Tag Archives: decade of dominance

H2H 163: Steve Largent vs. James Lofton – Who was Better?

Posted on August 5, 2022 | Leave a comment

The legendary Jerry Rice currently holds all the major NFL receiving records, whether it be receptions, yards, or touchdowns.  However, turn the clock back to the end of the 1993 season and the record books looked very different – in particular, for receiving yards, the two names topping the charts were James Lofton (#1) and Steve Largent (#2).  Despite very different playing styles, with Lofton being the speedster and Largent being the sure-handed pass-catcher, the duo were two of the most productive players of the 1980s; even with the explosion in passing statistics over the past couple of decades, they remain among the best receivers ever, thus prompting the comparison:

Who was better – Steve Largent or James Lofton?

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H2H 162: Marcus Camby vs. Tyson Chandler – Who was Better?

Posted on July 22, 2022 | Leave a comment
eric molina, Marcus Camby Clippers cropped2, CC BY 2.0
scott mecum, Tyson Chandler March 2012, CC BY 2.0

According to the old adage, offense wins games, but defense wins championships; as such, while high-flying scorers and playmakers get all the glory in basketball, every winning team needs a strong anchor on the defensive end.  In that vein, centers Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler made their mark in the Association during the 2000s and 2010s as two of the league’s best defensive big men.  Seven-footers (6’11” in Camby’s case) who were limited offensively, but dominant on the defensive end, there are notable parallels between the two players, thus leading to the question:

Who was better – Marcus Camby or Tyson Chandler?

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H2H 161: Cecil Fielder vs. Prince Fielder – Who was Better?

Posted on July 8, 2022 | Leave a comment
clare_and_ben, Cecil Fielder 1996, CC BY-SA 2.0
Keith Allison on Flickr (Original version)
UCinternational (Crop), Prince Fielder on July 13, 2012, CC BY-SA 2.0

MLB has seen its share of great father-son duos over the years, from Bobby and Barry Bonds to Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. to Felipe and Moises Alou, just to name a few.  However, in terms of pure hitting power, perhaps no father and son better exemplified the big basher than father Cecil Fielder and son Prince Fielder.  Both powerfully built first basemen, the two were each among the top sluggers of their respective eras and each hit 50+ home runs in a season – moreover, father and son each finished his MLB career with exactly 319 home runs, thus prompting the obvious comparison:

Who was better – Cecil Fielder or Prince Fielder?

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H2H 160: Peter Bondra vs. Milan Hejduk – Who was Better?

Posted on June 24, 2022 | Leave a comment
Brooke Novak, Peter Bondra scoring, Crop, CC BY-SA 2.5
FrenchKheldar, Milan Hejduk 2008, CC BY-SA 2.0

With the split of Czechoslovakia into two sovereign nations in 1993, this resulted in two hockey-rich countries in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  From the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias on the Czech side and Marian Hossa on the Slovakian side, each nation has produced a plethora of elite NHL players and in particular, is renowned for offensive talent.  Two of the best goal-scorers to emerge from each half of the formerly unified countries have been Peter Bondra of Slovakia and Milan Hejduk of the Czech Republic – both 50-goal scorers and NHL scoring leaders during their illustrious careers, each racked up over 800 career points, thus prompting the question:

Who was better – Peter Bondra or Milan Hejduk?

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H2H 159: Vlade Divac vs. Arvydas Sabonis – Who was Better?

Posted on June 10, 2022 | Leave a comment
Steve Lipofsky www.Basketballphoto.com, Sabonis Lipofsky (1 of 1), CC BY-SA 3.0

From Pau Gasol to Domantas Sabonis to Nikola Jokic and others, one of the hallmarks of European-born big men in the NBA has been their strong passing skills.  This characteristic goes back to the early days of foreign influence in the NBA, when Eastern European players like Vlade Divac and Arvydas Sabonis (Domantas’ father) were still considered a novelty.  As two of the best foreign big men ever, Divac and Sabonis were not only accomplished NBA players, but had successful overseas and international careers as well as part of their Hall of Fame accomplishments.  With the NBA becoming an ever-increasingly global game, let us look back upon the 1990s era of basketball and ask:

Who was better – Vlade Divac or Arvydas Sabonis?

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H2H 158: Steve Finley vs. Reggie Sanders – Who was Better?

Posted on May 27, 2022 | Leave a comment
Jessica Merz (jessicafm) from Novato, USA, Steve Finley, CC BY 2.0
User shgmom56 on Flickr, Reggie Sanders, CC BY-SA 2.0

As of the 2022 season, there are eight members of MLB’s exclusive 300-300 club, i.e. 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases.  The first six names are highly recognizable stars of yesteryear: Willie Mays, Barry and Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltran.  However, the last couple of names may be a bit of a surprise to the average baseball fan – Steve Finley and Reggie Sanders.  Though never quite superstars, both were consistent and versatile players, the type of productive veteran every winning team needs; in comparing and contrasting the duo, this leads to a natural question:

Who was better – Steve Finley or Reggie Sanders?

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H2H 157: Julius Peppers vs. Jason Taylor – Who was Better?

Posted on May 13, 2022 | Leave a comment
Ed Yourdon, Jason Taylor Jets-Dolphin game Nov 1, 2009, CC BY-SA 2.0

In recent years, the NFL has seen its share of star players who also excelled in basketball at the college level (e.g. Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens), perhaps most notably at the tight end position (think Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, etc.).  On the defensive side of the ball, a couple of dual-sport standouts who spent their Sundays terrorizing opposing quarterbacks were defensive ends Julius Peppers and Jason Taylor – both long and lanky with great athleticism, they were two of the best pass-rushers of the 21st century and each accumulated well over 100 career sacks, thus making for an apt comparison:

Who was better – Julius Peppers or Jason Taylor?

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H2H 156: Shawn Marion vs. Rasheed Wallace – Who was Better?

Posted on April 29, 2022 | Leave a comment
Keith Allison, Shawn Marion, CC BY-SA 2.0
Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, Rasheed Wallace 2 cropped, CC BY-SA 2.0

Today’s NBA game is all about versatility, making players who can do it all (score, rebound, pass, defend, etc.) valuable commodities in this new era of positionless basketball.  A generation earlier, two stars who fit this mold at the forward position were Shawn Marion and Rasheed Wallace – despite very different personalities and temperaments, each was a highly productive player on both ends of the court for some championship-contending teams; as perhaps borderline Hall of Fame-type players from the 2000s, let us compare this duo and pose the question:

Who was better – Shawn Marion or Rasheed Wallace?

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H2H 155: Phil Niekro vs. Gaylord Perry – Who was Better?

Posted on April 15, 2022 | Leave a comment
twm1340, GaylordPerryFlickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

In baseball’s long and storied history, there are numerous examples of brothers who excelled at the MLB level, e.g. Paul and Lloyd Waner, the DiMaggios, the Alous, the Alomars, etc.  From the pitching side of things, the winningest brothers in MLB history are Phil and Joe Niekro (539 combined wins), followed closely by Gaylord and Jim Perry (529 wins); no other pair of brothers has even surpassed 400 total wins.  Among these standout siblings, Phil Niekro and Gaylord Perry were the more illustrious half of each pairing – with 5,000+ career innings pitched, 300+ wins, and 3,000+ strikeouts apiece, each hurler spent more than two decades in MLB and was among the greatest workhorses of the 1960s and 1970s; these parallels thus make for an interesting comparison:

Who was better – Phil Niekro or Gaylord Perry?

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H2H 154: Bobby Clarke vs. Bryan Trottier – Who was Better?

Posted on March 25, 2022 | Leave a comment
Horge, Bryan Trottier, CC BY 3.0

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders had their most successful stretches in franchise history, each winning multiple consecutive Stanley Cup titles (2x for the Flyers, 4x for the Islanders).  At the forefront of these championship teams were dominant two-way centers in Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia) and Bryan Trottier (New York) – both perennial MVP candidates in their prime who scored 1,000+ career points and hold a number of franchise records, each can also stake a claim to being the best players in team history, thus bringing up an interesting debate:

Who was better – Bobby Clarke or Bryan Trottier?

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