My Favorite Ten Olympians

Every Olympics we all have our favorites. Each time this event rolls around we fall in love with somebody new. It could be someone we all love like Simone Biles or it could be someone that just we like on our own. I know some love Lochte, but I am not a huge fan. Still I'll root for him to rep Team USA well. Below are my ten personal favorite female Olympians and ten male Olympians. This year some individuals shot up my list of favorites as I am sure happened with you as well.

Some rules
1) They have to be Olympians that I have seen live and I was born in 1987 so really 1992 on when I started watching.
2) They have to have won at least 1 medal for Team USA

Here is the list....

10 Favorite Female Olympic Athletes of All-Time

10. Maya Dirado
Dorado was apart of the US domination in the swimming events at these Olympics. She showed such happiness and love for her country in the process. I just really admired her during these Rio games. Can't wait to see what she does in Tokyo.

9. Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix is the most decorated woman in Olympic history for track and field. I would be hard pressed to leave her off. She was edged in the finals of the 400m last night due to a last second dive, but I so enjoy her competitive spirit.

8. Katie Ledecky
Another newcomer to this list, Ledecky was simply dominant during these Rio games. She looks to be the female Michael Phelps and at just 19 years old, it is exciting to see what she will do next.

7. Misty May Treanor
This has been the first Olympics in a long time without Misty May winning gold in Beach Volleyball. It sure feels weird this time around, but I will always remember what she has done for Team USA. Those 3 straight golds are something that I remember fondly from the Olympics.

6. Simone Biles
Simone Biles has already won 3 Olympic gold medals. She has already captured the hearts of America. There is already talk that she is the greatest gymnast of all-time and I'd agree. I think the most intruiging thing about Biles though is that she was born to a drug addicted mother and an absent father. She could have been a target for abortion. However, her mom still chose love and life and Simone and her sister were eventually adopted by their grandparents after spending some time in foster care. This was such an incredible happy ending!

5. Gail Devers
The long nails, the track dominance. Everything about Gail Devers was awesome, excellent, and intruiging. She was just a fascinating figure.

4. Ali Raisman
For some reason, I saw Ali Raisman as the face of the Fierce Five and the Final Five. She was the captain, she seemed so happy, her parents were a wreck, and I have just loved every minute of it. For her to come back to a 2nd Olympics and compete in a 2nd all-around is legendary status in this country. This country is gymnastics crazed at the Olympics and everyone knows Raisman very well know.

3. Kerri Strug
Probably the most memorable single Olympic moment to date is Kerri Strug's vault to clinch gold for Team USA in 1996. Everybody loved Kerri Strug because of that, and I was no exception.

2. Kerri Walsh Jennings
"I was born to have babies and play volleyball"
Those are the words of the legend Kerri Walsh Jennings. She has brightened all of our lives by doing just that. By doing the former and still being able to do the latter at a high level. Walsh is seeking a 4th gold medal in volleyball and has been absolutely dominant in her quest. I think and hope she gets it done. She has just been a joy to watch.

1. Jackie Joyner Kersee

My favorite female Olympian though is the great Jackie Joyner Kersee. While I only caught the tail end of her career in 1992 and 1996 in actuality, her legend paved the way for many female athletes. She was remarkable in 1992 and still captured a medal in the 1996 Atlanta games. During those two games, the broadcast certainly built her up and added to the intrigue. She is the most fascinating woman in the history of sport to me and a true legend.

10 Favorite Male Olympic Athletes of All-Time

10. Jeremy Wariner
Wariner won gold in 2004 and 2008. With 4 total medals including 3 golds, he is quite the accomplished Olympian. I loved the shades and the way he went about his business. Wariner just always seemed like a class act who loved representing his country.

9. Kurt Angle
Won the 1996 Olympic title with a severe neck injury. He always used the line "I won an Olympic gold medal with a broken fricken neck" and he technically did. He fractured two vertabrae, herniated two discs, and pulled four muscles during trials. After resting up some prior to the games, Angle won the gold still feeling the effects of the injury. The story rivals Kerri Strug as far as overcoming adversity and it was during the same games. However, Strug did it in the more popular sport so she got more praise. I'd say that Angle's task was even tougher than Strug. Angle had the injury the entire Olympics as well.

8. Maurice Greene
Greene won 2 golds in 2000 and helped fill the void left by Michael Johnson's retirement. He will always standout as an Olympic figure to me just for being the guy that filled that void and stepped up.

7. Michael Phelps
The most decorated Olympian of all-time deserved a spot on the list. I am partial to track over swimming, but Phelps belongs on here.

6. Carl Lewis
Lewis in my opinion is the greatest Olympian of all-time. That comes with all due respect to the aforementioned Phelps. Carl Lewis was able to win gold in 4 straight Olympics in long jump. Winning 9 overall golds in a sport like track and field is absolutely incredible. Remarkable athlete. I remember watching the veteran Lewis somehow capture gold during the 1996 games in Atlanta and being fascinated by how dominant he was for so long.

5. Tom Dolan
Dolan is really high on the list, some might not even remember him. He had 3 Olympic medals though including 2 gold. The reason I loved him so much is that he had asthma and still won an Olympic gold medal. For a kid with asthma it was awesome to see. For everyone it was refreshing to see him not use his condition as an excuse.

4. Doug Mientkiewicz
Mientkiewicz captured gold as part of Team USA in the 2000 Sydney games. His status as FSU alumni added to the intrigue for me and had me paying close attention to him and how he did in those games. With baseball being my 2nd favorite sport (behind football) and favorite Olympic sport, it was easy to put him on the list. Team USA didn't dominate in baseball as it did in basketball and used minor league players. Mientkiewicz happened to be one of those players and broght home the gold. He is a fascinating person. Below is a grand slam pictured that he hit during competition.

3. Walter Dix
Walter Dix won bronze in the 100m and 200m at the Olympic games in 2008. He was our toughest competition for Usain Bolt at the time and looked like he was really starting to compete with Bolt on the world stage. However, an injury prior to the 2012 Olympics kind of eliminated that possibility. Still, Dix is high on my list because of his status as an FSU alumni and the intrigue of him challenging for the title of fastest man in the world with the actual fastest man in the history of the world. In any other era, Dix is a multiple time Olympic gold medalist. Unfortunately for him he had to deal with the GOAT and our top current sprinter (who was caught doping in the past). I will never forget what Dix accomplished though. Oh and he lived next to me for a year while we lived I lived in Tallahassee, so that might have moved him up the list.

2. Michael Johnson
The gold shoes during the 1996 games and a 400m WR that stood until these Olympics are a big reason that Johnson is so high on the list. The fastest man in the world at the time, everyone loved Michael Johnson as he was the face of Team USA. 

1. David Robinson
David Robinson served in the military and also was one of the most accomplished Olympians in history. He was apart of the 1992 Dream Team and also won gold for America in 1996. Robinson was dominant in Olympic play and was one of the most likable athletes of all-time. In fact, Robinson is my favorite athlete of all-time, not just of the Olympics. He is an amazing guy. It doesn't hurt that he has the same last name and that hist 1st name is my middle name. That always made me like him even more. Robinson is a great choice for favorite athlete of all-time.

- Noland

100 Most Likable American Athletes (10-1)

Weeks ago, I started looking at the most likable athletes in this country following the retirements of Derek Jeter and Champ Bailey. That continues today with the latest look at some awesome American athletes. First, let's look back at what we have gone over so far...
Preview
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41

40-31

30-21

20-11

Every athlete from here to #1 has a strong case for that top spot. However, the cases get stronger the closer we get. Here are your top 10.

10. Adam Jones

San Diego, California

Current Team: Baltimore Orioles

Adam Jones is the incredibly fan friendly outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles. He has become incredibly likable and played very well for the team. In fact, he has been voted an all-star starter in multiple seasons now and was the leading vote-getter among outfielders during the 2013 season. Yes, he beat even Mike Trout. Not only did he beat Trout that season, but everyone seems to enjoy Adam Jones and the way he plays the game. Jones is always smiling, always giving his best, and always blowing that trademark bubble. Add in that he is incredibly active on social media and interacts with fans constantly and you have all the markings of an incredibly likable player. All except for the charitable donations. That is another area which Jones is quite active. This guy is a no-brainer for this list and belongs here in the Top 10.

9. Bubba Watson

Bagdad, Florida

PGA Tour

Bubba Watson is a two times Masters champ having won the tournament in both 2012 and 2014. Those two wins were the biggest of his career. They helped make him one of the most beloved golfers on the PGA Tour and certainly here in America. While he isn't as popular as Tiger or Phil, he is more likable than both. He is possibly more likable than both combined. There is not a whole lot not to like about Bubba Watson. The dude is a great golfer and a great person. He is also one of "the Golf Boys" as mentioned several times in this countdown. Additionally, he gives most of his time and money to charity and is a very devout Christian. Watson certainly is the most likable golfer on tour.

8. Kerri Walsh Jennings

Santa Clara, California

Volleyball

Kerri Walsh Jennings is the highest ranked female on this list. She is perhaps the greatest female athlete in the world today. Not only is she one of the best, she doesn't have many negatives about her. Every Olympics we could count on her an Misty May to win Team USA some gold medals. Now that Misty retired, Jennings got a new partner, but we can still count on her to win the gold. She was apart of the greatest beach volleyball team of all-time and likely moves onto the 2nd greatest. Her and new partner April Ross have yet to lose a game together and have already won 2 FIVB Gold Medals. There is a lot of fantastic volleyball left from Jennings.

7. Michael Phelps

Towson, Maryland

Swimming

Michael Phelps seems to be the one guy who gets a pass for off the field stuff and while I am not completely sure why, I tend to agree with it. Phelps transgression was that he smoked pot shortly after retiring for a short period of time. If he did drugs after he retired I don't really have a problem with it even if it is a very poor lifestyle choice. It is not like it gave him any sort of competitive advantage. The guy has won 17 gold medals and represented our country as well as possible at the Olympics. What more do you all want? Most of us don't want anything else. We just celebrate Phelps for the excellence that he has achieved. If you are a fan of Team USA period, you have to love Phelps and you do. He is the most decorated Olympian of all-time. It really is a no-brainer to have him in the top 10 since he came out of retirement shortly after the incident. Of greater note, Phelps has signed up for Project Believe an Anti-Doping campaign by the US Anti-Doping Agency that has athletes tested far more than required. Michael Phelps is able to pass performance enhancing drug tests more frequently than the standard competitor.

6. Buster Posey

Leesburg, Georgia

Current Team: San Francisco Giants

My personal favorite athlete is an American treasure. His debut was in September 2009 and his first full season was 2010. That 2010 season he was Rookie of the Year and the Giants won the World Series. Then in 2011 he had a season ending injury and the Giants missed the playoffs. The next season, 2012, he was NL MVP and the Giants won the World Series. 2013 he started the all-star game, but the Giants missed the playoffs. Next, in 2014, he again led the Giants to a World Series. In 5 full seasons, Posey has been the face of a Giants team that won 3 World Series titles. One of the years they did not, he was out for the year. You would be hard pressed to find any athlete in any sport with that kind of impact. Posey does it in a way that makes you love him too. The coolest thing about Buster Posey though is that he once took a class with me and was in a field trip group with me for my Biology class at FSU Finally, his charity work puts him over the top.
Posey has a very strong case for number 1 which was strengthened recently by him being named the Face of MLB. This countdown was finished before those results came out, but it may have swayed me to put my favorite athlete at #1. If there is a mistake in this countdown it is that Posey is not #1. He is however #6 on the countdown.

5. Calvin Johnson

Newnan, Georgia

Current Team: Detroit Lions

Seriously, who does not like Megatron? You got something against 1 handed catches and dominating performances? If not, than you should love Megatron. He is an absolutely fantastic WR with a tremedous amount of athletic ability. Johnson makes all the plays and then some and doesn't run his mouth. All he has done is his job much better than everyone else. He has been a lock and a can't miss prospect all the way back to his college days at Georgia Tech. The guy even broke the Lions curse of picking terrible wide receivers. Most difficult of all, he got the Lions into the playoffs. Johnson already has 15 NFL Records and looks to be achieving more in the near future. Chief among those records is most receiving yards in a season. You cannot  watch him play or conduct himself and dislike the guy. He is as good as it gets from the WR position.

4. Tim Howard

North Brunswick, New Jersey

Current Team: Everton

Compared to other sports that are televised, I probably watch soccer the least being honest. It is a great sport, but it doesn't hold my attention as much as other sports. However, with that being said even I enjoy watching Tim Howard. I enjoyed parts of the World Cup because of National Pride and also Tim Howard's goaltending. The nation was captivated by how Tim Howard played. He received many nicknames after the last World Cup including the Secretary of Defense. Everyone and there brother was talking about him. That World Cup run really put him in the conversation for most likable American athlete.

3. Kevin Durant

Washington D.C.

Current Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

The defending MVP is an easy choice for Top 3 on this list. This guy is a scoring machine and does and says all the right thing. He had one of the greatest MVP acceptance speeches of all-time. That speech sure made its rounds on social media and I am pretty sure everyone saw it. Who does not like a humble superstar that constantly talks about how blessed he is and thanks his teammates? One of the only things Durant could do to be more likable to me is to go home to the Wizards! Durant has donated to numerous causes and been a huge asset to the Oklahoma City community. All that's left is for him to come home...

2. Clayton Kershaw

Dallas, Texas

Current Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw is about as likable as they come for a superstar. He is a great Christian man and a very humble superstar. Kershaw also does and says all the right things. It doesn't hurt that he is the greatest starting pitcher I have seen other than Greg Maddux and Pedro. If he stays healthy, Kershaw is a sure fire Hall of Famer.  This past season, Kershaw won the Cy Young and the MVP Awards for his accomplishments. The Cy Young Award was Kershaw's 3rd already in his young career. Kershaw just turned 27 and has already won 3 Cy Young Awards. That total is the most among any active player and tied for 5th all-time. Roger Clemens is the leader in Cy Young Awards with 7, but remember that he used PEDS at the end of his career to achieve that. There is no reason to suspect even a hint of cheating with Kershaw. This guy is as clean cut as they come. Not only that, when Kershaw is successful, the whole world is successful. He has donated $100 for every strikeout to various charities. 70% of that money goes to Strike Out to Serve which raises money for orphanages in Africa (Kershaw started the foundation after visiting Zambia), 10% each to I am Second, Mercy Street in Dallas, and Peacock Foundation in LA. He also helps out with Habitat for Humanity and various other charitable organizations. In fact, Kershaw won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2012 for all his outstanding community service.

1. JJ Watt

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Current Team: Houston Texans

The #1 player on the countdown has to be JJ Watt. The all evertything defensive end for the Houston Texans. The absolute best at what he does. Arguably the best player in the league. This guy has zero controversy and 100% effort. The bloody nose during the game only adds to his legacy. It has happened on more than one occasion too. Watt was also a preferred walk on at Wisconsin that received only one scholarship offer from Central Michigan. The fact that this 2 star player ended up what he is today is absolutely incredible. He wasn't ranked nationally as a recruit and was the #7 player from Wisconsin. However, as they say, the rest is history. Watt has dominated the NFL and looks to be a guy that will achieve greatness throughout his career. He was just named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by a unanimous vote. Watt was nominated for the Salute to Service Award for honoring our nation's military and is involved with countless charities. He even established his own charity, the Justin J. Watt Foundation which provides opportunities for kids to participate in sports after school. While it was a difficult decision, it is hard to argue that absolutely everyone loves JJ Watt and he deserves to be #1.

Thank you for checking out this countdown. The next few weeks will have a lot of NFL Draft information and early baseball news.

-Noland

The Olympics Are Over

And Guess What the USA dominated again. Check out this picture...

The USA was led by strong women contingent and Michael Phelps. The ladies won 29 of the 46 gold medals. Meanwhile, Michael Phelps once again won multiple medals.

For me Phelps was the highlight of these games. He carried them in my opinion. The next coolest thing to me was the dominance of Usain Bolt. If he was American, that might even be my #1 moment. The 4x100 relay was truly spectacular. America and Jamaica were both awesome to watch. Gymnastics was terrific from the females anyway. Men's gymnastics was pretty horrible, especially floor exercise. I am happy that I won't have diving forced down my throat anymore and that I won't have to watch NBC at least until football officially starts.

All that being said it was a solid Olympics. 2016 will definitely be different with no Phelps, no Kobe, no Coach K while being held in Rio. As long as we have Chris Paul and the guy pictured below though, we should have plenty of headlines.

-Noland

Best of Olympics So Far

Yesterday, was not the best day for the United States. We lost our medal lead, both overall and in gold to China. Great Britain even looks like they could get in the mix. It should be interesting to see what happens from here on out. After an amazing day in the pool, the US no longer had the pool and had a really rough day. They only got two gold medals yesterday. This is not the last time they have to go against Bolt either. However, with badminton done that takes away some locks for China.

The United States even lost a "sure thing." McKayla Maroney was expected to deliver gold especially after her amazing vault in team finals that should have been #1! However, McKayla fell in her 2nd vault attempt. Now, I still think her 1st was good enough for her to win gold, but the judges disagreed.  That doesn't mark away what she did in the team finals though. Her performance and the judges reaction was my favorite part of the Olympics so far. If your face looks like that judge, this girl has to get a perfect score.

Nothing like leaving the judge speechless in Olympic competition. The women's gymnastics team did just that and deserve some more recognition. Another set of props for our girls. Jordyn Wieber got hosed and still came through in a big way. More on that later.

Ok, I lied earlier when I said that Maroney's vault was my favorite thing. My favorite part of the Olympics was when the amazing Gabby Douglas was in an interview. Yes, I actually liked what she said better than what she said. That is saying a lot when she was the 1st ever to win the all-around and team golds for the United States. However, as a devout Christian, I was super pumped when Douglas glorified God in her moment of glory.

I guess the only thing left is to sit here in amazement of Michael Phelps. 18 gold medals, 22 medals overall, both records. Phelps is the greatest of all-time and to think USA Swimming won't be missing something without him next time is incredibly foolish.

These athletes got Team USA off to a great start, now it is time to finish!

-Noland

17 GOLDS!!!!

Michael Phelps is absolutely amazing. How can one man win 17 gold medals? 21 medals overall. This guy has been so good for so long and has absolutely dominated the sport. Up until yesterday, I was not ready to jump on the Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all-time. Now I am. Phelps is the best.

He is not the most culturally or politically important. Jesse Owens is both of those. Owens delivered in a performance in Hitler's face. Hitler is the biggest racist scumbag of all time and Owens flat embarrassed him. Owens also eased a lot of racial tension at the time. However, through no fault of his own, Owens only participated in that one Olympics. WW2 was going on during the time.

Until yesterday, I would have argued in favor of Jesse Owens as the greatest Olympian of all-time. Now, I cannot do that. You can not argue potential over sustained excellence. Sure, Owens could have been more dominant over a longer period, but we will never know that. We do know that Michael Phelps has 17 golds! Congratulations, Michael!!!

Let's celebrate Michael Phelps, but never forget the amazing accomplishments of Jesse Owens. Two of the greatest Olympians ever. Both are very deserving of all the compliments they get.

-Noland

USA Takes Medal Count Lead

The United States of America officially has the lead in the medal count. They have taken over the overall medal lead and replaced China. For gold medals though the United States is now tied with China. Both countries have 18 gold currently. China had a huge lead in gold, so how did the US catch up? I'm about to tell you.

Yesterday, was the best day of the Olympics so far for the US. Going into the day, China had a lead in golds and overall medal count. However, the United States took 6 gold medals yesterday! Two of those gold medals were somewhat unexpected. We got gold in women's rowing and judo (women's 78kg). Neither of those were expected to happen for sure. Then some familiar faces won the rest.

I'll start with the most prominent. Michael Phelps, won his 20 medal, providing more ammo for those that want to argue he is the greatest Olympian ever. Phelps won another gold, his 16th of his career. Can you imagine that? 16 golds! This guy is amazing. Only Michael Phelps. I am a big fan of his. This gold happened in the 200 IM. Guess who came in 2nd in the event? Ryan Lochte, another American. Total US domination. Just the way I like it. At this point it is near impossible to argue that Michael Phelps is not the greatest Olympian ever. I'll help you out and just say that he is.

The United States dominated a couple more events on the evening in swimming. The 200m backstroke was another great performance for the men. That final was won by American Tyler Clary. Ryan Lochte again came up just short as he finished 3rd. Clary broke an Olympic record with his swim. This win was Clary's 1st gold medal. Congratulations to Tyler Clary!

The final swimmer to win gold on the night was a female. The amazing Rebecca Soni broke a world record in the 200m breaststroke. I hope most of you saw this race. Soni absolutely blew away the competition. This is Soni's second world record. She also holds the world record in 100m breaststroke. Soni became the 1st female to repeat as 200m breaststroke champ in the Olympics. It is Soni's 2nd gold medal and 5th overall medal. She also has 3 silvers.

Finally, I get to perhaps the biggest story of the night. Gabby Douglas won the gold medal in the all-around competition. She is the first American ever to win gold in the team and all-around competition. Gabby had an amazing Olympics obviously. It sure would have been nice to see Jordyn Wieber in this event though. More on that another day though. Also I find it incredibly odd that Ali Raisman was tied with the Russian girl in 3rd, but they gave the medal to the Russian girl. Very strange. Oh well, congrats Gabby!

-Noland

US & China Now Tied

Behind a couple of amazing performances, the United States has now tied China in the medal count. China still has the lead on the US in gold, but they are now tied overall. Each country has 23 medals. China has 13 golds, while the United States has 9. Nobody else is close either in golds or overall. This one will come down to the US and China.

We came back behind a couple of brilliant performances. Michael Phelps picked up his 18th, and 19th medal yesterday, to become the most decorated Olympian ever. Many are now calling Phelps the greatest Olympian ever and it is hard to argue. Phelps was barely outtouched for a gold in the freestyle and then won a gold in the relay. Great work by Phelps to pick up two more medals.

To me, Phelps is just so patriotic and such a great guy. I don't get too caught up in what others say and speculate. From my observations he has dominated an Olympics, worked incredibly hard and tried to represent his country to the best of his ability. Lochte blew the one relay Phelps had a huge lead in btw. Who cares if he isn't doing what he did in Beijing? Did we really expect him to do that again? The guy is having a pretty good Olympics still, you might want to enjoy it. Looked pretty dominating in that relay to me.

The other team that looked amazing and represented their country well was the gymnastics team. Talk about dominant. They won despite some questionable judges. First off, I don't claim to be a gymnastics expert, but Maroney deserved a perfect score on vault. That was the most amazing vault I've ever seen. Also, Wieber was screwed out of the all-around by judges and political correctness. I will have more on that in another post. I am very pleased with how she bounced back last night. Her ability to smile and lead Team USA last night after getting hosed for me is the story of the Olympics so far. Way to go Jordyn!

Look how patriotic they look. Well, for the most part, I couldn't figure out what was going on with Gabby Douglas. She did deliver us to gold though, so that is awesome. This win was the best moment for the US since 1996, when this happened....

-Noland