Tag Archives: decade of dominance

H2H 173: Vernon Davis vs. Greg Olsen – Who was Better?

Posted on August 18, 2023 | Leave a comment

Mike Morbeck, Vernon Davis – San Francisco vs Green Bay 2012 (2), CC BY-SA 2.0

In the modern NFL, having a strong pass-catching tight end is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for an effective offense. In fact, in some cases, the tight end may actually be one of the team’s top receivers; at certain points in their careers, such was the case for Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers and Greg Olsen of the Carolina Panthers. During the 2000s and 2010s, each tight end was the quarterback’s best friend in his prime and had a long career highlighted by a peak in which he was one of the league’s elite tight ends, thus prompting the question:

Who was better – Vernon Davis or Greg Olsen?

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Posted in Football

Tagged best Panthers players, best tight ends ever, consecutive 1000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end, decade of dominance, Olsen or Davis, single-season touchdown record by a tight end, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Vernon Davis vs. Greg Olsen

H2H 172: Bernie Parent vs. Billy Smith – Who was Better?

Posted on August 4, 2023 | Leave a comment

Peetlesnumber1, Philadelphia Sports Statues 05, CC BY-SA 4.0

Outside of the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders were arguably the two most successful franchises of the 1970s and 1980s with two and four Stanley Cup titles, respectively. While each team had its share of great forwards and defensemen, both also had Hall of Fame goalies in Bernie Parent (Flyers) and Billy Smith (Islanders); in their primes, each goalie was a Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe winner who elevated his game in the postseason – as two of the best netminders of this era, it is a natural comparison to ask the question:

Who was better – Bernie Parent or Billy Smith?

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Posted in Hockey

Tagged 1980s Islanders dynasty, Bernie Parent vs. Billy Smith, best Flyers players ever, best Islanders players ever, best NHL goalies of the 1970s, best NHL goalies of the 1980s, Broad Street Bullies, decade of dominance, first goalie to score a goal, multiple Conn Smythe Trophies, multiple Vezina Trophies, Smith or parent, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head

H2H 171: George Foster vs. Dale Murphy – Who was Better?

Posted on July 21, 2023 | Leave a comment

Every season, both the AL and NL honor their league’s most outstanding player with the MVP award – as you might expect, legends like Barry Bonds (7x), Albert Pujols (3x), Mickey Mantle (3x), Joe DiMaggio (3x), and Stan Musial (3x), just to name a few, grace the all-time leaderboards for most career MVPs won. However, not every MVP winner is even a Hall of Famer, as some players are dominant for a relatively brief period of time – case in point, George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds and Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves were MVP winners and two of the elite players of the late 1970s and 1980s, respectively, though both have fallen short of Cooperstown. Nevertheless, the pair were both highly productive players in their primes with similar career trajectories and totals, thus prompting the question:

Who was better – George Foster or Dale Murphy?

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Posted in Baseball

Tagged 50 home run seasons, baseball back-to-back MVP, best Braves players, best Reds players, best sluggers of the 1980s, Big Red Machine, Dale Murphy Hall of Fame, decade of dominance, George Foster Hall of Fame, Murphy or Foster, NL MVPs, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head

H2H 170: Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning – Who was Better?

Posted on July 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

Keith Allison, Drew Brees 2015, CC BY-SA 2.0

In an October 2018 Monday Night Football game vs. the then-Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to to Tre’Quan Smith to surpass Peyton Manning’s then-record of 71,940 career passing yards to sit atop the NFL record books. Though they have both since been surpassed by the incomparable Tom Brady, Brees and Manning remain #2 and #3, respectively, all-time in both passing yards and touchdowns. No doubt two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, the duo were part of a golden era of passers and faced off against each other numerous times (including in the Super Bowl), so it is only natural to ask:

Who was better – Drew Brees or Peyton Manning?

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Tagged best Colts quarterbacks, best NFL players of the 2000s, best quarterbacks ever, best Saints quarterbacks, decade of dominance, Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning, Manning or Brees, most career passing touchdowns, most career passing yards, most passing touchdowns in a season, most passing yards in a season, NFL #1 overall picks, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Super Bowl XLIV Brees vs. Manning

H2H 169: Bert Blyleven vs. Ferguson Jenkins – Who was Better?

Posted on October 28, 2022 | Leave a comment

While it took more than 50 years for the second pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts (Bob Gibson in 1974 after Walter Johnson in 1923), eight more pitchers would join that illustrious club in less than a decade between 1978 and 1986. During an era when pitchers routinely threw more than 300 innings per season, nearly all of these new strikeout kings accumulated close to or more than 5,000 career innings pitched – this included a couple of foreign-born hurlers in Dutchman Bert Blyleven and Canadian Ferguson Jenkins. As true workhorse starters, each threw over 4,500 career innings and won over 280 career games to go with the 3,000+ strikeouts, thus making for an interesting comparison between these two Hall of Famers:

Who was better – Bert Blyleven or Ferguson Jenkins?

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Posted in Baseball

Tagged Bert Blyleven Hall of Fame, Bert Blyleven vs. Ferguson Jenkins, best Canadian baseball players, best Cubs players ever, best Dutch baseball players, best Twins players ever, decade of dominance, first Canadian Cy Young winner, first Canadian in Baseball Hall of Fame, Jenkins or Blyleven, pitchers with 3000 career strikeouts, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head

H2H 168: Marian Gaborik vs. Rick Nash – Who was Better?

Posted on October 14, 2022 | Leave a comment

With the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets entering the NHL as expansion teams in 2000, each new franchise sought to build via the draft. In early years, the Wild and Blue Jackets drafted Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash, respectively, with high first-round draft picks to serve as franchise cornerstone players. Each forward eventually went on to have an illustrious career with the team that drafted him, sitting at or near the top of various career offensive categories, e.g. goals scored. Moreover, the duo had similar overall career lengths and statistics, thus making for an interesting comparison:

Who was better – Marian Gaborik or Rick Nash?

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Posted in Hockey

Tagged 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, best Columbus Blue Jackets players ever, best Minnesota Wild players ever, best NHL players of the 2000s, best Slovakian hockey players, decade of dominance, Marian Gaborik vs. Rick Nash, Minnesota Wild first draft pick, Nash or Hossa, Rick Nash Richard Trophy, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head

H2H 167: London Fletcher vs. Zach Thomas – Who was Better?

Posted on September 30, 2022 | Leave a comment

Jeffrey Beall, London Fletcher, CC BY 3.0

The NFL is dominated by athletic marvels, whether it be dual-threat quarterbacks, unicorn left tackles, or physically imposing defensive ends. For instance, at linebacker, Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher had prototypical size and speed and accordingly were among the best defensive players of the 2000s. On the other end of the spectrum, football players lacking ideal physical attributes are often overlooked despite strong production. Instead, it takes grit and perseverance to overcome these perceptions and still be a productive player – case in point, London Fletcher and Zach Thomas were both undersized, yet were two of the best linebackers of their era as contemporaries of Lewis and Urlacher; given their similar paths to great NFL careers, it is natural to compare the pair and ask:

Who was better – London Fletcher or Zach Thomas?

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Posted in Football

Tagged best Bills players, best Dolphins players, best linebackers of the 2000s, best undersized linebackers in NFL history, decade of dominance, London Fletcher Hall of Fame, London Fletcher vs. Zach Thomas, most underrated linebackers, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Thomas or Fletcher, Zach Thomas Hall of Fame

H2H 166: Paul Molitor vs. Robin Yount – Who was Better?

Posted on September 16, 2022 | Leave a comment

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Milwaukee Brewers had some of their best seasons to-date in the young franchise’s history, led by players such as sluggers Gorman Thomas and Cecil Cooper, catcher Ted Simmons, and pitchers Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers. However, the cornerstones of the team were homegrown stars and future Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount – members of the 3,000 career hit club, neither was a flashy star and each was probably a bit underrated, but both were nevertheless consistently great players. As the best players of the 1980s Brew Crew and arguably the two best players in franchise history, it is a natural comparison to make:

Who was better – Paul Molitor or Robin Yount?

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Posted in Baseball

Tagged 1980s Milwaukee Brewers, 3000 hit club, baseball players with multiple MVPs, best Brewers player ever, best hitters of the 1980s, best Milwaukee baseball player, decade of dominance, most underrated baseball Hall of Famers, Paul Molitor vs. Robin Yount, Paul Molitor World Series MVP, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Yount or Molitor

H2H 165: Shawn Kemp vs. Amar’e Stoudemire – Who was Better?

Posted on September 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

Bryan Horowitz: Flickr, website, Shawn Kemp (9523772347) (cropped), CC BY-SA 2.0

Even in a league full of athletic marvels, there are certain players who stand head and shoulders above the rest (literally and figuratively speaking). For instance, at power forward, Shawn Kemp and Amar’e Stoudemire both exhibited a level of athleticism rarely seen at the position and were known for throwing down monstrous dunks while dominating in their respective primes. Though each was later plagued by health and personal issues that ultimately impacted his longevity, the duo remain two of the most electrifying big men ever to don an NBA uniform – given their similarly dominant peaks and overall career trajectories, it is apt to make the comparison and ask:

Who was better – Shawn Kemp or Amar’e Stoudemire?

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Posted in Basketball

Tagged 1990s SuperSonics, best NBA players of the 1990s, best NBA players of the 2000s, best preps-to-pros players, best Suns players, best SuperSonics players, decade of dominance, most explosive power forwards ever, Shawn Kemp vs. Amar’e Stoudemire, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Stoudemire or Kemp

H2H 164: Nikolai Khabibulin vs. Cam Ward – Who was Better?

Posted on August 19, 2022 | Leave a comment

During the NHL’s big growth phase in the 1990s, the league made a concentrated effort to expand the game of hockey in the South, as evidenced by both expansion teams (Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992-1993, Florida Panthers in 1993-1994, Nashville Predators in 1998-1999, Atlanta Thrashers in 1999-2000) and relocations (Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix Coyotes in 1996-1997, Hartford Whalers to Carolina Hurricanes in 1997-1998). A decade later, the Lightning and Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup in back-to-back NHL seasons (around the 2004-2005 lockout), spurred in large part by the stellar goaltending play of Nikolai Khabibulin and Cam Ward, respectively. Long-time starting goalies who both had up-and-down careers highlighted by their Cup triumphs, there are some strikingly parallels between their careers, which leads to the question:

Who was better – Nikolai Khabibulin or Cam Ward?

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Posted in Hockey

Tagged 2004 Lightning Stanley Cup, 2006 Hurricanes Stanley Cup, best Hurricanes players, best Lightning players, best NHL goalies of the 2000s, best Russian hockey goalie, decade of dominance, goalies with 300 wins, Nikolai Khabibulin vs. Cam Ward, sports comparisons, Sports debates, sports H2H, sports head-to-head, Ward or Khabibulin

Tag Archives: decade of dominance

H2H 173: Vernon Davis vs. Greg Olsen – Who was Better?

H2H 172: Bernie Parent vs. Billy Smith – Who was Better?

H2H 171: George Foster vs. Dale Murphy – Who was Better?

H2H 170: Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning – Who was Better?

H2H 169: Bert Blyleven vs. Ferguson Jenkins – Who was Better?

H2H 168: Marian Gaborik vs. Rick Nash – Who was Better?

H2H 167: London Fletcher vs. Zach Thomas – Who was Better?

H2H 166: Paul Molitor vs. Robin Yount – Who was Better?

H2H 165: Shawn Kemp vs. Amar’e Stoudemire – Who was Better?

H2H 164: Nikolai Khabibulin vs. Cam Ward – Who was Better?

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