VERO BEACH, FLORIDA –

Honest Abe, Teddy the Trust Buster, Big Daddy George and Constitutional Penman Tom —whose noble visages grace Mt. Rushmore — all must be spinning in their graves about now.

It has become the rage in the U.S. to choose the top four all-time performers in a given sport — or at a position — and refer to them as "the Rushmore" of that area of athletic endeavor.

Thus, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Washington and Jefferson-like presidential greatness is now routinely bestowed upon mere fun-and-games jocks.

Twice recently, this analogical phraseology has been referenced.

As in: Does LeBron James belong on the Rushmore of NBA all-timers?

And is Peyton Manning deserving of being carved into that mythical mountain honoring the best pro quarterback quartet ever?

Ain't that America.

What was once a revered national treasure in South Dakota, honoring arguably the four most impactful presidents in American history, has been hijacked to serve as a measuring stick simile to compile silly sports lists.

But, hey, given the younger generation's lack of knowledge regarding how our country got here and who the driving forces in that journey were, maybe any irreverent invoking of Mt. Rushmore isn't so bad after all.

It may well end up serving to educate scads of Facebook-addicted youngsters — and a bunch of mindless middle-aged folks as well — as to just who those four guys on that Black Hills mountainside are and why they're there.

(Think I'm joking? Ever seen an episode of "Jay Walking" on "The Tonight Show" starring Jay Leno? Pitiful.)

Given the current bevy of "Rushmore Four" sports discussions, maybe the current crop of movie-going kids will realize that Abraham Lincoln was more than a vampire hunter.

And MAS must admit, sculpting such mutant Mounts can be fun and result in some stimulating debates as well.

Especially in the aforementioned area of hoops and QBs.

Just when you thought LeBron was leaving behind his nauseating "The Decision" type narcissism (announcing via TV special that he was blessing Miami with his free agent hardcourt talents) and maturing into a classy dude, James hits you with his not-so-humble bombshell.

The self-proclaimed Chosen One (it says so in a tattoo on his back) proclaimed that when his career is over, he'll be chosen once more — this time to grace whichever mountain is lucky enough to feature his smug mug and receding hairline.

Hmmm. Wonder what Wilt, Russ, The Big O, MJ, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Hakeem, Kobe and Shaq, among many other former hoop superstars, think about being left to fight it out for the other three hilltop spots?

Most have many more NBA crowns, scoring titles or career points/rebounds than James has accumulated to this point.

LeBron is, at the very least, guilty of being a tad presumptuous in his, um, confident candor.

After all, there are those who argue that not only does LBJ have a ways to go before joining the ranks of past luminaries, but, also, that Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant has pulled even with James and is about to pass him as the preeminent player of this era.

As for Peyton Manning's being jackhammer and chisel-worthy, THAT came into question after Denver's lopsided loss to Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII.

After Manning broke the regular season record for touchdown aerials (55) and passing yardage (5,477) this past campaign, sports pundits had practically moved on to which other three QBs should join him high on a mountainside somewhere.

Boy, does one big thumping ever change things in the minds of fickle list-makers,

All of a sudden, being 10-11 in the postseason and 1-2 in Super Bowls, were HUGE marks against Manning.

Never mind that Peyton set a Super Bowl record for pass completions (34) vs. the stout Seahawks D, all of a sudden he became the poster boy for choking in the big game.

MAS considers such talk a bunch of bulls. . . err, hogwash.

The poor guy had so much pocket pressure that day, he was hopping around like a Yamanote Line rush-hour passenger trying to protect his new Florsheims.

SB 48 shouldn't affect Peyton's Rushmore worthiness one iota, it says here.

The question should instead be: Did Manning — for all his greatness — even qualify as one of the four best QBs to begin with, given all his competition for a spot?

After all, we're talking Unitas, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Bradshaw, Staubach, Montana, Marino, Jurgy, Brady to name but a few rival signal callers.

Most also won championships and/or set then-passing records.

Either way, the amount of current sniping at and disparaging of Manning's legacy is totally unwarranted.

It's beginning to look like Rushmore fours will be an even bigger entry in U.S. sports lexicon from here on out. The possibilities are endless.

Some of them are doozies, too.

For starters: The four best hitters in baseball? Lotsa luck picking from among Ruth, Cobb, Honus Wagner, Hornsby, DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mays, Aaron, Mantle, Musial, Rose, Gehrig, Frank Robinson, et al.

If you think that's tough, how about selecting the greatest running back quartet from a group that includes Grange, Van Buren, Brown, Payton, Thorpe, Sayers, Sanders, Dickerson, Simpson, Emmitt Smith and numerous others.

You almost can't win OR lose with any ball-carrying foursome you might choose.

And the number of argument-worthy categories will likely continue to grow.

In fact, with all the sports Rushmore-ing going on, can a reconsideration of the real deal be far behind?

Mt. Rushmore's creation began in 1927 and work finished in 1941. In retrospect, are other ex-chief execs now just as deserving as its current residents?

Sleep well, Great Emancipator, Rough Rider, Cherry Tree Truther and Bill of Rights Creator.

For now, anyway.

Contact Man About Sports at: [email protected]