Detroit Lions Kickers

  Detroit Lions kicker, Jason Hanson, retired this year. Hanson was drafted by the Lions in 1992 Round 2 Pick 56. He was a 21 year old veteran with great stats. He made it to two pro-bowls, broke many records, made 495/601 field goals, scored 2,150 points, and made his career longest 56 yard field goal.

   

Jason Hanson makes the tackle by Brian Jones 

  Since the 21 year old veteran retired, the Lions needed to get another kicker so the signed San Francisco 49ers' kicker David Akers. Akers made it to 6 pro bowls, 1,622 points, made 367/453 field goals, and tied an NFL record last year for longest field goal which was 63 yards long.

  

David akers NFL Record 63 yard Field Goal by bestdeathfan

   But David Akers has some competition. Because the Detroit Lions signed a Norwegian kicker on September 16, 2012. His name is Havard Rugland and he is 28 years old. there is a popular video on YouTube of Rugland called KickaliciousTM which was made by bighdeluxe. Out of the two great kicker I wonder who will start.

 KickaliciousTM by bighdeluxe

I hope you enjoyed the videos. 

Top Ten Return Specialists

10. Jack Christiansen 

9. Dante Hall

8. Mel Gray

7. Desmond Howard

6. Josh Cribbs 

5. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson 

4. Deion Sanders

3. Gale Sayers

2. Brian Mitchell 

1. Devin Hester

My Top 10 Favorite Sports Movies

10. 61* - Baseball
9. Rocky - Boxing
8. Rocky II - Boxing
7. 42 - Baseball
6. Miracle - Hockey
5. The Blind Side - Football
4. Necessary Roughness - Football
3. Rocky V - Boxing
2. Rocky III - Boxing
1. Rocky VI - Boxing

Top Five Athletes of All-Time

After blogging about just football I figured I'll blog a little but about about some other sports and not only football. So I'm blogging about what I think my top 10 athletes of all-time are.          = NFL Player

1. Jim Thorpe - Thorpe was a Running Back for the Canton Bulldogs, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Giants, he made to the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. He was a Native American nicknamed Wa-Tho-Huk. Not only did Thorpe play football, but he played in the olympics. He won five gold medals. He ran the 100 yard dash in ten seconds, the 220 yard dash in 21.8 seconds, and the 440 yard dash in 51.8 seconds. Even though he did all of that Thorpe wasn't a two sport athlete, that's because he was a three sport athlete. Thorpe also played baseball, he had a batting average of .252, 176 hits, 7 home runs, and 82 RBI's. He played for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and Boston Braves.  



2. Bo Jackson - Bo Jackson was known for being a great two sport athlete, playing baseball and football. Bo was a great college football player, he won the heisman. In 1986 scouting combine, Bo ran 4.12 in the 40 yard dash! Bo was drafted in 1987 by the L. A. Raiders as Running Back. He made it to one pro-bowl and retired in 1990. He finished his career with 2,782 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Bo played for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and the California Angels. He was the 1989 All-Star game MVP and the 1993 AL Comeback Player of Year. Bo retired in 1994 with a .250 batting average, 141 home runs, and 415 RBI's.



3. Michael Jordan - Jordan is known as the greatest NBA player of all time. He played for the Chicago Bulls from 1984-1983, 1995-1998 and for the Washington Wizards from 2001-2003. Jordan was a six- time NBA Champion, a six time NBA Finals MVP, a five time NBA MVP, a 14 time NBA All-Star, a three time NBA All-Star Game MVP, 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and the 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year. He also made it to the olympics for the American Basketball Team. After Jordan retired he played baseball for the Birmingham Barons and the Scottsdale Scorpions. Jordan finished his NBA career with 32,292 points! 



4. Babe Ruth - Babe Ruth is the best baseball of all-time. He started his career as a Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. In 1920 The Redsox made the worst mistake ever, they traded Babe to the New York Yankees. Babe was no longer a Pitcher he was moved to Outfielder. He won seven World Series, three with the Red Sox and four with the yankees. In 1935 Babe got traded to the Boston Braves where he played his last season. Babe ended his career with a .342 average, 2,873 hits, 714 home runs, and 2,213 RBI's.





5. Muhammad Ali - Ali was the greatest Heavyweight boxer who ever fought. He was a tall 6'3 Boxer and was nicknamed "The Greatest", The Peoples Champion", and "The Louisville Lip". He played 61 fights and won 56 of them and only lost 5. He won 37 by KO. In 1960, Ali won a gold medal in the summer 
olympics. 
  

2,000+ Rushers!!!

Name                            Year                Yards

O. J. Simpson              1973                  2,003

Chris Johnson             2009                  2,006  

Terrell Davis                1998                  2,008                      

Barry Sanders             1997                  2,053

Jamal Lewis                 2003                  2,066

Adrian Peterson          2012                  2,097

Eric Dickerson             1984                  2,105         
  
 There has been only seven running backs that have rushed for 2000+ yards in all of football history. Only three (O. J. Simpson; Barry Sanders; Eric Dickerson) of the seven people in the Hall of Fame. Eric Dickerson holds the single season rushing record with 2,105 and that record has been held for 28 years. In 2012 (28 years after Dickerson broke the record)  a Running Back who wears number 28 for the Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson was only 9 yard short from breaking Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record. Will that 28 year old record ever be broken? 
     

Important First Round Draft Picks

2008   Jake Long   Offensive Tackle  Miami Dolphins

2006   Mario Williams   Defensive End   Houston Texans 

2004   Eli Manning   Quarterback   San Diego Chargers

2003   Carson Palmer   Quarterback   Cincinnati Bengals

1998   Peyton Manning   Quarterback   Indianapolis Colts

1997   Orlando Pace   Offensive Tackle   St. Louis Rams

1996   Keshawn Martin   Wide Receiver   Tampa Buccaneers 

1993   Drew Bledsoe   Quarterback   New England Patriots

1989   Troy Aikman   Quarterback   Dallas Cowboys

1985   Bruce Smith   Defensive End   Buffalo Bills

1983   John Elway   Quarterback   Baltimore Colts

1979   Billy Simms   Running Back   Detroit Lions

1978   Earl Campbell   Running Back    Houston Oilers

1976   Lee Roy Selmon   Defensive End   Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1974   Ed 'Too Tall" Jones   Defensive End   Dallas Cowboys

1969   O. J. Simpson   Running Back   Buffalo Bills

1968   Ron Yary   Offensive Tackle   Minnesota Vikings   

1963   Buck Buchanan   Defensive Tackle   Kansas City Chiefs 

1957   Paul Hournung   Running Back   Green Bay Packers

1949   Chuck Bednarik   Defensive Tackle   Philadelphia Eagles

1945   Charley Trippi   Running Back   Chicago Cardinals

1942   Bill Dudley   Running Back   Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Zele

  Mike Zele was born July 3, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio. He went to St. Joseph Academy High School after that Zele attended Kent State where he played football at for all four years. He is a member of the Kent State Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1979, Mike Zele was drafted round 5 pick 127 by the Atlanta Falcons. By that time, he was 6'3 and 239 pounds. Zele played five straight years with the Atlanta Falcons as a Defensive Tackle from 1979-1983. He played 52 games and started eight of them. Zele ended his career with two sacks and four fumble recoveries.