Have you caught Superb Owl fever? (We’re checking with legal if we can say the name of the game.)
Has anything in your possession been deflated this past week? (If so and it lasts more than four hours, consult a physician.)
Are you caught up in the excitement that has swept through the Valley and literally and figuratively taken over downtown? So is this Retorter, but not in the way most people are.
See, I cover basketball, not football -- a shock, I know -- and it got me thinking: which Phoenix Suns players from throughout history would make the best football players?
It’s a fun and pointless debate that can take up more time than watching the entire Fast and the Furious series -- something I did over the holidays for no good reason -- and that has no correct answer.
While it would be fun to spend an entire day at the office giving an fully 53-man roster, I’m not going to do that. Instead here is who I think would make the best quarterback, running back and wide receiver from Suns history.
Quarterback:
Most people would select a point guard. And why not? The Suns franchise has had some of the best and most athletic passers this side of Joe Montana. Between Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash and the current backcourt tandem of Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic, passing has always been at a premium. Too bad none of them are the right answer.
The answer is the one and only Grant Hill and the reasoning is two-fold. First, genetics. Football is in his genes as his father, Calvin Hill, played in the NFL for the Browns, Cowboys and the team in Washington, was a four-time pro bowler member and won a Super Bowl (legal said it was alright). Let’s be honest, can you really argue when you’re blinded by SCIENCE?
The second factor was Hill’s unbelievable full court passes that were a staple in his Grand Canyon sized bag of tricks. Just go back and watch his pass to Christian Laettner in the NCAA tournament to see everything you need to know. A kind of pass he reenactment numerous times in his NBA career.
Runningback:
You could go with Charles Barkley here but really he’s a fullback -- literally and figuratively -- so he’d probably not be the best bet. Eric Bledsoe was second on my list as he’s built like a runningback, has the foot speed and grew up in a football hotbed but there is one other guy that beat him on the list for me. Ironically enough, it’s a guy that Bledsoe has been compared to.
Kevin Johnson would be the guy I’d want in the backfield. Well, pre-hamstring injury KJ. He had the illusiveness, the speed and the intelligence to make all the right moves -- and no that wasn’t a reference to the Tom Cruise film for those of you who aren’t fans of references -- to find his way into the endzone.
Wide Receivers:
There is only one name, well OK two names, that I’d accept here. My choice is Gerald Green. If you had one play left in a game and needed a reciever who you could guarantee would jump higher than two cornerbacks stacked on top of each other and would come down with the ball in spectacular fashion you’d have to go with Gerald. His pure athleticism is what makes him such a threat on the basketball court and that and his arm length would make him a deep thread on the gridiron. Plus, there wouldn’t be a better or more entertaining guy to get fined for dunking through the uprights.
(PS: the other guy is Connie Hawkins. The guy palmed basketballs like they were down two pounds of air pressure. Imagine what he’d do to a football.)
So Sunday when you’re watching the best in the NFL --- and it pains to say that with the Seahawks involved -- take on each other, take a few minutes to imagine what Suns would be the best out there. Then let the pointless discussion consume at least a few minutes of the halftime, that is if you can peel yourself away from Katy Perry.