Top 10 athletes turned actors

With the passing of Alex Karras, I started thinking about some of my favorite athletes turned actors.

Karras was one of them. He might best be remembered as the dad on “Webster.” But I remember him best as Mongo from “Blazing Saddles.”

Mongo just pawn in game of life. He was more than a pawn in that movie. He arguably had the best character in “Blazing Saddles.”

Here are my top 10 athletes turned actors.

10. Bob Uecker – He was a teammate of Hank Aaron, a World Series champion with the Milwaukee Braves and he was great as Harry Doyle from “Major League.” But he was probably playing himself, which isn’t much of a stretch for an actor. His day job is as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers. That makes his inclusion in the top five just a bit outside.

9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Loved him in “Airplane” as Capt. Roger Murdoch. Or was he playing himself too? “Listen kid! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.”

8. Terry Bradshaw – The former Steelers quarterback had bit parts in two classic comedies: “The Cannonball Run” and “Smokey and the Bandit II.” They don’t make movies like that anymore, which is probably why Bradshaw isn’t in many movies anymore.

7. Merlin Olsen – After a long stint with the Los Angeles Rams, he became a faithful resident of Walnut Grove, Minn., on “Little House on the Prairie.” He played Jonathan Garvey, one of the confidants of the Ingalls, on the show.

6. Lou Ferrigno – The former Mr. Universe was also The Incredible Hulk on TV for years. Don’t make him angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. But truth be told, when he got angry, the show got interesting.

5. Arnold Schwarzenegger  -- He and Ferrigno can’t be separated by too much on this list. Arnold has the edge though for “Terminator” and “Kindergarten Cop.” I have a feeling he’ll be back on top of the box office soon enough.

4. Jim Brown – He is considered by many as the greatest football ever and was part of “The Dirty Dozen.” That’s good enough to make this top 10.

3. Carl Weathers – He might be better known for his acting career than his NFL career. He only played seven games for the Oakland Raiders and made his mark as Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies. Plus he gets mad props for being Happy Gilmore’s caddy.

2. Jason Lee – Before his name was Earl and before he was a Mall Rat, he was a pro skateboarder. He has been in a number of my favorite movies, including “Almost Famous” and “Chasing Amy.”

1. Andre the Giant – By far my favorite athlete turned actor. He played Fezzik, the gentle giant, in “The Princess Bride.” Rest well and dream of large women.

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The first college football BCS rankings have USC at No. 10. That must make Trojan fans happy. Not elated, but happy. The Associated Press poll has USC ranked No. 11. Unless you’re a fan of Spinal Tap, being in the top 10 is better than the top 11.

Alabama is the consensus No. 1 in both polls. The Crimson Tide received all 60 first place votes in the AP poll and is also the top-ranked team by USA Today and the Harris Poll, both used to determine the BCS rankings.

The order of the next nine teams in the BCS standings is definitely up for debate. Granted Florida, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame are undefeated and make up two through five, but it could easily be argued that LSU and South Carolina are No. 2 and No. 3.

LSU’s only loss was a close one to Florida. South Carolina also has only one loss, and it appears a costly one, 23-21, against LSU on Saturday.

Oregon State comes in at No. 8, but is also undefeated.  They have beaten two ranked teams, have three wins against Pac-12 opponents, and could easily be 6-0. The Beavers’ opening game against Nicholls State was postponed because of severe weather.

Still, three teams from the Pac-12 are ranked in the top 10. Not too shabby.

USC has the greatest challenge of all of them. Most analysts are saying the Trojans need to win all the rest of their games to be in the BCS championship conversation. That would mean beating Notre Dame and Oregon.

USC might even play Oregon twice, if the two teams meet in the Pac-12 championship game.

The pesky loss to Stanford might be the death nail for USC though. When it comes time to rank teams, it could be argued that USC lost to Stanford and Notre Dame didn’t.

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It looks like the Los Angeles Kings might have to wait a long time to raise their first Stanley Cup championship banner at Staples Center.

The NHL owners locked out the players as the two sides argue how to split up more than $3 billion in revenue. Talks are progressing slowly and the owners have no sense of urgency to start the season any time soon.

The players are signing with teams in Europe and might not come back if the deal that is eventually reached doesn’t suit them.

Sad times in the NHL indeed.

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Canyon receiver Drew Wolitarsky set his sights on two state high school football records. He broke one with a nine-catch, 149-yard performance in the Foothill League opener against Golden Valley.

Wolitarsky has 4,585 receiving yards in his career at Canyon, breaking the mark set by Steve Smith when he played at Taft in Woodland Hills.

Wolitarsky upped his total to 4,625 yards against Saugus in the second league game, but he left the game with a leg injury in the second half.

He was within reach of Smith’s state record for catches. Wolitarsky caught five passes for 40 yards against Saugus, giving him 245 receptions in his career. Smith holds the state record with 271 catches.

Canyon has three more games left before playoffs start. The Cowboys are almost assured of a playoff berth, giving Wolitarsky perhaps a few more games to chase Smith’s record.

For the record, he needs 26 more catches to tie Smith’s record. It’s going to be close.

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The Hart football team has won six games in a row and is the No. 1 team in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division.

The Indians are also getting some attention from Cal Hi Sports, which has them ranked No. 23 in the state.

Hart’s only loss came against Tesoro, 10-7, in the season opener. Tesoro is ranked No. 7 in the state by Cal Hi Sports, so no shame in that loss.

It looks like Hart’s biggest challenges will come from Foothill League opponents. Valencia and Canyon are both left on Hart’s schedule and don’t think either would love to snap the Indians’ winning streak and knock them down a few notches in the Northern Division and Cal Hi Sports rankings.

Tim Haddock is the sports director at KHTS AM 1220. He writes for the Santa Clarita Gazette, Ventura County Star and the Team USA website. He can be reached by e-mail at tim@hometownstation.com. Follow him on Twitter @thaddock.