By Ed BoulatMaroon-News Staff

Happy Halloween! Two guys you don’t want to run into in bad moods tonight while out trick-or-treating? Ray Lewis and Bob Knight. Let’s start with Lewis. The 250-pound Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker is just plain mean; just ask any NFL running back or receiver. Year in and year out, he’s been one of the most feared defenders in a league that is getting more vicious and brutal every year. When he’s not doing that crazy pre-game dance where he looks like he could rip someone’s limbs off, he and the rest of his defense are putting “bounties” on opposing players. Oh, by the way, he pretty much killed two guys after a Super Bowl party in 2000 (okay fine, he didn’t actually kill them, but he went to trial for it, and after several witnesses altered their original stories, the murder charges were finally dropped). For crying out loud, the man is so bad he wasn’t even offered the Disney World trip normally offered to MVP recipients after he was named the best player of Super Bowl XXXV!

Now to Knight. I know he’s not a coach right now. However, if he was, I’d be scared to play for him, be a ref at one of his games or be a fan sitting anywhere in the first ten rows. Knight’s been known to yell, kick, slap, choke, throw chairs, etc. I think you get the picture. He’s been ejected and gotten more technicals than Ron Artest (also a scary man) would get in five careers, and he has some priceless yet extremely frightening facial expressions. And that is why Ray Lewis and Bob Knight, two men I will never have over for dinner, get my votes from scariest player and coach in sports.

By Kyle BlumMaroon-News Staff

Coach: The artist formerly known as Bob Knight. While he has not yet decided whether or not he will return to coach the Red Raiders next season, Bob Knight is the scariest coach in sports as far as I’m concerned. After coaching at Army, Indiana and now Texas Tech, the general has a long history of abusing players and referees in his quest for glory. Having that man stare you down must be the real world equivalent to looking into the eyes of a Basilisk (lame Harry Potter reference, I know). Seriously though, when he was analyzing the NCAA Tournament for ESPN this year, none of his colleagues dared to contradict a word he said. Here’s Knight, ridiculously claiming that Pitt was going to ride its Big East wave of success all the way to the NCAA title, and no one dared contradict him. Pitt lost in the second round to a mediocre Michigan State team.

Player: LeBron James. The man is on a serious mission this year. His Cavs were incredibly close to knocking of the Celtics last season, and he’s been forced to deal with yet another offseason full of questions about whether or not he can get his team to the promised land. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cavs won just so that LeBron can shut up Skip Bayless, ESPN’s loudmouthed commentator, who seems to take particular pride in calling him “Prince James”. At the Olympics this summer, I saw LeBron make a play that truly makes him one of the scariest and intimidating athletes today. James sliced into the lane as he usually does, and the weak side defender came over and got both hands firmly on the ball as LeBron was preparing for a monster slam. But LeBron soared into the air and carried the defender a few feet with him before throwing it down with authority. The man is scary strong, and I wouldn’t want to be in his way.

By Bill StoklosaMaroon-News Staff

The scariest player in sports has to be Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson. Wilson is quick, hard hitting and dirty. In the 2005 season, he set an NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back with eight. Since he entered the league in 2001, he has compiled 457 tackles, 16 sacks, 17 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles. However the statistic that really makes him scary is his personal foul total. His 17 personal fouls since 2001 are tops in the league. He has also been fined by the NFL three times since the start of last season. He was fined last year for a horse collar tackle on Detroit running back Kevin Jones and a late hit on Baltimore tight end Todd Heap. Just this year in Week 5, Wilson got to Bills’ quarterback Trent Edwards just after he released the ball, and he put all his body weight into Edwards as he took him down. The dirty hit led to a $25,000 fine, but more egregiously, it gave Edwards a concussion. Luckily, the Bills had a bye the next week, but if they hadn’t Edwards would not have been ready to play. If Mr. Wilson is running towards you, you had better hope one of your teammates throws a good block, because he is looking to hurt you.

The scariest coach in sports is 49ers coach Mike Singletary. Singletary was a scary player when he was a linebacker with the Bears in the 80’s and 90’s, but he seems even more frightening as a coach. He took over as the interim coach of the 49ers last Sunday after Mike Nolan was fired. The results were not good, as San Francisco lost 34-13 to the lowly Seahawks. But that’s not the important part. At halftime, Singletary pulled down his pants while speaking to the team because he said that they were getting “their tails kicked.” Wow. Furthermore, not only did Singletary bench starting quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan during the game, he also sent tight end Vernon Davis to the showers early because Davis did not respond well to Singletary’s lecture after he took a stupid penalty for slapping a Seattle player upside the head. After the game, Singletary apologized to 49er fans and stated that he would rather play with 10 players than play with players like Davis, who Singletary described as putting himself above team. All this after only his first game! It is frightening to consider what will happen when the losses continue to pile up in San Francisco.

By Jon LampertSports Editor

The most feared player in sports is Shaun Rogers, defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns. Imagine Kimbo Slice, and then add 150 pounds and you get the absolutely beast that is Shaun Rogers. Rogers was a highly touted tackle out of Texas. However, despite his immense talent, he failed to meet expectations in Detroit because of his weight. In Detroit, Rogers was pushing 400 pounds. That is not a typo. He’s dropped down to a more comfortable 350 and has been wereaking havoc on opposing offenses all year. Honorable menion goes to Albert Haynesworth, a smaller version of Rogers who stared down Peyton Manning throughout all the pregame festivities before the Titans took on the Colts last week. He was also suspended for stepping on Cowboy center Andre Gurode’s face two years ago.

The most feared coach in sports has to be Jon Gruden. Any coach that is nicknamed “Chucky” merits serious consideration. Futhermore, Coach Gruden wakes up at 3:17 every morning to gameplan for upcoming games. There is not a more intense coach in any league, both on and off the field. Gruden is often seen talking trash to his coaching staff, players and opposing players. “Chucky” is not somebody players want to disspaoint, a large reason why his teams have found so much success. Honorable mention goes to Romeo Crennel (just look at him) and of coure the infamous Bobby Knight.