OT(ish): The Mount Rushmore of Sports...

[jadmt]

LeMond deserves to be there he got the USA involved like no one before him.People that never watched a minute of cycling were mesmerized by his win. besides do you want youth looking at the rushmore of cycling and thinking cheating is ok......

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Well Jackie played at UCLA, baseball and football, and he does have a statue in front of the Rose Bowl.

I’d like to hear the argument for Eckersley; the success as both a starter and closer? If I were looking for a pitcher (and not counting Ruth), it would be hard to pick one but I might go with Nolan Ryan or maybe Bob Gibson - I think MLB lowered the mound because of him. I’m sure one of those older pitchers was the first use a curve ball - maybe Mathewson?

Ah impetuous youth. That was the 2019 me. The 2024 me thinks that was pretty silly.

[Bob Ross]

Fun thread! I have nothing further to add, I'm just amazed I didn't see it back in 2019 when it started.

...okay, well, maybe I'll add this: for Basketball you absolutely need more than just four faces on Mt. Rushmore.

[9tubes]

I'm not sure who I'd choose as the fourth face on Rushmore. Bartali or Hinault.

The closest Armstrong should be allowed to get to Rushmore is to have the job of cleaning the bathrooms. He is a disgrace to the sport, and more important, to himself and to his family.

[bthomas515]

Originally Posted by donevwil

NBA:
David Stern

Hot take: David Stern is one of the main reasons basketball is still relevant today

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Ah impetuous youth. That was the 2019 me. The 2024 me thinks that was pretty silly.

Ha, I didn’t notice! (The year, not the silliness)

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by bthomas515

Hot take: David Stern is one of the main reasons basketball is still relevant today

IDK, I can't stand to watch it anymore. Pretty much the same with the NFL.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by bthomas515

Hot take: David Stern is one of the main reasons basketball is still relevant today

Really interesting argument. I can see your point. It can certainly be argued that Stern changed the game more than LeBron, for example. (Although not Jordan)

If Stern is on there for impact alone, I’ll add Jordan, and Magic. Then I’m still stuck between Russ and Wilt. Russ was the greatest team player in sports history while Wilt might be the most athletic phenomenon the game has ever seen. He completely revolutionized the concept of the “Big Man,” and presaged the viral era with his dunks. I could see either, but I’ll stick with Russ.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

And while we're at it, shouldn't cycling be:

• Merckx
  
• Merckx
  
• Merckx
• Vos

with a slot reserved for Pogacar

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Well Jackie played at UCLA, baseball and football, and he does have a statue in front of the Rose Bowl.

And one in front of Dodger Stadium. But given the emphasis in the original post on impact, I think Jackie is tied to Brooklyn.

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

I’d like to hear the argument for Eckersley; the success as both a starter and closer? If I were looking for a pitcher (and not counting Ruth), it would be hard to pick one but I might go with Nolan Ryan or maybe Bob Gibson - I think MLB lowered the mound because of him. I’m sure one of those older pitchers was the first use a curve ball - maybe Mathewson?

I (privately) asked the same question, thinking that if it were about the role of a reliever you'd have to put Gossage or, better, Sutter ahead of him. Moot now since OP has acknowledged his mistake.

I don't think you can point to any one pitcher as the cause of the mound change, it was more the overall pitching dominance that was so pronounced in '68. Certainly Gibby's minuscule ERA, but also McLain's 30 wins, Drysdale's scoreless inning streak (shut up, Dick Dietz), others including Lolich, Jenkins, Tiant, etc.

[FastCanon]

People don't take how some got there and how they behaved once they got there. Armstrong was very abusive and was a total doper. We need better standards. Yes, sport is competitive, but you should not cheat to get there. If rules are broken, then we should have sports with rules and without rules. If we disregard rules and talk about impact, then one day, a "certain" president will be on Mt. Rushmore.

Not sure why Ohtani haven't been mentioned. Maybe he didn't play long enough? He's one of a kind in many respects. First is pitching and hitting in the same season. Then hitting and stolen bases. What's next? Saves and hitting.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

IDK, I can't stand to watch it anymore. Pretty much the same with the NFL.

The skill is higher than ever, but the game is (usually) more boring than ever. I only watch the 9 minute DTMTS.com (Don't Tell Me The Score) highlights, and even those are sometimes a chore. This about a game I love perhaps even as much as cycling, although I can't really play anymore.
Teams are regularly launching 40+ 3-pointers a night. That's just not enjoyable. They need to move the line back a solid three feet in order to make the 3 the challenging risk/reward shot it once was. Even 3 feet might not be enough, but that would be a start to incentivize the reintroduction of the post and mid-range game.

Now Josh, before you start telling me how awful the 90's were for the NBA, I'm not advocating a return to the glory days of Oakley and Ewing vs PJ Brown and Alonzo Mourning. I don't think the floor would shrink by nearly that much. If anything the square footage used would be increased, as there would be more happening in the 10 - 20 foot range than there is right now, while the three would still be shot more than in the 90's. But also not as much as it is being shot in 2024, which makes for fast and high scoring ball, but not compelling to watch ball.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

If there's a Mt. Rushmore in St. Louis I know that Stan Musial and Bob Gibson are on it.

Plus Tim McCarver and Larry Wilson of the Football Cardinals.

[ColonelJLloyd]

I am a lifelong Cardinal. In elementary school I was on a team called the A's which prompted me to follow the MLB club. This would prove to be a strange twist of fate for me (I could've easily ended up in a Royals uniform or something) as I fell hard for Henderson, Stewart, Eck, and the Bash Brothers so I followed and rooted for two teams for a number of years. Four days before my ninth birthday I was watching WS Game 3 pregame coverage in confusion and disbelief at the turmoil caused by the Loma Preita earthquake. Selfishly, it was a big deal to me that I would have to wait for that series to resume.

That McGuire and LaRussa later played such huge roles for the Cardinals was bizarre, but great. LaRussa even brought Eck over to be our closer for a while. I loved Eckersley. But did Dennis Eckersley have one of the four greatest impacts on the game of baseball? Psh. C'mon.

Edit: I didn't realize this was a zombie thread nor that you came to your senses on that. Carry on.

[bthomas515]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

IDK, I can't stand to watch it anymore. Pretty much the same with the NFL.

Yeah, I’m meaning that it would be substantially worse if David Stern *was not* as involved. He was hated but made basketball relevant in an era where it could have easily slipped into oblivion.