NBA's greatest -- Can Kobe catch MJ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.