Top 10 Athletes: According to Vineesh

Today in sports, there are so many stand out athletes that are out to make a name for them selves, and not to live in shadows of other stars that once were in their shoes. Recently, I have been thinking about my favorite professional athletes, and those that are most dominant in their sports. Some of these athletes are known all around the world, and others are under the radar. None the less, these athletes play the game hard, and are well respected for what they do. Here are my top 10 athletes of today:

10) Albert Pujols-the most consistant hitter in baseball over the past 5 years

9) Larry Fitzgerald- best reciever in the NFL, at this point in time

8) Alexander Ovechkin- most overlooked young athlete in the world

7) Usain Bolt- fastest man ever
6) Rafeal Nadal- the changing ofthe guards became official in my eyes at the Ausie Open

5) Cristiano Ronaldo- footballer of the year

4) LeBron James-52, 9, 11 at the garden...

3) Tiger Woods- though injured, he will in 4 majors this year

2) Micheal Phelps- knows how to win, and party with college kids

1) Kobe Bryant-KOBE

Lebron...Or Kobe...

Lebron James... or Kobe Bryant. I do not even watch the NBA, but after seeing what the two just did back to back games at the Garden, I do not know who the best player in the league is at this point in time.

Let us take a look at Kobe. 61 points: the highest mark in the Garden ever put up by a player, both home and visiting. The league's reigning MVP will go down as one of the best players to ever play this game. Kobe's 61 came at the perfect time. Laker's center Andrew Bynum went down with a torn MCL and will be out 8-12 weeks. Kobe is the NBA's third leading scorer behind "The King" himself, and Miami's Dwyane Wade. Kobe has proved himself many years ago to the world. He, along with James won a gold medal in the summer Olympics.

Lebron aka The King aka The Chosen One. What else is there to say. Coming out of High School, he was the most talked about, and recruited player. He had NBA talent in 11th grade. And he wasted no time. Let's flash forward to Wednesday night: 52 points 11 assists 10 rebounds. One word: ANIMAL. Lebron saw what Kobe did, and said to him self... where were the assists, and no rebounds? He laughed and said Kobe, step your team game up. Lebron is making a case for MVP. He wants it: he won't say it to anyone, but deep inside, he wants it. He wants that title of MVP, and all that hoisted that trophy. He too will go down as one of the best, if not, the best.

LeBron Playing in the NFL?

Recently, you may have seen the new LeBron commercial where he announces that he has a "big announcement" coming this Sunday, the 18th. Here it is, if you haven't seen it.

And more recently, there have been some leaked photos that give some clues:

I think that this is a great marketing idea for LeBron. Pretending to pull an "MJ" and change sports mid-way through his prime should make for a great commercial. Debating how LeBron would fare in the NFL is wildly interesting to think about. I can already see Asante Samuel shitting himself trying to figure out how he's going to tackle him.

Just for fun, let's imagine what this 6'9, +270 lbs athlete who most likely runs a 4.4-4.6 would do in the NFL. Wide Receiver would be a natural choice for LeBron. He's most likely got fantastic hands and his ball skills and body control are exceptional. Couple that with the fact that he's 9 inches and 70 pounds heavier than nearly ever defensive back, it'd take atleast 2 guys to bring him down everytime. Tight End would work pretty well too, becaue with that size, he's bigger than any defensive end in the league and would do fine in the blocking game.

Any other position would be a waste of his abilities. He probably doesn't have the ferocity to play defense in the NFL and tackle on a consistent basis. Also, at Quarterback he'd do well seeing over the lineman, but most likely doesn't possess the accuracy for that level (Then again he is one of the best passers in the NBA!).

As for an NFL comparison, think of Anquan Boldin, plus 8 inches and 70 pounds. He is already one the best run after the catch receivers in the game, LeBron would take it to another level just as he has in the NBA.

Celtics Slumping, Cavs Reaping the Benefits

Just 2 weeks ago, everybody was talking about how the Celtics had a legit shot to break the single season wins record of 72-10 set by Michael Jordan and the 95-96 Bulls. I think it's pretty clear that the record of 72 wins will hold up for a long time because after Boston lost 6 of its last 8 games, they need to win out the rest of the season to do it. At first I thought the Celtics were going through a rough stretch where things just weren't clicking, but the other night it seemed like LeBron James stole their mojo.

King James erupted for 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists against the defending champs. The struggling Celtics had absolutely no answer for him. LeBron is out scoring Paul Pierce by nearly 75 points the last 5 times they have played and he averages over 30 ppg against Boston in his young career.

That game was more than just a regular season game. With the win, the Cavs improved to a league best 29-6 and dominated the entire game. They proved to everybody that they are for real and the team to beat in the East this year. With LeBron playing like he has been this season, I don't see this team coming up short of a title.... But what do I know, I had the Panthers playing in the Superbowl.

NBA's Best Alley-Oop Combo?

At the bottom of the Friday Bullets over at Truehoop, I followed the link over to Dime Magazine's website who posed the ever-important question, which tandem of teammates is the NBA's best alley-oop combo? Here are the candidates the give:

• Mike Bibby to Josh Smith


• Rajon Rondo to Kevin Garnett


• Ray Felton to Gerald Wallace


• Mo Williams to LeBron James


• Derek Fisher to Kobe Bryant


• Jameer Nelson to Dwight Howard


• Andre Miller to Andre Iguodala


• Steve Nash to Amare Stoudemire


• Sergio Rodriguez to Rudy Fernandez


• Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler


• Deron Williams to Ronnie Brewer

The way I see it Paul to Chandler is the most consistent alley-oop combo out there. They aren't the flashiest but Paul probably throws the best alley and Chandler is always looking for the oop. As far as highlight reels go, anything involving LeBron or Amare has got to be up there. Also, Sergio and Rudy usually team up for some nasty oops but lets be honest, Rudy just can't do things like the LeBrons, Kobes, and Amares. I think Kobe is the best in-game dunker in the NBA but he doesn't alley-oop all that much. Iguodala is athletically good enough to be one of the top guys, but I don't think he has the game-sense to consistently put himself in the right places on the court to get the oops. That's just my thoughts, what do you think?