The best athlete in the world?

[Rastak]

Greatest athlete of all time was Jackie Robinson if you don't penalize him for the time period.

Baseball wasn't even his best sport. Guy was an absolute stud at basketball and football as well.

He stands for greatness. But IMO he is also the greatest athlete

Add Jim Thorpe.....

[Rastak]

Yes.

OK!??

Your point is? That when it comes to endurance that the female species is superior to the male?

Yes.
Try being in labor for 18-20 hours.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose you're right. And so is Rastak. If it were up to men, the species would die out because they'd never be able to take it. (Rastak, I'm calling Mrs. Rastak... :P )

She would take your side too.....

[oregonpackfan]

Yes.

OK!??

Your point is? That when it comes to endurance that the female species is superior to the male?

Yes.
Try being in labor for 18-20 hours.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose you're right. And so is Rastak. If it were up to men, the species would die out because they'd never be able to take it. (Rastak, I'm calling Mrs. Rastak... :P )

She would take your side too.....

Speaking of endurance, my wife's labor with our first daughter was a draining 32 and 1/2 hours! Perhaps it was because our daughter came out 9 lbs. 13 oz, 22 inches.

She developed into a pretty "normal" sized 19 year old at 5'7", 125 lbs. Dashed aside were my initial dreams at her birth that she would be the first woman to play linebacker for the Badgers!

[FritzDontBlitz]

Greatest athlete of all time was Jackie Robinson if you don't penalize him for the time period.

Baseball wasn't even his best sport. Guy was an absolute stud at basketball and football as well.

He stands for greatness. But IMO he is also the greatest athlete

if you goin that route jim thorpe trumps robinson. gold medals in decathlon AND pentathlon; played professional baseball, basketball and football.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe

[mmmdk]

I wonder where Lance Armstrong would be on that list?

You mean Mr. Epo?

[Rastak]

Greatest athlete of all time was Jackie Robinson if you don't penalize him for the time period.

Baseball wasn't even his best sport. Guy was an absolute stud at basketball and football as well.

He stands for greatness. But IMO he is also the greatest athlete

if you goin that route jim thorpe trumps robinson. gold medals in decathlon AND pentathlon; played professional baseball, basketball and football.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe

Let the record show that was my pick earlier in the thread....

[KYPack]

No, my point is that muscles can be trained to do different tasks and a muscle trained for one task is going to be weak at another. Therefore you can't say that an athlete in any one sport is the best athlete in the world because he would be unable to compete at a high level in a different sport that requires different muscles and skills.

That's what makes Jim Thorpe especially, and Bo Jackson such interesting stories.

There was a guy in the 1960s who played in the NBA and was a pitcher in major league baseball. Any oldtimers remember his name?

A few people have done this.

Dave Debusschere pitched for the ChiSox (for a minute) and was a top player for the Detroit Pistons in the '60s.

Gene Conley pitched for the Milwaukee Braves and played in the NBA for the Celtics also in the 60's.

In the fifties, Chuck Connors of Rifleman and later horror movie fame, played for the Cubs and the Boston Celtics.

This is impossible now, but was done a lot in the old days of pro sport.

[Iron Mike]

I wonder where Lance Armstrong would be on that list?

You mean Mr. EPO?

Hmmph. Lance Armstrong gets denigrated because according to some here he juiced.

Yet Michael Jordan is touted as the second coming of Christ.....where would HIS stats be if he had been whistled for traveling every time he traveled??? He'd have about 1/3 of his point total.

Have some consistency in your standards, people.

[Travbrew]

I wonder where Lance Armstrong would be on that list?

You mean Mr. EPO?

Hmmph. Lance Armstrong gets denigrated because according to some here he juiced.

Yet Michael Jordan is touted as the second coming of Christ.....where would HIS stats be if he had been whistled for traveling every time he traveled??? He'd have about 1/3 of his point total.

Have some consistency in your standards, people.

Lance Armstrong? You all must be kidding. Best athlete? Not a snowball's chance in hell. All talk of juicing...whatever aside....Please don't confuse athleticism with endurance. There is a VAST difference. I can'y say I've ever seen Mr. Armstrong play any sport, but with his pipe cleaners (spindly arms) and complete lack of ANY upper body, how could he do anything but pedal,pedal, pedal? (or perhaps run long distance)
Being in the Corps we run ALL the time. Some (if not the majority) of the best runners in our unit have absolutely ZERO athletic skills. Just pathetic.
All they do is run, run, run. They lack timing, coordination and overall BODY CONTROL. Pretty damn funny to watch if you ask me.
They have endurance to lose, but lack athletic ability, just like Lance IMO.
Who's the best? (alive) I'm not sure I know. All time? Jim Thorpe, no contest.

[mmmdk]

Greg LeMond says that Armstrong was juiced up; I believe LeMond. Then again many have been juiced. Even greats like Fausto Coppi, Bernard Thevenet & Bjarne Riis have all admitted to be juiced - all Tour winners. The latter, Riis, reveiled himself to try help put a stop to EPO & other juices.

Cycling has a vast history of "cheating" and if you look beyond 1960 then it was considered OK to be juiced. Go figure.

What about our beloved NFL players; you betcha most have been using illegal stuff.

[4and12to12and4]

I dont agree with kobe as number 2, and especially getting a 10 in sportsmanship. I actually likee kobe, but there are better athletes.

I have to disagree big time. I would put Kobe number 1. I watch a lot of basketball and his skill are equal to Michael Jordan. Their is no better overall talent in the NBA.

However, I do agree that his sportsmanship rating should be a lower. He is a jerk and the reason why o'neal left.

i completely disagree with that. Kobe isnt Jordan. He's not heads and shoulders better than anyone else in the league right now. Dwayne Wade and King James are close if not as good. On the other hand, LT is obviously the Best back by far in the NFL, Federer is by far the best tennis player in the world, maybe ever, and Barry Bonds in his prime was the most dominant hitter I have ever seen. If people would have actually pitched to him instead of walking him 200 times a year, his numbers would be off the charts even more. I don't care about the steroids, because they are in every sport, and his swing and hand/eye coordination is better than anyone I have ever seen. (of course i never saw Ted Williams or anyone from the late 70's and back. But, to me, those three redefine their sports. And of course Tiger.

[Joemailman]

Maria Sharapova. I'm just sayin'...

[BallHawk]

We also need a salivating emoticon.

[4and12to12and4]

Maria Sharapova. I'm just sayin'...

Holy shnikeys, did she get a boobjob, i don't remember seeing her with knockers that size before.

[Bretsky]

Maria Sharapova. I'm just sayin'...

Holy shnikeys, did she get a boobjob, i don't remember seeing her with knockers that size before.

ALL HAIL ENHANCEMENTS