Anders Lee-college choice?

[O-townClown]

Dave Winfield anyone. Drafted to the pros in 3 sports, one he didn't even play in college. Greatest multisport athlete in our lifetime.

Uh, assuming your lifetime doesn't cross with Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson. Both played major professional sports at a high level. At one point Sanders was the most dominant player in all of professional football. Never a great tackler, he was such a good cover man QBs wouldn't even throw in his direction and he was an elite return man. He was also a solid major league baseball player.

How can Winfield qualify as the "greatest multisport athlete" when he didn't play anything but baseball professionally? He is probably a HOF baseball guy if he isn't in already, but TONS of elite players in one sport were solid college players in another. Is Winfield any better of an athlete than Tony Gwynn? Kenny Lofton isn't far off.

Pretty sure Tom Glavine was drafted in hockey. Mauer and Weinke obviously were great athletes with choices. Charlie Ward won the Heisman and played 10 years in the NBA. If the measure is how good you were in your second sport I see Ward, Sanders, and Jackson as being way better than Dave Winfield. Gene Conley played in the NBA and major leagues. Winfield? Just the majors.

[HShockeywatcher]

All great references clown, but the point was that Winfield played 3 D1 sports in college. Mauer doesn't make the list because his last class was in high school.

[Goldy Gopher]

the U just has a bunch of dumb football players

Where did they find 60,000 dumb football players?


Get real.

just pitch to him that he could look like edward scissor hands and still get laid. those broads down there love them some gopher hockey lovin.

Just because they chose hockey players over you doesn't mean anything

[hockeyhair15]

Where did they find 60,000 dumb football players?


Get real.

just pitch to him that he could look like edward scissor hands and still get laid. those broads down there love them some gopher hockey lovin.

Just because they chose hockey players over you doesn't mean anything

? i am a hockey player? not D1 but im not a spitefull football player, and even us less gifted hockey boys have a feild day down there. just trying to give the guy another reason to chose the U over harvard or Notre Dame. but hey if youd rather see him go out east or west feel free to give reasons for that.

[O-townClown]

All great references clown, but the point was that Winfield played 3 D1 sports in college.

???


Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm...

no.

[HShockeywatcher]

I guess I missed the "one he didn't even play in college" which makes the point so much worse. Your points are quite valid then. If college isn't a factor, which is how this thread started talking about it, Mauer probably wins that one.

[O-townClown]

Thanks 'Watcher.

John Elway is an HOF football player that played baseball in the minors when he was college-age. Dave Winfield is an HOF baseball player that played Big Ten basketball. It is suspected that both could have played in the majors in their other sport. How about Kirk Gibson and Danny Ainge? Winfield is hardly alone in that he was a great pro in one and played others in college.

Let's be honest. Dave Winfield was something like the 78th pick in the NBA draft. Today that has a different name...undrafted. 73rd pick in that same draft was Cole Iverson's dad. Winfield was a 5th round pick...the year before the Eau Claire St. team had players selected in the 2nd and 4th. It isn't like Winfield's NBA draft slot was the equal of Jackson's or Sanders' in baseball.

• Deion hit a home run (MLB) and scored a touchdown (NFL). In the same week.
  He is the only player to appear in a Super Bowl and the World Series.
  He played FB, BB, and ran track at Florida State.
  He was drafted twice by MLB teams.
  He once ran a leg of the 4x100 relay between games of a doubleheader.

Sorry Dave Winfield fans. This isn't even close.

Back to Anders Lee. He'll probably have to decide which sport to play in college. Hockey doesn't lend itself to playing others. A friend was an awesome baseball player, but the college coach told him he would be joining the season too late after hockey to do any good.

[flatontheice]

Dave Winfield anyone. Drafted to the pros in 3 sports, one he didn't even play in college. Greatest multisport athlete in our lifetime.

Uh, assuming your lifetime doesn't cross with Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson. Both played major professional sports at a high level. At one point Sanders was the most dominant player in all of professional football. Never a great tackler, he was such a good cover man QBs wouldn't even throw in his direction and he was an elite return man. He was also a solid major league baseball player.

How can Winfield qualify as the "greatest multisport athlete" when he didn't play anything but baseball professionally? He is probably a HOF baseball guy if he isn't in already, but TONS of elite players in one sport were solid college players in another. Is Winfield any better of an athlete than Tony Gwynn? Kenny Lofton isn't far off.

Pretty sure Tom Glavine was drafted in hockey. Mauer and Weinke obviously were great athletes with choices. Charlie Ward won the Heisman and played 10 years in the NBA. If the measure is how good you were in your second sport I see Ward, Sanders, and Jackson as being way better than Dave Winfield. Gene Conley played in the NBA and major leagues. Winfield? Just the majors.

Oh Clown: Did you ever see Winfield play? None of the athletes you have mentioned come close to his dominance. He is only one of two people to be drafted in 3 professional sports. I think that puts him in a unique class. Unlike Deion, he actually had to GO to class too.

[scoreboard33]

All great references clown, but the point was that Winfield played 3 D1 sports in college.

???


Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm...

no.

Winfield did not play college football. He was drafted in the ABA, NBA, MLB and NFL, so 4 leagues drafted him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ndathletes

List of top 10 greatest all-around athletes of all time. I don't agree with all the selections and some omissions, but it is pretty good.

Also, John Lynch played baseball and football at Stanford and threw the 1st pitch in Florida Marlins franchise history and had a great pro football career.

[Night Train]

Frankly, I always liked Brian Jordan. Bigger, tougher.

- Jim Thorpe: Thorpe, one of America's greatest athletes ever, played baseball from 1913 to 1919, from ages 26-32, mostly for the New York Giants. He didn't play much, and only had a.252 career batting average. From ages 32-40, Thorpe played pro football. He played for the Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Oorang Indians, Rock Island Independents, New York Giants and Chicago Cardinals. He also coached his team four of those years, and is enshrined in Canton.

- Bo Jackson: Everyone knows Bo. Jackson played for three MLB teams in the 1980's and '90's. He was an All-Star once and hit 141 home runs while stealing 82 bases during his career. Bo's football career was shorter, as he suffered the hip injury that would eventually lead to his retirement. Jackson was a two time All-Pro despite never rushing for 1,000 yards or scoring more than 5 touchdowns. He did, however, average a ridiculous 5.4 yards per carry for his career.

- Deion Sanders: Sanders was probably a better baseball player than some gave him credit for. He was a career.263 hitter who swiped 186 bases in his 9-year career. Obviously, Sanders was more famous for his days in the NFL. He was an 8-time Pro Bowler an All-Pro 9 times. He had 53 career interceptions and scored 23 total TD's via INT, reception, or kick/punt return.

- Brian Jordan: Jordan had a much longer baseball career than football career, as he spent 15 seasons in the majors, as opposed to just 3 seasons in the NFL. Jordan was a career.282 hitter who nailed 184 home runs and stole 119 bases. On the football field, Jordan started for the Atlanta Falcons at strong safety for two seasons, and his best season was 1991, when he had 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 safeties and a fumble recovery.

[O-townClown]

Oh Clown: Did you ever see Winfield play? None of the athletes you have mentioned come close to his dominance. He is only one of two people to be drafted in 3 professional sports. I think that puts him in a unique class. Unlike Deion, he actually had to GO to class too.

Yes, did you ever see Deion play? He was the single best player in the NFL in the early 1990s. The top returner, top cover corner, and a viable offensive threat when they put him in as receiver. Defensive POY and perennial Pro Bowler. Winfield was a great MLB guy, but he never had a season like Sanders. (And that's just his primary sport.)

You make a big deal about him being drafted in three professional sports. So what? His NBA selection was the equivalent of undrafted today and the NFL choice was an absolute joke. 17th round. Nancy Lieberman was drafted by a pro basketball team and the dude from Indiana that was paralyzed was selected by an NBA team. Face it, sometimes guys get drafted in an act of novelty or as a sheer publicity stunt. (Happens less now that the NFL cut to 7 rounds and NBA cut to just 2.)

"one of two people" - can you name the other? Of course not, and that's why this is no bellweather of athletic prowess. Winfield excelled in one sport as a professional. One. Somehow this qualifies him as the greatest multi-sport athlete of our generation? Or #3 in a ridiculous ESPN list?

About that list. No problem with mention of Jim Brown or Jim Thorpe. Bo Jackson at #4 when he did far less in any measured category than Sanders? What gives. The guys likes Bo I guess. Maybe if he hadn't been injured, but he was.

Chamberlain? Isn't he like a lot of guys that are world-class in one sport and good at others. (Rick Barry just won the Super Senior division of the Long Drive contest...why isn't he ahead of Chamberlain? John Brodie played the Senior Tour.) I guess I'd go by the level of success achieved in a second sport over skill in the first.

Michael Jordan? GMAFB. He couldn't beat Brett Hull, Trent Dilfer or Tony Romo in golf if you gave him 2 a side, so I'm not sure how having a handicap between 4 and 7 means much. Baseball? Oh yeah, he was so good at baseball. Better than Sanders I guess, according to Jeff Merron.

Gordie Howe makes Top 10 because Al Kaline thought he'd be good at baseball? Wow, I'm impressed. How about Bobby Orr that was considered as good at "box lacrosse" (Canadian game like indoor lacrosse I'm told) as he was at hockey?

Lou Gehrig makes the list because he played football at Columbia in the 1920s. Dumb.

I'll offer up some legit contenders.

Walter Ray Williams
Jim Stefanich

Still, both are behind Sanders if you ask me.

Sanders went to class for a few years. He definitely understood how to get the most out of Florida State, even advising Gabrielle Reece on branding.

John Lynch couldn't have thrown out the first pitch for the Marlins. Unless my memory fails, I watched the game and Charlie Hough was their starter.

[komada77]

Another current high-schooler who is a phenomenal multi-spot athlete is Seantrel Henderson, the 6'8" 320-pound junior at Cretin. He's considered the top football prospect in America for the class of 2010 regardelss of postion. He also has offers from D1 schools to play basketball and is one of the top shot and discus throwers in the country for his age group.

[scoreboard33]

John Lynch threw the first pitch in Marlins franchise history, for a minor league affliate. The team started before the Marlins and his jersey and all other things were taken to the hall of fame, that is where ESPN got that and I just copied that as another football/baseball thing.

[O-townClown]

John Lynch threw the first pitch in Marlins franchise history, for a minor league affliate. The team started before the Marlins and his jersey and all other things were taken to the hall of fame, that is where ESPN got that and I just copied that as another football/baseball thing.

Gotcha. Tons of guys played professional baseball in the minor leagues and another sport. I'll buy that. Chris Young (?) is a major league pitcher and would have been a role playing forward in the NBA had he pursued that. He's 6'10" and played at an Ivy.

I'm still baffled at the ESPN list. Deion Sanders played two sports at the major professional level for multiple years and this guy is more impressed that Jordan spent a year batting .200 in Birmingham and that Howe took BP. Sheesh, Philly Mick THREW BP during the golf season.

[O-townClown]

Another current high-schooler who is a phenomenal multi-spot athlete is Seantrel Henderson, the 6'8" 320-pound junior at Cretin. He's considered the top football prospect in America for the class of 2010 regardelss of postion. He also has offers from D1 schools to play basketball and is one of the top shot and discus throwers in the country for his age group.

Like Bookout from OU. Or Adrian McPherson. It ended in disgrace at FSU, but he was the state's Mr. Basketball and POY for FB as a senior, plus messed around and was one of the state's top baseball players as a senior.

TONS of guys are Henderson/McPherson caliber in HS. IIRC Chris Street and Allen Iverson were Top 10 recruits as QBs in football before choosing basketball as their primary sport in college. What Brian Jordan, Bo Jackson, Gene Conley, Neon Deion, and few others have done to balance two bona fide professional careers at the major league level is astounding.

Add the Flying Tomato, Shawn White to my list.

[komada77]

Another current high-schooler who is a phenomenal multi-spot athlete is Seantrel Henderson, the 6'8" 320-pound junior at Cretin. He's considered the top football prospect in America for the class of 2010 regardelss of postion. He also has offers from D1 schools to play basketball and is one of the top shot and discus throwers in the country for his age group.

Like Bookout from OU. Or Adrian McPherson. It ended in disgrace at FSU, but he was the state's Mr. Basketball and POY for FB as a senior, plus messed around and was one of the state's top baseball players as a senior.

TONS of guys are Henderson/McPherson caliber in HS. IIRC Chris Street and Allen Iverson were Top 10 recruits as QBs in football before choosing basketball as their primary sport in college. What Brian Jordan, Bo Jackson, Gene Conley, Neon Deion, and few others have done to balance two bona fide professional careers at the major league level is astounding.

Add the Flying Tomato, Shawn White to my list.

If you can find me "tons" of 6-8 320 pound 16 year olds who run somewhere around a 5.0 second forty, let me know. In fact, let me know if you can even find one other than Henderson.

[O-townClown]

If you can find me "tons" of 6-8 320 pound 16 year olds who run somewhere around a 5.0 second forty, let me know. In fact, let me know if you can even find one other than Henderson.

Certainly the kid at Ole Miss that is featured in Michael Lewis's book "Blind Side". There aren't tons his size, but there are with his accomplishments. A top national football recruit that plays another sport? Greg Paulus, Kevin Bookout, Adrian McPherson, Ron Curry, Allen Iverson, Antwan Randle-El, Andre Rison, Chris Street, Tony Gonzalez, and many more.

Are you impressed that Seantrel is big, or that he is an extraordinary multi-sport athlete? I'm more impressed by his size.

[komada77]

If you can find me "tons" of 6-8 320 pound 16 year olds who run somewhere around a 5.0 second forty, let me know. In fact, let me know if you can even find one other than Henderson.

Certainly the kid at Ole Miss that is featured in Michael Lewis's book "Blind Side". There aren't tons his size, but there are with his accomplishments. A top national football recruit that plays another sport? Greg Paulus, Kevin Bookout, Adrian McPherson, Ron Curry, Allen Iverson, Antwan Randle-El, Andre Rison, Chris Street, Tony Gonzalez, and many more.

Are you impressed that Seantrel is big, or that he is an extraordinary multi-sport athlete? I'm more impressed by his size.

You're referring to the 22-year old offensive tackle Michael Oher, who is expected to be a top 5 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Henderson is already bigger and faster than Oher, and he's 16 years old.

And I'm impressed by the fact that he is an exceptional multi-sport athlete while maintaining a 320 pound frame.

[HShockeywatcher]

This thread was originally about Anders Lee. While he is a good football player, good baseball player and even better hockey player, relatively speaking he was the best at speed skating. During his 8th and 9th grade seasons he missed the beginning of the hockey season because he was out west competing for a national speed skating championship (correct me if I'm wrong on minor details). The next year the hockey coach made him pick one or the other. It may not be the most appealing choice, but if he were to become a multisport athlete at a D1 program with hockey being one of them speed skating might have to be the other.

You can't really judge his football career just yet, unless it's over. Great high school players bomb in college and bad college players end up being great NFL players. He led Edina to an undefeated regular season in 2007 with their only loss to the eventual state champs in Eden Prairie in the section finals. Losing a few games this past season, he was still a good player.
Although he would never do this because it would let him down as a hockey player, if he wanted to play all three sports and be a top athlete on teams, he could play football, hockey and baseball at a D3 school. Seems like really his only option in this day and age. But that isn't practical.

[HSpuckguy]

If he chooses hockey, he'll be playing juniors for a year or two, before he has a chance at D1...he's just not that good of a player yet...fortunately for him, he's surrounded by good talent.

[HShockeywatcher]

Do players ever play D3 and move up to D1 from there? It means less hockey, but for those it is a. concern it means they wouldn't have to put their education on hold.

[HSpuckguy]

There is that option, but I believe they would have to sit out a year...does anyone know if this is true?

[Iceburg]

Do players ever play D3 and move up to D1 from there? It means less hockey, but for those it is a. concern it means they wouldn't have to put their education on hold.

There is that option, but I believe they would have to sit out a year...does anyone know if this is true?

It's never been real common, but back in the '70s and '80s you would see it on occasion. Mike Greeder (Gustavus), Tom Younghans (St. Mary's) and Cretin coach Jim O'Neill (St. Thomas) are examples of players that started out in the MIAC and then transferred to Minnesota. Now that junior hockey options are more available, those borderline kids are more likely to play a year or two of juniors and by then will probably have a much better idea of where they would fit in best. I'm sure it still happens every now and then, but I can't remember one recently.

You do have to sit out a transfer year moving up to D-1, but you can play right away moving down to D-3.

[chiefofmedicine]

i am pretty sure no one on here has heard of him but a man by the name of Dave Perri who played at Osseo and Armstrong High Schools. He ended up going to U of M Crookston, which is D3 and then after one year there he went to play D1 at Wayne State, which sadly no longer exists. Just an example of someone who went D3 then D1 recently, so it can be done.

[HShockeywatcher]

Why do you sit out a year moving out? Seems kinda silly, almost like they would prefer players didn't choose that option and not continue with their education and instead only play hockey.

I'm thinking of this from a future perspective and knowing that it's hard to get back into school if you don't continue with it right away. The year sitting out is probably a big reason why people don't do this, but if they didn't have that do people think more kids would choose that method?