The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

That's right, ladies and gentlemen - the currently unemployed and former backup quarterback to Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, has been hailed by Forbes as the most influential athlete of 2013. Finishing second was 22-time Olympic medalist swimming icon Michael Phelps. In third place was 6-time gold medalist running sensation Usain Bolt. Future Hall-of-Famer, New York Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter, was fourth on the list. MVP and Super-Bowl winning quarterback Peyton Manning rounded out the top 5. Yes, counting down the top 5 most influential athletes looked a little something like this: 5. Peyton Manning: 12-time Pro Bowler, 6-time First-team All-Pro, 3-time Second-team All-Pro, 4-time MVP, Comeback Player of the Year, 6-time AFC Player of the Year, Pro Bowl MVP, Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, etc. 4. Derek Jeter: 13-time All-Star, 5-time World Series champion, 5-time Gold Glove Award, 5-time Silver Slugger Award, AL Rookie of the Year Award, World Series MVP Award, 2...

As much as I hate to say it, since I despise the New York Yankees, I've really been saddened to see future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and now Derek Jeter go down with injuries this year. Hate the Yankees as much as you'd like, these two guys have been two of the greatest for a number of years, have been extremely loyal to their club throughout their lengthy careers and have been stand-up citizens off the field as well. Just as I would have hated to have seen Atlanta Braves future Hall of Famer third baseman Chipper Jones retire after his injury-filled season a year ago, I'd hate for Rivera and Jeter to retire in such a fashion. I hope the two can come back for one more healthy season and be able to leave the game in a much better manner than if they were to retire after this season. I wish them both a very speedy recovery and if either should decide to retire after this season, as a fan of baseball, all I can say is that it's been a genuine pleasure watching them.