In the End Zone: Who are your 10 favorite Minnesota icons? By Jim Johnson, Sports Editor

It’s going to be nice finally to have an actually sports bar in this town, and not just another bar to watch sports in. (There is a difference)

Three years running, this column has shape-shifted, morphed and mutated into a “Who’s-Who” of Minnesota sports icons over the past 28 years.

Kirby Puckett ... John Randle ... Mike Modano ... Tom Lehman.

Generations are different, tastes are different and memories are different, making it impossible for your top 10 list to mirror your friends’ list. Even my list this year is different than last year (sorry Anthony Carter).

My top 5 is nearly uncrackable, but Adrian Peterson and Joe Mauer could one day join the likes of Puckett, Kevin Garnett and Randy Moss.

Brett Favre? He’s not top 10 — yet. But if he brings a Super Bowl title to Minn ... to Minnesot ... OK, I can’t say it. I won’t say it. I’ve learned what it’s like to be a Vikings fan too many times over, and my hopes will stay in the “I really want it to happen, but I’m not going all in yet,” mode.

Without further hesitation, here are my 10 favorite Minnesota sports icons, with a laundry list of honorable mentions. I wouldn’t be ashamed to wear any of these jerseys, hockey sweaters or golf polos:

1. Kirby Puckett — A no-brainer. It would take a Michael Jordan type or amnesia to supplant this legend. And since his closest competition to date — Kevin Garnett — is long gone from the Target Center, there are no competitors for my top spot. At 10 years old, my parents let me stay up to watch the 1991 World Series and I’ll never forget where I was when I heard the tragic news of his death. He played with an unmatched love for baseball and if my future wife allows it, his poster will sit above our fireplace.

2. Kevin Garnett — Intensity isn’t a strong enough word to explain KG. He brought it every night and carried an organization handcuffed by a terrible general manager. Since MJ’s retirement, it was hard to name five better players in the NBA when KG was in his prime. He also solidified his No. 2 position even more with his famous four words after the NBA championship with the Boston Celtics: “This is for ’Sota!”

3. Randy Moss — A few years back my old man gave me Daunte Culpepper and Moss bobblehead dolls for Christmas. “You grew up with those guys,” he said. Sort of. I turned 17 when Moss came into the NFL, but I didn’t need the “growing up with” factor to get excited every time a Vikings quarterback chucked it down field.

4. Torii Hunter — Played with a KG-like intensity and a Kirby-like love for the game. My favorite play in baseball is a diving catch in the outfield, and Hunter had more than his fair share. I still think the Twins miss him. I also haven’t shed a tear since the last time I watched “Rudy,” but nearly folded a couple years ago at the Metrodome watching Hunter in his final game as a Twin.

5. John Randle — Loved this guy, and he actually jumped Cris Carter with this year’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. No one had a better motor and no one could talk trash like old No. 93. How could you not like this monster?

6. Cris Carter — This guy could catch a greased-up watermelon with his bare hands and was completely jobbed when he wasn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer. CC denied my request for an autograph back in elementary school when I visited training camp, but it didn’t deter me from placing him in my top five ... I mean top six (hard to imagine Carter is moving down my list).

7. Adrian Peterson — “All Day” is rising up this list faster than, well, Peterson himself. The more Vikings fans get to watch this guy, the more he impresses and the more his jersey flies off the shelf.

8. Mike Modano — One of the greatest American-born hockey players to put on skates, Modano grabs major points in the “growing up with” department. He was also one of the best players in the NHL video games series, which date back to 1994.

9. Joe Mauer — Welcome to the top 10, Mr. Minnesota. Not many can pass up a full-ride to quarterback the Florida State offense. Not many strike out only once in high school, either. Also had the opportunity to play against him in a high school football scrimmage. I stop what I’m doing whenever he steps to the plate, and he currently has the greatest swing in baseball. If he brings a World Series title to Target Field, watch out Top 5.

10. Tom Lehman — Replaced Bobby Jackson two years ago in my Top 10 with Lehman. Whenever I look at a PGA leaderboard, I look for Tiger and Tom. That’s starting to fade, so I wouldn’t doubt if someone like Justin Morneau, Brock Lesner, another honorable mention candidate or Brett Fav ... just kidding. Not going there yet.

Honorable mention

In no particular order:

• Anthony Carter — When Cris Carter denied me an autograph, he ran by yelling, “ Get AC!” Well, I did get AC’s autograph. He was also arguably the best player on the Vikings in Tecmo Super Bowl, which goes a long way.

• Bobby Jackson — Jan Ganglehoff is not helping me write this, so I’ll pretend she never existed and the Gophers’ Final Four run was never erased.

• Sam Jacobson — Another product of the Gophers’ Final Four run. It also helped he was a Minnesota boy who played his high school ball at Park of Cottage Grove.

• Lindsay Whalen — The first women’s college basketball game I watched on television from beginning to end was the Gophers’ Final Four matchup with Connecticut. Too bad the Minnesota Lynx took so long to get her.

• Kent Hrbek — The only thing holding him out of my top 10 is he was a little before my time.

• X-Pac — Also known as the 1-2-3 Kid, Syxx, Syxx-Pac and Sean Waltman, this former WWF, TNA and WCW wrestler lived near my parent’s home. I used to bag his groceries at the local Super Valu and I have his autograph. Honorable mention pro wrestlers from Minnesota — Brock Lesnar, Ric Flair, Mr. Perfect and the Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom. Lesner is climbing fast.

• Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield — Classy Minnesota athletes fortunate enough to eclipse the 3,000-hit mark in a Twins uniform.

• Jack Morris — You may have better odds winning the Powerball than watching a starting pitcher throw 10 innings in Game 7 of the World Series in this day and age.

• Johan Santana — Arguably the best pitcher in Twins history. Easily the best that I’ve ever watched.

• Khalid El-Amin — Led Minneapolis North to three straight state basketball titles (one I watched in person) before leading UCONN to a title in 1999.

• Randall Cunningham — My column named “Going Deep with Jim Johnson,” was forged with this image in mind: Cunningham taking a 7-step drop and throwing it as far as he can to Randy Moss. QB Eagles was a favorite as well on Tecmo Super Bowl.

• Doug West — An original Timberwolf, he pulls a lot of points from the “growing up with” factor.

• Justin Morneau — Was higher on the honorable mention list, but his injury status is killing his vibe right now.

• Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney — The dynamic duo was fun to watch, even if the season always ended in the Sun Bowl or Music City Bowl.

• Members of the Gophers’ 2002 and 2003 national championship college hockey teams.

• Briana Scurry — Saying “I went to the same high school as her” when you’re talking about an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion goes a long way.

Future members of the list? — Maybe a Timberwolves player? Vikings defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams, Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker and Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway. Not Adam Weber and especially not Tim Brewster. Joe Nathan could state his case with a good recover next year, as well.'

Who are your favorite Minnesota sports icons?

The only limitations are the following:

1) Icons must’ve been associated with any sport in Minnesota (not a requirement to be from here).

2) Icons must’ve participated in your lifetime.