Mount Rushmore by sport.

A former boss, fellow blogger, and friend of mine posted an interesting topic that I decided I needed to write a post about. He selected who he would put on Mount Rushmore if it were constructed for each sport. I decided to stick with the sports I know as well as the sports I have the most interest in. The following are the individuals I would put on Mount Rushmore for the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, College Men's Basketball Coaches, College Football Coaches, and who I would select for my favorite teams. For those of you who do not know me, my favorite teams include: Michigan Football and Basketball, the Green Bay Packers, and the Detroit Tigers. For most of these I will select only those ,whom of which, are not active in their respective sport, but for some, I have no choice but to include these individuals, and you will all understand why.

NFL

Joe Montana

First of all, it is Joe Montana, the best quarterback of all-time. Basically, no questions asked on this PIG being included. His career stats include a stunning: 63.7% completion rate, 273 touchdowns and 139 interceptions, with 8 pro-bowl selections, 6 all-pro selections, twice as the MVP, and four times as a Super Bowl champion. Absolute stud and many will agree!

Barry Sanders

Again, I went with the best at a position theme. In my opinion Barry Sanders is the best running back ever, yes, you can say players such as, Emmitt Smith, James Brown, Walter Peyton, and others, however, Barry did not play a full career. In fact he played played only 10 years and compiled the best, if not some of the best stats I have ever seen. Even considering the fact that his team was not very good,  he was still on pace to gain every rushing record, however Emmitt Smith achieved many of these feats since he played 5 more seasons than Barry. In fact, he received not only pro-bowl awards in every single season he played, he also received all-pro honors every year he was a professional. He is the only, if not one of the only players to be a pro-bowl selection as well as an all-pro selection each and every year he played the game. (On a side note, may have been the best college running back of all-time as well. During his Heisman year he compiled: 2,850 yards, 7.6 yards per carry, and 44 total TDs including his bowl game! Biggest Pig ever!)

Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver of all-time. No argument here, just the facts. He compiled over 1,500 receptions, nearly 28,000 yards, and almost 200 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons. Wow! If there is a definition of a pig, I do not understand one that does not include Jerry Rice. During his career in the NFL he racked up an incredible amount of awards including: 13 pro-bowl seasons, 12 all-pro selections, 3 Super Bowl rings, and 2 MVP-Offense awards. Good luck catching him if your name is not Calvin Johnson!

Reggie White

Considering the fact that defense contributes to every single game, I figured I would select at least one defensive player to fit the mold of NFL-Mount Rushmore candidates, and who better than Reggie White. He is easily recognized as one of the best defensive players and defensive lineman to ever play the game. Let alone, his amazing ability to connect with media, fans, and former players. He is easily one of the most respected defensive players to play the game. Also, he piled up ridiculous statistics including: a 13 time pro-bowl selection and 10 time all-pro selection, a Super Bowl ring with Brett Favre (Allowing Brett to win his one and only), and finally become a 2-time winner of the NFL best defensive player of the year award. He was not only a force to be reckoned with, but also a model player, and face of the league. 

NBA

Michael Jordan

It is very hard to decide as to what to say here. Michael is simply the best so what do I even say. He is clearly the one, the only, the best of all time. Some may refer to him as the G.O.A.T. maybe better, IDK what do you say about MJ. Well I guess, here are some stats I am sure you all know!!!

Bill Russell

Well, for one Bill played some of the best defense anyone has ever witnessed. That being said  he has assembled ridiculous credentials, such as : his 12 time all-star award, 5 time NBA-MVP awards, or his 11 championships, how can you argue this absolute pig and man-child?!!!!

Kareem-Abdul Jabaar

Well, let us get real, Kareem may be one of the best scorers ever. Honestly, may have the best career of any basketball player. . In fact, he was was a 6 champion and a 6 time NBA-MVP. Not to mention he was a 19 time all-star as well as being named to 10 all-NBA team selections. Furthermore, he was a two-time all-scoring champion, rebounding champion, and a 4 time-block champion. (BTW, he was a 3 time champ in college).

Magic/Bird

How does one decide between the two? Who knows, the better stats go to Magic, yet at the same time the way the two of them impacted the league is amazing, so they both need to be included since they brought life and interest back into the league. 

MLB

Babe Ruth

Jackie Robinson

Ty Cobb

Hank Aaron

PGA

Jack Nicklaus

In most traditional golf fans minds, Jack is hands-down the greatest golfer to ever play the game. He was ridiculous and made most golfers look mediocre at best. He had an uncanny ability to close out tournaments and finish on top. Some stats include: 18 majors (the most of any golfer), 73 tour wins (3rd most), 8 time PGA money leader, and 5 time player of the year.

Arnold Palmer

Who doesn't think of golf and think Arnold Palmer. The man is a living legend, and one of the most respected athletes of all-time. Unfortunately, he had to play against Jack for many years, which, if he hadn't he would have compiled even more wins. Even so, he was able to put together a remarkable career that included: 4 time PGA money leader, 2 time player of the year, 7 major wins, and 67 PGA tour wins. 

Bobby Jones

Bobby Jones is really the man that started it all for golf. He is the legend everybody forgets. Had his career contained longevity, he may have set the bar so high, nobody could have reached it. Not Jack, and maybe not even Tiger could have reached his level, had his career not been shortened by health complications. However he did record several PGA tour wins and major wins in his brief career. Likewise, he is still the only player to achieve a true golf grand slam: winning every single major in the same season. That is unbelievable and only one player has ever came close to achieving this feat: Tiger Woods. 

Tiger Woods

Wow, how to begin. Tiger is unreal, unbelievable, and possibly the most dominate athlete in the history of not just golf, but all sports. No individual has dominated a sport like Tiger Woods has. When you look at his statistics, his winning margins, and the shots he hits in clutch moments, your jaw drops and you question whether he is actually a human being. Tiger has the following achievements: 77 PGA wins, 14 Majors, 14-1 record when entering the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead, lowest career scoring average, one of four players to win every major at least once, completed his version of the golf grand slam, known as the Tiger grand slam, holding each trophy for a major in a consecutive manner, has won 27% of tournaments he has entered, only golfer to win the U.S. amateur three times, won player of the year a record 10 times, and the PGA money leader a record 9 times. Some miscellaneous stats include: a 52-4 record when having at least a share of the lead after 54 holes, has defended a PGA title 24 times including a runner-up finish 28 times and third place 17 times, accumulated the most weeks and consecutive weeks as the #1 player in the world, has a share of the record score in 3/4 majors as well as margin of victory in 2/4 majors, and he holds the 2nd longest win streak in tournaments entered (7). These stats are unbelievable and may make him worthy of the number one PIG of all-time status. He should be among those who are on the all-time Mount Rushmore  for any sports. Wow, Wow, Wow!!!!

NCAA Men's Basketball Coaches

John Wooden

Okay, so who hasn't read a book by Wooden who is a sports fan? Not many of you I would assume, however, lets look at the stats for the biggest coaching pig in probably any sport. First and foremost, the guy won 10 national championships! Yes, 10, that is not a typo. How can you compete with that? Who knows. As a player, he was also a three-time all-american and won player of the year in 1932. Back to coaching, the biggest pig won 7 straight national championships, a record that will remain untouched for the rest of college basketball history. I will also mention the fact that he led UCLA to 4 undefeated seasons and 7 seasons undefeated in conference play. Lastly, he had a winning percentage of 0.804 translating to winning 8 out of every 10 games! Wow, what a Pig!!!

Aldoph Rupp

To start, Kentucky, the most prestigious program in college basketball program in history named their court after him. So, how could he not make the Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaches? In fact, the old-school pig had four national championships and five coach of the year awards. Additionally, he had a winning percentage just over 82% and won 876 games during his career. Lastly, he did record one undefeated season, in which, he declined the NCCA tourney bid. 

Bob Knight

Bob Knight is a living legend, probably known best for winning too many basketball games as well as this chair throwing incident. He was an old-school coach with a major temper that conditioned players to win games and perform at an extremely high level. He won 3 national championships as a coach, and excelled as a player winning a championship in 1960. He also led Indiana to the most recent undefeated season in 32-0 season for the Hoosiers. Finally, he won nearly 71% of his games and recorded 902 career wins. Big Pig!!!

Coach K

Okay, so the point of the Mount Rushmore theme was to steer away from active players/ coaches, however, how can you not include Coach K? He is the modern day Wooden and probably the most respected/hated coach of the modern era. I have to include him here because he is a Titan and most importantly a pig. He makes really good coaches (Tom Izzo) look like his bitch. That is very impressive and instantly gained my attention. He has won 4 national championships and is a 3-time Naismith coach of the year. Additionally, he has won 2 gold medals for the olympic basketball team. In the ACC he has accounted for 13 ACC tournament championships, and 12 regular season championships.  Lastly, he maintains a 0.763 winning percentage and account for 957 wins at the division 1 level of college basketball. He is a monster, titan, and definite pig that needs to be listed on bigpigsports. 

NCAA Football Coaches

Paul "Bear" Bryant

Joe Paterno

Woody Hayes

Bo Schembechler

My favorite teams

Michigan Football

Bo Schembechler

Lloyd Carr

Desmond Howard 

Charles Woodson

Michigan Basketball

The Fab Five

Glen Rice

Rudy Tomjanovich

Trey Burke

Green Bay Packers

Vince Lombardi

Reggie White 

Brett Favre

Bart Starr

Detroit Tigers

Ty Cobb 

Al Kaline

Kirk Gibson

Alan Trammell

Green Bay Packers: SWOT Analysis

Okay, so I figured I would post an entry that could appeal to all you business people as well as sports fans. This is my SWOT analysis of the Green Bay Packers. Enjoy!!!

The Green Bay Packers are one of the most winning, well respected, and most successful organizations in the National Football League. They won the first two Super Bowls ever, had the most well known coach in NFL history (Vince Lombardi), and has been fortunate enough to have some of the best quarterback play in recent history with Brett Favre and now, Aaron Rodgers.

Strengths

            The Green Bay Packers have several key strengths that allow the organization to continue to be successful. These include: the team is owned by the fans, the tradition of the organization, their ability to save money by building their team through the draft instead of signing free agents, and they have arguably the best quarterback in the league.

            Green Bay, currently, is the only team in the NFL owned by the fans. Every other team has an owner that oversees every line of business. Fortunately, for Green Bay the team is owned by the fans, while a General Manager does run their operations, the fans have a say in the direction the organization is heading. This is a huge advantage considering the fact that the team isn’t dominated by one voice. Instead, they are ran by a collective group of people that has the interest of the organization at heart. This allows them to stick to the traditions that have always made them a top organization in the league. The traditions are the organizations next strength. Green Bay plays all their home games at their legendary Lambeau Field also known as the “Artic Tundra.” As the season progresses, no other team in the NFL plays in colder or more harsh temperatures, and the team excels when playing in the cold weather. Many people are left to wonder, “How does this team attract fans in such poor weather conditions?” However, this is when the fans are at their strongest. They love the cold weather, and every single game is sold out, even if, the temperature drops below freezing. In fact, the wait list for season ticket holders exceeds that of most people’s lifespans! It is the hardest stadium in the NFL to obtain season tickets and also has the most die-hard fan base of any team in the NFL. Clearly, this is a huge advantage for any organization. Likewise, the tradition of Green Bay has led to them retaining this loyal fan-base. No other professional organization has tickets sell-out as quickly as Green Bay. The city is just over 100,000, which makes it one of the smallest markets in all of professional sports. However, nationwide, it boasts one of the largest fan bases of any professional sports team. This displays the loyalty and the tradition the Green Bay Packers have at their disposal. Next, Green Bay has one of the best strategies in place to maintain good finances, yet remain competitive: they build their team through the draft. Many outsiders do not understand the significance of this philosophy, but it allows them to remain below the salary cap, year in, and year out. Due to this strategy, the Packers never overpay for their players. Instead they draft them, and pay a league minimum for quality starters at nearly every position. What exactly does this mean? Well, most teams pick-up free agents, in which they pay millions of dollars because they bid against other teams to acquire them. However, the Packers do not participate in this. Most teams heavily overpay for free agents, which places them near or well above the salary cap. Instead, the Packers make good choices in the draft and forego the process of signing expensive free agents, allowing them to continue to be successful as a championship contender. However, the organization does spend money when they deem necessary, most importantly when one of the players in the organization performs well since being acquired by the organization. In fact, since the NFL is a quarterback driven league, they invest heavily in their quarterback, who is potentially the best in the business. Just like a good business would pay their top executives well, the Packers treat their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers in the same respect. In fact, a current deal is in place with him, to make him the highest paid player ever in NFL history. Considering the fact that he is the best quarterback in the league, and the fact that Green Bay can afford to pay him top dollar (it really helps now, not paying too much for other players) Green Bay is able to reward their top talent with huge dollar amounts, yet still remain below the salary cap. This remains to be Green Bay’s biggest competitive advantage. They are smart at deciding which areas they dedicate money to, they sign players to big contracts that deserve them, spending money keeping them instead of on free agents, and build depth through smart and concise draft picks. Many organizations are trying to implement this model of success, yet very few are able to execute to the extent Green Bay does.

Weaknesses

            Although the Green Bay Packers have been extremely successful, several weaknesses still exist within their organization. For one, since they are team owned, they must raise funding publicly, they build their team through the draft, causing them to lose key free-agents that could help their team, and their defense is subpar.

            Since Green Bay is publicly funded, they rely on fan support to do anything within the organization. This can be a major weakness, especially considering the fact that they wanted to re-vamp their stadium in the past. In fact, they had to petition to get this done and it took a long time and large donations from the public to do so. Additionally, they cannot act quickly with decisions. It has to be done through a long chain of ownership, which can take a long time. Additionally, although building through the draft is a strength and an opportunity, it is also a weakness. If they draft terribly, it can influence the organization for years in the future. Furthermore, since they do not pick-up free agents, they miss out on players that could easily fill the needs and holes in their roster that they desperately need. This can cause them, like in present years, to have a weak defense, causing them to exit the playoffs early. Likewise, their defense has been sub-par. This is not due to poor draft classes, instead it is due to an abnormal amount of injuries. In fact, they have potential to have a good defense, however, they continue to get injured, which causes them to have lackluster years on the defensive side of the ball.

Opportunities

            The Packers have several key opportunities that are available to them in the future. Some of these opportunities include: their young roster, their available salary cap for the present year, and their ability to draft.

            The Green Bay roster is one of the youngest in the league. Their defense features some of the youngest players in the game. If they stay healthy, their Defense could be one of the best in the game. In fact, Nick Perry and Jerrel Worthy from last years draft class were some of the best college players in the country. However, their seasons were cut short due to injury. Additionally, Green Bay has several young players on the offensive side of the ball. Their wide receiving core features some of the youngest and talented wide receivers in the game. Likewise, through the draft, they were able to build a young offensive line to protect their biggest asset, Aaron Rodgers. Since Green Bay is such a young team, they are able to stay well below their salary cap. This allows them to give bonuses to players that have performed well within their organization. Furthermore, staying below the cap is extremely important considering the fact that organizations get taxed and fined if they are above it. Another crucial factor that exists for an organization staying below the cap is the ability to sign a free agent in case a player gets injured. This is crucial considering the violent nature of the game as well as the frequency of injuries. Lastly, one of Green Bay’s biggest opportunities is their ability to draft. During the draft, Green Bay constantly makes moves to pick players that are high on their draft board. In doing so, Green Bay is able to sign high quality talent and build depth to their roster. In recent drafts, Green Bay has been one of the most effective organizations at picking the right personnel to make them a top team in the NFL

Threats

            Considering the competitiveness of professional sports, it is extremely difficult to remain consistently at the top of any league, let alone the NFL. Likewise, many threats exist to the Green Bay organization. Their biggest threats exist from other teams in the league as well as in their own division. Additionally, one of the biggest threats any professional sports organizations is economics, and the Packers are not immune to this threat.  The first threat to Green Bay is simply other teams in the NFL. Every organization strives to improve every year. Many teams across the league added depth to their roster during the free agency period. Some notable teams include, the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers. The Broncos began by adding one of the best wide receivers over the last five years in Wes Welker. He has been among the most productive at his position that the league has seen in quite some time. Now, he is with Peyton Manning, who is a hall-of-fame caliber player. Fortunately for Green Bay, they will not meet this team until the Super Bowl. However, Seattle and San Francisco, are both in the same conference as Green Bay. They both added some of the top talent in the league to their roster and are Green Bay’s biggest threats. These threats are compounded when you consider the fact that both of those teams made it farther than Green Bay in the playoffs. It will be a test and a struggle for the Pack to beat these teams that stand in the way of them returning to the Super Bowl. Most likely, the Packers greatest threat is economics. When teams are successful, their players are also successful, which allows them to demand more money. NFL teams always have to understand this and know who to keep their finances under control or else, the entire organization could crumble in just a single season. Since the Packers are such a successful organization, many of their players are valued highly around the league. This makes them worth more money and harder to maintain. Since they cannot always afford to keep these players, their draft is even more important to them to ensure that the organization can maintain talent and depth on their roster. Finances are not only a threat to the Packers, but also to the entire National Football League.  

Why the NCAA Tourney is the most addicting sporting event

Reason 1: The Complete Randomness and Parity

In no other sport do you get the complete randomness and parity en route to a title. In the NFL, the hottest team seems to win, in the NBA the team with the best player tends to win, in NCAA Football, only One of Two teams can win the title. In college basketball, it is a completely different story. Sixty-eight teams from all over the country have the chance to get hot, and make a title run. Additionally, with the one-and-done policy along with the fact that players are looking to jump to the pro's as soon as possible, parity is at its highest point ever. In present day, mid-majors are gaining a competitive advantage: their good players stay at least three years and most of the time four years because of the lack of exposure they get. On the flip side, Major Conference schools are constantly recruiting players that are known nationally before they even hit the college stage. Additionally, these players get national exposure every time they step on the floor for the top-tier schools. This accounts to players at the top-tier schools leaving pre-maturely, and rarely allows for these schools to actually have experienced players. Instead, a trending theme is for these top-tier schools to have inexperienced players that get upset by the more experienced, lower seeded mid-major schools who are gaining steam as each year passes. This is causing the tournament to become complete, and utter chaos, which makes watching the tournament to be so addicting to watch. This year alone we nearly experienced a 1 seed get upset by a 16 (Gonzaga pulled it out) who eventually lost to a 9th seeded Wichita State team. Along with this trend, several upsets ensued, and the tournament watched with excitement as the first 15-seed in history made the sweet 16. Most people would call this a fluke, however with the amount of talent across the country in basketball, the 15th seeded FGCU is no fluke whatsoever. In fact, they are one of the most exciting teams I have ever watched in my life. They are remarkable and in my opinion were better than Georgetown and San Diego St. In college this would translate a team like Oregon losing to Western Kentucky in a bowl game. This would never happen, one because the bowl system doesn't allow it to happen, and two, because players are required to stay longer than in college basketball. Until they change this rule in college basketball, continue to love the tourney, as teams you have never heard of are able to upset the alleged juggernauts in the sport. It is amazing to be able to watch a team like Lasalle or FGCU be able to have a shot at an NCAA title!

Reason 2: The Team Element

Next is the team element of NCAA men's basketball. In few if any sports, does team play matter as much as in Men's college basketball. In this sport a team can consist of one or two NBA quality players (some ridiculous squads like a Kentucky just load their team with NBA talent, but that is a minority). In most cases, the key to making a final four run depends on what your other starters can do or if your bench can "rise to the occasion." This is what makes this tournament so great, teams have to fire on all cylinders and include everybody on their roster if they want to make it to the final four. Granted, some teams have Pigs that can carry their team to the title (Kemba Walker and Carmello Anthony to name a couple),  but most of the time, when a big shot is needed it is a clutch 6-man that hits it. This aspect is amazing and makes this sport as pure as any out there from a team standpoint. It is awesome to watch each player rise up and contribute and propel their team to the next level. This is a rare instance where players that nobody has ever heard about (unless you are a fan of that school) can rise up, hit big shot, after big shot, and make a name for themselves in the history book. The team aspect to this sport is yet another reason people around the country cannot stop watching!

Reason 3: Filling out a Bracket 

Okay, so lets get real. This is probably the sole reason people everywhere watch the tournament, to see how their brackets are doing. Shit, even the president and most powerful man in the world takes time out of his schedule to fill out a bracket!!! However, this is a completely artificial and superficial reason to watch these amazing, young athletes compete, so it cannot trump the pureness of randomness and team-play exhibited during the tournament. Even more so, it has to be listed here because why else does the average joe, or even girlfriend/fiance/wife even allow themselves and significant other to watch the games? To win that cash-money and to have bragging rights for a year!

It is amazing how much March Madness has grown. Nearly every person, sports fan or not fills out a bracket during this time of the year. What other sport has more post-season participation than March Madness? The answer is none. Every office, every group of friends, aquantices, and relatives has a bracket challenge. Why? Simply because anybody can win. In my group of friends, girls that have never watched a game in their life have won our bracket. It is probably because we over-analyze everything and are super biased because we saw so-and-so lose to so-and-so or even beat so-and-so, conveying that our biases don't mean shit! How great of a sport is it when your significant other has no knowledge of it and can still demolish you in picking teams that will win?! Maybe it isn't so great, but at the very least they will allow you to watch every game without complaining! Have you ever watched football or checked your fantasy sports teams and not have your significant other complain?! NO WAY, but March Madness is a special time, that you can waste every ounce of energy, researching and watching your bracket crumble without having anybody complain that this is proposterous if not the biggest waste of time in your life!

Reason 4: The Crowd, The Fans, and The Atmosphere

In addition to these other amazing reasons people cannot stop watching the tournament is the fans, crowd, and atmosphere of every game. Fans travel around the country just to watch their team play. What make the fans and crowd even greater is when a team is on the verge of a major upset and the atmosphere rises exponentially. It is amazing to see, and I don't think I have ever seen fans get as into a game that they do not care about as much as when FGCU takes the floor. Georgetown fans, during the first round matchup probably outnumbered FGCU fans 10-1 on a conservative estimate. However, once FGCU displayed their talent and exciting up-tempo offense, fans around the world fell in love. Instantly, the crowd shifted and you would think FGCU had home-court advantage. The fans endured and piled in heavily for their 2nd round matchup when they dismantled SDS. It was incredible to watch thousands of fans cheer so hard for a team they never knew existed prior to last week. It is one of the best events I have ever witnessed, and shows even more, why the tourney is the greatest sporting event of all!!! 

Reason 5: Playing for the game not the money, not too mention the future NBA Pigs!

One of the greatest reasons to watch the NCAA tourney, especially if you are a life-long fan, is you get to see NBA talent at its purest form. In college, these players are who they are, they aren't playing for money, they are doing one of two things: building their brand to be able to make the NBA or playing their hearts out for the name of their jersey (NOT the Last Name but the name of the school that recruited them!). It is remarkable, and us viewers, get to enjoy as NBA talent plays basketball during their purest form. The play for the love of the game and love of their university will only be taken over by compensation for their talent. It is pure, honorable, respectful, and the best, most selfless form of basketball you will ever see them play (unless they are one of the greats). Similarly, with some players that are going straight to the pros like they are in present day, you see players that will never play again, work their ass off, and beat those "Pre-Medonna" and "selfish" NBA talented player, into the ground. It is terrific to see and fortunately to us; we were privaledged enough to see this example this tournament. Shabazz Muhammed, top college basketball prospect, and top 5 NBA talent, put on a ridiculous display, when a teammate took the opportunity to make a game winning shot. He pouted and was stunned the kid didn't pass the ball to him. This is pathetic and I am glad to see them leave to the NBA. This is why some athletes like this make us hate the professional level. Luckily, we have the rest of college basketball to turn to and watch as kids, such as: Trey Burke, Ben Mclemore, Olidipo, Deshaun Thomas, Doug McDermot and others who make their case to be drafted, as well as become class-acts, and role-models at the professional level. College allows us to see, who will be good, as well as, who we will love and cheer for in the years after they leave our schools. It is not all about the player, it is always about the player and the person in which they strive to become!

Reason 6: Coach's Coach, not Manage

This is one of the greatest reasons to watch college basketball. The players actually listen to the legendary coaches they play for. Instead of playing for the contract, and feel they are above and beyond what the coaches say, they actually listen. In fact, look at the midwest (hall of fame region) considered this because of the legendary coaches. In the pro version of the game, all the coach does is manage, the college level, they actually coach. So, sit back and continue to enjoy the ride the players experience as well as the coaches!