# When the game is on the line....(Sports)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 19, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628 "2003-07-19T20:11:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@moejuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejuck)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628/1 "2003-07-19T20:11:39Z")
Who do you want to:
1. Be your quarterback
2. Have the basketball in their hands
3. Be at the plate
4. Be on the mound
5. Have the puck on their stick
6. Be in the goal (hockey)
7. Have the soccer ball in front of their foot
8. Take the last handoff in the 4x1
9. Be taking the putt on the 18th green of the Masters.
10. Driving your car around the track.
Assume in certain cases that you only need the minimum to win. So for your hitter, you only need a base hit, for basketball, a two pointer will be enough. Answer all, or just the ones you want to. Pick a guy from any era you want. Please use the numbers to indicate which question(s) you are answering. You can debate if you want to, but remember there are no right answers in this thread. Here I go.
1. Without a doubt, Joe Montana
2. I don’t like this guy at all, but it is hard not to pick Michael.
3. I will say Pete Rose.
4. Nolan Ryan ties with Randy Johnson in my book.
5. Gotta be the Great One, Wayne Gretzky
6. Patrick Roy
7. Diego Maradonna (sp).
8. Carl Lewis- the greatest finisher ever.
9. The Golden Bear
10. Richard Petty.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628/2 "2003-07-19T20:48:29Z")
> [@](#):
>
> 1. Be at the plate
**J. T. Snow.**
His numbers aren’t great, but my God, does he have a flair for the dramatic.
> [@](#):
>
> 1. Be on the mound
Eric Gagne.
(rereads OP)
Oh, wait, we want to _win_, don’t we?
So I’ll go for… these days, **Jason Schmidt** or **Jerome Williams** come to mind.
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### Author:  [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628/3 "2003-07-19T22:11:04Z")
1. Joe Montana
2. Larry Bird or Diana Taurasi
3. Teddy Ballgame or, perhaps, Tony Gywnn
4. Pedro
5. The Great One
6. No idea
7. I don’t know–Pele?
8. Carl Lewis? Michael Johnson? Marion Jones?
9. Nicklaus
10. Dale Earnhardt
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### Author:  [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628/4 "2003-07-19T22:16:04Z")
1. Joe Montana
2. Larry Bird or Diana Taurasi
3. Teddy Ballgame or, perhaps, Tony Gywnn
4. Pedro
5. The Great One
6. No idea
7. I don’t know–Pele?
8. Carl Lewis? Michael Johnson? Marion Jones?
9. Nicklaus
10. Dale Earnhardt
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### Author:  [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-game-is-on-the-line-sports/189628/5 "2003-07-20T03:36:02Z")
1. Be your quarterback–Joe Montana. Best QB under pressure ever, even if he wasn’t necessarily the best arm.
2. Have the basketball in their hands–Larry Bird, just because I like him better than Jordan.
3. Be at the plate–hard to say. Lots of star players are ass in post season, and look at some of our recent post-season heroes.
4. Be on the mound–Sandy Koufax. Elbow problems completely farked this guy out of a higher place in baseball’s pantheon.
5. Have the puck on their stick–Gretzky. In a lot of ways I think Gordie Howe was better, but not at the sheer act of putting the puck in the net.
6. Be in the goal (hockey) Ken Dryden. This guy won a Stanley Cup before he won the Calder Trophy. Enough said.
7. Have the soccer ball in front of their foot Pele, because I dont know anyone else, except the cokehead and the guy with the stupid hair.
8. Take the last handoff in the 4x1 That fast guy with the gold shoes, um, Michael someone.
9. Be taking the putt on the 18th green of the Masters. Jack Nicklaus. Tiger has a way to go before he can honestly be the best ever.
10. Driving your car around the track. You didn’t say what kind of racing, so I’ll say Alain Prost just to mess with everyone.