Burners come in all shapes and sizes, their speed distinct to their sports because all face obstacles to all-out acceleration, whether it’s dribbling a ball, circling the bases or going man up on a DB with a nasty disposition. Our all-sport, all-speed team. (Two words: WATCH OUT.)
NFL
Jerome Mathis, KR, Houston Texans
Mathis was a six-time Virginia high school state champion in track — he won the national indoor 200-meter title at the Nike Classic — and, competing for Hampton, he won the 200 meters at the 2003 and 2004 NCAA East Regional. Oh yeah, he also ran the fastest 40 (4.28) at the NFL Scouting Combine before the 2005 draft. He has three TDs in 31 career kickoff and punt returns.
MLB
Carl Crawford, LF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
When Crawford hit an inside-the-park homer in April, he was timed around the Bases — 120 yards with three left turns from a dead start — in 14.12 seconds. (Translation: That’s less time than it takes you, Mr. Couch Potato, to go from sofa to fridge.) No wonder that in the last five seasons he averaged more than 53 stolen bases and led the majors in triples.
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College football
DeSean Jackson, WR/PR, Cal
Jackson has returned six punts for TDs in his career. But get this: He has done it on only 34 returns. Frame of reference: Texas Tech’s Wes Welker and Oklahoma’s Antonio Perkins hold the NCAA record with eight punt returns for scores, but Welker had 152 returns and Perkins had 113.
NHL
Marian Gaborik, RW, Minnesota Wild
Gaborik, named the league’s speediest player in a poll of NHL players last season, might be the most feared enemy of defensemen, but his eye-popping speed has been neutralized by his inability to avoid injuries. How much does Gaborik’s speed mean to the Wild? The team was 33-9-6 in games he played last season and 15-17-2 when he didn’t play.
Weekend preview NFL: Bears-Packers matchup NCAA: LSU-Florida | Saturday dreaming MLB: Can the Cubs survive? NASCAR: No rulebook at ‘Dega NHL: Rookies to watch
NBA
Leandro Barbosa, G, Phoenix Suns
When Barbosa was a kid in Brazil, his mother worried about how skinny he was. As a solution, a doctor told her to have him drink a blended mixture of cow’s liver and beans. Not appetizing, but hey, it worked. He’s still drinking the stuff, and there’s no one faster in the NBA than “The Brazilian Blur.”
College basketball
Darren Collison, G, UCLA
Collison’s parents, June and Dennis, were world-class sprinters and track All-Americans in college, but Darren chose to handicap himself by racing with a basketball in hand. It doesn’t seem to slow him down much.
Source: www.sportingnews.com
