5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Let me start off by saying it’s going to be very difficult for me to explain why I like each person, but its mostly because I like them as an individual (their personality) as well as the way they play, but that is not always the case as you will see.

Honorable Mention:  

15. Hendrik Lundquivst

14. David Lee

13. Eli Manning

12. Paul O’Neill

11. Mark Meissier

10. Allan Houston- Allan had one of the sweetest strokes in the NBA and was so easy to like as a Knick. He had so many moments where he would shine, but none more so then he floater to beat the Heat in Miami. Today Houston is the assistant GM of the Knicks and is rumored to be next in line as the GM. He is a guy who loved New York so much that he’s sticking around to help make the Knicks great again.

9. Marcus Hatten- Marcus was a big part of my St. John’s memories and was instrumental in helping St. John’s to an NIT championship and upset of Duke in 2003. While he only played two seasons with the Red Storm, Hatten was a “do-it-all” guy that made you wonder why he went to Community College in Tallahassee before joining the Red Storm. He averaged over 20 points per game in each season, and had 5 assists and boards per game. He was an excellent defender as well and had a ton of steals. Hatten was also a likeable guy- with a smile on his face and the grit to carry a team on his back for two seasons.

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As we head into a slow time in sports, I thought it would be a good time to discuss who our favorite New York athletes of all-time are. Now this list can’t consist of guys like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Willis Reed since I wasn’t remotely close to being born while these guys were in their playing days. Even guys like Bryan Trottier,  Dave Winfield and Phil Simms don’t count (even though they were playing when I was born, I have no recollection of them ever playing). So list is a group of the ten New York athletes who I vividly and unforgettably remember watching them play for my favorite teams. Here they are:

10. Smush Parker (Fordham Rams 2000-2002)

Since almost everyone on my dad’s side of the family attended Fordham University, I grew up going to Rose Hill for a number of Fordham basketball games in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In seventh grade, my dad and I went to Madison Square Garden to watch the Rams take on the heavily favored St. John’s Red Storm. Even though the Johnnies had stars such as Marcus Hatten and Elijah Ingram, Fordham’s sophomore point guard Smush Parker took the spotlight by throwing down two monster jams over Red Storm power forward Anthony Glover. Even though the Rams lost by 20, Parker showed his dominance dropping 18 points against one of the best teams in the Big East. Smush would end up playing six years in the NBA, predominantly with the Lakers. Parker is the only Fordham Ram to play in the NBA in the past decade.

9. Danny Tartabull (New York Yankees 1992-1995)

Badass

Even though Danny Tartabull was predominantly a Kansas City Royal, he was a power hitter for the Yanks during the years when I started to heavily follow baseball. On Opening Day at Yankee Stadium in 1994, I was sitting in the Upper Deck behind home plate. In the bottom of the 5th, Tartabull lead off with a bomb that landed in the black seats. Since I was six years old, this looked like the farthest ball I had ever seen hit. So after that, I became one of the biggest Danny Tartabull fans. Unfortunately, Tartabull was traded right before the trade deadline in 1995 to the Oakland A’s for Ruben Sierra. Interesting fact: Danny Tartabull was the first Yankee to make a guest appearance on Seinfeld.

Click below for the rest of the List:

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