BigPigSports: 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.