Basketball's 100 greatest players

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not done yet, Mosely moves up a couple

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No 1 for all-time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Golden oldie a bit of a surprise

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

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

Here are the 40 greatest wideouts in pro football history.

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

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

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

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

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

Dual threats

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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