Silver Fox

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Hello to everyone here at Bleacher Report. Please follow me at Twitter at twitter.com/silverfox863.

My “pen” name here is Silver Fox. I am a sports fan and casual writer who, as you can tell by my name and picture here, cherishes privacy as well.

I enjoy being part of the Bleacher Report community. This an excellent website to learn and to share opinions and perspectives.

I was born and lived in the state of Georgia from 1955-2004. After marrying my wife – who is from North Carolina - in 2001, we decided to move to her hometown three years later. My beloved wife and my two wonderful sons (in their 20s) are very precious to me.

I thank God and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the blessings bestowed upon my life. One of the many blessings of life is sports.

While sports are neither pure nor idealistic, the people and events that shape sports intrigue me on a daily basis and on occasion, inspire. Sports are about passion, playing for the love of the game, and ordinary people creating extraordinary moments.

I love sports, especially NFL and NCAA football, and college basketball. Sports are entertainment and an escape from reality. Sports, to me, are about fun, sportsmanship, effort, and class.

For me, the NFL is the best of all professional sports/leagues. It has become our national pastime and favorite sport these past four or five decades. The league is very well promoted and presented. The game is played at its highest level.

The NFL has the edge over the exciting NCAA football mainly for two reasons: (1) playoffs and (2) superior talent. The NFL talent and level of play, especially the defenses and special teams, are obviously at a much higher and competitive level. The speed and athleticism of the NFL level are simply amazing.

In most cases, a single NCAA football game is more exciting than a typical NFL game. As much as I love college football, the NCAA football season gets diluted with the silly beauty contest, called bowls, rather than having a logical 8 or 16 team playoff system. The bowl season can be fun, but the games are merely entertaining exhibitions.

NCAA Men's Hoops is my favorite brand of basketball. March Madness is the best and most exciting month of all of sports. While not as talented as the NBA, college hoops (both men’s and women’s) maximize their talent, presentation, and appeal.

Below, in my “Short List” here at Bleacher Report, are my favorite teams, athletes, sports moments, most unbreakable records, etc. I really enjoy reading the profiles and short lists of my favorite writers here at Bleacher Report because I appreciate their diversity, individualism, and perspectives.

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Silver Writes About

• Football (78),
• NFL (78),
• Atlanta (51),
• Opinion (51),
• College Football (50),
• Athens (50),
• Georgia Bulldogs Football (43),
• Preview/Prediction (42)

The Short List What Silver thinks about sport's most pressing questions

• Favorite Athletes

  (Current Athletes-->) Tiger Woods, John Smoltz, Steve Smith, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry. (All Time Favorites-->) Arthur Ashe, Hank Aaron, Bill Russell, Hershel Walker, Roberto Clemente, Michael Jordan, Pete Maravich, Jack Nicklaus, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Jim Thorpe, Walter Payton, Mickey Mantle, Bjorn Borg, Mark Spitz, George Foreman, Mario Lemieux, Bo Jackson, Lance Armstrong, Edwin Moses, Reggie White, and Pele.

• Favorite Sports Teams

  The Georgia Bulldogs are my favorite college team for all college sports. Of course, foolball rules in Athens. UGA is the best mascot in the nation. I received my Masters in Education degree at UGA in 1990. When I grew up in Atlanta, the Braves came to town in 1966 and I've been a fan since. I worked at Braves games in Atlanta Stadium in the summer of 1969, selling refreshments in the stands. Their 14-year run of winning division titles, including winning the 1995 World Series, provided me with my favorite years and memories of following sports. Although I rooted for the Atlanta Falcons a lot through the years, the franchise never won my heart like the Braves did. Later in life, soon after Charlotte was awarded an NFL franchise, the Panthers won my heart. The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion teams in 1995. In their 14 years of existence, the Panthers have compiled a record of 115–119, and appeared in Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas. The Carolina Panthers have an overall record of 6-4 in the playoffs. While I'm not that onto the NBA or NHL, I do enjoy seeing the Charlotte Bobcats and Carolina Hurricanes win. Their Stanley Cup in 2006 was special. I also follow certain minor league baseball and hockey teams with interest, as well as UNC and Duke men's basketball.

• Favorite Coaches

  (1) John Wooden: Winner of 10 NCAA Campionships, he is the only coach to compile 4 undefeated seasons of 30-0, and his Bruin teams captured 19 conference championships; (2) Paul "Bear" Bryant: During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach he amassed 6 national championships and 13 conference championships. (3) Pat Summitt: With 8 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships, she is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history and the first NCAA Division I basketball coach to win 1,000 games; (4) Bill Walsh: He popularized the West coast offense and he went 102–63–1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with 6 division titles, 3 NFC Championship titles, and 3 Super Bowls; (5) Sparky Anderson: He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a 3rd title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League; (6) Bobby Cox: I know, "only one" World Series title but I'm a Braves fan! He holds the all-time record for ejections in Major League Baseball with 143 and he ranks 4th on the Baseball All-time Managerial Wins list.

• All Time Sports Moment

  (1) 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Miracle on Ice (2/22/80); (2) Henry Aaron Supplants Ruth as Home Run King with 715 (4/8/74); (3) Jack Nicklaus Wins Masters at Age 46 (4/13/86)

• Most Memorable Game Attended

  On Sunday evening on April 13, 1986, I was at Augusta National, sitting and standing at the 18h green, and witnessed Jack Nicklaus winning his 6th Masters Torunament at age 46. One of the best moments in the history of sports.

• Most Unbreakable Sports Record

  (1) UCLA Bruins: 7 consecutive NCAA basketball titles (1967-73); (2) Longest hitting streak: Joe DiMaggio, 56 games (May 15-July 16, 1941); (3) Most NBA championships, player: Bill Russell, 11 (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69); (4) Sadaharu Oh: 868 career home runs in Japanese Pro Baseball (1959-80); (5) Perfect season and post season: Miami Dolphins, 17-0 (1972); (6) Longest streak of throwing at least 1 touchdown pass per game: Johnny Unitas, 47 games (12/9/56-12/4/60); (7) Most career wins: Cy Young, 511 (1890-1911); (8) Most points, single game: Wilt Chamberlain, 100 (March 2, 1962)

• Ruth or Mays?

  Hank Aaron's Career Statisitics: .305 batting average; 755 home runs; 3,771 hits; 2,297 RBIs; 1, 477 extra bawse hits; 6,856 total bases; 2,174 runs scored; 12, 364 at bats; and 3,298 games. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times. He is 1 of only 4 players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits.

• Unitas or Montana?

  Joe Montana: Montana had the best intangibles, decision-making skills, poise, and team leadership skills of any QB I've ever seen. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started four Super Bowl games and the team won all of them. Montana helped his teams to 31 4th quarter come-from-behind wins. On January 1, 1979, Notre Dame played the University of Houston in that year's Cotton Bowl. Montana's performance in that game is one of the most celebrated of his entire football career. Montana fell ill during the game, received warmed intravenous fluids during halftime, during which he also drank chicken soup, but returned during the fourth quarter. Notre Dame ran their last offensive play with two seconds remaining on the game clock. They scored a touchdown and won the game 35 to 34.

• Jordan or Russell?

  Michael Jordan: His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. With 6 NBA championships, he holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.12 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 points per game (ppg) on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage). He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown.

• Gretzky or Orr?

  Mario Lemieux: Lemieux led Pittsburgh to 2 Stanley Cups and Canada to an Olympic gold medal and 2 World Cups of Hockey. He won 3 Hart Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player during the season, 6 Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer, and 2 Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. At the time of his retirement, he was the NHL's 7th-ranked all-time scorer with 690 goals and 1,033 assists, despite having a career plagued with health issues.

• Pele or Maradona?

  Pelé: Rated by many as the greatest footballer of all time, he was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.

• Federer or Sampras?

  Bjorn Borg is the former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden who is widely regarded by observers and tennis players as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. He won 11 Grand Slam singles titles between 1974 and 1981 (5 at Wimbledon and 6 at the French Open).

• Tiger or Nicklaus?

  3 great golfers from 3 distinct eras: (1) Bobby Jones: one of the greatest golfers to compete on a national and international level. He participated only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28. Jones is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. & Britain) in a single calendar year (1930). (2) Jack Nicklaus currently holds the record for the most victories in major championships. Nicklaus finished his professional career, at the The Open Championship played at St. Andrews on July 15, 2005. Nicklaus turned 65 in January that year, which was the last year he could enter The Open Championship as an exempt player. He played with Luke Donald and Tom Watson in his final round. After hitting his tee shot off the 18th tee in the second round, Nicklaus received a 10-minute standing ovation from the crowd. Soon afterwards, Nicklaus ended his career with a fitting birdie, holing a fifteen-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. Nicklaus missed the 36-hole cut with a score of +3 (147). (3) Tiger Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the 2nd highest of any male player, and 65 PGA Tour events, 3rd all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2007, having earned an estimated $122 million from winnings and endorsements. After winning the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods missed the rest of the 2008 PGA Tour, missing two major championships and the 2008 Ryder Cup, in order to rehabilitate his injured left knee. But Tiger Woods is back!

• Petty or Earnhardt?

  Richard Petty: "The King", as he is nicknamed, is most well-known for winning the Nascar Championship 7 (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning a record 200 races during his career, winning the Daytona 500 a record 7 times, and winning a record 27 races (10 of them consecutively) in the 1967 season alone. (A 1972 rule change eliminated races under 250 miles (400 km) in length, reducing the schedule to 30 [now 36] races.) Petty is widely considered the greatest NASCAR driver of all time. He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-10 finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989.

• Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

  The Southeastern Conference, with its storied 76-year history of athletic achievements and academic excellence, has built perhaps the greatest tradition of intercollegiate competition of any league in the country since its inception in 1933. Since 1990, the SEC has won 126 national team championships for an average of nearly seven per year. On the national all-sport level, the SEC placed nine teams in the top 50 of the NACDA Director’s Cup rankings The Southeastern Conference, or SEC, was the first conference in the NCAA to hold a championship game in football. It is one of the most successful financially, consistently leading all conferences in revenue distribution to its members including a record $127.2 million for the 2007–2008 fiscal year. The SEC members have long histories and many of the greatest rivalries.

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