All-Time Favorite Teams: #23

University of North Carolina Basketball
1993-Present

This selection will surprise some and maybe even shock a few. I'll start by saying I am a BIG Kentucky basketball fan. This doesn't make sense already does it? Well, I've lived in North Caroina now for 15 years. Needless to say, I have A LOT of friends who LOVE Carolina Basketball. (Shout-out J.D. !) I HATE Duke. Living in North Carolina you are drawn to one side or the other in the Carolina/Duke rivalry and I choose the Heels. Easy decision really. Starting to make sense now? Besides, Kentucky still holds the record for all-time NCAA basketball wins and NCAA basketball tournament wins . . . for now anyway. Carolina holds the all-time edge head-to-head 20-10.

I do like tradition, especially when it comes to collegiate sports. Carolina basketball is blessed with rich tradition. I respect that. They are certainly in the top 10 most prestigious college basketball programs of all-time which also should include UCLA, Kansas, Indiana, Duke and of course Kentucky. I get more coverage on the Heels than I probably care to hear but as long as they beat Duke, I'm O.K. with that too.

I first found myself pulling for the Heels during their NCAA championship season of 1993. I of course wanted a finals match-up of Kentucky and Carolina but when Kentucky lost to Michigan 81-78 in the Final Four I switched allegiance to Tar Heel Blue out of respect for my best friend John. Carolina went on to victory with the help of Chris Webber's gaffe by the score of 77-71. (Chris Webber recruiting violations by Michigan resulted in the university vacating all wins in this tournament and the return of the NCAA runner-up trophy. Kentucky should have played Carolina in the final after all!) I also met Eric Montross at a restaurant that year for a little bit of a personal connection.

The list of Carolina basketball luminaries is quite lengthy including Larry Brown, Vince Carter, Rick Fox, Billy Cunningham, Brad Daugherty, Phil Ford, Jerry Stackhouse, George Karl, Bob McAdoo, Julius Peppers, Roy Williams, Rasheed Wallace (my least favorite Tar Heel), Michael Jordan, James Worthy, J.R. Reid (my favorite Tar Heel), Antawn Jamison and 4-time National Coach of the Year, the legendary and distinguished Dean Smith.

Carolina basketball players have won the National Player of the Year a total of 9 times including twice by Jordan and the most recent by Tyler Hansbrough.

The Tar Heels have won 4 National Championships including 1957 (32-0), 1982 (32-2), 1993 (34-4) and 2005 (33-4) and should be the early favorites heading into the 2008-09 season.

North Carolina vs. Kentucky history here.

Some would say it's impossible to pull for Carolina when you are a Kentucky fan so I'm sure this is quite an oddity. I would say that I tolerate them more than I like them but out of all the A.C.C. schools this is really the only one I follow from a basketball standpoint and I don't mind seeing some of my best friends teams fare well, just not at my expense. It does make for a fun rivalry though. Billy Gillispie will have UK headed in the right direction in no time.

Favorite Team Profile
Years: 16
Record: 414-139
Conference Champions: 6
Conference Tournament Champions: 5
NCAA Tournaments: 14
Final Four: 7
NCAA Champions: 2
Fan Rating: 5/10
Notes: Kentucky visits the Dean Dome on 11/18/2008 having lost 4 straight to the Heels. Carolina is sure to be the pre-season #1 pick with what could arguably be one of their best teams (at least on paper) ever. 2008 recruiting classes: Carolina #7, Kentucky #19.

All-Time Favorite Teams: #24

Philadelphia Flyers
NHL
1979-1987

As a die-hard Pittsburgh Penguins fan I am truly embarrassed to admit that yes, at one time, I did follow the arch-enemy, hated, Philadelphia Flyers. As a kid you root for teams for different reasons. The only reason I was a fan of the black and orange? My brother cheered for the New York Islanders. I chose the other side. Simple enough, no? The '79-'80 NHL season saw the Flyers go on a unbelievable record undefeated streak of 35 straight games (25-0-10) and were favorites heading into the playoffs. As fate would have it, they matched up against the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals and yes, lost 4 games to 2. And so began the dynasty on the Island.

I followed the Flyers for 7 more seasons and hoped that although their loss in the '80 Cup Finals kick-started one dynasty, they might be able to slow another fledgling dynasty down. It wasn't to be though as the powerful Edmonton Oilers won 4 out of 5 Cups between '84 and '88 defeating Philadelphia twice in '85 and '87.

My favorite Flyers during this period in no particular order were Peter Zezel, Rick Tocchet, Dave Brown, Murray Craven, Tim Kerr, Ken Linesman, Pete Peeters, Dave Poulin, Brian Propp, Pelle Eklund, Ron Hextall, Ilkka Sinisalo, Ron Flockhart and Mark Howe.

My all-time favorite Flyer is Pelle Lindbergh, #31. Lindbergh played in goal for Philadelphia from the '81-'82 season until his tragic death in a car accident in 1985. I was 15 and yes, I cried. I still have a scrap book with his pictures and the article in it. Lindbergh was a member of the '82-'83 NHL All-Rookie team, was named 1st team All-Star in '84-'85 and won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender that same year. Lindbergh topped the fan balloting for the '86 NHL All-Star game which marked the first time a player was chosen posthumously an All-Star in American sport. The Swedish-born goalie had loads of talent and I believe would have led the Flyers to a Stanley Cup at some point in his career. Great article here. (Hope you don't mind the link.) Other Lindbergh sites here, Flyers history here, and a push for #31 to be retired by the Flyers here. Also, huge database of Pelle photos here.

I didn't follow the Flyers much after their Cup Final loss to the Oilers in '87. I began to really HATE the Flyers after they beat the Penguins in 7 games in the division finals in '89. I'll always look back on the 8 years I did like the Flyers with great fondness, full of colorful characters, playoff disappointments and Pelle Lindbergh.

It felt great when the Penguins swept the season series in '06-'07 but it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders when we beat them in the Conference Finals this past year. May the rivalry continue to grow! Nice article here about the Penguins/Flyers all-time series.

Favorite Team Profile
Years: 8
Record: 372-185-83
Playoffs: 8
Division Champions: 5
Conference Finals: 3
Stanley Cup Finals: 3
Stanley Cups: 0
Fan Rating: 5/10
Notes: One of the worst inventions in hockey history, the Flyers first wore Cooperalls in the '81-'82 season followed by the Whalers in '82-'83. Thankfully they were banned by the NHL shortly thereafter.

All-Time Favorite Teams: #25

Seattle Supersonics
NBA
1979-1992

Anyone that knows me also knows that I am not a huge NBA fan. As a kid I never really liked basketball all that much anyway, that is until 1979. The game that changed it all for me was of course the NCAA tournament final between Michigan State and Indiana State. Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. I pulled for Indiana State and of course they lost, 75-64 with Magic honored as tourney MVP. The game was so hyped that it remains the top rated game in the history of televised college basketball.

My favorite basketball player, Bird, had yet to don the Boston Green and White (although he was drafted by the C's as a junior). Enter the Seattle Supersonics, my 1st favorite NBA team.

The Sonics were an easy choice for me. Cool name, great colors and loved the logo. They also had a lot going for them. They lost the NBA title the year before to the Washingotn Bullets and were poised for another run. Jack Sikma was my favorite player and along with Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams the Supersonics redeemed themselves against the Bullets to capture the 1979 NBA title.

Other great Supersonics over the years included Fred Brown, Tom Chambers, The "X" Man - Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

After the "Dream Team" juggernaut of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as well as the subsequent retirement of Bird, my interest in the NBA began to wane leading to the end of my Supersonics era.

Favorite Team Profile
Years: 14
Record: 605-543 / .527
Playoffs: 10
Division Champions: 1
Conference Finals: 3
NBA Champions: 1
Fan Rating: 5/10
Notes: I always preferred Supersonics as opposed to just "Sonics" and liked the late 70's early 90's logo to the mid 90's version. The 2000's look was a welcome change.

Oklahoma City? Really? Being a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and all that our fans have gone through with possible relocation threats, I know what the fans of Seattle are going through . . . . . almost. The Penguins obviously never got relocated but were certainly on the precipice. My heart goes out to you Seattle and all of the loyal Supersonics fans. My Dad always reminded me over the years of how sports is business but it's certainly true these days now more than ever. One can only hope that the true NBA fans of Seattle are rewarded with their "new" Sonics sooner rather than later although I wish it had never had to come to this.

My Top 25 All-Time Favorite Teams

This will be a countdown of my favorite all-time teams that I have ever rooted for. Some of my friends that know me well might be somewhat surprised by a few of the teams that have ended up on this list but it is an honest evaluation of my fanhood from as far back as I can remember to the present.

I can't seem to recall any sports related images or memories in relationship to rooting for particular teams before the year 1976, America's Bicentennial year, so that is where this journey will begin. What follows is three snapshot memories from the year that launched my sports obsession.

My 1st sports "memory" is of Super Bowl X, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers beat the Cowboys 21-17 for their 2nd Super Bowl title and though I was barely six years old, the images of Lynn Swann's MVP performance left an indelible mark that would become the springboard for a life long obsession with sports.

My 2nd sports "memory" is of the 1976 MLB All-Star game in Philadelphia. Steve Garvey was my 1st "official" favorite baseball player and was selected as the N.L. starting first baseman. The game was rich in overall talent and dominated by Reds; Bench, Rose, Foster, Concepcion, Morgan as well as Mike Schmidt and Tom Seaver for the N.L. The A.L. was represented by the likes of George Brett, Rod Carew, Thurman Munson and rookie phenom Mark Fidrych. The memory that stands out for me though is the fact that my family was trying to watch the game through one of the worst electrical storms that I can ever recall experiencing. The power kept going out and we wound up missing large chunks of the game at a time which I recall I wasn't too happy about. Garvey ended up 1-3 with a triple and and R.B.I. The N.L. which absolutely dominated the All-Star game in those days wound up as 7-1 victors with George Foster as the MVP.

My third and final snapshot "memory" is of the 1976 Olympic games that were held in Montreal, Canada. I can remember my parents and grandparents being big fans of the Olympic games, especially the pageantry surrounding them. Highlights of these games included 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci and her 7 perfect 10's in gymnastics which included the 1st ever 10 awarded; U.S.A. boxing gold medalists Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr. ; and everyone's favorite image of Bruce Jenner, "The World's Greatest Athlete" and 1976 Olympic Decathlon champion as well as Wheaties hero and reality T.V. star.

So there you have it, 1976, the year that launched my sports obsession odyssey. The countdown will begin with team #25 and work it's way to my favorite all-time team. My favorite teams have had their share of great moments as well as heart-break. I found that I wound up rooting for the underdogs in most situations and was eventually rewarded with Championships for my loyalty in most cases. I also found that I was attracted to some favorites based on either team colors or logos which I find amusing or simple geography. Some teams I still root for fanatically and some I have discarded with a chuckle. Anyway, this list wound up being a lot of fun to put together and brought back many fond memories of days gone by. Enjoy!

1989-90 Topps Hockey box break: Update & final analysis

Well, David's pack #36 only turned up a Zarley Zalapski RC with a BV of .50. Kind of a let down considering the build-up I had for that last pack. My overall evaluation of the entire wax box however would have to be deemed a smashing success.

Most importantly I was able to pull all 13 cards that I needed to complete my original set. The overall Book Value on all 468 cards from this wax box came in at $198.40, quite nice considering my original investment of $31.00! As far as my predictions go, well, let's just say I'm not much of a prognosticator. I thought there would be a Lemieux or Sakic in that last pack. Uh, no. I also predicted that I had a good chance of completing an entire second set as well and if not, I would come close, needing 5 cards or less. As it turns out, 11 cards are needed to complete another set after all. So once again, wrong! It won't be the last time for sure.

Cards I pulled the most of: 5
#37 John Tucker
#45 Cliff Ronning
#53 Guy Carbonneau
#75 Lee Norwood
#79 Al Iafrate
#83 Steve Yzerman
#101 Shawn Burr
#129 Paul Maclean
#136 Brian Leetch
#154 Doug Bodger
#157 Steve Tuttle

Key cards pulled:
#1 Mario Lemieux (1) - gum stain on back
#17 Patrick Roy (2)
#45 Cliff Ronning RC (5)
#83 Steve Yzerman (5)
#89 Trevor Linden RC (3)
#111 Geoff Courtnall RC (2)
#113 Joe Sakic RC (2)
#136 Brian Leetch RC (5) - one badly off center
#156 Wayne Gretzky (3)
#186 Brett Hull (2)

Biggest surprise:
Finding out card #156 was Wayne Gretzky

Biggest disappointment:
Brian Leetch RC off center
Only 1 Lemieux card - gum stained at that
Not even 1 Randy Cunneyworth card #63

After some research I found out that the supposed Cunneyworth "error" card has him with the Penguins instead of the correct version which has him as a Winnipeg Jet. I have 2 of the correct cards but have yet to even see what the "error" card looks like. If anyone can help me out on this I'd appreciate it. I thought an error card might come my way opening an entire wax box but not even the correct version was to be found this time around!

An overall 9 out of 10 on this wax box. The only way this was getting a 10 was if I pulled another Lemieux or two, got the Cunneyworth "error" or completed a second set. Great experience though as well as a great value. Looking forward to trying this again at some point with another set and wax box.

1989-90 Topps Hockey box break: Mystery card #156 revealed

So I had to look on Beckett.com to find out who exactly graced card #156. The one card that I was missing to complete my set even after opening an entire wax box. Well it turns out that I only THOUGHT I was missing the card. The card actually turns out to be none other than the Great One himself, Mr. Wayne Gretzky. UNBELIEVABLE ! I pulled a Gretzky card in the VERY FIRST PACK that I opened from the 89-90 Topps Hockey wax box and didn't even realize I needed it as one of the cards to complete my set! I just saw that it was #99 wearing a black and silver L.A. Kings sweater, said "nice pull for the first pack, yeah me!" and assumed that I already had the card and didn't even think to look at the number on the back, which of course read 156. Just like it did on the back of the other two Gretzky's that I pulled from the box including the last pack! That's right, I pulled a Gretzky in the 1st pack and last pack and didn't even realize I needed it to complete this set! Well Pop, pop, fizz, fizz. I can now sleep well knowing that I definitely have this set finally complete in what I can only describe as a roller coaster experience. See boys and girls, card collecting CAN be fun! After opening the last pack (well, technically not the last pack) I thought that this experiment might be the last of its kind for my collection but I enjoyed it so much that I will definitely try this again. Now I can only hope that my buddy D.L. has as much luck as I had when he opens the REAL last pack of this wax box. Update to follow.

Don't Eat The Gum !

If you ever get the bright idea to try one of the old piece's of gum that come in the wax packs of old sports trading cards, please let me be the first and hopefully not the last one to warn you NOT TO! I guess opening an entire box of 18 year old hockey cards finally got the best of me. I'm not sure why I did it. Curiosity? Nostalgia? Maybe just to say I did it? Well I did do it. And I regret all 5 seconds of it. There wasn't even a bazooka gum-like taste that I was expecting. I could taste the CARDBOARD in the gum. Maybe plastic? It actually tasted like I chewed on an old notebook from my freshman year. Of HIGH SCHOOL, not college. It smelled somewhat like gum should smell but in the 18 years that it was prisoner inside that wax pack it had somehow morphed into something quite unrecognizable. It was crunchy and broke into what seemed like 30 tiny pieces in my mouth and then almost instantly started to turn into this sugar-saliva concoction hell-bent on destroying my taste buds. FOREVER! When you find yourself in the same position as I and the gum looks like, um, it might be O.K. - please think twice and refrain from putting that anywhere near your lips. Smell it if you like. No, check that, only smell it if you MUST. But definitely DO NOT EAT THE GUM! It will change your life. And not in a good way.