Fix One Athlete in Sports History

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Penny Hardaway

Hah, a Memphis Tigers fan.

I rooted for him in college but TBH, I don't think he was top-top-tier material.

[Edward64]

I would go with Jim Kelly and the Bills 4 consecutive SB losses. If he/team could have been just a "little" bit better.

[JeeberD]

JR Richard - He was before my time, but hearing stories about him gives me goosebumps. He led the NL is Ks two years in a row, led the NL in ERA, then in 1980, when he had a 1.90 ERA, he had a stroke and had to retire from the game. It would have been interesting to see what the 1980 and 1981 Astros would have been able to do in the playoffs with him on the mound. Those were two of our better teams in franchise history even Richard's presence, and two close playoff series losses.

[albionmoonlight]

I think that Penny's legacy was hurt by the fact that he was able to come back after his injury as a meh player for 10 years.

If his injury had just ended his career, I think more people would consider him a lost-great player.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

JR Richard - He was before my time, but hearing stories about him gives me goosebumps. He led the NL is Ks two years in a row, led the NL in ERA, then in 1980, when he had a 1.90 ERA, he had a stroke and had to retire from the game. It would have been interesting to see what the 1980 and 1981 Astros would have been able to do in the playoffs with him on the mound. Those were two of our better teams in franchise history even Richard's presence, and two close playoff series losses.

Phillies still would have won in 80.

[Neuqua]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Chicago wise I'd choose Derrick Rose or Mark Prior.

Bo Jackson is still the most amazing athlete I've ever seen. Would have been interesting to see what his football career would have been if he never destroyed his hip.

Staying with the homer theme, I think you got the right two guys. We got cheated out of at least 2 years of really competitive Bulls v Heat conference finals.

More obscure but I would've loved to see what Ronnie Fields could have been, and Benji as well (though a bit before my time.)

[NoSkillz]

I'll go with Bobby Orr - before my time (and most others on this board I'm sure) but forced to retire at 30 only two years removed from a 46 goal, 135 point season as a defenseman. Played on bum knees most of his career too.

Still one of the top 3 hockey players of all time even without the longevity of most others.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Staying with the homer theme, I think you got the right two guys. We got cheated out of at least 2 years of really competitive Bulls v Heat conference finals.

More obscure but I would've loved to see what Ronnie Fields could have been, and Benji as well (though a bit before my time.)

I think they would have beat Miami that year he got hurt. It was the second year of that group together and they were much better than the team that went down 4-1 to Miami the year before.

[cuervo72]

"Fix One Athlete in Sports History"

Is it too late to say Antonio Cromartie?

[Izulde]

Slightly cheating answer: Jerry Tarkanian (he did play college ball after all) under the provision that career extends to coaching. Take out the pool incident, NCAA witchhunt, etc to see if UNLV is still a national power rather than getting shafted by the NCAA and mired in mediocrity.

If that's not allowed, then Penny Hardaway.

[Uncle Briggs]

I'll go the homer route also. Not in the caliber of these others, but my current favorite player. May not even have heard of him if you're not a StL Cardinals fan. Tommy Pham. Showed flashes of brilliance in the minors while being beset by random injuries. This year at twenty-nine put up an all-star quality season while legally blind in one eye.

[sovereignstar v2]

I would have to go with the basketball player from Iowa that no one bar tarcone and Magic Johnson has heard of.

[MIJB#19]

David di Tomasso. But I suppose reviving from the dead prior to the career peak doesn't count?

[CU Tiger]

What about Steve Avery if we are going to include mental cases or staying with the Braves John Rocker if not knowing when to shut up is an injury.

Rick Ankiel was another interesting one.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

"Fix One Athlete in Sports History"

Is it too late to say Antonio Cromartie?

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

I would have to go with the basketball player from Iowa that no one bar tarcone and Magic Johnson has heard of.

Tell you what, he was fantastic. If he had stayed healthy, Iowa probably wins the national title. And Lester would have had a very memorable career.
Isnt that what this list is about? You would know who Ronnie Lester is had Louisville not cheap shot him and blown out his knee.

[thealmighty]

Sandy Koufax or Mickey Mantle.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

"Fix One Athlete in Sports History"

Is it too late to say Antonio Cromartie?

Supposedly he was "fixed". Then he had more kids anyways.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by digamma

I read the question as he has a clean bill of health for his career. Both sports for Bo.

Clean bill of health doesn't mean immune to normal wear and tear. Doing both sports would leave him with a shortened career in both.

[stevew]

Isn't Sandy Koufax actually the correct answer for this? Had to retire after his age 30 season. Had an ERA of less than 2.0 over his last 1200 innings.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by stevew

Isn't Sandy Koufax actually the correct answer for this? Had to retire after his age 30 season. Had an ERA of less than 2.0 over his last 1200 innings.

Thing about Koufax is that's a bit of a butterfly effect thing (though I agree I'd love to have seen what a healthy Koufax could have done with another 10-12 years).

Between the palm injury in '61 or '62 and the elbow injury in '64, I feel like the last few years of his career might have been a man pitching as though he knew his days were numbered.

If you could wave a magic wand and he doesn't suffer those two injuries, is he still SANDY KOUFAX, DEVOURER OF HITTERS' SOULS, or merely 'very good'?

[PilotMan]

Honestly, as much as I want to think about Koufax or Griffey Jr, simply because they could have put up some mind blowing numbers. It can't be them.

I think Bo really is the greatest answer for what could have have done across both sports, and what legacy would he have left behind on the sports world as a whole. A once a generation athlete capable of competing at the highest levels of each sport?

However, I'm not even sure that's the right answer. Someone said Bias, and one really has to wonder. Give a guy his life back, take away his death, and doesn't that even top Bo?

So I'm not saying is has to be Bias, but I think that there aren't many other stories out there where someone didn't have the shot they should've gotten, for one reason or another, and this becomes a chance to right that wrong.

The next question, is who else? Ernie Davis? Hank Gathers?

[cuervo72]

Joe Delaney

[BBT]

As a Houston homer:

Baseball: JR Richard per what JeeberD said above. Would have been a HOFer.

Basketball: Tie between Ralph Sampson and Yao Ming. With a healthy Sampson, the Rockets were able to knock off the vaunted Lakers and push the Celtics to 6 games in 1986. Would have been nice to see what he could have done long term. Same with Yao, although, with the Butterfly Effect, the Rockets probably don’t get Harden if Yao stays healthy.

Football: Earl Campbell

[Bobble]

I can't help but think of that 30 for 30 with Marcus Dupree. Much as I'd like to see what Bo would have done, it might be more interesting to choose a relatively unknown guy and see what could have been.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

JR Richard - He was before my time, but hearing stories about him gives me goosebumps. He led the NL is Ks two years in a row, led the NL in ERA, then in 1980, when he had a 1.90 ERA, he had a stroke and had to retire from the game. It would have been interesting to see what the 1980 and 1981 Astros would have been able to do in the playoffs with him on the mound. Those were two of our better teams in franchise history even Richard's presence, and two close playoff series losses.

This is a good call, loved watching pitch and at 6'8 it seemed like he was 50 feet from the plate when he unleashed that fastball. Imagine a 3 game series facing him and Ryan in games 1 and 3, with Joe Niekro pitching in the second game.

[nol]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

However, I'm not even sure that's the right answer. Someone said Bias, and one really has to wonder. Give a guy his life back, take away his death, and doesn't that even top Bo?

So I'm not saying is has to be Bias, but I think that there aren't many other stories out there where someone didn't have the shot they should've gotten, for one reason or another, and this becomes a chance to right that wrong.

I would probably say Bias, not because he would have been a better player than those listed but because his death was the catalyst for the war on drugs. Within a few months of Bias’s death, Congress pushed through a law that introduced mandatory minimums and the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity (it was initially reported that Bias overdosed on smoking crack cocaine when toxicology reports later showed he had snorted powder). In terms of off the court impact, it doesn’t get much bigger than that.

If ‘fixing’ meant he was able to start playing in the NBA at 21-22 in addition to the clean bill of health, I’d take Arvydas Sabonis over any of the basketball players mentioned except possibly Oden.

[Logan]

Alexei Cherapanov was supposed to be a very special player in the NHL.

[EagleFan]

RG3?

[Suicane75]

Shawn Kemp, to help save him on the child support.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

RG3?

That's a fascinating one. I sort of suspect that his rookie success was because the league had not caught up to the read option and that he would not have remained elite had he stayed healthy.

But that was a horrible knee injury, and it is interesting to wonder how much that affected his mental approach to the game. Had he stayed healthy, maybe he develops enough pocket skills to complement his athleticism and becomes Steve Young.

Then the more interesting question becomes how does Dan Snyder still manage to fuck it up?

[albionmoonlight]

Most underrated chaos monkey answer: Drew Brees.

The Chargers had already decided to move on to Rivers. If Brees does not hurt his shoulder, then the Dolphins likely sign him or trade for him instead of Culpepper. So then do the Dolphins win with Brees? And does that mean that Nick Saban stays in the NFL? And what about the Saints? Rumor has it that Payton (who had come from Dallas) wanted to trade for Romo if he couldn't get Brees. And if that didn't work, do the Saints draft Matt Leinart? And if they do, do they suck and end up losing post-Katrina fan support to the point that they move? And then does Reggie Bush fall to the Jets at 4 (which probably does not affect much football, but would have been fun for the media).

So, butterfly effect possibilities:

(1) No Saban in college football, completely changing the top of the CFB world in ways I could not even begin to contemplate.

(2) Saban/Brees v. Brady/Belichick becomes the defining NFL rivalry for this generation.

(3) And, with Miami and New England beating up on each other twice a year, do Manning and the Colts get a few more #1 seeds and home field and Super Bowl appearances?

(4) The Cowboys without Romo?

(5) The Los Angeles Saints?

[QuikSand]

I like the chaos monkey

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Joe Delaney

This jumped to mind right away. Hell of a player, sad ending. Would have been interesting to see what his career might have been.

I'd add Ickey Woods to this list, he was a lot of fun and was Jerome Bettis-like on the field until a knee injury took that away.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Phillies still would have won in 80.

Lies! You jerk...

[hoopsguy]

Len Bias.

[OldGiants]

Maurice Stokes. Most of you do not have aclue who he was, and that is a shame. Go read today,s 538 article about Pareto games. Stokes has the oldest dating to 1956. Read about him and Jack Twyman.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Maurice Stokes. Most of you do not have aclue who he was, and that is a shame. Go read today,s 538 article about Pareto games. Stokes has the oldest dating to 1956. Read about him and Jack Twyman.

That's a fun list to scroll through. Multiple entries for Jordan, Magic, Wilt, and then suddenly "Oh, hey, Fat Lever! Didn't expect to see you here!"

[bhlloy]

After posting in the NFL thread about the HoF voting, Tony Boselli is absolutely my answer.

[RedKingGold]

USFL in a world where Donald Trump does not exist.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

USFL in a world where Donald Trump does not exist.

I used to like watching the Stars (until they moved to Baltimore).

[Suicane75]

When the Bandits beat the Stars, in what I think was week 3 or 4 of the initial season, I cried. I went outside in the rain and cried.