Unconventional Ballot

MUCH ATTENTION DURING late July will be centered on Cleveland and Philadelphia, the sites of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, respectively. While the two cities have never met in a championship series, they nevertheless provide some interesting matchups:

CLEVELAND

PHILADELPHIA

LeBron James

Best Dunker [check]

Julius Erving

LBJ has more power, but Dr. J had more style.

Major League

Best Sports Movie Line [check]

Rocky

"Yo, Adrian" wins a split decision over "Juuuust a bit outside."

Rapid Robert

[check] Best Classic Nickname

Concrete Charlie

Hall of Fame righty Bob Feller strikes out Hall of Fame center and linebacker Chuck Bednarik.

Johnny Manziel

[check] Most Controversial QB

Tim Tebow

Neither lasted long, but Johnny Football caused far more problems than excitement.

1986 Browns

Biggest Choke [check]

1964 Phillies

Blowing a 6½-game lead with 12 to go is worse than giving up one 98-yard drive to a Hall of Famer.

2016 Cavaliers

[check] Most Cathartic Title

2008 Phillies

All four Philly teams lost on the biggest stage during the city's 25-year drought, but the Cavs made history with a Finals comeback from 3--1 down.

Jim Brown

[check] Most Outspoken Athlete

Allen Iverson

Brown questioned society's ills. The Answer just wanted to know if he could skip practice.

J.R. Smith shirtless

Best Look [check]

Bobby Clarke toothless

One missing chomper for each of his Stanley Cups.

THEY SAID IT

"I TAKE GREAT HEART FROM THE FACT WE HAVEN'T LOST A GREENKEEPER YET."

Peter Dawson

Head of the International Golf Federation, casting shade on the competitors—eight of the top 25 in the world—who have pulled out of the Olympics, citing the Zika virus.

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Phil Mickelson, who has earned $81 million on Tour, used a binder clip to keep his hat on.