TOP 5 BAD BOYS GONE SOFT

They walked the athletic battle field with intensity in their eyes as fear washed over their opponent's faces. These bad boys of sports intimidated their way to stardom. But oh how far we have come, to the day, when these once menacing and scary men are now just soft and mushy entertainers. These 5 men have taken their bad boy image and made it into something unique. From the ballet to the WNBA, these men no longer bring fear into their opponents eyes but instead bring laughter (but make sure you laugh from a reasonable distance away).

The Top 5 Bad Boys Turned Soft

1. Lawrence Taylor (Dancing with the Stars)
Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor was one of the greatest defensive players to ever play the game. He changed the linebacker position forever and put fear in the quarterback's eyes. HE BROKE A MAN'S LEG (Joe Theisman's career would never be the same). So what happened Lawrence? Do you really need the money? Why not "Celebrity Survivor" where you go and tackle a bear or eat the bones of a lion? But not this:



2. Rick Mahorn (WNBA - pushing Lisa Leslie)
Once an enforcer on the basketball court, Rick Mahorn brought toughness and muscle to the bad boy Detroit Pistons. No one messed with Isaiah Thomas because Mahorn was his protector. He feared no one...no one until he ran into Lisa Leslie. Come on Rick pick on someone your own size or at least your own gender:



3. Merlin Olsen (Delivery of Flowers Commercial)
Hall of Famer, Olsen was a part of the original "Fearsome Foursome" that terrorized opposing teams. He was 6'5 and intimidating on the field but soon became better known for his soft side. He was a character on Little House on the Prairie and this commercial officially ended his bad boy image:



4. Dennis Rodman (Dressing like a women)
Rodman was arguably the dirtiest and meanest player in the NBA. He kicked a camera man, got into it with Karl Malone and was truly a bad boy until this:

And This:

And This:

And These:

5. George Foreman (Boxer turned cook)

George Foreman pummeled opponents in the ring with his fists on his way winning the heavyweight boxing title and for a short time being known as best fighter in the world. Foreman was not only big but he was also mean. Now, Foreman is better known for his recipes and grilling techniques then his boxing. His famous smile does not intimidate anymore it just makes people hungry. Foreman is a genius for giving up his bad boy persona for an apron.

This Didn't Help Either:

TARKENTON CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK - Favre not only one overrated

"Boy could he scramble", my dad use to say over and over about his favorite player of all-time Fran Tarkenton. "But dad could he pass?", "but dad did he ever win a Superbowl?", "but dad didn't he throw 32 interceptions in one season?" "dad don't you think Tarkenton is overrated?" He would pause a moment and then reply, "yeah...but boy could he scramble." Fran Tarkenton was possibly one of the most overrated quarterbacks to play the game, even my dad (who idolized him) could admit that. So when Tarkenton came out and called Brett Farve a bad teammate and an overrated quarterback, I took offense. I agree but I take offense:

"I think he has been a great flamboyant quarterback, but he has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback that I've ever seen. Look at his final game in a Packers uniform. He blew that game against the Giants. He's playing against Eli Manning, I love Eli Manning, but he's still not a great quarterback. He's not Peyton yet, or Tom Brady. He's just a guy. And they're (Packers) are playing at home, and they're in a tight situation, they went to overtime and he (Favre) throws the interception that allows them (the Giants) to come back and win the game. He has done that and driven his coaches crazy all of his career."

Fran Tarkenton


If this isn't calling the kettle black, then I don't know what is. Fran Tarkenton may be one of the most overrated quarterbacks of all-time. Yeah, I know he is 5th on the all-time passing list (only because he played 18 years), made 3 Super bowls (lost them all) and once led the league in passing (he also led the league in interceptions that year). Tarkenton couldn't hold a candle to the games best quarterbacks...Unitas, Montana, or Marino. How dare he attack Farve. Now if Manning or Montana said that same quote then I would say "yeah I agree Farve is overrated" but when an overrated qb calls another qb overrated I got a problem. Tarkenton needs to look in the overrated mirror. Even my dad agrees.

Check for yourself:
Fran Tarkenton's Stats

Top 5 Most Overrated Quarterbacks

1. Joe Namath
Living off his Super bowl victory and his panty hose commercials. Led the league in interceptions 4 times,completed only 50 percent of his passes and threw for over 20 tds in only 1 year of his career. Your good looks got you a long way Broadway Joe.

2. Warren Moon
Only 3 winning seasons as a starting qb and no Superbowl rings come on. He also led the league in interceptions (twice) and run-ins with the police.

3. Troy Aikman
This was a tough one. Aikman won Super bowls and did everything a qb is suppose to do...if a quarterback is suppose to hand off to one of the all-time great running backs every time. Even Jason Garrett or Vinnie Testeverde could have won a Superbowl with Smith carrying the load. Look at his numbers: Aikman averaged less than 14 tds a year, never led the league in any major category and was a lousy FANTASY player (he cost many fantasy fans league titles...lucky for me I was an Elway fan).

4. Dan Fouts
His numbers were great but whose numbers wouldn't be great playing in nice weather every game, with stars all around you (John Jefferson, Lydell Mitchell, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, Wes Chandler) and with "Air Coryell" at the helm. With all those passing yards you would think that he would at least have gotten a sniff of a Superbowl ring. In fact Fouts had only 3 playoff victories and threw 16 interception compared to only 12 tds in the playoffs.

5. Fran Tarkenton
(See above)

Honorable Mention: Brett Farve, Jim McMahon, Randall Cunningham

WORST BASEBALL HAT EVER

I have officially seen it all...a scratch and niff baseball hat. I guess chewing gum, seeds and tobacco is no longer good enough to keep a players attention between pitches, we now need something to smell. 10 years from now the makers of this hat will saying "what in the heck were we thinking". I just hope we don't have a turn-back-the-clock night where everything is old school scratch and niff (can you imagine). Well, lets take a look at some other decisions where someone must be saying "what were we thinking":

Top 5 Worst Major League Baseball Hats

1. Montreal Expos 1969

2. Pittsburg Pirates 1976

3. San Diego Padres 1984

4. Millwaukee Brewers 1978

5. California Angels 1962

Any that I missed?

NFL NETWORK FOR THOSE WITHOUT - Top 10 Part I

NFL Network reached an agreement to be a part of Comcast's packaging a couple of weeks ago so I decided to give the Network a try and see what all the fuss was about. I figured I wasn't really missing anything especially since Thursday night football is like Tuesday night church service...it doesn't feel right but you gotta participate. So I flip to it and guess what, I was hooked. Besides the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals are on "Hard Knocks" (the NFL's version of Cops and Judge Judy), one show really intrigued me...a show called "TOP 10". This show takes a look at the classic top 10 lists of the NFL. From the top 10 backfield tandems to the 10 best Dallas Cowboys to the top 10 most fearsome tacklers, the NFL Network analyzes them all. What a great concept.

So here I am using my DVR to provide those unfortunate souls who do not get the NFL Network (no I do not work for NFL Network) a chance to enjoy the TOP 10 lists along with some Retro Sports Talk analysis. So here goes:

Top 10 Biggest Changes to the NFL

1. AFL - NFL Merger

2. T.V. and Monday Night Football

3. Free Agency

4. Paul Brown

5. Instant Replay

6. Astro turf (because of all the injuries and the increase in speed)

7. Defensive Back Rule Change (rule that a defensive back can't touch a wr past five yards)

8. NFL Films

9. West Coast Offense

10. Soccer Style Kickers

Honorable Mention: Hash Marks, Pete Rozell

Analysis:
The first change to the list would be to move PAUL BROWN up. He should be #1 on the list (for starters he has a team named after him). Everything football starts with Paul Brown. He truly revolutionized the game and his impact is still felt in the game today. Lets take a look at the impact Brown had on the game:




a. Coaches such as Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Sam Wyche, Bill Walsh, Weeb Ewbank, Bud Grant played or coached under Brown
b. The Face Mask
c. The Playbook
d. The Helmet Ear Piece
e. The Full Time Coaching Staff
f. Using game film
g. Sending in plays with a guard
h. Diagrams for passing plays
i. The Chalk Talk

No other coach has done more to change and improve the game than Paul Brown.

Next, I would definitely put FANTASY FOOTBALL on the list. Fantasy football not only gave millions of football geeks a reason to watch EVERY NFL game but it also made name recognition for many lesser known players. Fantasy football made millions of dollars for the sport.

Lastly, why in the world would you put kickers on the list? Don't they know that kickers are always the last pick in most fantasy football drafts. Jeez!

Part II (Next Week) - NFL's Top 10 Most Fearsome Tacklers

Links:
NFL Network Top 10 Schedule