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Do you like to debate who are the best of the sports legends? Do you like knowing their best numbers?

Mike Greenberg and Paul “Hembo” Hembek have just the book for you – “Got Your Number – The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers they Own.” It is just out and published by Hyperion Avenue.

They go from 0 to 100, and many of the numbers are uniform numbers. Like Derek Jeter at 2, Babe Ruth at 3 and Joe DiMaggio at 5.

Of course, some athletes don’t have numbers so Arnold Palmer is 62 for his number of tour wins. And then there is Secretariat who is 31 for the number of lengths he won the Belmont by in his Triple crown year. And 88 is for John Wooden’s longest winning streak at UCLA.

Each number gets two or three pages and tends to be crammed with interesting anecdotes and numbers.

For example, they note that Willie Mays, number 24, led the league in homers and steals four times each. No player has ever done that and probably never will again. He also won 12 Golden Gloves in a row and recorded 7,112 putouts, a record they say will never be broken. And then, of course, there was the catch of Vic Wertz drive in the World Series.

And the authors expect debate about their selections. Greenberg says he will defend every word he wrote but will listen to other sides.

OK, I will start with fact he left out both Lou Gehrig and Sandy Koufax. I was so surprised at their omissions that I went back through the book to make sure I hadn’t overlooked them. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan got 3 numbers – 23, 63 and 93. Isn’t one enough? It’s not like he was Bill Russell. And Dennis Rodman was included. Huh?

And he includes Dan Marino, who was routed in his only Super Bowl appearances and omits Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman, Bobby Layne, Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw, who all won multiple titles.

And he also left out some good anecdotes.

Of Walter Payton, he said he was an Ironman who simply did not miss games. Well, he missed one against the Pittsburgh Steelers in his rookie year in 1975 when he had a minor injury and the coaches figured there was no point in letting the Steel Curtain batter him. After that game, Don Pierson, the esteemed football writer who covered the Bears and the NFL for decades, said to Payton, “Jim Brown never did that.” Payton said, “Did what?” Pierson told him Brown never missed a game. Payton never missed another one even when he was hurt. I covered a game in 1983 in Baltimore when Payton was hurt and carried only three times for four yards. But he didn’t sit out. That was Payton.

And any discussion of Joe DiMaggio should include the iconic piece by Gay Talese in 1966 that was called the Silent Season of a Hero.

Talese talks about how Marilyn Monroe came back from a USO tour in Korea and said, “Joe, Joe, you never heard such cheering.” Joe’s memorable answer was “Yes I have.” That was the essence of DiMaggio. Didn’t need four words if three were enough. And an example of the cheering he heard during his celebrated career.

And he gave props to the Steeler dynasty of the 1970s, using 58 and 59 for the two HOF linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert. Joe Greene got his own number later. He noted it was the only dynasty defined by its defense. He points out they played 18 playoff games between1972 and 1979 and didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher. And they stopped HOFers Larry Csonka, Tony Dorsett, O.J. Simpson and Earl Campbell twice. They also didn’t allow a 300-yard passer although there weren’t many 300 passing games in those days. Still, the authors didn’t mention that after the NFL banned the bump and run after five yards in 1978, a rule aimed at Mel Blount and the rest of the defense, they won their last two Super Bowls on offense, scoring over 30 points to beat the Cowboys and Rams.  The defense was so good they changed the rules to neutralize and then the offense took over.

Well, I could go on and on, but this book is definitely a good read. You can form your own opinions if you read it.

The debates help to make sports so interesting and this book will spark a lot of debate.

–Streaming is supposed to be the future for the NFL, but obviously the future is not now. The first year of streaming Thursday night games on Prime was less than a rousing success. The NCAA women’s title game got better ratings than the average for the Prime games. This is why Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to be able to flex games, but fell two votes shy of getting it passed at the owners meeting last month. He will try again in May. At the very least, he got the owners to approve teams getting two games on Thursday night, which means teams like Chiefs and Eagles will likely appear twice. But that is not going to solve the streaming problem. The NFL couldn’t resist Jeff Bezos’ billion-dollar offer, but the NFL will have to live with lower ratings for now on the streaming games. Meanwhile, Paramount+ streamed “Inside the NFL” for one year and dumped it, and it is now looking for a new home.

–The dynasty is over in New England and the Patriots now seem to be a dysfunctional team. Owner Robert Kraft is frustrated that the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game in four years and isn’t promising that coach Bill Belichick will survive long enough to break Don Shula’s record. And Belichick is not apparently happy that quarterback Mac Jones went outside the organization last year when he was struggling. And now there are reports Belichick may be shopping him depending on which version you hear. The Patriot Way isn’t working these days.

–The decision of NFL Media not to renew the contract of Jim Trotter, one of the best football writers, didn’t get much notice from the fans. But it is an important story because it is another example of the dysfunction and lack of diversity in the NFL. It was a bad look that Trotter’s contract wasn’t renewed after he asked Commissioner Roger Goodell two years in a row at a press conference about the lack of diversity. The NFL even offered Trotter three months’ severance pay if he would sign a non-disclosure form, but he declined it so he will be free to speak out more in the future. 

–Lamar Jackson’s future remains in limbo. No team has been willing to make him an offer and he has asked for a trade. Meanwhile, the Ravens, noted for being a good organization, aren’t handling it well. At their pre-draft press conference, they refused to discuss him, which kept it on front burner. Best if they just said no new developments and we will let u know when there are.

–There were a lot of eyebrows raised when the Jaguars gave Christian Kirk a four-year, $72 million dollar deal last year. As it turned out, the Jaguars got their money’s worth because he had a good season. But according to Tyreek Hill, it led to him leaving Kansas City. He wanted more than Kirk got so the Chiefs traded him to the Dolphins and won the Super Bowl without him. But the Kirk contract was a good example of how contracts can affect other players.

As the draft nears, the speculation continues.                                           

Which quarterback will the Panthers take with the No. 1 pick?

In recent weeks, the speculation has been the Panthers would go for C.J. Stroud. But now the rumors are that they will pick Bryce Young despite his 5-10 and 1/8 stature.

Longtime ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen is now giving the nod to Young.

And then there is Anthony Richardson, who was dynamite at the combine, but struggled at Florida.

And don’t forget Will Levis, who is likely to go in the first round but is generally ranked fourth of the four quarterbacks. Still, all the speculation shows that there is no sure thing in this draft, even the first pick.

None of the quarterbacks is a consensus choice for the top pick. And the short term future for the Panthers depends on getting this right.

But maybe there is no right answer. Maybe there is no Peyton or Luck in this draft. That is the Panthers’ worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, the speculation will continue until draft day.

Roger Goodell has turned the NFL into a money-making machine, but it never seems to be enough.

Just look at what has been going on in Goodell’s NFL recently.

He has decided that teams should be flexed into playing Thursday night games. Even though Goodell was two votes shy of getting the proposal passed at the recent meetings, he usually gets what he wants and it will probably pass in May. The owners did agree that teams can now play two Thursday night games instead of one.

This is a bad idea for several reasons. Fans who make plans to watch their team play a Sunday night game on the road can have those plans ruined if the game is flexed to Thursday. And the Thursday night games are a safety issue for the players, no matter how much Goodell denies it. And by putting better games on Thursday night, it means they get less exposure because games are streamed on Amazon on Thursday nights, and only subscribers to Amazon’s expensive Prime service can watch.

But it is another sign that the NFL is more interested in the fans who watch on TV than the fans who actually attend games. And Amazon is willing to pay a billion dollars to a league where cash is king.

And then there are the layoffs at NFL Media. The departure of Jim Trotter, one of the most respected reporters in the league, got the most attention. He had asked Goodell the last two years at press conferences about the lack of diversity in NFL Media. Goodell said that had nothing to do with Trotter’s departure, but it wasn’t a good look for NFL Media.

And the layoffs show that in the 20 years since it started, the NFL Network has not been the money-making success the league thought it was going to be. And even though the NFL is hardly strapped for cash with its billion-dollar TV deals, Goodell apparently can’t accept the idea of using NFL Media as a promotional tool for the league.

Meanwhile, Peter King reported the league is going to partner with Skydance Media to create movies and documentaries. But will they make the kind of money the league wants? We will see.

As we know, Goodell cares only about the bottom line. He is so popular with the owners that he is going to get a contract extension that will take him through 2027.

Goodell’s obsession with the bottom line is not a surprise. But we’ve just gotten another reminder of what Goodell cares about.

–It is almost hard to believe the reports the owners are giving Roger Goodell another contract extension at age 64. The league desperately needs new leadership. Pete Rozelle retired at 63 and Paul Tagliabue at 65. The owners like that Goodell keeps bringing in new revenue but he shows little interest in the game on the field or what is good for the game and the fans.

–The Cowboys making a trade with the Texans for Brandin Cooks is a classic example of a team trying to win it all this year making a trade with a team that wants draft picks to build for the future. Cooks will be the Cowboys No. 2 receiver. Trading for Cooks probably means Cowboys aren’t in the market for Odell Beckham. The Texans only got a 2023 fifth round pick and 2024 sixth round pick for Cooks but they dumped his salary although they will pay six million and the Cowboys will pick up the other $12 million. Cooks has now been traded four times and the Cowboys are his fifth team.

–There were questions about whether Tua Tagovailoa had a future in the NFL after the concussion issues he dealt with last year. But the Dolphins are gambling he can stay healthy for at least this season as they exercised the fifth year option on his rookie deal. He will be paid $23.17 million this year. Of course, the Dolphins didn’t give him a new deal because they can’t be sure he will stay healthy. Meanwhile, Mike White will be the backup in case Tagovailoa goes down again.

–The Texans dumped Cooks and his salary but they made Laremy Tunsil the highest paid left tackle in NFL history when he signed three-year $75 million deal with $50 million guaranteed. The Texans figure to take a quarterback with the second pick and obviously want to protect him.

–A player has to know his worth. Safety Chauncey  Johnson turned down a multi year offer from the Eagles and wound up signing for the Lions for less at just $8 million for a year after the market dried up.

–It is all quiet on the Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson front. The Packers are still asking the Jets for a first round pick and more and the two sides are at an impasse for now. Meanwhile, Jackson can’t find a team willing to give up two first round picks and meet his contract demands.

–Two more starting quarterbacks changed teams when Derek Carr signed with New Orleans and Jimmy Garoppolo signed with the Raiders. Is Jimmy G much of an upgrade from Carr? We will find out if both players needed a change of scenery. But the Raiders are in effect trading Jimmy G for Carr. That may not be much of an upgrade for either team. But both players seemed to have worn out their welcome with their former teams.

–Carr’s arrival in New Orleans likely means that Jameis Winston will return to being a backup unless Carr is injured. Winston, who never lived up to the hype when he was the first pick in 2015, spent five years in Tampa and three in New Orleans. Last year, he started the first three games before being replaced by Andy Dalton, who has moved on to Washington. Winston said he wants to remain in New Orleans because he likes the atmosphere. Gardner Minshew signed with Indianapolis and can play if the quarterback the Colts draft with fourth pick – or if they move up for one –isn’t ready. With Minshew moving on, the Eagles signed Marcus Marioto to be their backup.

–Dalton’s signed by Washington and Jacoby Brissett being signed by the Panthers shows both teams want a veteran stopgap in case their young quarterback isn’t ready to go when the  season starts. Dalton can step in if Sam Howell isn’t ready and Brissett is a safety net in case the quarterback the Panthers sign with the first pick isn’t ready at the start of the season.

–Baker Mayfield continued his journey around the league by signing with the Bucs where he will compete for the starting job with Kyle Trask. That means Blaine Gabbert will be looking for a new home.

–Aaron Rodgers is ready to move on to the Jets, opening the door for Jordan Love to be the third Packer starter in decades as he follows in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Rodgers. But the Packers want a first round pick and more for Rodgers,, which is ridiculous for an aging player the Packers don’t want to keep.. So Rodgers can’t move on until the Packers agree to more sensible terms.

The Carolina Panthers are like the dog that caught the car.

They traded four draft picks, including two No. 1 picks, and receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears for the top pick in the draft.

The next question: Now what?

The Panthers made the trade before they decided which quarterback they will take with the top pick.

That means there is no automatic first choice like when players like Trevor Lawrence and Andrew Luck were at the top of the draft board.

Instead, there are four quarterbacks likely to be drafted high on the first round, but it won’t be an easy decision. And if the Panthers pick the wrong one or none of them make it big, they will be back to square one.

It is likely they will choose between C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young, who had a great college career at Alabama but is only 5-10 1/8.

The most athletic quarterback is Anthony Richardson, who had a dynamite combine but a lackluster college career.

The fourth one is Will Levis of Kentucky, who isn’t likely to be the top pick.

If nothing else, the Panthers have created a lot drama. They can’t afford to miss on this pick.

In another interesting development, even the Panthers aren’t convinced the player they draft with the first pick will be ready to start as a rookie. They signed veteran Andy Dalton to give them a stopgap starter if the rookie needs time to develop.

The Panthers also could have gotten a shot at Lamar Jackson for two No. 1 picks if they had offered him a fully guaranteed contract. They then could have saved two picks and kept Moore. But the NFL is trying to hold the line on fully guaranteed contracts because most owners were unhappy that Deshaun Watson got one from Cleveland.

So the Panthers are now on the clock. We can only wait to see what they will do.

–It is tag season and the most controversial tag was placed on Lamar Jackson by the Ravens.  If a team makes a deal with Jackson, the Raven can match or let him go for two first round picks. But no team seems to be rushing to sign him because he apparently wants a fully guaranteed deal like the one Deshaun Watson got. The NFL is trying to hold the line on fully guaranteed deals, which is otherwise known as collusion. But what is overlooked is that the NFLPA should never have agreed to tags in the first place. They weren’t in the original press release the league sent out when the two sides first agreed to a salary cap and free agency after four years.

–Have the Titans put Derrick Henry on the block or not? There have been reports both ways. At age 29, Henry probably doesn’t have much left in the tank. But they could probably challenge the Jaguars in the AFC South with him. They are not likely to without him. We will have to wait to see what they will do.

–The league just can’t seem to let go of Tom Brady. Rich Eisen, who should know better, said there was chatter at the combine that Brady still might return. Brady replied with a joke saying if you get a kitten for your kid, you don’t have time to return. After retiring and then returning last year, Brady doesn’t figure to do it again. 

–Another apparently bogus report was that Philip Rivers contacted the 49ers and Dolphins late last year about returning and still might look to return this year. Rivers quickly shot that down, saying he didn’t contact any team. He said he was contacted without naming the teams but said he is retired. At age 41 after being away for two years, it is not likely to return.

–It is surprising more players don’t skip the combine. Even though they are running around without pads, there is still an injury risk. At least five players were injured in this year’s combine, including offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees of USC. He suffered a torn ACL and will likely miss this upcoming season. He showed he is a tough guy as he did 38 reps on the bench after suffering the injury but the injury is likely to cause him to drop in the draft. Players should tell teams to look at their college tape.

Eric Bieniemy was treated like a rock star or a head coach when he had his first press conference as the new offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders last week.

He made a good impression as he set out his plans for his offense and the players who attended gave him positive reviews. His new quarterback, Sam Howell, said he is super excited to play for him.

Yes, this is the same Bieniemy who was the offensive coordinator for the Chiefs as they went to three Super bowls in the last four years and won two of them, but he failed to get a head coaching job despite all that success.

He is the best example recently of how difficult it is for black coaches to get head coaching jobs. It’s even often difficult for them to keep them once they are hired.

Some of the excuses for Biemiemy being overlooked included that he hasn’t called plays in Kansas City and that he doesn’t interview well. And some off the field problems he had when he was younger sometimes get brought up.

Those are just excuses.

With the Commanders he will call plays and hopes that will help his resume. But the Commanders have been one of the worst run teams in recent years under Dan Snyder while the Chiefs have been one of the best with Clark Hunt as the owner. And Snyder is supposedly planning to sell the team. So there is the that the new job won’t help his quest for a head job although he said his only focus now is being the OC for the Commanders.

And there is no guarantee he will get a head coaching job even if he has success. There’s also the chance he will lose out on winning more Super Bowls with the Chiefs.

Still, Bienemy is getting a raise and a longer term contract than he had in Kansas City, and a chance to call the plays and run the offense.

Granted, there is no guarantee he will be a good head coach. But he deserves the chance to show whether he can be a successful head coach.

The NFL has never been more successful.

It now makes billions of dollars every year and is the most watched programming on television. In the 100 channel universe, it draws the most viewers and the TV rightsfees  keep going up.

But the strange thing is that the Super Bowl ratings seem to be at a plateau. The game drew 133 million viewers but that was a million less than what they drew in 2017. It figured to drop during Covid but hasn’t bounced all the way back.

And the halftime show drew 5 million more viewers than the game.

The NFL makes so much money that it may not be a matter of concern. But the NFL likes to think the game keeps growing.

Maybe the league has reached a saturation point in the U.S., which may explain why it is playing five games in London and in Germany.

Whether this develops into a problem remains to be seen. But it is something worth watching in the future.