Best athlete you ever played against?

[OrangeGrad]

I played floor hockey in HS with NHLer Marty Reasoner. I was the goalie and I still have welts from 15 years ago. That dude could shoot.

 

[doubledown68]

I don't know if this chick was the best athlete I have ever played against but she certainly was further out of my league than anyone I had ever played against --

When I was in college, I dated a girl who played softball at local Division I college.

Me being me, of course, was always running my mouth about how easy it is to hit a fastpitch softball and how they weren't real athletes and my girl finally had enough and she said she'd bet me $50 that the pitcher from her team could throw me 20 pitches and I wouldn't be able to put one in fair ball territory.

I was like '20 pitches, shirt, I could hit one with my eyes closed'.....

So the rules were this - we'd get a neutral party (one of my friends) to "ump" and only pitches that were reasonably close to the strike zone counted (for the record, she threw me 22 total) and of course, I had to swing away and couldn't bunt.

The first three or four I had no chance of hitting because I was jumping out of the batter's box while I was swinging like a chicken because I didn't want to get hit by that thing whizzing past me.

The next few I swung so early I could have cocked the bat twice and still had a chance to hit it but that assumes I could see it, which, I really couldn't.

I had no prayer of even making contact with them sonbitches and the one I (by luck) fouled off, I thought I was going to cry because the bat hurt my hands.

I humbly paid the bet to my girl and learned never to fork with fastpitch softball pitchers.

Honestly? You should have brought a baseball with you, walked out to pitcher's mound, and made the softball players try to hit that from 43 feet. Good luck.

It's not the pitcher. It's the mound. It's too close. Kids throw no-hitters all the time, come back two hours later, throw another no hitter. And it's not because they're Nolan Ryan.

the rubber is moving back three feet this year, per NHSA (or national, whatever) rules.

 

[Huggy]

I played road hockey a couple of times with Mike Palmateer when he was the Leafs' goalie in the mid-70s. He lived in the same neighbourhood and would come out and goof around with us once in a while. Incredible reflexes.

Huggy Jr. has been on the ice recently with Matt Duchene, ripping it up as a rookie with the Avalanche, and Cody Hodgson, first rounder for the Canucks. He might be the worst winger either of those guys has ever had but he can say he's scored goals off feeds from both of them.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The best football players I played against in high school were Napoleon Kaufman, who I never faced in a game, but played against at a football camp and Amani Toomer, who lit my team up more than once.

 

[mustangj17]

Your Napolean Kaufman connection made me think of the time I coached against Tyrone Wheatly. Our track team won, of course in both the dual meet and the league meet, although he was a solid coach.

My track team also hosted a big invitational each year. My senior year Cincinatti Bengals cornerback Morgan Trent won the 100 meter dash. He went on to take the state title that year.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Kaufman was a beast in high school. I think he was a year ahead of me and was the best player in the state by a mile.

I think Toomer was the first really big recruit to come out of Concord De La Salle, which was arguably the best program in the country for about a decade.