"All The Icons. All The Moments." - People Hated SportsCenter's Sports Icon Graphic So Much They Were Bullied Into Deleting It - BONUS: Power Ranking The Most Impressive Icons on The Now Deleted Tweet
I tuned into Mostly Sports about 20-30 minutes late this morning. They opened their show by talking about this Sportscenter tweet. By the time I made it to Twitter, the tweet was gone. Then there was about a 10 minute where I legitimately couldn't find the graphic anywhere. It was getting to the point that I wondered if SportsCenter went full LeBron James/Jordan Crawford Dunk and scrubbed it from the internet entirely. That they were so ashamed, they paid Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Truth Social, Bluesky, and The Dark Web™ to somehow flag the image and forbid it from being shared across all platforms. But no need to fear. Apparently Twitter was just slow this morning. Here is SportsCenter's now deleted graphic in all its glory.
There's a lot going on here. Lot's of different things that could be pointed out. Which the internet had done in spades.
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But I'm going to go ahead and review SportsCenter's graphic in the only way BarstoolSports.com knows how…
Power Ranking of Most Impressive Icons on SportsCenter's Now Deleted Sports Icon's Tweet.
Honorable Mention: Everybody Who I Don't Know
I don't want to pick on the likes of Nebraska Volleyball player, UCLA gymnast, soccer players, women's tennis players, basically all the women's sports representation that I'm unfamiliar with. Which is a lot. But it makes sense why SportsCenter would include some of these athletes who are at their top of a more niche sport. If you're the best volleyball player or gymnast in the country, I think you deserve a spot. But the sheer amount of people who I couldn't begin to name is… something.
10. Is That Supposed to Be One of Carlos Boozer's Kids?
If so, they should be ranked way higher. Duke's incoming freshman, Carlos Boozer's fraternal twins, should certainly be further up my ironic list of most impressive icons. I'm assuming this would be Cameron Boozer (the better one). If they're going to put (SPOILER ALERT) Bryce Underwood on their graphic, then it stands to reason they'd put Carlos Boozer's child as well. But I'm leaving him at #10, because I'm still not 100% sure. It doesn't necessarily look like him, but I truly don't know who else it could be.
9. Brian Windhorst (The Meme)
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Smart of ESPN to remind the world that one of their employees did something meme-worthy only three years ago.
8. Mina Kimes
Undeniably one of the personalities in the business. Has been with ESPN for over a decade. A staple of shows.
7. The Sportscenter Top 10 Chain
What child doesn't grow up dreaming of making a jaw-dropping play under the world's brightest lights, or taking the stage in New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and being handed the coveted SportsCenter Top 10 Chain.
6. Bryce Underwood
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Much like Carlos Boozer's son, it takes a special type of athlete to earn the label of "icon" before they've taken a single competitive snap outside of high school sports. It just goes to show how much of a sure-fire-no-way-in-hell-could-he-possibly-flop recruit Bryce Underwood is.
5. Post Malone
You might think that Post Malone has nothing to do with sports. You would be so fucking wrong. His dad was the Assistant Director of Food & Beverage for the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. He is also in a beer commercial with Shane Gillis.
4. Richard Jefferson & Malika Andrew's Pieing Each Other in The Face
I've been giving a lot of guff to SportsCenter for featuring so many of their own employees, but Richard Jefferson & Malika Andrew's pieing each other in the face is a true "Where Were You?" moment. I'll certainly never forget when I first saw it. Sitting on this very chair about an hour go.
3. Mina Kimes Dog, Ray (RIP Ray)
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Ray the long-haired miniature dachshund lived a great life. A long life. He made it all the way to 17 years old. Most human-to-dog years conversion charts don't even go up that high. RIP Ray. You were a good boy.
2. The Security Guard Who Beat Michael Jordan in a Coin Flip From a Documentary That Was Popular in 2020
The Last Dance may have premiered during the height of Covid, but we sure haven't stopped thinking about this guy. I'm reminded of him every time I see the clip of him beating Michael Jordan in a coin flip and shrugging to the camera.
1. All 15 (At Least) Women's Basketball Players & Coaches
I've seen people claim there's as many as 20, but I think they might be including some of the softball, volleyball, and soccer players. I counted 15. Regardless, it would be unfair to single out just one. The recent success of the WNBA, and women's basketball as a whole, can be attributed to all players in the WNBA equally. If you told me 5 years ago that there would be more sports icons in women's basketball than the NFL, I'd have slapped you in the face. This collage is a testament to just how far they've come as a sport.
Honestly, I feel a little bad about making that list. I very much understand the irony of a Barstool Sports employee begrudging a sports media platform for inserting their own personalities into their content. Obviously, Sportscenter's post was largely meant to be an advertisement for ESPN. But like… they posted Mina Kimes' dog. Imagine thinking people want to see your dog? That's a bridge too far, ESPN.