I mentioned earlier this week that I was working on booking an EPIC guest for this weekend's edition of Sports Business Radio. Well, I got my man. I had the opportunity to speak with golf icon Jack Nicklaus today and you will hear that conversation on this weekend's edition of SBR.

I've hosted SBR for over 4 years now and we've had some of the biggest names in sports join us. But honestly, I think the Golden Bear may be the biggest of them all. If I were assembling my own, personal Mount Rushmore of athletes, Nicklaus would be on the side of that mountain.

Jack Nicklaus has won 18 major golf championships - more than anyone else in the history of golf. The astounding fact that nobody talks about is that he finished 2nd in 19 other majors. If he won half of those majors, he'd have 28 majors and Tiger Woods would have little to no shot at catching him (Tiger currently has 13 major championships on his resume). So Nicklaus won or came in 2nd in 37 of the 162 majors he played in. And for my money, his feat was more difficult that Tiger's. First of all, Jack played against tougher competition - Palmer, Player, Watson and Trevino all have multiple major victories. Tiger's main competition is Phil Mickelson. And Jack won his majors with equipment that was far inferior to what the players today use. Don't get me wrong, Tiger's feats are amazing, but Jack's feats are better in my opinion - especially until Tiger catches Jack at 18.

Nicklaus is also one of the most pleasant people you'd ever meet. All you need to know is that all 4 of his sons and his son-in-law work for the Nicklaus Companies. Even though he's as busy as anyone on the planet, his family (wife Barbara, children and 21 grandchildren) always comes first. Pretty amazing in this day and age when many athletes are too engulfed in their careers to have close bonds with their familes.

Wright Thompson recently penned this piece which is one of the most insightful pieces I've ever read on Nicklaus.

Nicklaus remains close to the United States Golf Association and as an endorsee of the Royal Bank of Scotland, he's entered in to a deal that puts the USGA and the RBS together in a business relationship. The four-year agreement with the USGA features a number of components that will be integrated across all USGA championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. RBS now has ties to three of golf’s four majors, as Official Patron sponsors of The British Open Championship and the PGA Championship. RBS couldn't have a better ambassador for their brand.

And Nicklaus Design is an incredibly successful golf course design company. Nicklaus has designed courses in 45 countries around the world. There are more than 300 Nicklaus courses around the world open for play today and 100 more under construction. Nicklaus just opened a course in Russia.

When its all said and done, Nicklaus is going to leave a legacy unlike any other golfer ever has. He's literally introducing people around the world to the game of golf.

I hope you'll take time to listen to my conversation with the Golden Bear this weekend on Sports Business Radio.