The talk of the week has been how Florida plans to contain Alabama’s superstar running back tandem of Mark Ingram, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and Trent Richardson, who sounds like a lock for the 2011 Heisman Trophy if you listen to those singing his praises.
Among those supporters is UF defensive end Duke Lemmens, who did his best Kanye West impression and called the duo “the best running back corps maybe in the history of college football.”
All this hype got me thinking about my favorite duos of all-time. Like Ingram and Richardson, you can’t stop them. You can only hope to contain them.
Little man-big man basketball duo: Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning.
No one would argue they’re the best inside-outside combo of all-time, but as a South Florida kid, Timmy and Zo are my favorite. Mourning was one of the best centers of his generation, heroically overcame a kidney disease and was single-handedly responsible for a young Kyle Maistri including a “u” in the word “morning” for all of his formative years. No one had a better crossover or pull-up 3-point shot than Hardaway, who lost some of my support after his ignorant comments about gay basketball players.
Crime Fighting Duo: Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland
If you don’t know these two, there’s a five-season DVD set in my house with your name on it. McNulty and Bunk were the finest murder police Baltimore had to offer in HBO’s “The Wire” and put a much more real spin on the black guy-white guy buddy cop roles. The heavy drinking Irishman and heavy cigar smoking B-More native make for a supremely entertaining, witty and respectable duo rarely found in fictional police departments.
Rap Duo: Mos Def and Talib Kweli
The two emcees teamed up as “Black Star” for one incredible album that is still in heavy rotation on my iPod 12 years later. Think Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman, but with talent and not as yellow. Smooth flows, thought-provoking lyrics and social consciousness define Mos and Kweli, who leaned on friend and steady producer Hi-Tek to provide the beats. The two really are “the best alliance in hip-hop.”
Wide Receiver Duo: Randy Moss and Wes Welker
Yes, I’m a Dolphins fan. And yes, I’m supposed to hate the Patriots. But Moss and Welker represent everything a white sports fan such as myself loves to watch in a receiver combo. Moss is the freakishly athletic black guy, who I could never be like in my wildest dreams. Moss is so dominant in his physical prowess that a term for jumping over a defender and planting one’s nether regions near said defender’s face was named after him and has become commonly used in the everyday sports lexicon -- getting “Mossed,” or “Mossing” someone. Meanwhile, Welker is the great white hope. A shifty little white guy who never quits, takes big hits over the middle, fights for extra yards and plays a position not usually associated with little white guys in the first place.
SportsCenter Duo: Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott
Long before Eisen moved to the NFL Network and Scott became something of a running joke, the two were the best in the business. Anchoring a show I watched every day growing up, Eisen and Scott played off each other perfectly, coming across as knowing everything about sports while still providing laughs for the viewers. As an added bonus, they fell into the black guy-white guy dynamic that unintentionally dominates my list. Eisen’s “He busts out the whuppin stick,” and Scott’s “Boo Yah!” will stick with me forever.
