time goes on. He already owns wins over three future Hall of Fame fighters in Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. As those fighters are inducted, the point totals he recieved for beating them will more than double.

Another point is that although Pacuiao has already been in 24 title fights, 15 of those were for minor or stepping stone titles. Now that he has one of the four major belts back he should begin wracking up points.

At only age 29, unless Pacquiao's lifestyle catches up to him, he has 12 to 15 more fights to possibly climb into the top 50.

No movement after 12 Hours of Sebring

2008-03-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Emmanuel Collard combined to win the 12 Hours of Sebring for Penske Racing.

It was the first Sebring for Bernhard and he added it to his 2003 win at the 24 Hours of Daytona. For Dumas, it was his first major win of any kind although he has finished in the top 10 at the 24 Hours of LeMans twice.

Collard is the most accomplished of the trio. Collard won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2005 and has been a top 10 finisher at LeMans four times dating back to 1996, including a second-place showing in 2005.

Still, Collard's overall score puts him at 209th overall.

Thailand flyweight drops a spot in busy weekend

2008-03-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

There were major championship fights at both ends of the boxing spectrum this weekend but little change in my all-time top 100 boxer ranking.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand failed to get his WBC flyweight title back Saturday night, fighting Daisuke Naito of Japan to a draw.

Wonjongkam fell to 63-3-1 and is 2-1-1 against Naito. The draw caused Wonjongkam to fall one spot in my ranking to No. 92, trailing Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, the former IBF minimum weight champion, also of Thailand. Vorapin and Wonjonkam are the No. 2 and No. 3 highest ranked Thai fighters in history. Khaosai Galaxy is the all-time best at No. 31.

Here's the new No. 91-100 ranking.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
91. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
92. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany, 46.436
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

Also this weekend, David Haye knocked off Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round to add the WBO cruiserweight title to his WBA and WBC titles. He picked up valuable "unified title" points by picking up three of the top four belts and moved into the top 150 at No. 149. It may take him a bit to threaten the top 100 though. He's apparently moving up to heavyweight. I'll be interesting to see if he can add enough muscle to stand in with the 230-plussers today.

Speaking of heavyweights, Samuel Peter, the Nigerian Nightmare, TKO'd Oleg Maskaev to take one of the top belts away from an Eastern European. Peter is No. 2 on my list of the three heavyweight title holders at No. 130 all-time. Ruslan Chageav, while Wladimir Klitschko is No. 116.

Klitschko's recent win against Sultan Ibragimov clears things up a bit but Chageav apparently is going to fight Nikolay Valuev in a rematch, while Vitali Klitschko may get first crack at Peter.

Where Haye plays in, who knows. It'd be an actual event if Peter for Wladimir Klitschko again, but that will have to wait.

Greatest pro basketball pickup teams

2008-03-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Let's say you were going to have a 5-on-5 tournament, best player at each position. Which NBA or ABA team would be able to put together the best team?

It's not a question of best franchise. Then you'd have to talk titles and of course it'd be centered around Boston and the Lakers. It's the question of which team has had the best players at each position over the course of professional basketball.

Each year I do a pro basketball ranking. To come up with the best team I simply gave franchises -- and I use this term loosely -- points by position. I have Kareem as the greatest center so the Lakers get 30 points (the scoring is a 1 to 30 scale) as well as the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now, some teams have bounced from city to city. I doubt a L.A. Laker fan really considers George Mikan an L.A. player. Just like Sacramento fans don't consider Tiny Archibald -- a Kansas City King -- to be one of theirs.

So for this ranking, you'll see some teams that no longer exist.

In all, 37 different teams scored.

No. 37 -- New Orleans Jazz, 5 points from Pistol Pete Maravich.
No. 36 -- Charlotte Hornets, 14 points from Alonzo Mourning.
No. 35 -- Kansas City Kings, 15 points from Tiny Archibald.
No. 33 (tie) -- Toronto Raptors, 20 points from Vince Carter.
No. 33 (tie) -- Buffalo Braves, 20 points from Bob McAdoo.
No. 32 -- Cleveland Cavaliers, 9 points from Brad Daugherty, 11 points from LeBron James and one point for World B. Free.
No. 31 -- Minneapolis Lakers, 23 points for George Mikan.
No. 30 -- Sacramento Kings, 20 points for Chris Webber, four points for Mitch Richmond.
No. 29 -- Syracuse nationals, 26 points for Dolph Schayes.
No. 28 -- Atlanta Hawks, 21 points for Dominique Wilkins and six points from Lou Hudson.
No. 27 -- Minnesota Timberwolves, 28 points from Kevin Garnett.
No. 26 -- Los Angeles Clippers, 14 points for Elton Brand and 15 points for Terry Cummings.
No. 25 -- Miami Heat, 14 points for Alonzo Mourning and 20 for Tim Hardaway.
No. 24 -- Portland Trailblazers, 13 points for Maurice Lucas, 26 points for Clyde Drexler. This does seem low but Bill Walton didn't play long enough. Terry Porter wasn't a highly enough ranked point guard.
No. 23 -- Dallas Mavericks, 22 for Dirk Nowitzki and 21 for Steve Nash.
No. 22 -- Washington Bullets/Wizards, 12 for Wes Unseld, 25 for Elvin Hayes and 11 for Earl Monroe.
No. 21 -- Cincinnati Royals, going way back, 19 points for Jerry Lucas and 30 for Oscar Robertson.
No. 20 -- Orlando Magic, 26 points for Shaquille O'Neal and 25 points for Tracey McGrady.
No. 19 -- Philadelphia Warriors, 29 points for Wilt Chamberlain and 23 for Paul Arizan.
No. 18 -- Houston Rockets, 28 points for Hakeem Olajuwon, 25 points for Tracey McGrady.
No. 17 -- Kentucky Colonels, 22 points for Artis Gilmore, 21 for Dan Issell and 12 for Lou Dampier.
No. 16 -- Indiana Pacers, 17 points for Mel Daniels, 23 points for George McGinness and 16 for Reggie Miller.
No. 15 -- St. Louis Hawks, 27 points for Bob Petit, 18 for Cliff Hagan and 14 for Lenny Wilkens.
No. 14 -- San Francisco/Golden State Warriors, 13 points for Nate Thurmond, 27 points for Rick Barry, four for Mitch Richmond and 20 for Tim Hardaway.
No. 13 -- Seattle Supersonics, 16 points for Spencer Haywood, eight for Tom Chambers, 18 for Ray Allen and 26 for Gary Payton.
No. 12 -- Utah Jazz, 29 points for Karl Malone, 12 for Adrian Dantley and 27 for John Stockton.
No. 11 -- Denver Rockets/Nuggets, 11 for Dikembe Mutombo, 21 for Issel, 20 for Alex English and 17 for David Thompson.

Here is the top 10:
No. 10 -- Detroit Pistons, 18 for Bob Lanier, 10 for Dennis Rodman, 19 for Grant Hill, two for Joe Dumars and 23 for Isaiah Thomas.
No. 9 -- New York/New Jersey Nets, 30 for Julius Erving, 20 for Vince Carter and 25 for Jason Kidd.
No. 8 -- New York Knicks, 21 for Patrick Ewing, 15 for Dave DeBusschere, nine for Bernard King, 11 for Earl Monroe and 22 for Walt Frazier.
No. 7 -- San Antonio Spurs, 25 for David Robinson, 30 for Tim Duncan and 27 for George Gervin.
No. 6 -- Phoenix Suns, 24 for Charles Barkley, 25 for Connie Hawkins, 21 for Walter Davis and 21 for Steve Nash.
No. 5 -- Milwaukee Bucks, 30 for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 16 for Bobby Dandridge, 19 for Sydney Moncrief and 30 for Oscar Robertson.
No. 4 -- Chicago Bulls, 22 for Artis Gilmore, 10 for Dennis Rodman, 16 for Scottie Pippen, 30 for Michael Jordan and 10 for Norm Van Lier.
No. 3 -- Los Angeles Lakers, 30 for Abdul-Jabbar, 28 for Elgin Baylor, 29 for Jerry West and 29 for Magic Johnson. The problem here is no great power forwards in the franchise's history and Karl Malone doesn't count here.
No. 2 -- Boston Celtics, 27 for Bill Russell, 18 for Kevin McHale, 29 for Larry Bird, 24 for Bill Sharman and 28 for Bob Cousy.

Leaving ...

No. 1 -- Philadelphia 76ers, even though the Sixers have just two NBA titles, they have had star power throughout the decades. Here's the starting five: Chamberlain (29), Barkley (24), Erving (30), Hal Greer (23) and Allen Iverson (24).

Try starting a bar discussion by saying the best five 76ers would beat the best Celtics or Lakers and see how that goes.

Bute knocks Joppy from boxing's top 100

2008-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Lucien Bute defeated three-time middleweight champion William Joppy last night in his second title defense of the IBF Super Middleweight title.

The knockout loss sent Joppy -- now 39-5-1 -- tumbling from the top 100. Bute -- 22-0 with 18 knockouts -- is No. 137.

Also, Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, who came out of retirement last year, has added a string of knockouts over little known fighters. It's been enough to climb back into the top 100.

Here's the new No. 90 through 100.

Rank, fighter, years, country
90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea
91. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand
92. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand
93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S.
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S.
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S.
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S.
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom

The 25 greatest racers in the world

2008-02-25T21:29:00.001-08:00

Here are my picks as the top 25 racers to climb into a cockpit.

Rank, Racer, Country, Years, Total
25. Mario Andretti, United States, 1965-1995, 52.00
* 7th highest Indy racer
* 10th ranked U.S. driver
(One of two drivers to score top 10 tens at Monaco, LeMans, Indy and Daytona. Only driver with Formula One title, Indy 500 and Daytona 500 wins on resume)

24. Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina, 1950-1957, 52.02
* 7th highest Formula One driver
* No. 1 ranked Argentine
(Five Formula One titles in just eight years, two-time Monaco winner and added two 12 Hours at Sebring wins)

23. Henri Pescarolo, France, 1970-1999, 52.06
* 8th highest endurance driver
* No. 2 ranked French driver
(Four time LeMans winner with a 24 Hours at Daytona win as well)

22. Lou Meyer, United States, 1928-1937, 52.44
* 6th highest Indy driver
* No. 9 U.S. driver
(First three-time Indy 500 winner. Also had three AAA titles to his credit)

21. Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil, 1971-1994, 53.34
* 5th highest Indy driver
* No. 2 driver from Brazil
(A two-time Formula One champion, he switched to Indy car racing and won two Indy 500s and a CART championship)

20. Olivier Gendebien, Germany, 1955-1962, 53.95
* 7th highest endurance racer
* No. 3 German driver
(Won four LeMans titles in a five-year span to go along with two Sebring wins)

19. Wilbur Shaw, United States, 1927-1940, 54.29
* 4th highest Indy driver.
* No. 8 U.S. driver
(Won three Indy 500s, along with three second place finishes, and added two AAA titles)

18. Bobby Allison, United States, 1968-1988, 54.53
* Third highest NASCAR driver
* No. 7 U.S. driver
(Two Daytona 500 wins and three runner up finishes plus one Winston Cup title)

17. Stirling Moss, United Kingdom, 1953-1961, 56.17
* 6th ranked Formula One driver
* No. 4 from the United Kingdom
(Three time Monaco winner was twice runner up at LeMans. Also finished in top three in Formula One championship -- but never first -- for seven straight years)

16. Rick Mears, United States, 1979-1991, 56.93
* 3rd ranked Indy car driver
* No. 6 U.S. driver
(One of three four-time Indy 500 winners. Also had three CART titles)

15. Emanuele Pirro, Italy, 1991-2007, 57.18
* No. 6 endurance driver
* No. 1 Italian driver
(Five LeMans wins and four third-place finishes in the past nine years. Added a Sebring title in 2007)

14. Frank Biela, Germany, 1999-2007, 58.20
* No. 5 endurance driver
* No. 2 German driver
(Five wins at LeMans to go along with four at Sebring)

13. Jackie Stewart, United Kingdom, 1965-1973, 58.59
* No. 5 Formula One driver
* No. 3 driver from United Kingdom
(Three Monaco wins and three Formula One titles in nine years. Also recorded top 10s at LeMans and Indianapolis)

12. Cale Yarborough, United States, 1965-1987, 60.72
* No. 2 NASCAR driver
* No. 5 driver from U.S.
(Four Daytona 500 wins and three Winston Cup titles. Also one of rare NASCAR drivers to compete outside of NASCAR with one top 10 at Indy to his credit)

11. Al Unser, United States, 1965-1992, 62.05
* No. 2 Indy car driver
* No. 4 driver from U.S.
(Four Indy 500 wins with three CART titles and a win at 24 Hours of Daytona. Also one fourth place finish in Daytona 500)

10. Tom Kristensen, Denmark, 1997-2006, 63.84
* No. 4 endurance racer
* No. 1 driver from Denmark
(All-time leading LeMans winner with seven, including six in a row. Also has four Sebring wins)

9. Phil Hill, United States, 1958-1964, 64.37
* No. 3 endurance racer
* No. 3 driver from U.S.
(Won three LeMans titles, two Sebring races and a 24 Hours at Daytona. Also won a Formula One title and was top three at Monaco three times)

8. Derek Bell, United Kingdom, 1972-1996, 65.14
* No. 2 endurance racer
* No. 2 driver from United Kingdom
(Six time winner at LeMans and a top 10 finisher there 16 times. Also won three 24 Hours at Daytona races)

7. Alain Prost, France, 1982-1993, 67.12
* No. 4 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from France
(Won four Monaco titles and four Formula One titles in 12 seasons)

6. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, 1984-1993, 69.98
* No. 3 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from Brazil
(Three time Formula One champion. Won six times at Monaco, including his last five before being killed at age 34)

5. Jacky Ickx, Belgium, 1968-1985, 70.78
* No. 1 endurance racer
* No. 1 driver from Belgium
(Six LeMans wins to go along with two at Sebring and one at 24 Hours of Daytona. Also competed in Formula One, finishing in top three at Monaco in 1971 and 1972 and finishing in top three of Formula One championship from 1968 to 1972)

4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, 1992-2006, 77.35
* No. 2 Formula One driver
* No. 1 German driver
(His six Monaco wins and seven Formula One series championships are both records. Perhaps had more wins in him but retired in 2006 at just 37)

3. Richard Petty, United States, 1960-1987, 79.77
* No. 1 NASCAR driver
* No. 2 driver from U.S.
(Most dominant single series driver ever. Won seven Daytona 500s and seven Winston Cups. Finished in top 10 at Daytona 17 times and was in top three of season series 15 times)

2. Graham Hill, United Kingdom, 1958-1974, 81.65
* No. 1 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from United Kingdom
(Won five times at Monaco and claimed two Formula One championships. Also won 24 Hours at LeMans and the Indianapolis 500 making him the only driver to win racing's "Triple Crown")

1. A.J. Foyt, United States, 1959-1992, 87.69
* No. 1 Indy car driver
* No. 1 from U.S.
(First four-time Indy 500 winner and only driver to win Indy and Daytona 500s along with 24 Hours at LeMans. Claimed six CART titles from 1960 to 1975 and later in his career tacked on two wins at 24 Hours of Daytona and one at Sebring. In 1967, became the first and still only driver to win two -- Indy and LeMans -- of racing's big four races in same year. He added a CART title that season)

World's greatest racers, part III

2008-02-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

Now we start getting in to some of the big, big names in auto racing in the past 95 years. Here are the No. 50 down to No. 26 greatest racecar drivers in the world.

Rank, racer, country, years, points
50. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 2003-2007, 41.19
49. Luigi Chinetti, Italy, 1932-1951, 42.08
48. Rinaldo Capello, Italy, 1999-2006, 42.51
47. Jim Clark, United Kingdom, 1959-1967, 43.12
46. Klaus Ludwig, Germany, 1979-1988, 43.31
45. Gordon Johncock, United States, 1965-1991, 43.33
44. Bill Elliott, United States, 1978-2001, 43.53
43. Al Unser Jr., United States, 1983-2003, 44.91
42. Dale Jarrett, United States, 1991-2006, 45.11
41. Al Holbert, United States, 1976-1987, 45.17
40. Hans Joachim Stuck, Germany, 1976-1996, 45.37
39. Jody Scheckter, South Africa, 1974-1979, 45.45
38. Rodger Ward, United States, 1956-1964, 45.51
37. Denny Hulme, Australia, 1965-1973, 45.63
36. Niki Lauda, Austria, 1974-1984, 45.87
35. Hurley Haywood, United States, 1973-1994, 46.33
34. Dale Earnhardt, United States, 1979-2000, 46.54
33. Jeff Gordon, United States, 1993-2007, 47.10
32. Bruce McLaren, Australia, 1959-1969, 48.09
31. Marco Werner, Germany, 2002-2007, 48.63
30. Mauri Rose, United States, 1934-1950, 48.83
29. Johnny Rutherford, United States, 1963-1986, 48.88
28. Maurice Trintignant, France, 1953-1961, 50.45
27. Yannick Dalmas, France, 1988-2002, 51.15
26. Bobby Unser, United States, 1966-1981, 51.17

Now it's getting tough. Johncock was a two-time Indy winner. Jarrett won three Daytona 500s and two winston Cups and he's behind Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon in this group. I'd never heard of Hurley Haywood, but he's one of the top endurance racers ever to come out of the U.S. He won three LeMans races, two 12 Hours at Sebrings and four 24 Hours at Daytonas. Maurice Trintignant won twice at Monaco and once at LeMans, and Bobby Unser was a three-time Indy 500 winner.

Greatest racecar driver in the world, take two

2008-02-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

In my first post I explained how the yearly point totals worked but not how I add them up for a ranking. I use the same 3, 6, 10 and career system as in my other rankings.

To show how, I'll break down the career of one of the most versatile drivers ever -- Dan Gurney.

Gurney scored points in my system in 11 years from 1959 to 1970.

His best year, in terms of points, was 1967 when he recorded his only win among the four biggest races in the world, the 24 Hours at LeMans with A.J. Foyt. He did not score in any other category.

In 1963, he took fifth in the Daytona 500 (six points) and seventh in the Indianapolis 500 (four points) for 10 points for the year.

His third best year was a tie for 1968 and 1969 when he was runnerup at Indianapolis for nine points each. So his ranking for top 3 years was 20 + 10 + 9 divided by 3 for 13.0 points.

I used those top three years, added 1968's 9 points for Indy and then 1970 when he was third at Indy (8 points) and 1961 when Gurney took fifth at the Grand Prix of Monaco (6 points) and fourth in the Formula One series (1 point).

So his six best years were 20 + 10 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 7 divided by 6 for a score of 10.5 points.

For his best 10 years he had an average of 7.7 and his total career points, which included bonus points for winning the 12 Hours at Sebring and 24 Hours at Daytona I divided by 25 for a score of 3.1. Why 25? A.J. Foyt scored points in an incredible 25 years between 1959 and 1993 so he sets the standard.

Although the system rewards drivers like Gurney who went out and tried to win races outside their comfort zone -- Gurney and Mario Andretti are the only drivers to record top 10 finishes in Monaco, LeMans, Indy and Daytona -- it rewards winning even more. Even though Gurney was a threat at all four events for 12 years, he won just one so he's ranked a somewhat pedestrian 68th.

So now that you know a little bit more, here are the No. 75 through No. 51 greatest racecar drivers ever.

Rank, racer, country, years, points
75. Jack Brabham, Australia, 1957-1970, 33.49
74. Ted Horn, United States, 1936-1948, 33.62
72. Buddy Baker, United States, 1969-1988, 33.71
72. Andy Wallace, United Kingdom, 1988-2006, 33.71
71. Andre Rossignol, France, 1923-1928, 34.09
70. Michael Waltrip, United States, 1990-2003, 34.15
68. Jimmy Bryan, United States, 1952-1958, 34.32
68. Dan Gurney, United States, 1959-1970, 34.32
67. Gerard Larrousse, France, 1969-1974, 34.73
66. Michele Alboreto, Italy, 1981-2001, 34.82
65. Helio Castroneves, Brazil, 2001-2006, 35.04
64. Benny Parsons, United States, 1969-1987, 35.16
63. Gijs van Lennap, Netherlands, 1971-1976, 35.35
62. Bobby Rahal, United States, 1981-1995, 35.49
61. J.J. Lehto, Finland, 1992-2005, 36.85
60. Arie Luyendyk, Netherlands, 1985-1998, 36.97
59. Tommy Milton, United States, 1920-1927, 37.29
58. Sterling Marlin, United States, 1980-2005, 37.91
57. Darrell Waltrip, United States, 1974-1997, 37.95
56. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, 1999-2008, 38.39
55. Woolf Barnato, United Kingdom, 1928-1930, 38.40
54. Tom Sneva, United States, 1976-1984, 38.58
53. David Pearson, United States, 1962-1984, 38.59
52. David Coulthard, United Kingdom, 1995-2006, 39.00
51. Tazio Nuvolari, Italy, 1932-1936, 39.99

Who was the greatest racecar driver in the world?

2008-02-23T23:06:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I posted the ultimate NASCAR race, grids 1 through 43.

Richard Petty took the top spot naturally, but of course a NASCAR ranking wouldn't include two of the biggest names in U.S. auto racing -- A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

Both Foyt and Andretti won Daytona 500s but spent the vast majority of the careers in open-wheel racing, chasing titles world wide.

So I started thinking about how to rank racers in Indy Car with NASCAR and Formula One. Even with the explosion of NASCAR in the U.S., the Formula One series title remains the most coveted in the world.

On the other hand, U.S. open wheel actually has the longest running series championship if you trace Champ Car -- which thankfully merged with the Indy Racing League to hopefully save open-wheel in the U.S. -- all the way back. It's evolved from the AAA series that actually was going on before the Indianapolis race became a 500-miler, to USAC, to CART and finally to Champ Car/IRL.

But the series title meant little. When people look at A.J. Foyt's career, they mention the four Indy 500 wins, the Daytona 500 and his 24 Hours of LeMans wins. Very few rank his six USAC series titles among his greatest accomplishments.

So the series titles aren't of equal stature and drivers can't drive more than one circuit a year, so you don't see the best worldwide squaring off.

Where you do occasionally see the best going head-to-head is in the most historic races. Doing a little research I found that Formula One's Grand Prix of Monaco, endurance racing's 24 Hours of LeMans and the Indianapolis 500 are considered the Triple Crown of Auto Racing.

For my rankings, though, I'm adding a fourth to the list -- the Daytona 500. Although it doesn't have the history as the other three, the first Daytona 500 was in 1959 -- it has surpassed the Indy 500 as the top race in the U.S., again thanks to NASCAR's growth.

So I based my rankings on golf, which centers around the four majors for men and women. The winning driver of the above four races received 20 points, with second place worth nine, third place eight and on down to 10th place receiving a point.

I didn't totally disregard season-long results. The Formula One title is the most prestigious in the world. Winning it is worth six bonus points, second in the series gets three, third is worth two and fourth place earns a point.

NASCAR, even though it hasn't been around as long, has long been considered a more prestigious series than open-wheel in the U.S. The fact that Dale Earnhardt won seven Winston Cups is central to his reputation. So the Grand National/Winston/Nextel Cup is worth five points to the winner, two to second and third gets a point.

The various open-wheel series championships were worth four points to the winner and one point to second place. During the Champ/IRL split, though, the winner of each series received two points.

Endurance racing has had just a handful of season series even worth mentioning. Truthfully, beyond LeMans, the 12 hour at Sebring and 24 hours at Daytona races are bigger than any series. The winners of those races each year received two points.

A few points for the ranking:

* It was tilted ever so slightly toward Formula One. A Monaco Grand Prix win and Formula One series title is worth 26 points. A Daytona 500 and Nextel Cup championship is worth 25. An Indy 500 and AAA/USAC/CART/IRL at most was worth 24 and if you swept the endurance "Triple Crown" of LeMans, Sebring and Daytona, that was worth 24 points.

* Endurance racers had a slight advantage overall. Because of the length of the races, teams use between two and four drivers. That means there's a lot more points available each year to endurance racers. You could win as many points being the No. 4 driver at LeMans as being the lone winner at Monaco.

* One-series wonders had to really, really dominate to get near the top. This really limits NASCAR drivers because that series is so full very, very few over the years have ventured outside NASCAR. You'll see what I mean as the standings unfold.

* Modern drivers have an advantage because safety equipment is so much better. Who knows what a guy like Bill Vukovich would have accomplished if he hadn't been killed dominating the Indy 500 after winning two straight in the 1950s?

I'll release the top 100 over the next four nights. In reverse order, here are the No. 100 down to No. 76 greatest auto racers worldwide.

Rank, racer, country, years, points
100. Geoff Bodine, United States, 1984-2000, 29.71
99. Bob Wollek, France, 1977-1998, 29.82
98. Allan McNish, United Kingdom, 1998-2006, 29.87
97. Eddie Cheever, United States, 1981-2002, 29.96
96. Mauro Baldi, Italy, 1983-2002, 30.01
95. Paul Frere, Belgium, 1955-1960, 30.53
94. Michael Andretti, United States, 1983-2006, 30.63
93. Buddy Lazier, United States, 1996-2004, 30.81
92. Hans Herrman, Germany, 1958-1970, 30.88
91. Jimmie Johnson, United States, 2003-2007, 30.89
90. Jimmy Murphy, United States, 1920-1924, 30.95
89. Jim Rathmann, United States, 1952-1962, 31.07
88. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, 1993-2001, 31.07
87. Ronnie Peterson, Sweden, 1970-1978, 31.17
86. Vern Schuppan, Australia, 1975-1984, 31.91
85. Mika Hakkinen, Finland, 1994-2000, 31.95
84. Lorenzo Bandini, Italy, 1962-1967, 32.01
83. Rudolf Caracciola, Germany, 1929-1939, 32.09
82. Nigel Mansell, United Kingdom, 1982-1993, 32.24
81. Jochen Rindt, Austria, 1965-1970, 32.31
80. Fred Lorenzen, United States, 1960-1971, 32.35
79. Raymond Sommer, France, 1932-1950, 32.53
78. Jan Lammers, Netherlands, 1980-2005, 32.75
77. Nelson Piquet, Brazil, 1979-1996, 32.77
76. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, France, 1973-1980, 33.17

Newman wins Daytona, moves into all-time Daytona field

2008-02-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ryan Newman's 13th win was a lucky one -- the Daytona 500.

The five points he receives in my system for winning Daytona plus the one point for winning a race was enough to move him into the top 43 racers in NASCAR history.

The person he knocked out of the all-time race is still active -- Kevin Harvick -- so he may make his way back in. The guy on the cut line is Ernie Irvan. Here is the updated starting grid for the all-time NASCAR race.

Pole pos., Racer, Total
1. Richard Petty, 119.68
2. Dale Earnhardt, 92.16
3. Cale Yarborough, 86.59
4. Darell Waltrip, 84.33
5. Jeff Gordon, 80.00
6. David Pearson, 76.66
7. Bobby Allison, 72.36
8. Lee Petty, 67.11
9. Bill Elliott, 66.64
10. Herb Thomas, 65.13
11. Jimmie Johnson, 61.87
12. Dale Jarrett, 60.94
13. Buck Baker, 58.67
14. Ned Jarrett, 57.72
15. Tim Flock, 57.47
16. Tony Stewart, 52.14
17. Terry Labonte, 50.50
18. Mark Martin, 49.90
19. Benny Parsons, 49.75
20. Joe Weatherly, 42.90
21. Bobby Labonte, 41.53
22. Bobby Isaac, 39.26
23. Rex White, 38.27
24. Fireball Roberts, 38.00
25. Matt Kenseth, 37.37
26. Harry Gant, 36.29
27. Fonty Flock, 36.23
28. Jeff Burton, 35.31
29. James Hylton, 35.22
30. Kurt Busch, 34.91
31. Ricky Rudd, 33.77
32. Curtis Turner, 33.56
33. Junior Johnson, 33.16
34. Sterling Marlin, 31.51
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 30.61
36. Davey Allison, 30.29
37. Speedy Thompson, 28.54
38. Dave Marcis, 26.25
39. Jim Paschal, 25.79
40. Ken Schrader, 24.63
41. Buddy Baker, 23.88
42. Ryan Newman, 23.73
43. Ernie Irvan, 23.47

The ultimate NASCAR race

2008-02-03T16:39:00.001-08:00

I'm no gearhead -- I haven't watched a race for more than two minutes in 20 years -- but I keep up with the sport through Sports Illustrated and obviously NASCAR is as major a league as there is in the United States.

With the end of the football season tonight, the next big event on the U.S. calendar is the Daytona 500 so tonight I'll present my ultimate NASCAR race. Racers one through 43, just like the starting Daytona grid.

I based the system a bit on golf but customized it a bit to fit with the Chase in that the top 12 drivers received points. Winning the Grand National or Winston or Nextel Cup was worth 20 points. Second place was 11, third eight 10, etc.

A driver received a bonus point for every race won during the season. And the top three drivers in the Daytona 500 received points as well. The winner received five, second received two and third place was worth one.

I totaled all three to give a driver a yearly score and then ranked drivers based on their best three year, six year, 10 year and career totals.

Let's break down a driver to show how it works. How about Bill Elliott.

Elliott's best year -- in my system -- was 1985 when he finished second in the Winston Cup, won the Daytona 500 and 11 races overall. His score was 11 points for the season series, five for winning Daytona and 11 bonus points for wins (So winning Daytona actually amounts to six points). That's 27 points.

His second best year was 1992 when he actually won the Winston Cup. He got 20 points for that, but he was not in the top three at Daytona and won just five races so his yearly score was 25.

In 1987, he was again second in the Cup, won Daytona and six races for a score of 22.

To figure his top three year score, I added 27, 25 and 22 and divided by three for a score of 24.67. I took his top six scores and divided by that number for that total and the same with 10.

For the career score, I took all of the points he scored in 18 seasons -- 181 -- and divided it by 27. Why 27? That's the number of seasons Richard Petty scored at least one point in my system so he's the one to be measured against.

To reach a final score, I added the 3-year, 6-year, 10-year and career rankings together for a total.

Then I made one little adjustment. Richard Petty's 200 wins were off the charts, but when you look back at NASCAR's season, the King's numbers are a bit inflated. Before 1955, the season had on average about 29 races a season. From 1955 through 1971, NASCAR was running numerous mid-week races to generate cash for the drivers. In that time, the average number of races included in the Cup was just under 50.

In 1972, NASCAR scaled back on the schedule to where between 28 and 36 races are run each year. Since drivers in the '60s had so many more opportunities to pick up bonus points, the wins from 1955 through 1971 were worth 0.67 points.

That changed the standings slightly, but as you'll see the same driver finished on top with or without the adjustment.

So with Daytona two weeks away, here would be the all-time field in an ultimate Daytona 500.

Pole pos., Racer, Years, Total
1. Richard Petty, 1959-1987, 119.68
2. Dale Earnhardt, 1979-2000, 92.16
3. Cale Yarborough, 1965-1985, 86.59
4. Darell Waltrip, 1975-1994, 84.33
5. Jeff Gordon, 1994-2007, 80.00
6. David Pearson, 1961-1980, 76.66
7. Bobby Allison, 1966-1988, 72.36
8. Lee Petty, 1949-1961, 67.11
9. Bill Elliott, 1983-2003, 66.64
10. Herb Thomas, 1950-1956, 65.13
11. Jimmie Johnson, 2002-2007, 61.87
12. Dale Jarrett, 1991-2005, 60.94
13. Buck Baker, 1952-1964, 58.67
14. Ned Jarrett, 1959-1965, 57.72
15. Tim Flock, 1949-1956, 57.47
16. Tony Stewart, 1999-2007, 52.00
17. Terry Labonte, 1979-2003, 50.50
18. Mark Martin, 1989-2007, 49.90
19. Benny Parsons, 1970-1987, 49.75
20. Joe Weatherly, 1958-1963, 42.90
21. Bobby Labonte, 1995-2003, 41.53
22. Bobby Isaac, 1964-1973, 39.26
23. Rex White, 1958-1963, 38.27
24. Fireball Roberts, 1950-1964, 38.00
25. Matt Kenseth, 2000-2007, 37.37
26. Harry Gant, 1980-1992, 36.29
27. Fonty Flock, 1949-1956, 36.23
28. Jeff Burton, 1997-2007, 35.31
29. James Hylton, 1966-1977, 35.22
30. Kurt Busch, 2002-2007, 34.47
31. Ricky Rudd, 1979-2002, 33.77
32. Curtis Turner, 1949-1965, 33.56
33. Junior Johnson, 1955-1965, 33.16
34. Sterling Marlin, 1987-2002, 31.51
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2000-2006, 30.61
36. Davey Allison, 1987-1993, 30.29
37. Speedy Thompson, 1953-1960, 28.54
38. Dave Marcis, 1970-1984, 26.25
39. Jim Paschal, 1953-1967, 25.79
40. Ken Schrader, 1987-1998, 24.63
41. Buddy Baker, 1965-1983, 23.88
42. Ernie Irvan, 1990-1997, 23.47
43. Kevin Harvick, 2001-2007, 23.42

A couple of names you don't see on this list are A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. Foyt won a Daytona 500 but neither he nor Andretti spent much time in NASCAR. Foyt won four Indy 500s and a 24 Hours at LeMans in open wheel while Andretti is the last U.S. driver to win the Formula 1 title.

Personally, I'm biased because I grew up when Foyt was winning his last Indy races but I don't see how he can't be the best U.S. born driver ever.

But this is a NASCAR ranking. I'm working on a worldwide all-time ranking I hope to have done by the end of the Daytona 500. So if you're a racing fan, check back then.

A new challenger for all-time men's tennis tourney

2008-01-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

For the first time since the 2005 Australian Open someone other than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal won a major tennis tournament.

Novak Djokovic's win ended a remarkable run to the top of the all-time tennis tournament by Federer. For Nadal, it was his first semifinal in a hard-court major so it was a step forward for him.

Still, Djokovic, even with last year's U.S. Open final and Wimbledon semifinal, is not in our top 32 so the standings did not change.

I did incorporate semifinalist points and standardized the system with my other systems, eliminating the 1-year category. That mixed things up a bit toward the bottom of the rankings. Here's the updated list:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2008, 101.17
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. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 62.07
10. Stefan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 59.37
11. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1995, 52.67
12. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 50.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 48.60
14. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2008, 40.33
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. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 28.83
21. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 28.67
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

Sharapova moves into top half of all-time draw

2008-01-26T05:50:00.001-08:00

At the end of 2006, I thought Maria Sharapova was set to go on one of those runs you see by the top women's tennis players where she ran off five or six major titles out of seven.

The kind of dominance that came from King, Court, Navratilova and Serena Williams.

Instead, Williams kind of put her into a permanent funk by beating her in the 2007 Australian Open.

Sharapova rebounded in the '08 Aussie though. Her 6-4, 6-0 beat down of Justine Henin may mark a permanent shift in that battle. Of course, she'll have to hold off Ana Ivanovic for the next few years since they are both just 20.

The win gives Sharapova three of the four major titles and she was a semifinalist last year. She leapfrogged several players in the all-time women's tennis tournament.

Here's the new top 32:

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, 80.35
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1998-2007, 68.62
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 65.15
10. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-2000, 63.14
11. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 62.14
12. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2007, 61.12
13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 47.65
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1996-2005, 47.40
15. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2008, 31.97
16. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 1990-2004, 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, 1985-1995, 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, 14.91
29. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 14.74
30. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 14.41
31. Mary-Joe Fernandez, United States, 1989-1997, 13.33
32. Nancy Richey, United States, 1968-1970, 12.83

Roy Jones Jr. -- best of his generation

2008-01-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Many are going to dismiss Roy Jones Jr.'s win over Felix Trinidad as two has-beens cashing in on a final pay day.

True, this would have been a much more lucrative and important fight in 2001 than it was in 2008. But we can't dismiss Roy's win. It cements his place as the best fighter of the 1995-2005 era.

Even though it wasn't a title fight and worth minimal points in my all-time top 100 fighter ranking, Trinidad is a future Hall of Famer and easily among the top 50 fighters ever so Jones piled up even more bonus points for beating all-time greats.

In his 52 wins, Jones now has wins over Virgil Hill, Mike McCallum, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins and Felix Trinidad. No other fighter of his time has taken on so many challenges.

The bonus points alone helped Jones jump five spots to No. 12 on the list. And even if he decides there are no more challenges, he will continue to climb. As the fighters he has beaten retire and go into the Hall of Fame -- McCallum already is in and the other four figure to get there -- then his wins will be worth even more over time.

Jones could finish as high as No. 5.

Trinidad fell two spots to No. 28.

Here's the new top 30:

1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 84.972
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 84.312
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.434
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 75.282
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.776
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 62.665
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 61.514
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 60.829
9. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 60.008
10. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 60.004
11. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 59.812
12. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-08, U.S., 59.792
13. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 59.526
14. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 59.457
15. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 59.078
16. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 59.017
17. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.838
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.821
19. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 57.381
20. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 57.220
21. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 56.234
22. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 56.016
23. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 55.570
24. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 55.341
25. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-07, U.S., 55.327
26. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 54.110
27. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 54.076
28. Felix Trinidad, 1990-08, Puerto Rico, 53.578
29. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 53.432
30. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 53.132

G'day to 2008

2008-01-14T23:19:00.001-08:00

I love the Australian Open just because it's the first major event of the new year. Over the Christmas break I decided to standardize my rankings among the sports. I had tweaked golf one way, tennis another, football and basketball a different way.

Now I've settled on 1-year, 3-year, 6-year, 10-year and career points and arriving at a total by adding them all together. Basketball and football, though, I do not use the 1-year, instead I use the 3, 6, 10, career numbers.

That puts the focus back on domination. Case in point, men's tennis. Here's how one great year plays out.

1-year, obviously it's 100 percent of the score.
3-year, it's 33 percent of the score.
6-year, it's 16.7 percent of the score.
10-year, it's 10 percent of the score.
In men's tennis, Pete Sampras scored in 12 different years so I'm taking the total career points and dividing by 12 -- in women's tennis, Martina Navratilova scored in an amazing 23 years.

So in men's tennis, one great year is worth more than 30 percent of the total score.

That moved a few people around. Here are the revised top 16 players for both men and women in the Open era.

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 147.53
2. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 131.92
3. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 130.17
4. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 128.49
5. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 124.13
6. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 124.12
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 109.27
8. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 106.75
9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 93.06
10. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 92.42
11. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 84.01
12. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 81.58
13. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 80.78
14. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 73.38
15. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2007, 65.50
16. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 64.94

Women
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 228.99
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 219.36
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 152.76
4. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 149.32
5. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 146.64
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 130.19
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 114.18
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 113.57
9. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 107.69
10. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 103.47
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2007, 91.10
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 88.46
13. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 68.75
14. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 67.41
15. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 52.52
16. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 51.42

All-time top 100 boxers, end of 2007

2007-12-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

The newest members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame were announced this week and since my ranking depends on who is in the Hall, the new inductees -- especially Larry Holmes -- shake up the rankings a bit.

That plus the fact the next major fight is not until Jan. 19 when Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. try to recapture their youth against other and I've decided to publish my all-time 100 top boxers in history a couple of weeks early.

That allows me to concentrate on finishing my next project. The greatest pro football players of all time. The offensive players should be ready by Jan. 1 but defense is going to take me well into the spring.

Back to boxing. Below is the updated list with an additional category -- how much a fighter rose or dropped in the ranking. I made two significant revisions to the list this year -- adding a bonus category for defeating all-time greats and a unified champion category for fighters after 1983 with more points -- so there was a lot of shuffling. Way more than what will happen in the coming years.

The top 10 were unchanged:

1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 84.955, +0
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 84.312, +0
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.434, +0
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 75.299, +0
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.776, +0
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 62.665, +0
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 61.514, +0
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 60.829, +0
9. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 60.008, +0
10. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 60.004, +0

There were some real climbers at 11 through 19.

11. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 59.812, +4
12. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 59.526, +0
13. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 59.440, +5
14. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 59.078, -3
15. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 59.017, -2
16. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.838, -2
17. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-07, U.S., 58.473, +8
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.821, -2
19. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 57.381, +11

Hagler and Jones benefitted from the unified champion category as did Spinks. Spinks also gained a lot of points with Holmes' induction into the Hall of Fame courtesy of his two controversial decisions that ended Larry's unbeaten streak.

20. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 57.220, -3
21. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 56.234, +1
22. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 56.016, -3
23. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 55.570, -3
24. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-07, U.S., 55.444, +21
25. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 55.341, -4
26. Felix Trinidad, 1990-05, Puerto Rico, 54.589, +0
27. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 54.110, -3
28. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 54.076, -5
29. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 53.432, -2

30. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 53.115, +1
31. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 53.056, +3
32. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 53.025, +1
33. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 52.986, +2
34. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 52.962, -6
35. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.905, +3
36. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 52.803, +0
37. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 52.574, +1
38. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 52.548, +2
39. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 52.547, +27

Tyson had a remarkable year without actually winning a fight. Adding the unified title fight category really added a lot of points. He also gained points on the Holmes Hall of Fame induction and even picked up some bonus points because of the rapid rise of Michael Spinks, whom Tyson destroyed in about 1 minute.

40. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 52.475, +1
41. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.352, -2
42. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 52.302, -13
43. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 52.236, +5
44. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224, -2
45. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167, -2
46. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.145, -2
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 52.053, +20
48. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.430, -11
49. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315, -2

50. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 51.251, -4
51. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 51.021, +4
52. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 50.954, +6
53. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 50.932, -4
54. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 50.711, +16
55. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 50.704, -5
56. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 50.664, -3
57. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 50.623, -5
58. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 50.605, +5
59. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 50.579, -8

Lennox Lewis is going to climb quite a bit in the coming years. He has wins over both Holyfield and Tyson, sure Hall of Famers, and even may gain from Vitali Klitschko, if he somehow sneaks in. Eventually, he'll end up higher than Tyson and Holyfield.

60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.429, -6
61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.428, -5
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 50.083, +14
63. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.893, -3
64. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.476, -5
65. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407, +7
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.112, -9
67. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 49.014, NR
68. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 48.936, +16
69. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.890, -8

I simply hadn't rated Michalczewski before. He's a sure Hall of Famer. Cotto flew up the charts with the win over Mosley. I'm hoping a Cotto/Mayweather fight comes in 2008. Calzaghe jumped with the win over Kessler, but he also needs some more big name wins.

70. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.883, -6
71. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.733, -5
72. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.617, -7
73. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427, -5
74. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 48.376, +6
75. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 48.308, NR
76. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.191, -7
77. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 48.178, -15
78. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.142, -8
79. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011, -6

Mosley took a tumble because of the Cotto loss. Whitaker's initial ranking was why I added the unified title fight category. He ranked No. 102 because of his low rate of knockouts. But he dominated his weight class for five years and deserved more points.

80. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.995, -6
81. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989, -7
82. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827, -7
83. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.797, -4
84. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.350, +3
85. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.326, NR
86. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300, -5
87. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260, +5
88. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195, -5
89. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.071, -4

Tiozzo is another fighter I didn't rank until just recently.

90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932, -4
91. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.803, -3
92. William Joppy, 1993-07, U.S., 46.681, -2
93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653, -4
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542, -3
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465, -1
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany, 46.436, NR
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395, -2
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395, -3
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371, -2

100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333, -2

Ottke retired as an undefeated champ but didn't fight anyone of note. Abraham hopefully will start fighting some better competition -- Kelly Pavlik? William Joppy seems high but he held various titles for nine years.

Mayweather more than a mouth

2007-12-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

It's getting harder to dismiss Floyd Mayweather's claims that he's an all-time great. His 10 round TKO over previously undefeated Ricky Hatton proves much more than his decision over the now part-time fighter Oscar De La Hoya.

Now, I'm not agreeing with Mayweather's assertions that he ranks up there with Sugar Ray Robinson and Henry Armstrong, but he is climbing my list of the top 100 fighters in modern history.

Mayweather climbed four spots to No. 42 on the all-time list and undoubtedly will go higher. Both of the fighters he beat this year likely will be Hall of Famers after their careers, which means his wins will become worth more in my scoring system, and eventually will move him into the top 35.

What will be interesting now is to see who is next. Miguel Angel Cotto (No. 68) has expressed interest.

As for Hatton, he tumbled all the from No. 84 out of the top 100. But Hatton is only 29 and will have several more title fights.

With Hatton dropping out, a new fighter moved in. Germany's 27-year-old Arthur Abraham won a yawner in Switzerland to move to 25-0 and into No. 96.

Here's the new No. 40-49:

40. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.402
41. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 52.319
42. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 52.269
43. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224
44. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167
45. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.128
46. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 51.734
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 51.337
48. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.330
49. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315

And the new No. 80-100

80. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827
81. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.647
82. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.645
83. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.400
84. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.366
85. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.309
86. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
87. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260
88. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195
89. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.004
90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
91. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.803
92. William Joppy, 1993-07, U.S., 46.681

93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.669
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany, 46.436
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.378
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.378
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

A new entry and one moves up

2007-12-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

There have been hundreds of boxing champions since the beginning of the 20th century. Although I hope to someday have put every single one into my rankings, so far I've gone through the careers of 298.

Every once in a while I come across a true great that I missed. I wasn't watching a lot of boxing from 1995 through 2005 so there were some guys in that era that I'm unaware of.

I was updating Virgil Hill's score after his loss a couple of weeks ago and I found Dariusz "The Tiger" Michalczewski. The Polish light heavy and cruiserweight was 25-2 in world title fights. These were mainly WBO battles where he was 24-1 with 20 knockouts. He held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1994 to 2003.

Hill was his biggest victory. In 1997 Michalczewski won a unanimous decision to win the WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles. Michalczewski never defended the WBA and IBF titles, though because of the silly rules by sanctioning bodies that continue to screw up the sport.

According to Wikipedia, "the WBA stripped him for displaying its belt along with that of the WBO, an organization it didn't recognize. The IBF did so a few weeks later, when Michalczewski refused to defend his title against mandatory challenger William Guthrie within 30 days."

In any case, once I ran Michalczewski's career through my system, he came in a solid 67th. Just after Chiquita Gonzalez and just before Miguel Angel Cotto.

Jorge Arce also picked up a win over the weekend. It was a non-title bout but enough to maintain his 88th ranking since everyone below Michalczewski dropped a spot.

Here is the updated all-time ranking from No. 60 through No. 100. I'll publish the whole list on Jan. 1.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.462
61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.428
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 50.066
63. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.510
64. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407
65. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.129
67. Dariusz Michalczewski, 1991-05, Poland, 49.014
68. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 48.953
69. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.949

70. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.874
71. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.733
72. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.634
73. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427
74. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 48.342
75. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.225
76. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 48.194
77. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.142
78. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011
79. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989

80. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827
81. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.664
82. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.645
83. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.400
84. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.366
85. Ricky Hatton, 1997-07, United Kingdom, 47.348
86. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.309
87. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
88. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260
89. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195

90. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.021
91. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
92. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.803
93. William Joppy, 1993-07, U.S., 46.681
94. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.669
95. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
96. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.378
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.378
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371

100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

Cotto, Mosley flip-flop positions in boxing's greatest list

2007-11-11T06:37:00.000-08:00

Miguel Angel Cotto, the 27-year-old Puerto Rican, moved up 11 spots on my all-time greatest boxer rankings with a unanimous decision over the fading Sugar Shane Mosley.

Mosley is Cotto's second big name victim this year, following his win this summer over Zab Judah. Mosley, though, thanks to his past wins over Fernando Vargas and Oscar De La Hoya, is Cotto's first win over a fighter ranked in my 125.

The fight was close with the AP scoring it 114-114. So it'll be interesting to see who Cotto fights next. Mosley, who dropped from No. 67 to No. 75 on my list, hinted at retirement.

Here is the updated rankings for No. 60 through No. 79.

60. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 50.511
61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.445
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 50.066
63. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.526
64. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407
65. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.162
67. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 49.019
68. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.874
69. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.866
70. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.733
71. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.651
72. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427
73. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 48.342
74. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.241
75. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 48.211
76. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.159
77. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011
78. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989
79. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827

We're less than a month from the next big fight that will scramble the rankings. On Dec. 8, Floyd Mayweather (No. 46) takes on Ricky Hatton (No. 84) in Las Vegas. Although Mayweather is undefeated, he needs wins over a few more greats if he wants to get in the territory of Felix Trinidad (No. 26), Jose Napoles (No. 24) or Barney Ross (No. 18) not to mention Henry Armstrong (No. 3) or Sugar Ray Robinson (No. 4).

After Hatton-Armstrong, which is the last big fight of 2007, I'll republish the entire 100.

Why isn't Calzaghe higher?

2007-11-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

With a perfect 44-0 record and 21 title defenses, you'd assume England's Joe Calzaghe would be higher than No. 62 on a list of the 100 greatest fighters pound-for-pound in history. Even his win over Mikkel Kessler didn't push him any higher.

A couple of things are working against Calzaghe.

First, of his 21 defenses, 18 are WBO defenses only and the WBO is given slightly less weight in my ranking than the WBA, WBC and IBF.

Second, he doesn't have any unified title fights. He's worked around it. He's had the WBO crown since October of 1997. He held the IBF title for two fights in 2006 and now he has the WBA and WBC crowns from Kessler. Still, in my system, you need the IBF, WBA and WBC titles to be considered unified. I may have to revisit that at some point because of the alphabet soup of championships today.

Third, Calzaghe only has one win over a fighter in the top 125 bonus point system and that was Kessler, which earns him 14 extra points. If Kessler rebounds and wins more titles, he would move up and Calzaghe's bonus points would increase. If Kessler heads south and loses more fights, then Calzaghe would lose all bonus points.

To really move up the list, Calzaghe needs some mega fights. So far Chris Eubank, Jeff Lacy and Kessler are his big wins, and I'm not sure any of those fighters will make it into the Hall of Fame, which would elevate those wins to 100 point contests.

Of course, Calzaghe at 35 may get a shot against a Bernard Hopkins or even Roy Jones Jr. Perhaps Kelly Pavlik will move up and take him on if he can beat Jermaine Taylor again. If Taylor wins, he's committed to fighting at 166 so that could be an option. The current IBF champion is Lucian Bute, which wouldn't excite anyone, but it would give Calzaghe a chance to have all four titles.

Here are the the No. 60-69 all-time greatest boxers:

60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.512
61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.445
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 50.066
63. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.510
64. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407
65. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.162
67. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 49.035
68. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.874
69. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.866

At least it isn't long to the next big fight. Saturday, Nov. 10, Sugar Shane Mosley (No. 67) takes on Miguel Angel Cotto (No. 78).

Holyfield slips up, slips back

2007-10-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've been an Evander Holyfield fan for 15 years now and he even had me believing that this last comeback was real. In reality, though, he barely showed up against Sultan Ibragimov and everyone around him wants him to retire.

Each loss diminishes what he used to be. This setback dropped him two spots in my list of boxing's 100 greatest fighters. Iron Mike Tyson, a fighter he beat twice, and Floyd Mayweather passed him.

Here is the newest No. 45 through No. 60.

45. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 51.734
46. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 51.464
47. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 51.403
48. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.380
49. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315
50. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 51.268
51. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 50.971
52. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 50.932
53. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 50.704
54. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 50.623
55. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 50.614
56. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 50.605
57. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 50.595
58. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 50.527
59. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 50.521
60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.512

Sultan Ibragimov is well out of the top 100 at No. 143 -- which is incomplete, I haven't ranked every single champion ever -- and he'll need to collect some more titles before he even challenges Wladimer Klitschko, No. 120.

Another fighter to watch is Juan Diaz, the lightweight champion. Juan now holds the WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight titles after beating Julio Diaz for the WBO title the same night Holyfield lost to Ibragimov. Just David Diaz is in his way for the WBC title and a very rare -- in this day and age -- unified championship.

Despite this, Juan Diaz is still a rather pedestrian No. 130. He wants to fight Manny Pacquiao, No. 134, instead of David Diaz. If he fights and wins both, he'll threaten the top 100.

There are two fights coming up that will change the standings.

Nov. 3: Mikkel Kessler (No. 104) vs. Joe Calzaghe (No. 62)
Nov. 10: Shane Mosley (No. 67) vs. Miguel Angel Cotto (No. 78)

Barrera tumbles in all-time boxing standings

2007-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

If Marco Antonio Barrera is true to his word and retires, he goes out as one of the best 100 pound-for-pound fighters in history.

His decision loss to Manny Pacquiao knocked him back five spots to No. 83 and he remains the eighth best Mexican native in my listing.

Because moving up and down in the rankings affects those who beat those fighters, Erik Morales also slipped a spot, falling behind Sam Langford at No. 69.

Here are the updated No. 65 to No. 85 fighters.

Rank, name, years, country, points, moved up or down
65. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.145
67. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 49.035
68. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.866
69. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.857, +1
70. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.733, -1
71. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.651
72. Jackie "Kid" Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427
73. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 48.342
74. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.258
75. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.159
76. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011
77. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989
78. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 47.938, +1
79. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827, +1
80. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.797, +1
81. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.645, +1
82. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.400, +1
83. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.383, -5
84. Ricky Hatton, 1997-07, United Kingdom, 47.348
85. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300

Manny Pacquiao moved up to No. 136. The win over Barrera was for a lesser "international" title and not worth that much, although it will gain status later when Barrera makes the Hall of Fame. Still, Pacquiao has to fight several more world title fights before he threatens the top 100.

Less than a week to go to see if Evander Holyfield can win another heavyweight title and improve upon his ranking of No. 45.

Taylor down, Pavlik up

2007-09-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

I was able to watch tonight's middleweight title fight and it was amazing. Taylor looks like a world beater and Pavlik looks like a skateboarder. In the second round, Taylor was one more clean punch from knocking Pavlik out. Pavlik was able to hold on and in the third, Taylor looked to counterpunch rather than run right through Pavlik.

In the end, Taylor's lack of aggression gave Pavlik a second chance and he just took it to Taylor from then on. Pavlik may not look that powerful but he now has 29 KOs in 32 fights. Something must be working.

Taylor could have moved into the top 100 fighters all-time with a win and was looking for a career-defining KO. Instead, he tumbles all the way to No. 134, just behind Julian Jackson.

Pavlik, who now has a world of opportunities open for him, jumps up to No. 135. He still trails Taylor because this was just his fourth title fight of any kind.

The question now is will Pavlik fight Taylor again or go after the other title holders, Arthur Abraham (IBF) and Felix Sturm (WBA). Abraham ranks No. 109 on my list and Sturm isn't in the top 150.

Taylor can move into top 100

2007-09-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Although he's taken criticism for not winning convincingly, Jermaine Taylor can move into the top 100 greatest fighters with a win tonight against Kelly Pavlik.

Taylor already has beaten Bernard Hopkins and William Joppy and earned a draw with Winky Wright. That's a pretty good list of fighters, even if they were cautious fights. Right now, he ranks tied for No. 107 with Miguel Canto.

Of course, Pavlik can take a big step toward becoming a top 100 fighter by winning tonight as well.

HBO, 10:15 p.m. eastern time.

Arce moves up in boxing's top 100

2007-09-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Although rarely discussed, Jorge Arce is one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all time. He has a record of 22-2 in title fights and has held junior flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight world titles in his career.

On Sept. 16, Arce knocked out an overmatched Tomas Rojas to win the WBC Latino bantamweight title as he tries to get a rematch with Cristian Mijares.

Winning a lesser title at this point in Arce's career only helped him pick up a few points, but it was enough to bump him up a couple of spots in my ranking of boxing's 100 greatest fighters. He remains the ninth best fighter in my system to come out of Mexico.

Here are the updated top 100:

Rank, boxer, years, country, points
1. Muhammad Ali, 1960-81, U.S., 84.822
2. Joe Louis, 1934-51, U.S., 84.262
3. Henry Armstrong, 1931-45, U.S., 79.434
4. Sugar Ray Robinson, 1940-65, U.S., 75.315
5. Rocky Marciano, 1947-55, U.S., 62.760
6. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, Puerto Rico, 62.665
7. Carlos Monzon, 1963-77, Argentina, 61.581
8. Joe Gans, 1891-09, U.S., 60.416
9. Larry Holmes, 1973-02, U.S., 60.004
10. Alexis Arguello, 1968-95, Nicaragua, 59.975

11. Aaron Pryor, 1976-90, U.S., 59.526
12. Marvin Hagler, 1973-87, U.S., 59.440
13. Ezzard Charles, 1940-59, U.S., 59.028
14. Manuel Ortiz, 1938-55, U.S., 59.017
15. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, Puerto Rico, 58.805
16. Archie Moore, 1936-63, U.S., 58.743
17. Roy Jones Jr., 1989-07, U.S., 58.657
18. Barney Ross, 1929-38, U.S., 57.838
19. Willie Pep, 1940-66, U.S., 57.236
20. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, Mexico, 56.049

21. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, Mexico, 55.587
22. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-07, U.S., 55.477
23. Eder Jofre, 1957-76, Brazil, 55.374
24. Jose Napoles, 1958-75, Cuba, 55.266
25. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 55.215
26. Felix Trinidad, 1990-05, Puerto Rico, 54.623
27. Roberto Duran, 1968-01, Panama, 54.143
28. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, Mexico, 54.110
29. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 53.649
30. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 53.115

31. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 53.056
32. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 53.041
33. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 52.986
34. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 52.979
35. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 52.905
36. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 52.803
37. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 52.574
38. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 52.548
39. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.452
40. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 52.425

41. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 52.336
42. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224
43. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167
44. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.112
45. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 52.015
46. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 51.734
47. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 51.464
48. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 51.363
49. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.315
50. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 51.268

51. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 50.938
52. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 50.932
53. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 50.704
54. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 50.661
55. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 50.623
56. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 50.614
57. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 50.605
58. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 50.595
59. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 50.521
60. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.479

61. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.428
62. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 49.601
63. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.510
64. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 49.407
65. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
66. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.129
67. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 49.035
68. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.916
69. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.883
70. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.840

71. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.651
72. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427
73. Pernell Whitaker, 1984-01, U.S., 48.342
74. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.258
75. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.159
76. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011
77. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989
78. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 47.984
79. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 47.938
80. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827

81. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.797
82. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.645
83. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.400
84. Ricky Hatton, 1997-07, United Kingdom, 47.348
85. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
86. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195
87. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.082
88. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.021
89. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
90. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.803

91. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.703
92. William Joppy, 1993-07, U.S., 46.681
93. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
94. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
95. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.378
96. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.378
97. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
98. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333
99. Sung Kil Moon, 1987-93, South Korea, 46.248
100. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 46.238

All hail king Roger, best ever of the open era

2007-09-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

Officially, Roger Federer needs to win two more major titles to match Pete Sampras' total of 14. But in my rankings, if Federer decided to walk away from the game today, he is the best player of the open era.

The statistical system I've set up rewards dominance and no one has been more dominant than Federer over the past four seasons. Out of the 10 greatest tennis campaigns in the open era, Federer has the second (2007), third (2006) and sixth best (2004) ever.

Only Rod Laver's grand slam ranks higher and that was back when three of the four majors were played on grass.

Really, the only knock on Federer is that he has not won the French to complete the feat of winning on all three surfaces -- grass, hard court and clay -- like Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors. People forget one of Jimbo's U.S. Open titles was won on clay.

But Federer has made it to the past two French finals -- Sampras didn't make any French finals and John McEnroe made just one -- only to face Nadal, who may go down as the best ever on clay.

Really, Federer has beaten all kinds of players. Roadrunners like Lleyton Hewitt, pure power players like Andy Roddick (three times) and Marat Safin, an all-time great giving it has last big shot in Andre Agassi and young guns like Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Nadal seems to be somewhat closing the gap on other surfaces and Djokovic could develop into a nemesis, so maybe we've seen the best of Federer. It certainly is the best of the open era.

Here are the updated standings for the all-time men's tennis tournament (active players are in bold):

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Total
1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2003-2007, 688.00
2. Pete Sampras, United States, 1990-2002, 656.50
3. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1974-1981, 648.50
4. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1981-1991, 619.50

5. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1974-1984, 597.00
6. John McEnroe, United States, 1979-1985, 558.00
7. Mats Wilander, Sweden, 1982-1988, 472.50
8. Andre Agassi, United States, 1990-2005, 470.00

9. Boris Becker, Germany, 1985-1996, 423.50
10. Stephan Edberg, Sweden, 1985-1993, 409.00
11. Rod Laver, Australia, 1968-1971, 355.50
12. Jim Courier, United States, 1991-1993, 334.50

13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1975-1982, 323.00
13. John Newcombe, Australia, 1968-1976, 323.00
15. Ken Rosewall, Australia, 1968-1974, 295.50
16. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 2005-2007, 264.50

17. Jan Kodes, Czechoslovakia, 1970-1973, 228.00
18. Arthur Ashe, United States, 1968-1975, 214.50
19. Illie Nastase, Romania, 1971-1976, 197.00
20. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 2001-2005, 192.50

21. Marat Safin, Russia, 2000-2005, 191.00
22. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, 1997-2001, 166.00
23. Stan Smith, United States, 1968-1980, 156.50
24. Pat Rafter, Australia, 1997-2001, 155.50

25. Yevgeny Kafelinikov, Russia, 1996-2000, 145.00
26. Pat Cash, Australia, 1987-1988, 141.00
27. Michael Chang, United States, 1989-1996, 134.00
28. Sergei Bruguera, Spain, 1993-1997, 133.00

29. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 1992-2001, 131.00
30. Andy Roddick, United States, 2003-2006, 130.50
31. Michael Stich, Germany, 1991-1996, 121.50
32. Johan Kriek, South Africa, 1981-1982, 113.00

Here are the greatest years in the open era:

1. Rod Laver, Australia, 1969, 55.00
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2007, 44.50
3. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 2006, 44.00
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. Pete Sampras, United States, 1995, 37.00
8. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1978, 37.00
10. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1987, 36.00
11. John McEnroe, United States, 1981, 35.00
11. Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1980, 35.00
13. Ivan Lendl, Czechoslovakia, 1986, 34.00
13. Guillermo Vilas, Argentina, 1977, 34.00
15. Boris Becker, Germany, 1989, 32.00
16. Jimmy Connors, United States, 1982, 30.50

Who will be this generation's best women's tennis player?

2007-09-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Justine Henin not only took apart Svetlana Kuznetsova in the U.S. Open, she completed the rare double over Venus and Serena Williams.

No player from this generation is going to threaten the top six players of the Open era. But it should be interesting which of the three will end up as the best of their time.

Serena has the lead right now, but Venus appears to be more motivated, and Henin is at the top of her game. The three players won all four majors this year. Even with the U.S. Open win, Henin remained third among the three. Martina Hingis is between Serena and the other two, but she doesn't appear to have the game anymore to play at the very highest level.

The player who made the largest leap was Kuznetsova. Her second place finish allowed her to jump three places.

Here are the 32 greatest women in the Open era. Active players are in bold:

Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, 1974-2006, 1308.50
2. Steffi Graf, Germany, 1987-1999, 1215.50
3. Chris Evert-Lloyd, United States, 1973-1988, 953.50
4. Monica Seles, Yugoslavia, 1990-1998, 684.00

5. Margaret Smith-Court, Australia, 1968-1975, 675.00
6. Billie Jean King, United States, 1968-1979, 650.50
7. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Australia, 1971-1980, 579.50
8. Serena Williams, United States, 1999-2007, 503.00

9. Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, 1989-1998, 468.50
10. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, 1996-2006, 449.00
11. Venus Williams, United States, 1997-2007, 440.00
12. Justine Henin, Belgium, 2001-2007, 429.00

13. Hana Mandlikova, Czechoslovakia, 1980-1987, 334.00
14. Lindsay Davenport, United States, 1998-2005, 312.00
15. Virginia Wade, England, 1968-1977, 197.00
16. Mary Pierce, France, 1994-2005, 194.00

17. Tracy Austin, United States, 1979-1981, 186.50
18. Jennifer Capriati, United States, 2001-2002, 184.00
19. Amelie Mauresmo, France, 1999-2006, 170.00
20. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina, 1988-1991, 165.00

21. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 2004-2007, 162.00
22. Kim Clijsters, Belgium, 2001-2005, 151.00
23. Jana Novotna, Czechoslovakia, 1991-1998, 150.00
24. Ann Haydon-Jones, England, 1968-1969, 141.00

25. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 1994-2000, 140.00
26. Virginia Ruzici, Romania, 1978-1980, 107.50
27. Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1970-1977, 103.00
28. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, 2004-2007, 101.50

29. Mimi Jausovec, Yugoslavia, 1977-1983, 97.00
30. Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia, 1984-1993, 94.50
31. Christine O'Neill, Australia, 1978, 85.00
32. Wendy Turnbill, United States, 1977-1980, 80.00

10 greatest fighters from .....

2007-09-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

I saw a thread on CBS Sportsline talking about the greatest Mexican fighters ever. Here are the top 10s of various countries based on my rankings -- which I tweaked again to give a little more weight to WBO champions as well as the rare unified champions of the past 24 years.

So here are the top 10 Mexican fighters:

1. Salvador Sanchez, 1975-82, 56.049
2. Ricardo Lopez, 1985-01, 55.587
3. Julio Cesar Chavez, 1980-05, 54.110
4. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, 52.574
5. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, 50.623
6. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, 49.145
7. Erik Morales, 1993-07, 48.883
8. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, 47.984
9. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, 46.902
10. Miguel Canto, 1969-82, 45.789

Here are the five best Puerto Ricans:

1. Wilfredo Gomez, 1974-89, 62.665
2. Carlos Ortiz, 1955-72, 58.805
3. Felix Trinidad, 1990-05, 54.623
4. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, 48.258
5. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, 47.938

The five best from the United Kingdom:

1. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, 50.661
2. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, 49.601
3. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, 49.407
4. Ricky Hatton, 1997-07, 47.348
5. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, 47.195

The 61 greatest pro basketball players ever

2007-08-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

If you have looked at the top players at each of the positions, you may have pieced together the top 61 players -- which is one player for every year there has been a top professional league. But I adjust the overall rankings by position. I take the top five scores of each position, average them out and then add points to positions that are lower than the leading average.

The top five centers easily outscore the top five shooting guards. Centers collect more rebounds and blocked shots and score more on inside baskets, all things that give them a natural advantage in my scoring system.

Since we are in a lull for great centers, the scoring gap is narrowing every year, especially at power forward.

Here are the top 61 players in pro hoops history starting from the bottom and the active players are in bold:

Rank, player, years, raw score, adjusted, total
61. Kevin Johnson, 1987-2000, 13653.7 + 525.9 = 14179.6

60. Gus Williams, 1975-1987, 13733.0 + 525.9 = 14258.9
59. Robert Parish, 1976-1997, 14340.4 + 0 = 14340.4
58. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9 + 630.9 = 14362.8
57. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.2 + 630.9 = 14400.1
56. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7 + 630.9 = 14433.6
55. Mo Cheeks, 1978-1993, 13909.0 + 525.9 = 14434.9
54. Willis Reed, 1964-1974, 14458.4 + 0 = 14458.4
53. Tim Hardaway, 1989-2003, 13990.9 + 525.9 = 14516.8
52. Mel Daniels, 1967-1977, 14557.3 + 0 = 14557.3
51. Bob Lanier, 1970-1984, 14649 + 0 = 14649.0

50. Chris Webber, 1993-2007, 14324.4 + 386.2 = 14710.6
49. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14331.7 + 386.2 = 14717.9
48. Alex English, 1976-1991, 14486.0 + 507.1 = 14993.1
47. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8 + 507.1 = 15049.9
46. Steve Nash, 1996-2007, 14707.9 + 525.9 = 15233.8
45. Dave Cowens, 1970-1983, 15258.6 + 0 = 15258.6
44. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1 + 507.1 = 15376.2
43. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3 + 507.1 = 15413.4
42. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14956.0 + 507.1 = 15463.1
41. Tracey McGrady, 1997-2007, 14877.8 + 630.9 = 15508.7

40. Bob McAdoo, 1972-1986, 15574 + 0 = 15574.0
39. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5 + 525.9 = 15736.4
38. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2007, 15511.3 + 386.2 = 15897.5
37. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4 + 386.2 = 16047.6
36. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0 + 630.9 = 16224.9
35. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2 + 525.9 = 16373.1
34. Allen Iverson, 1996-2007, 15950.0 + 525.9 = 16475.9
33. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2 + 0 = 16609.2
32. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4 + 507.1 = 16755.5
31. Jason Kidd, 1994-2007, 16302.3 + 525.9 = 16828.2

30. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3 + 630.9 = 16935.2
29. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3 + 507.1 = 17043.4
28. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6 + 507.1 = 17184.7
27. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2007, 16652.3 + 630.9 = 17283.2
26. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7 + 0 = 17375.7
25. Gary Payton, 1990-2007, 16925.2 + 525.9 = 17451.1
24. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1 + 386.2 = 17525.3
23. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1 + 525.9 = 17532.0
22. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0 + 386.2 = 17733.2
21. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2 + 507.1 = 18059.3

20. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8 + 386.2 = 18081.0
19. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1 + 0 = 18123.1
18. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1 + 0 = 18246.1
17. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3 + 0 = 18490.3
16. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0 + 630.9 = 18576.9
15. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2 + 386.2 = 18683.4
14. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2007, 18560.1 + 386.2 = 18946.3
13. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2007, 18958.9 + 0 = 18958.9
12. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9 + 525.9 = 19080.8
11. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0 + 525.9 = 19217.9

10. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0 + 525.9 = 19278.9
9. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2 + 0 = 19765.2
8. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7 + 386.2 = 19793.9
7. Tim Duncan, 1997-2007, 19462.6 + 386.2 = 19848.8
6. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9 + 507.1 = 19894.0
5. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7 + 0 = 19935.7
4. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8 + 507.1 = 20754.9
3. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7 + 630.9 = 21440.6
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2 + 0 = 21697.2
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5 + 0 = 22721.5

Nash and McGradey made the leaps onto the list. Again, in McGrady's case, I just ommitted him last year. Duncan jumped past several people to hit third on the list and may get up to Dr. J's level.

Shaq is winding down and may not climb much further. He even could be passed by Kevin Garnett. For many, that would be a crime considering he's taken teams to four titles and Garnett has gotten the Timberwolves out of the first round once. But Shaq has played along side Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Kevin Garnett's best teammate was Stephan Marbury.

The other player in the top 61 who may make the top 10? Kobe Bryant -- love him or hate him.

The top 10 centers -- no change

2007-08-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

After dominating the NBA landscape for four decades, the role of the center has dramatically declined since the heyday of Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Pat Ewing.

Only one of the centers on my list of 10 greatest is still active, Shaquille O'Neal, and he's on his way out.

Of course, the center position isn't totally dead. Yao Ming, if he can stay healthy, perhaps could work his way on to the list, and Dwight Howard is the next big thing for the pivot.

For now, here are the 10 best:

Player, years, points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2
3. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7
4. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2
5. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2007, 18958.9
6. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3
7. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1
8. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1
9. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7
10. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2

Wilt was a colossus but there is truth to the critics who say he didn't deliver in the playoffs. He rarely met his season averages in the postseason. Abdul-Jabbar on the other hand routinely exceeded his regular season stats in the playoffs. When you are as close as these two, that was enough to tip the equation in Kareem's favor.

There are still those that choose Russell as the greatest player ever. He is the greatest winner, but his teams were loaded and he was very limited offensively. The more rounded Olajuwon outscored him in a variety of ways.

Both Russell and Chamberlain were hurt by the fact the NBA didn't keep stats on blocks and steals in their careers. I had to use estimated numbers based on their first-time All-NBA finishes of the centers that came after them. If Russell was as good as people say, his block numbers most likely were off the charts and could have pushed him ahead of Hakeem. We'll never know for sure.

David Robinson and Moses Malone illustrate how your eyes can lie. I saw Moses in his prime when he took the Rockets and 76ers to the finals and absolutely dominated Abdul-Jabbar. I would never have picked Robinson ahead of Moses.

But Robinson played at his peak much longer than Moses, who had five top-shelf seasons and then dropped down a tier. Also, Moses didn't block shots or have many steals. Robinson filled up a boxscore in a lot more ways.

Top 10 power forwards -- a new No. 1

2007-08-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

This is the golden age of the No. 4 position and the best to ever play the position is active right now. Here are the 10 best power forwards in pro basketball history.

1. Tim Duncan, 1997-2007, 19462.6
2. Karl Malone, 1985-2004, 19407.7
3. Kevin Garnett, 1996-2007, 18560.1
4. Bob Pettit, 1954-1965, 18297.2
5. Dolph Schayes, 1949-1964, 17694.8
6. Elvin Hayes, 1968-1984, 17347.0
7. Charles Barkley, 1984-2000, 17139.1
8. George McGinnis, 1971-1982, 15661.4
9. Dirk Nowitzki, 1998-2007, 15511.3
10. Dan Issel, 1970-1985, 14331.7

Not only are three of the top 10 playing right now but three more are among the top 17 (Chris Webber, Shawn Marion and Elton Brand). There was a shuffling at the top and the bottom of the top 10.

Duncan, fresh off his fourth world title, passed Malone, the ultimate workhorse. In terms of filling a boxscore, Duncan doesn't do that as well as No. 3 Kevin Garnett, but he's helped tremendously by his play in the playoffs, where he consistently performs above his season averages, and the Spurs' team success.

I write this even though I'm one who puts a mental asterisk by title No. 4. I didn't agree with the suspensions that essentially handed the Spurs the series this year against the Suns and now the whole Tim Donaghy mess brings game four into doubt.

That being said, Duncan is THE player of the late 90s-2000s. Even Shaq fans are having trouble arguing against that.

At the bottom end, Chris Webber played so poorly this year, he actually lost career points and fell behind Dan Issel. It's clear to everyone but Webber that it's time to retire.

Marion at No. 14 seems to be the next best bet to get on this list. He's really a small forward but he's a 4 in the Suns system and that's where he's had his best years.

Top 10 small forwards unchanged

2007-08-18T08:01:00.001-07:00

The last decade has been the decade of the power forward and point guard. The only great small forward to come along since Larry Bird retired has been Grant Hill and his ankle injury has kept him out of the top 10.

Here are the 10 greatest small forwards:

1. Julius Erving, 1971-1987, 20247.8
2. Larry Bird, 1979-1992, 19386.9
3. Elgin Baylor, 1958-1972, 17552.2
4. Rick Barry, 1965-1980, 16677.6
5. Scottie Pippen, 1987-2004, 16536.3
6. John Havlicek, 1962-1978, 16248.4
7. Connie Hawkins, 1967-1976, 14956.0
8. Paul Arizin, 1950-1962, 14906.3
9. Billy Cunningham, 1965-1976, 14869.1
10. Dominique Wilkins, 1982-1999, 14542.8

Hill is at No. 12 and it's possible, if his ankle holds up for a couple more seasons, that he could pass Alex English and Wilkins to get into the top 10. More realisticly is in about three seasons LeBron James will break into the rankings and eventually challenge Bird and Dr. J. James is already ranked No. 20 (ahead of Chris Mullin and Bernard King) with just four seasons played.

Any NBA fan my age (38) or younger believes Bird was better than Erving. They are all missing how dominant Dr. J. was in the ABA. Even putting a 10 percent discount on his stats in that league didn't lower his score to Bird's. When Bird was battling Erving in the 1980s, Dr. J. was already on his way down.

Top 10 shooting guards

2007-08-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here are the top 10 shooting guards. There is one new player in the rankings and another player climbing fast.

Player, years, points
1. Michael Jordan, 1984-2003, 20809.7
2. Jerry West, 1960-1974, 17946.0
3. Kobe Bryant, 1996-2007, 16652.3
4. George Gervin, 1972-1986, 16304.3
5. Clyde Drexler, 1983-1998, 15594.0
6. Tracey McGrady, 1997-2007, 14877.8
7. Bill Sharman, 1950-1961, 13802.7
8. Hal Greer, 1958-1973, 13769.2
9. Dennis Johnson, 1976-1990, 13731.9
10. Walter Davis, 1977-1992, 13313.6

Tracey McGrady knocked Sydney Moncrief from the top 10. I actually forgot to rate McGrady last year so it's possible he was already a top 10 guard. If you look at the list, these are all big shooting guards. The classic spot-up shooter type like Reggie Miller just doesn't fare well (No. 15) because all they do is score. The guys on this list either contributed with rebounds or a little as playmakers. Gervin and McGrady especially because they spent a lot of time as small forwards.

Bryant passed Gervin this year and considering he only is 29 and has several prime years left, he should pass Jerry West and perhaps even challenge Jordan.

Just on the outside of the rankings are Vince Carter at No. 11 -- he passed Moncrief as well -- and Ray Allen at No. 13.

Updated greatest pro basketball players

2007-08-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

Who are the best pro basketball players in NBA, ABA and even ABL history? I'll update last year's lists starting by position. There were some major changes in three positions.

First, here are the 10 greatest point guards:

Player, years, points
1. Oscar Robertson, 1960-1974, 18753.0
2. Magic Johnson, 1979-1996, 18692.0
3. Bob Cousy, 1950-1970, 18554.9
4. John Stockton, 1984-2003, 17006.1
5. Gary Payton, 1990-2007, 16925.2
6. Jason Kidd, 1994-2007, 16302.3
7. Allen Iverson, 1996-2007, 15950.0
8. Isiah Thomas, 1981-1993, 15847.2
9. Walt Frazier, 1967-1980, 15210.5
10. Steve Nash, 1996-2007, 14707.9

Nash's third straight near MVP season for Phoenix helped him jump five spots and bumb Tim Hardaway from the top 10. Iverson passed Isaiah Thomas but lost ground to Jason Kidd. Gary Payton is one more good season away from passing John Stockton but Payton actually lost points this season. Stockton seems safe at No. 4.

The march goes on for Woods

2007-08-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

Tiger is not be as dominant as he was in 2000 and 2001. But each time you begin to wonder if his goal of passing Jack Nicklaus' haul of 18 professional majors and 20 overall majors he rises up and walks off with another.

The old Tiger would have stepped on the gas and won the PGA by 8 shots. This one just held his ground and let others fall away.

No matter. Woods now has 13 professional majors and the three U.S. amateurs and is just four away from catching Nicklaus.

Since he has won five of the last 12 and he has made several lifestyle adjustments, now the betting is whether he'll catch Nicklaus by the time he is 35.

How good is Woods. He finished first in one major and second in two others in 2007, good for 38.5 points in my system, and that's just his fifth best year.

Like Roger Federer in tennis, Tiger may set marks no one will ever be able to reach.

With just the U.S. Amateur left for 2007, here's the updated Golf's Ultimate Playday:

On the first tee
1. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 858.59
2. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2007, 717.92
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 583.95
4. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 517.29

On the second tee
5. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 515.33
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 493.36
7. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 477.43
8. Bobby Jones, United States, 1919-1930, 477.25

On the third tee
9. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 464.41
10. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 458.63
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 401.50
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 367.54

On the fourth tee
13. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 351.50
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 348.75
15. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 334.54
16. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 321.08

On the fifth tee
17. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2006, 317.81
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-1999, 316.82
19. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 309.32
20. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 301.63

On the sixth tee
21. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 301.11
22. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2007, 300.90
23. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 277.10
24. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 267.98

On the seventh tee
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 263.44
26. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 259.75
27. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 252.92
28. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 252.50

On the eighth tee
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 251.94
30. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 251.21
31. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 243.52
32. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 243.38

On the ninth tee
33. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 237.13
34. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 235.56
35. Willie Anderson Jr., Scot/U.S., 1898-1908, 223.50
36. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 223.00

37. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 222.43
38. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 221.60
39. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 221.50
40. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 221.38

On the 10th tee
41. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 221.13
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 219.25
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 216.50
44. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 210.92

On the 11th tee
45. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 210.25
46. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 209.58
47. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 204.88
48. Tommy Armour, Scot/US, 1925-1937, 202.63

On the 12th tee
49. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 198.31
50. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 193.69
51. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 192.44
52. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 190.00

On the 13th tee
53. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 188.70
54. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 187.94
55. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 187.70
56. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 187.33

On the 14th tee
57. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 187.10
58. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 185.50
59. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 184.00
60. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2007, 180.45

On the 15th tee
61. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 177.89
62. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 176.50
63. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 173.75
64. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 170.46

On the 16th tee
65. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 170.17
66. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 169.95
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 169.50
68. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 168.50

69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 166.63
70. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 166.50
71. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 164.50
72. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 163.70

Boxing's top 100 -- final 25

2007-08-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the No. 100 down to No. 76 on my revised rankings as well as the point totals of some fighters on the outside looking in.

100. Sung Kil Moon, 1987-93, South Korea, 46.248
99. Johnny Kilbane, 1907-23, U.S., 46.288
98. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333
97. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371

95. (tie) Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395
95. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395
94. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
93. Tommy Burns, 1900-20, U.S., 46.513
92. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 46.547
91. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.576

90. William Joppy, 1993-07, U.S., 46.714
89. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.769
88. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.803
87. Marco Antonio Barrera, 1989-07, Mexico, 46.847
86. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932

85. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.121
84. Miguel Angel Cotto, 2001-07, Puerto Rico, 47.229
83. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.245
82. Ricky Hatton, 1997-07, United Kingdom, 47.348
81. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.383

80. Marcel Cerdan, 1934-49, France, 47.400
79. James Toney, 1988-07, U.S., 47.418
78. John Henry Lewis, 1928-39, U.S., 47.662
77. Mike Tyson, 1985-05, U.S., 47.784
76. Joe Calzaghe, 1993-07, United Kingdom, 47.789

Tyson's sad ending to his career cost him points at every turn. He will gain some ground when Larry Holmes goes into the Hall and maybe if they elect Trevor Berbick -- hey, there are weaker Hall of Famers, why is Jack Sharkey in?

William Joppy is a curious one. He has lost to Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins and Jermaine Taylor, but he held the WBA Middleweight Title for five years -- along the way beating an ancient Roberto Duran. That's enough to sneak in the top 100 for now.

There are several fighters just outside the top 100 who may fight their way in or move up as people are elected to the Hall.

* Ratanapol Sor Vorapin (No. 101) is just 33 and is fighting again after losing to Ricardo Lopez in 2000 and retiring for five years. He's fighting nobodies though and will need to get back to the championship level to move up.

* Pernell Whitaker (No. 102) will gain some points from his draw with Julio Cesar Chavez when Chavez is inducted.

* Mikkel Kessler (No. 107) takes on No. 76 Joe Calzaghe on Nov. 11.

In fact, there are several fights scheduled this year that will have an impact on the top 100.

Aug. 18, Arthur Abraham (No. 124) vs. Khoren Gevor.
Sept. 22, Vitali Klitschko (No. 126) vs. Jameel McCline.
Oct. 6, Marco Antonio Barrera (No. 87) vs. Manny Pacquiao (No. 164)
Oct. 13, Evander Holyfield (No. 67) vs. Sultan Ibragimov.
Nov. 10, Sugar Shane Mosley (No. 62) vs. Miguel Angel Cotto (No. 84)
Dec. 8, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (No. 48) vs. Ricky Hatton (No. 82).

Top 100 boxers, part 3

2007-08-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the No. 75 down to No. 51 boxers. It contains one major surprise.

75. Panama Al Brown, 1922-42, Panama, 47.827
74. Jack Dempsey, 1914-27, U.S., 47.989
73. Juan Carlos Gomez, 1995-07, Cuba, 48.011
72. Naseem Hamed, 1992-02, United Kingdom, 48.178
71. Ike Williams, 1940-55, U.S., 48.225

70. Lennox Lewis, 1989-03, United Kingdom, 48.240
69. Hector Camacho, 1980-05, Puerto Rico, 48.423
68. Jackie Kid Berg, 1924-45, U.S., 48.427
67. Evander Holyfield, 1984-07, U.S., 48.532
66. Erik Morales, 1993-07, Mexico, 48.633

65. Nino Benvenuti, 1961-71, Italy, 48.684
64. Michael Carbajal, 1989-99, Canada, 48.812
63. Kostya Tszyu, 1992-05, Australia, 48.855
62. Sugar Shane Mosley, 1993-07, U.S., 48.885
61. Sam Langford, 1902-26, U.S., 48.957

60. Duilio Loi, 1948-62, Italy, 49.393
59. Emile Griffith, 1958-77, U.S., 49.560
58. Oscar De La Hoya, 1992-07, U.S., 49.571
57. Chiquita Gonzalez, 1984-95, Mexico, 49.674
56. Harry Greb, 1913-26, U.S., 50.478

55. Stanley Ketchel, 1904-10, U.S., 50.521
54. Tony Canzoneri, 1925-39, U.S., 50.612
53. Floyd Patterson, 1952-72, U.S., 50.614
52. Vicente Saldivar, 1961-73, Mexico, 50.623
51. Benny Leonard, 1911-32, U.S., 50.645

Just about every ranking I've even seen puts Jack Dempsey in the very top tier of heavyweight champions with Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano.

But after looking at his career I'll stand by this ranking. Dempsey had a fine career mark of 61-6-8 with 51 KOs. He was heavyweight champion from 1919 until 1926. That's a long time.

But he rarely defended his title, once going more than three years without fighting.

He also fought very few great fighters. True, he did defeat three Hall of Famers in world title fights. But Jess Willard is one of the weakest Hall of Famers ever. He's in for his defeat of Jack Johnson, which was a 26-round knockout in sweltering Cuba. If it was a 15 rounder -- the standard just a couple of years later -- then Johnson wins all 15 rounds over the lumbering Willard.

The other Hall of Famers he beat in title fights were Tommy Gibbons, a good but not really great fighter, and Georges Carpentier, a light heavyweight.

Really, he spent most of the decade ducking the only other heavyweight at the top of his game, the black Harry Wills, who had to pay for the unpopularity of Jack Johnson.

Finally, Dempsey did face one of the all-time greats in Gene Tunney and Tunney beat him twice easily. Even in the long-count second fight, Tunney essentially won every round other than the one in which he was knocked down.

Dempsey's reputation comes from his demolition of the average Willard, his exciting win over Luis Angel Firpo and the fact he was champion in the roaring twenties. The numbers don't lie, though, he didn't do enough in the ring to warrant being in the top 50.

Someone who did is Lennox Lewis, who will move up as the fighters he defeated are added to the Hall of Fame. Evander Holyfield is a shoe-in, Mike Tyson probably is one as well and Vitaly Klitschko may make the Hall. If they all do, then Lewis will move into the neighborhood of Gene Tunney and James Jeffries at No. 39 and No. 41.

Boxing's top 100, No. 50 down to No. 26

2007-08-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

Part two of my revised rankings:

50. Bob Foster, 1961-78, U.S., 50.704
49. Pascual Perez, 1952-64, Argentina, 50.932
48. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 1996-07, U.S., 51.314
47. Flash Elorde, 1951-71, Phillippines, 51.332
46. Jimmy McLarnin, 1923-36, U.S., 51.334

45. Bernard Hopkins, 1988-07, U.S., 51.461
44. Eusebio Pedroza, 1973-92, Panama, 52.145
43. Yoko Gushiken, 1974-81, Japan, 52.167
42. Terry McGovern, 1897-08, U.S., 52.224
41. James Jeffries, 1896-10, U.S., 52.475

40. Azumah Nelson, 1979-98, Ghana, 52.548
39. Gene Tunney, 1915-28, U.S., 52.569
38. Carlos Zarate, 1970-88, Mexico, 52.574
37. Jack Johnson, 1897-28, U.S., 52.621
36. Tommy Ryan, 1887-07, U.S., 52.803

35. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1977-97, U.S., 52.899
34. Khaosai Galaxy, 1980-91, Thailand, 53.056
33. Sandy Saddler, 1944-56, U.S., 53.091
32. Antonio Cervantes, 1964-83, Colombia, 53.093
31. Abe Attell, 1900-17, U.S., 53.165

30. Michael Spinks, 1977-88, U.S., 53.340
29. Joe Frazier, 1965-81, U.S., 53.352
28. George Foreman, 1969-97, U.S., 53.479
27. Thomas Hearns, 1977-06, U.S., 53.540
26. Felix Trinidad, 1990-05, Puerto Rico, 53.848

A few questions in this group. Who is Yoko Gushiken? He was a junior flyweight who fought just 24 times -- 23-1. But 15 of those fights were major title fights and he won all but the last one.

Jack Johnson usually is ranked much higher, but he did lose 13 times, seven by knockout. He also was not a very active champion and that hurt his point total. Johnson's unadjusted score was even lower but he zoomed up the list thanks to the bonus points. He had the most bonus-point victories of anyone, beating James Jeffries, Stanley Ketchel, Tommy Burns, Bob Fitzsimmons, Sam Langford and Joe Jeannette over his career.

Sugar Ray Leonard also seems low at No. 35, which puts him several spots behind Thomas Hearns. The mid-injury eye injury kept Leonard from stringing together a bunch of title defenses. He, like Johnson, benefitted from the bonus point system thanks to his wins over Hearn, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran.

Leonard's score will improve dramatically when Hearns goes into the Hall of Fame. His knockout and draw against Hearns, which is worth about 60 points now will be worth 175 then. Those extra points will move Leonard down around Ricardo Lopez at No. 20.

Michael Spinks also will climb a few slots when Larry Holmes goes into the Hall of Fame.