Their latest, the 100 Greatest Individual Seasons of the Last 25 Years is intriguing, as it's perfectly debatable and not a tired one, like top 10 Super Bowl moments or something.

But "greatest" lists always involve a lot of hair-splitting. That being said, he's my laser.

No. 6: Steve Young in 1994. I'm still amazed at how many people dismiss Young in debates of greatest QBs. C'mon, as great as Dan Marino was — and he's always included among the conversation — Steve Young was a guy capable of completing over 70 percent of his passes and scoring seven TDs with his legs. And that's just what he did in 1994, a season he capped by tossing a never-to-be-topped six touchdowns in the Super Bowl. The QB has two jobs — move the ball and lead — and he was great at both.

No. 8: Barry Sanders in 1988. Without question it's the best college football season of all time, and I think a legit contender for No. 1 in this spot. One line in the ESPN piece says it all: "In one five-game stretch, he rushed for 320, 215, 312, 293 and 332 yards." You can't even do that in a video game. Barry scored 39 TDs that season, one of the 25 NCAA records he set playing in a major conference in 1988. Even though he won the Heisman Trophy in a rout, seven other players garnered first-place votes for the award, including Tony Mandarich and Timm Rosenbach. (See voting results.) That, my friends, is absurd. I once wrote a post tabbing Sanders as the greatest college football player ever and was astounded that Deion Sanders was ranked ahead of him in a list published in College Football News. I wrote at the time: "Let me tell you something: If two recruits come for a campus visit and one guy is capable of scoring 39 TDs in 12 games and the other is good at covering receivers, you call every hooker in town, give them the A.D.'s credit card number, and make sure they know which one averages 7.6 yards per carry."

No. 22: Dwight Gooden in 1985. I know Pedro's 1999 season (23-4, 2.07 ERA) was placed ahead of Gooden's (24-4, 1.53 ERA) because of the advancement of offense, but lord was this guy good. Following his electric Rookie of the Year season with this one, Mets fans rightfully looked forward to Gooden dominating batters for an entire decade to come. I am reminded of a quote Gene Simmons gave to an interviewer who asked what are the biggest mistakes artists make in their careers. He said, "Drugs. This time and every time."

No. 56: Alex Rodriguez in 2002. This is the only A-Rod season on ESPN's list, and I don't even think it's his best. I'll go with 1996, when he led the AL in batting (.358), runs (141) total bases (379) and doubles (54), all at 20 years of age. In 2002, he led in homers, RBIs and total bases, and won his first Gold Glove Award. Again, splitting hairs, but I like that .358 average and 36 HRs in 1996 over the .300 and 57 he had in 2002.

No. 68: Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Author David Schoenfield notes that L.T. is the only defensive player to make the list. That should tell you how sexier offensive stats can skew perception. Absolutely no question that L.T. in 1986 had one of the greatest football seasons of the last quarter century, but is he really the only defensive player who can make that claim?

No. 80: Joe Montana in 1989. A sick 112.4 rating in the regular season, and he added 11 TDs and no interceptions in the postseason. The guy was unreal in big spots. If Leonard Marshall didn't hit the snot out of him in the 1991 playoffs, the Giants may never have advanced to, and won, Super Bowl XXV.

Today's Sports Links:

• NFL's 10 Greatest Players Ever — An assembly of ESPN reporters and analysis rank the best ever from 1-10. Jim Brown tops the list, garnering a first- or second-place vote from everyone but Sal Paolantonio, who was the only one to vote Joe Montana at 1 and Dick Butkus at 2. Now Butkus was a great actor, maybe the best ever, but you don't pick him over Jim Brown or Water Payton. Payton got one No. 1 vote, while John Elway got two. Sammy Baugh made only two people's top-10 list and finished in a tie for 10th all-time, thanks to Joe Theismann's selection of him as the greatest NFL player. Nothin' like pimping those former Redskins QBs, huh Joe? Surprised to see Steve Young not get a top-10 vote from anyone. His efficiency numbers are staggering, and it's not like he threw only 15 times a game. Smart, athletic, the guy was awesome.

• Iverson's Finest Hour — Adrian Wojnarowski writes on ESPN.com that the Olympic Games were the best of Allen Iverson. Due to a number of factors, I saw about 5.2 seconds of men's hoops action, but from what I read A.I. really did serve us well. He made no excuses about the time the U.S. team had to prepare, vowed to give his all after the gold medal was out of reach and consistently shared his appreciation of being named to the team. That whole "We're talking about practice" thing aside, I've always respected this guy. Six feet and 165 pounds, he is in there every night battling against supreme physical specimens in the NBA. He's the quickest college player I've ever seen and was a one-man show for the Sixers in the 1991 Finals against the Lakers. Say this: He enrollment in Georgetown speaks to the ridiculousness of college admissions for athletes. But don't hate the player, hate the game. I'd take that dude on my team every time.

• Kruk: Jeter Is the Ultimate Warrior — We've all got our opinions on the Yankees' captain. Here's one from a three-time All-Star who's made it to the World Series. Love him or not, Jeter is retiring with no less than four World Series championships. (In his 20 postseason series, the Yankees are 16-4, in which he's batted .314 with 13 homers, 69 runs and 13 steals in 392 at-bats. Jeter batted .409 or better in seven of those series.)

• Myths, Realities of College Football Champs — Some good statistical analysis by SI.com's Stewart Mandel, who proves that you don't always need a star quarterback, nor must you start high in the polls. I do think eventual one- and two-loss teams benefit from high preseason rankings, but if you go undefeated and play in a major conference, you'll find your way to the top.

• Joe Namath's Career Stats — After bashing Jim McMahon for having a career 100-90 TD-to-INT ratio in my Super Bowl Shuffle piece, I perused lifetime stats of some other greats and not-so-greats. Namath, a Hall of Famer, had a career ratio of 173-200. That's uglier than his interview with Suzy Kolber, and he was a five-time Pro Bowler. Other TD-to-INT ratios and Pro Bowl appearances to compare with McMahon, who only once was a Pro Bowler: Dave Krieg (261-199, 4), Phil Simms (199-157, 2), Neil Lomax (136-90, 2), Ken O'Brien (128-98, 2), Bernie Kosar (124-87, 2), Mark Rypien (115-88, 2), Chris Miller (123-102, 1), Jeff George (154-113, 0), Elvis Grbac (99-81, 1) and Brad Johnson (140-95, 2).

• Push for Topless Beach Volleyball in Beijing — Eh, not what you think. A member of Australia's women's beach volleyball team wants to see the men shed their singlets at the 2008 games. Fine by me. I don't watch the dudes anyway. (Thanks, Eddie)

• SI.com's College Football Crystal Ball — Four experts agree that Oklahoma will reach the Orange Bowl, and three expect Clemson to be the biggest disappointment. All four also expect to see West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. I just might puke.

• Thirty Things Fantasy Owners Need to Know — Peter King's column is probably a week late, though it did come out just in time for my draft Monday night. A couple of years ago, his Monday Morning QB column was the inspiration for me drafting Danny Wuerffel and other questionables that nearly ran my team into the ground. So what do I do? I take, like King advises, Byron Leftwich, Freddie Mitchell, Tatum Bell and Jerome Bettis.

• Ross Smith's Receiver Rankings — The Bill James of football? Ross builds his own formulas to rank the best receiving seasons of all time. Ross also aggregated magazine predictions for the upcoming NFL season, and only the Colts are expected by all to win their division. Of the 11 AFC East votes, nine went to the Patriots and two to the Dolphins. You can imagine those were cast before Ricky Williams dedicated his life to pot, so add New England to the list of unanimous favorites. Only the Chargers were expected by all to finish last, with the Giants receiving all last-place votes and one third-place finish. Ross also features a picture of him with music legend Debbie Gibson.

• Tuesday Morning Quarterback: NFC Preview — I didn't really read it. Just can't get through Gregg Eaterbrook's dense, web-unfriendly writing, but I know a lot of people do enjoy it. You can also check out his AFC preview.

• Kobe's Rape Case Dismissed — A civil trial is pending. No matter what, there will be no winners. There never are.