Sigh.

It's that time of year again, sadly. Today was the first day of school. I'm now a freshman in high school. As I do every year, I try to find ways to countdown or make the year go by quicker. Only one has worked in the past. This one is sure to be completed. Why? Because it's only for 100 school days of the year! It'll swing me right into the second half of the year, where I should be in the swing of things, and wouldn't remember the challenges I set anyway! I have this book titled 'The Best Boston Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Boston Fans' by Jim Caple & Steve Buckley. Every school day I have (it excludes days off, vacations, and weekends) will feature the argument they provide. I'll tell you what they thought and argue it myself! How enjoyable! Without further ado, here is the very first argument:

Are The Greatest Of The Greats From Boston?

Book Answer: Yes.

My Argument: There's one way to go about this. Every city that doesn't have all four major sports (basketball, baseball, football, hockey) is eliminated. This is the greatest of the greats, after all. This is who remains:

Boston, Chicago, Dallas - Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis - St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC.

It's only fair that each city get to brag now,

Washington DC boasts Alex Ovechkin, five-time all-star and two-time MVP in the NHL, but what about the Wizards? Do you settle for Michael Jordan even though he was way past his prime in DC? How about the Nationals? Ryan Zimmerman, maybe. In a couple of years, it'll be Stephen Strasburg, but not now. For the Redskins you make a push for Joe Theissman. But really? DC is weak.

San Francisco starts out strong. Joe Montana and Willie Mays are arguably the greatest in their respective sports and heck, Chris Mullin played on the Dream Team, but hockey just destroys it. Joe Thornton's the best you send out there. That's not a good guy to send out there.

Phoenix probably can't go wrong with Randy Johnson representing baseball and Charles Barkley headlining basketball, but there goes that hockey again. Sure, they had Bobby Hull, but not in Phoenix, that was back in the Winnipeg days. So what now? Thomas Steen? Why even bother with football? Although, Kurt Warner's 2009 season probably put him in Arizona sports lore.

Philadelphia isn't awful. Wilt Chamberlain gets sent out there, but then it's just a string of good players, not greatness. Mike Schmidt from the Phillies, Donovan McNabb from the Eagles, and Mark Howe from the Flyers. Philadelphia just isn't at the greatness level.

New York probably comes closest. Baseball is just crazy. You could pick Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, or Babe Ruth and be happy with each one, but I'll say the Babe for this argument. Mark Messier probably gets in the NHL's Top Ten of all-time. Joe Namath ranks among the top twenty quarterbacks of all-time and Patrick Ewing among the top twenty-five basketball players, but for this argument, each one has to be in the top ten. Sorry Empire.

Minneapolis is kind of sad to go through. None of the Wild's hockey players were good enough to have their number retired apparently, as only 99 and 1 are retired. 99 was retired league-wide in honor of Wayne Gretzky and 1 was retired in honor of the fans. Just throw in Marian Gaborik, their all-time scorer, so they can have a hockey player. Timberwolves have Kevin Garnett, although he's known for Boston now, the Vikings showcase Randy Moss, who was known now for New England, and then Kirby Puckett for the Twins. Minnesota is just one big meh.

Dan Marino and LeBron James probably make Miami smile. The Marlins and Panthers do not. Josh Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP for the Marlins, you can put in with little confidence. What about Pavel Bure and his Panthers? Get out of town, Miami.

Detroit goes bang bang bang. Barry Sanders. Gordie Howe. Ty Cobb. Bang bang bang. And then the team who should provide the most bang (they're named the Pistons for god's sake) just fall flat. If they're satisfied with sending Isiah Thomas or Bill Laimbeer to the front, then they should rethink their Piston fanhood.

Denver goes mile-high in football. You've got your Tim Tebow and your John Elway. Although, most would say Elway. And then disappointment again. Alex English or Carmelo Anthony for the Nuggets, weakens the whole shebang. The Rockies? Pffft. Larry Walker, I guess. Patrick Roy represents the Avalanche, but he's known for his Montreal days. There there Colorado.

Ahh, Dallas. In about fifteen years, this one could make a strong argument. Not yet, though, not yet. It's hard to against Roger Staubach AND Troy Aikman, but Emmitt Smith has to take the cake. Dirk Nowitzki shouldn't depress Maverick fans too much. Nolan Ryan brings the heat from the Range. But hockey kills it again. You don't want to say 'I guess' with greats, but that's what you say with Mike Modano.

Chicago is right there at the second-tier, very close the top. Michael Jordan vaults the Windy City and Walter Payton and Bobby Hull keep pushing, but even though there's two baseball teams, neither provide a whammy. Shoeless Joe was about to until he got banned from baseball. You settle for Andre Dawson, but you wish there was something else out there.

Now we're brought to Boston where the argument concludes. You know it's something when the weakest link is Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks ever. From a baseball standpoint, cities would be more than happy to have Carl Yastrzemski, but I'll take Ted Williams to rub it in. Bobby Orr leads the Bruin stampede. Basketball features two of the best five ever. Larry Bird or Bill Russell? It doesn't matter. You win with either. And just to brag a little more, we've got Doug Flutie, if you want to count college.


So, yeah, the greatest of the greats are from Boston. Pretty nice.



(Don't worry, all the arguments won't be that long).