By the time Semisonic's "Closing Time" came out in 1998, Mariano Rivera already had a full season as a dominant closer under his belt. More than a decade later, he's still on top of the game. Semisonic, not so much.
As much fun as it is to poke Yankees fans with memories of Dave Roberts and Luis Gonzalez, any fan who ever felt the crushing blow to the solar plexus that came out of nowhere any time Heathcliff Slocumb or Curt Leskanic trotted in for a save opportunity can appreciate Rivera as a ninth-inning institution.
A week ago, SportsNation ranked Joe Torre as its top all-time manager, and it's probably safe to assume he'd stick with Rivera regardless. But who would you hand the ball to in the ninth inning if you had a full Baseball Encyclopedia's worth of options?
- SportsNation's take: Rivera is great, but Jeter is still more of a Cooperstown lock.
- Then again, forget the Hall of Fame; Rivera gets the ultimate respect in the form of props from a Red Sox fan on a SportsNation blog.
- Monday's chat: See what Buster Olney has to say at 1 p.m. ET.
“Congrats Mo on 500 saves. No doubt Hoffman, Eck, Goose, and a few others are in the elite closer group, but Mo's post season numbers (34 saves 0.75 ERA in 110+ post season games) are so off the chart he has to be considered the greatest closer of all time.
” -- RIPredskins21
“If you didn't take a little pleasure in watching Mo bat against K-Rod, you're not a baseball fan. I was laughing so hard I almost wet myself when he took that big cut. All kidding aside, it was a pretty good at-bat - and a classic moment from two of the best relievers I've ever seen.
” -- berberage
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"SportsNation" on ESPN2!
NO SHOW FRIDAY!
BACK ON MONDAY!
Week In Review:
- SN crystal ball, where will LBJ be next? Cavs!
- Who is the real World Series champ? Yankees!
- Best part of being Vujacic? The hot GF!
- What should SN endorse? Competitive eater.
- Want your team undefeated? Of course.
- K. Hudson behind A-Rod's success? Uh, no.
Daily Ranker!
The Celtics top SN's rankings. Which other teams round out the Top 5? Rank 'Em!Fake Calls/Real Fans
Call us up as an athlete or celebrity, and tell us what "you" are up to these days.1-888-FAN-ESPN
SPORTSNATION GRIDIRON CENTRAL
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- NFL Coach Ratings
- Rex Ryan's Week 8 approval rating: 36 percent
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- NFL Pick'Em Week 9
- SN last week: 9-4
SN this season: 82-34
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- NFL Power Rankings
- Last week's notables
No. 3 Broncos
No. 14 Ravens
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- NFL MVP Watch
- Last week's notables
No. 1 Drew Brees
No. 3 Cedric Benson
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- College Football Fan Top 25
- Oregon up to No. 6
USC down to No. 13
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- College Football Pick'Em
- SN last week: 16-2
SN this season: 154-27
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- Heisman Watch
- Last week's notables
No. 4: Tim Tebow
No. 7: Kellen Moore
Send us weird web clips, vote on the best of the month and visit the archive.
FEATURED FAN
THIS WEEK'S CHATS
- 10:00 AMThe Morning Buzz
- 10:00 AMYour Take on First Take
- 11:00 AMFantasy Injuries
- 11:00 AMHall of Famer Joe Morgan
- 11:00 AMNFL with Len Pasquarelli
- 12:00 PMNFL blogger Matt Mosley
- 12:00 PMMLB Insider Rob Neyer
- 12:00 PM30 for 30: Brian Tribble
- 12:10 PMDT Ndamukong Suh
- 1:00 PMNCAAF w/Graham Watson
- 1:00 PMJets LB Bart Scott
- 1:00 PMNBA Insider Chad Ford
- 1:00 PMESPNChicago MLB Chat
- 2:00 PMNASCAR with Terry Blount
- 2:00 PMNFL blogger Kevin Seifert
- 2:00 PMNCAA FB with Pat Forde
- 3:00 PMFantasy Sports Focus
- 3:00 PMNHL with EJ Hradek
- 3:00 PMESPNDallas' Tim MacMahon
- 4:00 PMNFL with James Walker
- 4:00 PMESPN's Kenny Mayne
- 10:00 AMThe Morning Buzz
- 10:00 AMYour Take on First Take
- 11:00 AMFantasy Football Focus
- 11:00 AMNFL with Chris Mortensen
- 12:00 PMNFL with Matt Williamson
- 12:00 PMNBA Insider David Thorpe
- 1:00 PMMMA Live host Jon Anik
- 1:00 PMFootball guru Mel Kiper
- 1:00 PMESPNChicago Hawks Chat
- 2:00 PMNCAA FB with Ivan Maisel
- 2:00 PMMLB with Jim Callis
- 3:00 PMFantasy NASCAR Focus
- 3:00 PMFantasy Sports Focus
- 3:00 PMNASCAR with David Newton
- 3:00 PMNCAA FB with Beano Cook
- 3:00 PMScouts' football recruiting
- 4:00 PMNCAA FB with Bennett
- 4:00 PMRadio's Ryen Russillo
- 10:00 AMThe Morning Buzz
- 10:00 AMYour Take on First Take
- 11:00 AMFantasy Football Focus
- 11:30 AMESPNChicago Bears Chat
- 12:00 PMESPNBoston on Pats
- 1:00 PMESPN Radio's Van Pelt
- 1:00 PMNCAA FB with Tim Griffin
- 1:00 PMNFL blogger Mike Sando
- 1:45 PMBoxer Chad Dawson
- 2:00 PMNASCAR with Terry Blount
- 2:00 PMNFL with Bill Williamson
- 2:00 PMNCAAF w/Bruce Feldman
- 2:30 PMInside College Hockey
- 3:00 PMESPN's Hockey Night
- 3:00 PMNCAA FB with Ted Miller
- 3:00 PMNFL with Paul Kuharsky
- 3:15 PMNASCAR's Denny Hamlin
- 4:00 PMFootball Scientist KC Joyner
- 4:00 PMNCAA FB with Rittenberg
- 10:00 AMThe Morning Buzz
- 10:00 AMYour Take on First Take
- 10:00 AMStuart Scott's Two-Way
- 11:00 AMFantasy Injuries
- 11:00 AMESPNDallas' Ed Werder
- 12:00 PMNBA with John Hollinger
- 1:00 PMMLB with Jayson Stark
- 1:00 PMNFL with Pat Yasinskas
- 1:30 PMBoxing with Dan Rafael
- 2:00 PMScouts' hoops recruiting
- 3:00 PMCowboys with Calvin Watkins
- 3:00 PMNBA with J.A. Adande
- 10:00 AMThe Morning Buzz
- 10:00 AMYour Take on First Take
- 11:00 AMFantasy Football Focus
- 12:00 PMNCAA with Heather Dinich
- 12:00 PMNFL analyst Drew Bennett
- 1:00 PMNCAA FB with Chris Low
- 1:00 PMMLB with Buster Olney
- 1:00 PMESPNChicago's John Jurkovic
- 2:00 PMNASCAR with Ryan McGee
- 2:00 PMNCAA FB with Schlabach
- 3:00 PMFantasy Sports Focus
- 3:00 PMBCS with Brad Edwards
- 4:00 PMNHL with Scott Burnside
- 4:00 PMNFL with Gary Horton
CHAT IN PROGRESS
NASCAR in-race chat!
- JTF (Bayonne, NJ)LOL Kurt standing on the doorframe as his team pushes the car down pit road
- Bosco (Alabama)Pretty good race this week!
- brian (akron, ohio)could JJ blow this historical opportunity...this is finally good for NASCAR...DRAMA!!
- K. Lee DavisGoodnight folks! Be safe, be good and be back here next Sunday! OUT!
FEATURED GROUPS
FEATURED PHOTOS
GREATEST HITS ALBUM
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- Tuesday, November 3
- Rajon Rondo said show me the money and the Celtics listened. Good move?
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- Sunday, November 1
- From a Bills pumpkin to a Hulk Hogan costume, SN does Halloween right.
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- Friday, October 30
- Weird Web of the month: Mattress jousters or breakdancing cat attack?
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- Wednesday, October 28
- Favre-ite team: 1996 Green Bay Packers or 2009 Minnesota Vikings?





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