When I was younger, my grandfather used to send me his copy of The Sporting News .
Those were the days when it was still all about baseball and I read it cover to cover every week.
As I got older, one feature that annoyed me was Dick Young’s column “Young Ideas,” which were anything but young. Especially in the late ’70s, he was constantly attacking the “Gee Whiz Generation” of sportswriters who kept saying people currently playing were the best ever.
I didn’t like him, but as I age — I’m older now than he was then — I begin to see his point.
I don’t think there’s anyone playing now that I would call the greatest ever, but some are at least worth arguing.
But it’s more than just sports. I very much enjoy watching the WatchMojo and MsMojo top 10s or top 20s on YouTube, but I saw one today that very much left me feeing like Dick Young.
The list was called Top 10 Entertainers of all time,
Only four of the 10 they selected would have made my top 10, and they were ranked 1, 2, 7 and 9.
Let’s start with them. Johnny Carson was their No. 9, and I think that’s about right for me too. Lucille Ball was No. 7, and she would have been in my top three. Elvis Presley was No. 2, and it’s tough for me not to put him at No. 1.
Who was their No. 1? Who else but the young man the British tabloids called Jacko. I liked him when he was young and African-American and didn’t like him as much as an albino pervert. I actually saw him live once, at the Super Bowl XVII halftime show in 1993. Nice, but nothing all that spectacular.
To be fair, I would probably have to put him third or fourth behind Elvis and Lucy.
So what about the other six?
No. 10 is David Bowie, No. 8 is Bernadette Peters, No. 6 is Whitney Houston, No. 5 is Madonna, No. 4 is Beyonce and No. 3 is Prince.
Huh?
Boy, do I feel old. If I had to make a list from scratch, I might not name any of those six. Madonna might sneak in there for her 40-year career, but none of the others do much for me.
How do you do a top 10 entertainers of all time without having Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby on the list? How do you rateWhitney or Beyonce ahead of Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand?
David Bowie was great, but there are at least three or four British rock stars I would rate higher.
I like Bernadette Peters, but top 10 ever? Not even close.
As for Prince, too purple for me.
I’m not going to do my own list. It’s too much a matter of opinion.
Just figure Elvis and Lucy at the pinnacle, 1-2 or 2-1.