Just a reminder – I’m on Twitter, complete with a fresh new logo. Hope you come follow me.
Friday’s here, so we go nicknames – as in, the best in sports, ever. Doesn’t have to be just current. By the way, can we get a new nickname for Fernando Martinez? F-Mart? That’s just awful. It’s not even a nickname. It’s meaningless.
Anyway, there were a lot of nominees for this one – thanks to my crack staff of helpers – so we’re doing a special extended top 20 today. You bring something nice to wear:
20. Nails – Lenny Dykstra
19. Phi Slama Jama – Houston hoops
18. Purple Jesus – Adrian Peterson (credit to Kissing Suzy Kolber’s Drew Magary for coining it)
17. The Matrix – Shawn Marion
16. Nasty Boys – the Reds’ bullpen trio of Rob Dibble, Randy Myers and Norm Charlton
15. Teddy Ballgame – Ted Williams (also known as The Kid)
14. Big Hurt – Frank Thomas
13. Grandmama – Larry Johnson (thanks, Converse)
12. Lethal Weapon 3 – Georgia Tech’s terrific trio of Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver
11. Magic – no explanation necessary
10. Dr. K – no explanation necessary
9. Mr. October – Reggie Jackson (best nickname in New York sports history?)
8. AK-47 – the Jazz’s Andrei Kirilenko
7. Little Ball of Hate – Pat Verbeek
6. Chocolate Thunder – Darryl Dawkins
5. Run TMC – the Warriors’ terrific trio of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin
4. Plastic Man – Stacey Augmon
3. Round Mound of Rebound – Sir Charles Barkley
2. The Microwave – Vinny Johnson
1. Purple People Eaters – the Vikings’ D-line