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The Best NFL Draft Picks in History for Selections 1-10
John Elway Was Actually Drafted By the Baltimore Colts
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 25. Pumped?
The draft is usually a hotly followed event. This year though, word is the 2013 talent pool is a bit shallow.
According to CBS, “a high-ranking team executive says this is the ‘worst draft in past 10 years or longer. When we look back at this draft in five or 10 years, we might view it as one of the worst we’ve seen in some time.’”
Whoa. We’ll see about that. Check out all the live NFL Draft coverage and pre- and post-draft analysis over at Bleacher Report.
On to today’s list, then. Fox Sports has put together a nifty slideshow. They went through every first-round selection of every year (since the draft began in 1936) and came up with a list of the best pick ever at every pick (1-32).
Here are the top 10, with some additional info – the teams and years of selection.
The far-left player column is Fox Sports’ selection for best at the pick. It’s very debatable, though, of course. So, alternates are provided.
You can see the whole slideshow (all 32 picks) here.
Is John Elway the best No. 1 pick of all time? What’s your opinion?
By the way, you can see every No. 1 pick in history here.
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | POS. | DRAFT TEAM (YEAR) | ALTERNATE | POS. | DRAFT TEAM (YEAR) | |
| 1. | John Elway | QB | Baltimore Colts (1983) | Peyton Manning | QB | Indianapolis Colts (1998) |
| Terry Bradshaw | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1970) | ||||
| Bruce Smith | DE | Buffalo Bills (1985) | ||||
| 2. | Lawrence Taylor | LB | New York Giants (1981) | Tony Dorsett | RB | Dallas Cowboys (1977) |
| Marshall Faulk | RB | Indianapolis Colts (1994) | ||||
| 3. | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions (1989) | Dick Butkus | LB | Chicago Bears (1965) |
| 4. | Walter Payton | RB | Chicago Bears (1975) | Otto Graham | QB-DB | Detroit Lions (1944) |
| 5. | Deion Sanders | DB-WR | Atlanta Falcons (1989) | Ladainian Tomlinson | RB | San Diego Chargers (2001) |
| Len Dawson | QB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1957) | ||||
| Junior Seau | LB | San Diego Chargers (1990) | ||||
| 6. | Jim Brown | FB | Cleveland Browns (1957) | Walter Jones | T | Seattle Seahawks (1997) |
| Torry Holt | WR | St. Louis Rams (1999) | ||||
| 7. | Champ Bailey | DB | Washington Redskins (1999) | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings (2007) |
| Pat Richter | TE-P | Washington Redskins (1963) | ||||
| 8. | Ronnie Lott | DB | San Francisco 49ers (1991) | Larry Csonka | RB | Miami Dolphins (1968) |
| Lance Alworth | FL-WR | San Francisco 49ers (1962) | ||||
| Willie Roaf | T | New Orleans Saints (1993) | ||||
| 9. | Bruce Matthews | G-C-T | Houston Oilers (1983) | Brian Urlacher | LB | Chicago Bears (2000) |
| Jerome Brown | DT | Philadelphia Eagles (1987) | ||||
| 10. | Marcus Allen | RB | Oakland Raiders (1982) | Rod Woodson | DB | Pittsburgh Steelers (1987) |
| Willie Anderson | T | Cincinnati Bengals (1996) |
Photo: broncosnews.com
Manchester United, Arsenal and Football Clubs with the Most FA Cup Titles
Manchester United and Arsenal Have 21 FA Cups Between Them
Manchester City and Wigan are set for the 2013 FA Cup Final, which will take place about a month from now – on May 11 at Wembley Stadium in London.
It will be City’s 10th Final appearance. The Blues have won five.
Wigan Athletic is making its first appearance ever. The Latics have been around since 1932.
The FA Cup, or Football Association Challenge Cup, is, according to the official site (thefa.com), “the oldest and most famous domestic cup competition in the world.”
The first was at the end of the 1871-1872 season. Including 2012-13, there have been 132 Cups – every year but between 1915-16 and 1918-19 and 1939-40 and 1944-45 due to the two World Wars.
The Football Association is the oldest of its kind in the world and governs the sport of football in England, pro and amateur.
Every English pro team (for those not too familiar with the sport: every time you hear “Manchester,” “Arsenal,” “Chelsea,” etc) is part of the Football Association “league.”
The FA Cup annually pits hundreds of English football clubs in an elimination tournament, somewhat similar to the NCAA Tournament. There are 14 rounds, including many qualifiers for regional teams.
Not all clubs have to go through qualifiers or every round. For example, Premier League clubs join in the Third Round after many clubs have already been knocked out.
All ties are replayed until there is a winner.
For more about The Football Association and the FA Cup, check out the FA’s home page and history page.
Anyway, on to today’s list – FA clubs that have won multiple FA Cups, led by the Manchester United Red Devils with 11. Rival Arsenal, the Gunners, are one behind.
Follow @VinGetz| FOOTBALL CLUB | FA CUP TITLES | YEARS | |
| 1. | Manchester United | 11 | 1908-09, 1947-48, 1962-63, 1976-77, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2003-04 |
| 2. | Arsenal | 10 | 1929-30, 1935-36, 1949-50, 1970-71, 1978-79, 1992-93, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05 |
| 3. | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 1900-01, 1920-21, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1966-67, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1990-91 |
| 4. | Liverpool | 7 | 1964-65, 1973-74, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2005-06 |
| 4. | Chelsea | 7 | 1969-70, 1996-97, 1999-00, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12 |
| 4. | Aston Villa | 7 | 1886-87, 1894-95, 1896-97, 1904-05, 1912-13, 1919-20, 1956-57 |
| 7. | Newcastle United | 6 | 1909-10, 1923-24, 1931-32, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1954-55 |
| 7. | Blackburn Rovers | 6 | 1883-84, 1884-85, 1885-86, 1889-90, 1890-91, 1927-28 |
| 9. | Everton | 5 | 1905-06, 1932-33, 1965-66, 1983-84, 1994-95 |
| 9. | West Bromwich Albion | 5 | 1887-88, 1891-92, 1930-31, 1953-54, 1967-68 |
| 9. | Manchester City | 5 | 1903-04, 1933-34, 1955-56, 1968-69, 2010-11 |
| 9. | Wanderers | 5 | 1871-72, 1872-73, 1875-76, 1876-77, 1877-78 |
| 13. | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | 1892-93, 1907-08, 1948-49, 1959-60 |
| 13. | Bolton Wanderers | 4 | 1922-23, 1925-26, 1928-29, 1957-58 |
| 13. | Sheffield United | 4 | 1898-99, 1901-02, 1914-15, 1924-25 |
| 16. | Sheffield Wednesday | 3 | 1895-96, 1906-07, 1934-35 |
| 16. | West Ham United | 3 | 1963-64, 1974-75, 1979-80 |
| 18. | Preston North End | 2 | 1888-89, 1937-38 |
| 18. | Old Etonians | 2 | 1878-79, 1881-82 |
| 18. | Portsmouth | 2 | 1938-39, 2007-08 |
| 18. | Sunderland | 2 | 1936-37, 1972-73 |
| 18. | Nottingham Forest | 2 | 1897-98, 1958-59 |
| 18. | Bury | 2 | 1899-00, 1902-03 |
Photo: wallcapture.com / breitbart.com
The Top-Selling NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL Jerseys
The New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony Has the Top-Selling NBA Jersey this Season
News was just released today that the New York Knicks‘ Carmelo Anthony has for the first time taken over the top slot for best-selling NBA jersey. He supplants the King, LeBron James, of the defending champion Miami Heat.
You can see who rounds out the top 10 below, along with the latest available rankings for the top-selling jerseys in the other major sports leagues: MLB, NFL and NHL.
The New York Yankees‘ Derek Jeter tops baseball’s list, followed by the now-Los Angeles Angels‘ Josh Hamilton (except his jersey sales were as a Texas Ranger. Tragic.).
The Washington Redskins‘ Robert Griffin III has topped all NFL jersey sales through March of this year. In fact, according to ESPN, he “set an all-time record for the number of jerseys sold by the NFL Shop in a year.”
For the NHL, I have two lists, since the first one is relatively stale – it reflects last season’s sales. The second list (of five) is the latest data through 2013. Look at Jonathan Toews. That Chicago Blackhawks‘ points streak put him on top.
Follow @VinGetzNBA (2012-13)
| 1. | Carmelo Anthony | New York Knicks |
| 2. | LeBron James | Miami Heat |
| 3. | Kevin Durant | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 4. | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 5. | Derrick Rose | Chicago Bulls |
| 6. | Deron Williams | Brooklyn Nets |
| 7. | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat |
| 8. | Rajon Rondo | Boston Celtics |
| 9. | Chris Paul | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 10. | Blake Griffin | Los Angeles Clippers |
MLB (2012 through 2013 Opening Day)
| 1. | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees |
| 2. | Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers* |
| 3. | Ichiro Suzuki | New York Yankees |
| 4. | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals |
| 5. | Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels |
| 6. | Andrew McCutchen | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 7. | Yu Darvish | Texas Rangers |
| 8. | Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves |
| 9. | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers |
| 10. | Robinson Cano | New York Yankees |
NFL (April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013)
| 1. | Robert Griffin III | Washington Redskins |
| 2. | Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos |
| 3. | Ray Lewis | Baltimore Ravens |
| 4. | Colin Kaepernick | San Francisco 49ers |
| 5. | Tom Brady | New England Patriots |
| 6. | Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts |
| 7 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers |
| 8. | Victor Cruz | New York Giants |
| 9. | Eli Manning | New York Giants |
| 10. | Patrick Willis | San Francisco 49ers |
NHL (2011-12)
| 1. | Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 2. | Ryan Callahan | New York Rangers |
| 3. | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 4. | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals |
| 5. | Henrik Lundqvist | New York Rangers |
| 6. | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 7. | Tim Thomas | Boston Bruins* |
| 8. | Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9. | Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10. | Jaromir Jagr | Philadelphia Flyers* |
NHL (2013)
| 1. | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2. | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 3. | Claude Giroux | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 4. | James Neal | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 5. | Tyler Seguin | Boston Bruins |
Sources: NBA (usatoday.com) / MLB (forbes.com) / NFL (nflshop.com) / NHL (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com and twitter.com)
Photo: baltimoresun.com
