Friday, July 1, 2011

#15 -- MICHAEL VICK, MNF, WASHINGTON:  Joe Posnanski ranks the 14 most dominant individual performances in sports history.

14 comments:

  1. Jordan9:24 AM

    I absolutely agree that there's only one possible choice for #1, but there were some I though might be on that weren't, like the What's my name? fight or Jack Morris deciding the Braves would not win the '91 Series.

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  2. He gave up 7 hits (including two doubles) and walked 2; that's not so much winning it by yourself. It really is those high strikeout games where it's all in the pitcher's hands; I'd have considered the Pedro relief game in the top fifty, however.

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  3. Jordan10:37 AM

    Yeah, I almost didn't write Morris.  If it weren't game 7, it wouldn't be memorable.  Ali-Terrell is brutal, though.

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  4. isaac_spaceman12:26 PM

    My first thought was "where's Bob Beamon in 1968?"  That jump was the most stunning individual performance of all time.  In a sport where records move incrementally, it was like time travel. 

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  5. Bill Walton, 1973 NCAA championship game: 21-22 shooting (2-5 FT) for 44 pts, 13 boards.

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  6. Benner1:16 PM

    Zidane 1998 world cup final?

    I feel Lawrence Taylor and Michael Jordan should be on the list somewhere. Including a chess player, a golfer, and a horse makes the list somewhat strange.

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  7. I'm fine with axing Fischer; that's more of a show-offy "look how diverse my thinking is" than a real athletic accomplishment.

    But which Jordan game -- the flu game?  The 3-pointers over Portland?  

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  8. isaac_spaceman2:45 PM

    I'm trying to think of a way to invent a sport that combines chess, golf, and horsemanship. 

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  9. Polo, but where each type of horse can only move around in a certain fashion?

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  10. Jim Bell3:31 PM

    Roger Bannister?

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  11. Benner5:23 PM

    at summer camp, we played "human stratego," though not on horseback.

    we're also overlooking what are surely some amazing cricket performances.  A good batting performance can win a match single-handedly, unlike baseball where each player has only a limited number of times to bat.  Having said that, Reggie Jackson would make a longer list for the world series game where he hit three home runs on three pitches.

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  12. Benner5:25 PM

    In track, i'd maybe elevate Ben Johnson's 1988 olympics run over Bolt, steroids or no.  Michael Johnson winning gold in the 200 and 400 in Atlanta? 

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  13. isaac_spaceman8:46 PM

    SteI think Bolt's run was more dominant than Johnson's.  He ran faster, beat the non-Bolt record by a greater amount, left an incredible field in the dust, jogged the last 10 meters, and looked like a giant freak doing it.  And I loved watching Johnson run and don't care about the other stuff, so I don't say this as a person with an axe to grind.  Of the two, I just think Bolt's run was more dominant.  But it still wasn't as otherworldly as Beamon.   

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  14. Neil Lomax seven TD passes in one quarter against Delaware State isn't likely to be broken soon. Not top flight competition, but in 15 minutes? That's a bunch.

    And its outside the boundaries of their selection, but Al Oerter winning the discus in four consecutive Olympic Games doesn't get as much attention as it probably should.

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