** FILE ** San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice tries to get the crowd cheering prior to the start of Super Bowl XXIX action against the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Fla., in this Jan. 29, 1995 photo. Rice will retire as a member of the San Francisco 49ers next week. Rice, who holds most of the significant NFL receiving records, won three Super Bowls during 16 years with the 49ers. He will sign a contract Thursday at the 49ers' training complex before making his retirement official, the club officially announced Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Innerarity)

Wow, what a day in the world of sports.

With Super Bowl XLVII only days away, news broke that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis might’ve used a banned substance to return from injury this season (what on earth is deer-antler spray?). We also learned that the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers’ Nelson Cruz, among others, have been linked to a clinic in Miami that allegedly dispensed performance-enhancing drugs.

Both situations are bombshells if proven true, but the phrase “performance-enhancing” has become commonplace in sports headlines these days.

What perhaps grabbed our attention most on Tuesday were Randy Moss’ comments about his status among the all-time great receivers. At Super Bowl media day, the San Francisco 49er said: “Now that I’m older, I do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever do it.”

Having caught only 28 passes for 434 yards and three touchdowns this season, the 35-year-old and once NFL-retiree continued: “I don’t really live on numbers, I really live on impact and what you’re able to do out on the field. I really think I’m the greatest receiver to ever play this game.”

We’ve never considered confidence to be a bad thing, but we respectfully disagree with Moss on this matter. So we decided to pick our top five receivers of all time, a group in which Moss does comfortably belong.

But the best receiver of all time is no doubt Jerry Rice, which means Moss isn’t even the all-time greatest for his current franchise.

JERRY RICE

No matter whom you ask, this guy is always considered the best receiver of all time — and there’s no question about it. In a career that spanned three different decades, the longtime 49er (1985-2000) ended up being the all-time leader in receptions, touchdown receptions and receiving yards.

He won three Super Bowl titles with the 49ers and played in another with the Oakland Raiders. Among the Mississippi native’s other career achievements were 13 Pro Bowl and 12 All-Pro selections; multiple NFL and NFC Offensive Player of the Year nods; a Super Bowl MVP award; and a first-ballot Hall of Fame enshrinement.

All told, Rice caught 1,549 passes for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns.

RANDY MOSS

Some believe the closest receiver to Rice is a player who, in his prime, was arguably the biggest matchup problem for defensive backs in NFL history.

The 6-4, 210-pound speedster has 982 catches for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns in a career that began in 1998 with the Minnesota Vikings. Moss’ accolades include seven Pro Bowls, five All-Pros and two trips to the Super Bowl.

MICHAEL IRVIN

“The Playmaker” is a local favorite of course, but no one can deny the greatness of a career that included three Super Bowl wins with the Dallas Cowboys.

Before delivering one of the most memorable speeches in Hall of Fame induction history, Irvin caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns in a 12-year career — all with the Cowboys. The lofty stats helped him to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro selections.

MARVIN HARRISON

In a 13-year career with the Indianapolis Colts, Harrison earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl victory.

Harrison caught 1,102 passes for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns.

STEVE LARGENT

As a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Largent didn’t have the luxury of playing for Super Bowls and wasn’t the target of an all-time great quarterback (Rice had Joe Montana, Moss had Tom Brady, Irvin had Troy Aikman and Harrison had Peyton Manning).

That said, Largent still managed to catch 819 passes for 13,089 yards and 100 touchdowns in a career that spanned 14 years and included eight All-Pro and seven Pro Bowl selections, plus a Hall of Fame induction.