Question of the Week

Donald, East Lansing, MI
Subj: Smartypants
In your opinion, who is the smartest guy in the history of sports?

That depends a lot on whom you ask. Reggie Jackson once claimed he had an IQ of 160, thereby putting him on par with Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking. However, his assertion prompted more ridicule than respect and led fellow Yankee Mickey Rivers to quip, "Reggie's got an IQ of 160? Out of what - a thousand?"

One undeniably smart athlete was Pat McInally, a Pro Bowl punter from Harvard who remains the only football player to ever record a perfect score on the NFL’s vaunted Wonderlic Test. Unlike most of his peers, McInally wasn’t fazed at all by the dreaded quiz. "It really did seem like an easy test at the time,” he recalls. “One of the reasons I did so well is because I didn't think it mattered. So I think I didn't feel any pressure at all. It was more of a lark, and that's when you do your best. If I took it 100 times I'd probably never do that again."

McInally displayed his smarts once again during the final year of his career in 1986 when he developed Starting Lineup, a sports-themed collection of action figures that went onto generate millions of dollars in sales.

As brilliant as McInally and Jackson may be, they both pale in comparison to New York Knicks center Jerome James. After all, the lumbering pivot man was smart enough to trick the Knicks into rewarding him with a five-year, $30 million contract despite the fact he has the get up and go of a punch drunk sloth. James started 20 games over a three year span and never averaged more than 3 points and 2 rebounds per game for the Knickerbockers. Now that’s using your noggin!

Question of the Week

Ray, Victorville, CA
Subj: The best of both worlds
Hey Ryan, my friend and I are having a debate. Do you think Bo Jackson could have made it into the Hall of Fame if he had concentrated solely on baseball and had stayed reasonably healthy?

That’s an intriguing question. Let’s examine Jackson’s production. Bo played for four full seasons before his hip injury, during which time he averaged 27 home runs, 76 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and 111 hits per year. If he continued at the same pace and played until he was 38 (an age at which many sluggers call it quits) he would have finished with career totals of 405 home runs, 1140 RBI, 300 stolen bases and 1665 hits. Putting those totals into proper perspective reveals that Bo would have been 43rd on the all-time homerun leader board, 162nd on the RBI leader board, 149th on the stolen base leader board and 423rd on the hits leader board. Bear in mind that Bo was also a big whiffer who averaged 151 strikeouts a year, so he also would have finished his career with 2,265 Ks. That stat is particularly relevant because it would represent the third highest total in major league history. In fact, the only players who struck out more are Reggie Jackson, who played for 21 seasons and Sammy Sosa, who likely won’t make it into Cooperstown because of his suspected steroid use. Given the fact that superior sluggers – and league MVP’s - like Dale Murphy aren’t enshrined makes it hard to imagine how voters would allow Jackson to slip in. Let’s face it: Bo may have “known” cycling, soccer, cricket, surfing, weightlifting and auto racing, but I highly doubt he would have known what it feels like to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Question of the Week

Rick, Sulphur Springs, TX
Subj: The straw that stirs the drink
Is it true that Reggie Jackson went to university on a football scholarship?

That’s correct, Rick. Mr. October was a phenomenal multi-sport star who accepted a scholarship to play football at Arizona State University. However, Jackson never warmed up to the team’s intense regimen and he quit the squad and returned to his first love of baseball following his freshman year. It proved to be a savvy decision and by 1966 he was named College Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley was so impressed with Jackson’s exploits that he selected him second overall in the 1967 Major League Baseball amateur draft and offered him a $95,000 signing bonus. Jackson happily accepted the offer and left college to enter the world of professional baseball.

Question of the Week

Ted, Grand Rapids, MI
Subj: Baseball prodigies
Hey Ryan, is it true that Reggie Jackson was “discovered” while he was still in grade school?

That’s correct, Ted. Mr. October began playing softball in his backyard when he was seven-years-old and by the time he was 11 Jackson had become so dominant that his reputation began to spread beyond his hometown of Wyncote, Pennsylvania. That year, while playing in a sandlot with his friends, he was approached by a scout from the New York Giants named Chick Genovese. Genovese gave Jackson his card and told him to look him up in a few years. Jackson never forgot about the incident and his brief encounter with Genovese helped inspire him to follow his dreams throughout high school and college.

Ask Ryan - What Might Have Been

Welcome back for another edition of Ask Ryan, the column where sports and entertainment go together like athletes and trophy wives. This week's mailbag is bursting at the seams with queries about Reggie Jackson's football career, Mike Conley Jr.'s early struggles and the intricacies of A-Rod's new contract. Read all about it at: http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/7530044

Ask Ryan - Swinging For The Fences

Hi Gang,
Welcome back for another edition of Ask Ryan, the column where sports and entertainment go together like football and tailgating. This week's mailbag is bursting at the seams with queries about baseball's most overpriced superstars, Reggie Jackson's first run-in with a professional scout and Bill Belichick's unrelenting drive to the Super Bowl. Read all about it at: http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/7419684

Ask Ryan - Getting Defensive

Hi Gang,
Welcome back for another edition of Ask Ryan, the column where sports and entertainment go together like the Cleveland Indians and tee times. This week's mailbag is bursting at the seams with queries about the greatest NFL defense of all time, the most dominant slugger in World Series history and Ty Cobb's suicidal tendencies. Read all about it at: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7374114