Top Ten Intimidating Teams...

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Top 10: Intimidating Teams

By Mo Arora
Fitness Specialist - Every Sunday


At the highest level of sport, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to intangibles. Whether via physical or mental force, some teams seem to have a knack for getting inside the heads of their opponents and making life difficult for them.

These teams gain an edge by making their foes think twice about who they are about to play. Often, a game is decided before the first whistle is blown simply because the challengers are hoping to at least get through the tilt with their bodies still intact.

The following is a collection of squads that were so well-feared, opponents considered survival the only victory they could hope to achieve.

Number 10
1995 New Zealand All Blacks
International rugby


In perhaps the roughest of all sports, it takes a certain something for one team to be more feared than all the rest, which the All-Blacks have somehow achieved. It might have something to do with their pre-game performance of the Haka, a Maori war chant and dance that just might be the coolest and most intimidating ritual ever seen in modern sports.

In 1995, New Zealand had Jonah Lomu, the single most overwhelming force the sport of rugby has ever seen. Standing 6’5” and 273 pounds, the All Blacks star winger possessed world-class speed and he was nearly unstoppable when the ball made it to his position along the sideline. During the ’95 World Cup he scored seven tries in five matches.

What made Lomu especially fearsome was his preference for running through and over his opponents rather than past them -- a nightmare that called into question the chosen profession of any opponent.

Fear factor: The All Blacks’ semi-final opponent in the 1995 World Cup, England, was so overwhelmed at being on the same field as Lomu that they let him run for four tries in the 45-29 New Zealand victory.

Number 9
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB


The World Series champions in 1965, the Dodgers played the game the old-fashioned way: hardnosed. Loaded on the pitcher’s mound, the Dodgers had Hall-of-Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale forming the best 1-2 punch in the league. Koufax’s stuff was so nasty that a pitch looked like it was coming at your head before it dropped into the strike zone. Drysdale, on the other hand, may have just been throwing at your head.

When players like Mike Shannon said: "Don Drysdale would consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches. If he wants to put you on base, he can hit you with one pitch," it made batters think twice before digging into the batter’s box or crowding the plate. The Dodgers also had shortstop Maury Wills, who stole 94 bases and spiked a lot of infielders along the way and All-Star Johnny Roseboro at catcher.

Roseboro may be best remembered for being clubbed on the head with a bat by Juan Marichal and not being fazed. The incident incited a complete on-field brawl between the two teams. In short, when you faced the Dodgers, you were too scared to hit, run or field.

Fear factor: Drysdale plunked 12 batters on the season and Koufax uncorked 11 wild pitches in ‘65, just to keep batters on their toes. It worked, as they combined for 592 strikeouts.

You’ll be surprised that this sport has made this list with such an intimidating team…

Number 8
2000 Baltimore Ravens
NFL


In 2001, the Ravens won the Super Bowl essentially without an offense. They simply handed the ball off to running back Jamal Lewis, who battered his way to a 1,300-yard season or they threw the ball to tight end Shannon Sharpe, who tore defensive backs apart in getting a timely first down. Other than that, the Ravens simply left the game in the hands of a defense that set a record for fewest points allowed in a season.

Led by Ray Lewis at middle linebacker -- who was arrested and later dismissed for the murder of two people following a Super Bowl party the previous year -- the Baltimore defense was a punishing crew that also featured the ageless Rod Woodson at safety and roughly 700 pounds of interior linemen in the form of Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa. Opposing offenses weren’t losing yardage, they were retreating.

Fear factor: NFL Films vaults contain evidence of the fear that the Ravens instilled in the opposition on a tape that shows a pivotal play in the playoff tilt between the Ravens and their division rival Tennessee Titans. The game was ultimately decided on a Lewis interception return for a touchdown caused by Titans running back Eddie George literally falling to his knees at the sight of Lewis coming his way.

Number 7
1979 West Indies
International cricket


Cricket, an unlikely sport for intimidation, but the Windies were a lethal bunch when they claimed the World Cup in 1979. Carried by their impressive arsenal of bowlers (pitchers) the West Indian squad was led by the 6’8” Joel Garner and 6’6” Colin Croft -- aces who could blaze through any line up with relative ease.

These two used their immense height to their advantage by bowling at the heads of shorter opposing batsmen, with the goal of inducing the batsman to shield himself with his bat and pop the ball up for an easy out. If the bowler happened to hit the batsman in the head, well… that’s a risk they were willing to take.

Add the prolific batsman Viv Richards, who would either hit the ball out of bounds or send a screaming line drive at a fielder’s head, and this was a squad that eliminated the “gentle” from the Gentleman’s Game.

Fear factor: Opposing batsmen would openly discuss how impossible it was to hit against Garner -- describing it as trying to hit a ball “delivered from the clouds.” I guess that means Garner was pretty tall?

Number 6
1977-78 Atlanta Hawks
NBA


While the Hawks of the late ’70s were at best a middle-of-the-pack team, there are some that fondly remember the team when comparing them to today’s Hawks. The current Atlanta team is a perennial cellar-dweller in the NBA standings, but the Hawks of ’77 were rough and cantankerous every time they set foot on the floor, establishing a record for most personal fouls in a season (2,470) that still stands today.

The Hawks were reasonably talented and finished at 41-41 on the season, but they were a tough win for any opponent as they liberally employed a defensive strategy of knocking opponents to the floor as much as possible. The only thing more rewarding than beating the Hawks that season was surviving them.

Fear factor: On the rare occasion that a player tried to enter the lane and drive to the net, he would be met by center Tree Rollins, who finished second in the NBA with 218 blocks, and added 326 personal fouls.



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Number 5
1991-92 Buffalo Sabres
NHL


An ordinary but vicious Sabres squad that featured Dale Hawerchuk, Pat Lafontaine, Dave Andreychuk, and Alexander Mogilny, made their presence felt by setting a season record for penalty minutes. Most teams have a tough guy patrolling the ice, but the Sabres had three full-time goons -- Rob Ray, Gord Donnelly and Brad May, each of whom racked up over 300 penalty minutes in the season.

Six other Sabres accumulated over 100 PIM. And the guy in net? None other than Clint Malarchuk, who was tough enough to survive a cut jugular vein torn open by a skate. Yeah, I guess these guys were tough.

Fear factor: When a new rule is named after you for the style of fighter you are, as in the “Rob Ray Rule,” it can be said that you’re an intimidating factor.

Number 4
1975 Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL


It was in 1975, when Pittsburgh earned their second Super Bowl, that they began to assemble the famed “Steel Curtain” defense. Anchored by “Mean” Joe Greene at defensive tackle, Jack Lambert and Jack Ham at linebacker, and Mel Blount patrolling the secondary, the Steelers held opponents to 10 points or less 8 times in the season, and led the league in fewest points allowed.

On the offensive side of the ball, opponents were treated to Hall of Fame center Mike Webster leading the way for bruising running back Franco Harris, who could kill you with both his toughness and his skill.

Outscoring its opponents by an average of 14 points per game, there is little doubt that the Steelers thoroughly enjoyed beating on whoever had the nerve to wear a different uniform.

Fear factor: Pittsburgh so thoroughly demolished its opponents at the line of scrimmage that six different players ran for touchdowns on the season. Compare that with the 2005 Atlanta Falcons scenario, which led the NFL in rushing and had only three players cross the goal line on the ground.

Number 3
1988-89 Detroit Pistons
NBA


The Pistons were ordinary as far as rebounds, blocks and fouls went, but the numbers don’t tell the tale of the “Bad Boys” team that crashed and banged its way to the title.

Offensively, Detroit was led by Isaiah Thomas, the craziest cutthroat player to ever set foot on the hardwood. The key defensive stopper for the Pistons was Joe Dumars, who was the last man to routinely defend Michael Jordan with success. Up front, the Pistons had the incomparably nasty Bill Laimbeer, whose elbow alone could make a defensive All-Star team or a Most Wanted list, and a young, only slightly crazy Dennis Rodman, both averaging around 10 rebounds per game.

The Pistons also had Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, who threatened to bring the house down with a vicious dunk and actually brought the net itself down.

The winning Pistons formula: flying elbows plus hard picks plus shattered glass equals NBA championship.

Fear factor: Thomas once described how unpleasant it was to play against Laimbeer by saying, “To tell the truth, if I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t like him either.”


Number 2
1967 Oakland Raiders
NFL


These Raiders were both mean and disobedient. They treated football like it was some sort of nuisance rather than a pleasure and they unloaded their frustrations on opponents.

The ’67 Raiders led the AFL in sacks, penalties and rushing touchdowns, all quantitative signs of tough and dirty play. With five Hall of Famers, they weren’t just a bunch of goons either.

Jim Otto and Gene Upshaw led the push from the offensive line, and Otto in particular was/is so revered that the NFL has retired his uniform number 00. George Blanda was a quarterback and kicker who played professionally for a record 26 years. Wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff set records for pass catching at a time when the forward pass was still something of an avant-garde method of moving the ball, and he caught a then eye-popping 40 passes. Defensive back Willie Brown was among the league leaders every year in making mean interceptions and knocking the helmets off the opposition.

The only thing worse than playing against a mean and dirty team is playing against a mean and dirty team that’s really good. And the ’67 Raiders were plenty mean, plenty dirty and plenty good.

Fear factor: Otto wrote a book after his retirement that described in detail the injuries he received and inflicted over his playing career. The book was aptly titled “The Pain of Glory.”

Number 1
1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers
NHL


The ’74-’75 Flyers team, known as the “Broad Street Bullies,” won the second of two consecutive Stanley Cups. The famously toothless Bobby Clarke, one of seven players with more than 100 penalty minutes, earned 116 points and 125 minutes that season. Also on the team were the equally talented and nasty Andre Dupont, Rick Macleish, Reggie Leach, and Bill Barber.

Their physically ruthless style of play apparently paid off, as the Flyers led the league with 51 wins and 113 points, and allowed the fewest goals in the league due to Bernie Parent’s splendid 2.03 goals against average. Parent was personally taught how to play in goal by his boyhood idol, Jacques Plante, the legendary goalie who once took a puck in the face and returned that same game wearing the NHL’s first mask.

Fear factor: Not that the Flyers needed it, but they employed an enforcer named Dave Schultz, who amassed a modest 472 penalty minutes that season, lest there be any doubt that these Flyers were a physically dominant team.

Some teams set themselves apart from the pack with sheer talent, great coaching, and flawless fundamentals. For a certain few teams, that stuff is not nearly as effective as intimidating their opponents and causing that moment’s hesitation on every play.

Maybe these guys skipped the good sportsmanship lesson when they were kids, but it worked to their advantage when they reached the professional ranks, where winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
 
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