[ToTheLeft]

Since we've had the Kobe/LeBron/MJ Debate, which is a bit of apples to oranges, why don't we do top 10 current athletes from any sport? Ya know, just to try and stir up more debate.

Top 10, in order, of anyone still playing his sport. Sport will mean the big 4, soccer, golf, tennis, track and field/olympic sports, but not NASCAR/Racing. I didn't think anyone would but Jimmie Johnson or Jensen Button on their top ten, but just in case.

Take into consideration the following criteria: Championship calibre, talent, impact on the game, overall dominance.

1. Tiger Woods
2. Michael Phelps
3. Albert Pujols
4. Roger Federer
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Tom Brady
7. Alexander Ovechin
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Rafael Nadal
10. LeBron James

---

Also, go by sport and pick the best athlete in the history of the sport.

Basketball: Jordan
Baseball: Willie Mays
Football: Jerry Rice
Hockey: Gretzky
Tennis: Rod Laver
Soccer: ? (I can't pick one here)

[jcmanson]

Albert Pujols number 3 athlete in the world? Ha

[ToTheLeft]

Albert Pujols number 3 athlete in the world? Ha

Where's your list then, eh?

[jcmanson]

Albert Pujols number 3 athlete in the world? Ha

Where's your list then, eh?

Right here dog:

1. Tiger Woods
2. LeBron James
3. Michael Phelps
4. Roger Federer
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Kobe Bryant
7. Terrell Owens
8. Dwayne Wade
9. Alexander Ovechin
10. Rafael Nadal

[ToTheLeft]

TO at 7, hahaha.

[jcmanson]

I knew I was going to get that, but you stated by his overall impact on the game and total dominance. He is the most dominant wide receiver, which I would argue requires the most athletic football players, and his impact on the game is immeasurable.

[Rocketfan]

and his impact on the game is immeasurable.

Yes all those dropped balls, and driveway situps...epic impact.

[jcmanson]

and his impact on the game is immeasurable.

Yes all those dropped balls, and driveway situps...epic impact.

I’ve got 5 million reasons why he’s got “epic” impact.

[RubberMallet]

1. kevin van dam

end list

[Ed Dantes]

Since we've had the Kobe/LeBron/MJ Debate, which is a bit of apples to oranges, why don't we do top 10 current athletes from any sport? Ya know, just to try and stir up more debate.

Top 10, in order, of anyone still playing his sport. Sport will mean the big 4, soccer, golf, tennis, track and field/olympic sports, but not NASCAR/Racing. I didn't think anyone would but Jimmie Johnson or Jensen Button on their top ten, but just in case.

Take into consideration the following criteria: Championship calibre, talent, impact on the game, overall dominance.

1. Tiger Woods
2. Michael Phelps
3. Albert Pujols
4. Roger Federer
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Tom Brady
7. Alexander Ovechin
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Rafael Nadal
10. LeBron James

---

Also, go by sport and pick the best athlete in the history of the sport.

Basketball: Jordan
Baseball: Willie Mays
Football: Jerry Rice
Hockey: Gretzky
Tennis: Rod Laver
Soccer: ? (I can't pick one here)

Top athletes in the world:
basketball: LeBron James & Kobe Bryant
baseball: See, Albert Pujols is a great baseball player, but if you're talking about athlete... I'd say someone like Carl Crawford and Jose Reyes.
hockey: Sidney Crosby & Alex Ovechekin
football: Once again, in terms of athletic prowess... Adrian Peterson and maybe Larry Fitzgerald
futbol: Ronaldo? I dunno. I can't name two current soccer players.
olympic sports: Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt
wild cards: Tiger Woods, one of the Klitschko brothers
Tenns: If you don't say Roger Federer and Nadal, well, you're just being contrarian.

(You'll notice I didn't put a NASCAR driver in here, that's the same reason I didn't put a horse jockey in here... I refuse to think of the drivers as athletes. I know it takes tremendous skill and ability to drive, but I'm pretty sure that Jeff Gordon will lose a footrace to Usain Bolt, and can't bench 300 lbs like Tiger can).

Best players in their respective sports of all-time
BASKETBALL: Bill Russell over Michael Jordan
BASEBALL: Babe Ruth over Ted Williams (over Willie Mays over Ty Cobb)
HOCKEY: Wayne Gretzky over Mario Lemieux
FOOTBALL: Jim Brown over Joe Montana
FUTBOL: Pele over... I dunno, how good was Beckham, really?
OLYMPIC SPORTS: Michael Phelps over Carl Lewis
GOLF: Jack Nicklaus over Tiger Woods (for now)
TENNIS: Pete Sampras over Rod Laver
BOXING: Muhammad Ali over Rocky Marciano (I'm Italian, therefore, I'm required to say that Marciano was one of the best boxers)

[RubberMallet]

i know the cool thing to do is NOT pick jordan as the best basketball player ever...the sad part is its completely asinine.

[LUconn]

I knew I was going to get that, but you stated by his overall impact on the game and total dominance. He is the most dominant wide receiver, which I would argue requires the most athletic football players, and his impact on the game is immeasurable.

Are you posting from the year 2003? Please invest in google for me.

[ToTheLeft]

Since we've had the Kobe/LeBron/MJ Debate, which is a bit of apples to oranges, why don't we do top 10 current athletes from any sport? Ya know, just to try and stir up more debate.

Top 10, in order, of anyone still playing his sport. Sport will mean the big 4, soccer, golf, tennis, track and field/olympic sports, but not NASCAR/Racing. I didn't think anyone would but Jimmie Johnson or Jensen Button on their top ten, but just in case.

Take into consideration the following criteria: Championship calibre, talent, impact on the game, overall dominance.

1. Tiger Woods
2. Michael Phelps
3. Albert Pujols
4. Roger Federer
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Tom Brady
7. Alexander Ovechin
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Rafael Nadal
10. LeBron James

---

Also, go by sport and pick the best athlete in the history of the sport.

Basketball: Jordan
Baseball: Willie Mays
Football: Jerry Rice
Hockey: Gretzky
Tennis: Rod Laver
Soccer: ? (I can't pick one here)

Top athletes in the world:
basketball: LeBron James & Kobe Bryant
baseball: See, Albert Pujols is a great baseball player, but if you're talking about athlete... I'd say someone like Carl Crawford and Jose Reyes.
hockey: Sidney Crosby & Alex Ovechekin
football: Once again, in terms of athletic prowess... Adrian Peterson and maybe Larry Fitzgerald
futbol: Ronaldo? I dunno. I can't name two current soccer players.
olympic sports: Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt
wild cards: Tiger Woods, one of the Klitschko brothers
Tenns: If you don't say Roger Federer and Nadal, well, you're just being contrarian.

(You'll notice I didn't put a NASCAR driver in here, that's the same reason I didn't put a horse jockey in here... I refuse to think of the drivers as athletes. I know it takes tremendous skill and ability to drive, but I'm pretty sure that Jeff Gordon will lose a footrace to Usain Bolt, and can't bench 300 lbs like Tiger can).

Best players in their respective sports of all-time
BASKETBALL: Bill Russell over Michael Jordan
BASEBALL: Babe Ruth over Ted Williams (over Willie Mays over Ty Cobb)
HOCKEY: Wayne Gretzky over Mario Lemieux
FOOTBALL: Jim Brown over Joe Montana
FUTBOL: Pele over... I dunno, how good was Beckham, really?
OLYMPIC SPORTS: Michael Phelps over Carl Lewis
GOLF: Jack Nicklaus over Tiger Woods (for now)
TENNIS: Pete Sampras over Rod Laver
BOXING: Muhammad Ali over Rocky Marciano (I'm Italian, therefore, I'm required to say that Marciano was one of the best boxers)

I didn't mean athlete in terms of athletic prowess, just impact/domination of the sport.

Which is why Pujols is by far the best MLB Athlete. And one of the best in the world in relation to his sport.

Ruth and Williams didn't have the same overall game that Mays did. Mays was a 5-tool player. Ruth was a powerful hitter in an era where no one knew what to do with a powerful hitter, and an above average pitcher in an era when there were no good hitters other than Ruth. Williams was an amazing batter for average, but not the same kind of 5 tool player like Mays. 665 home runs, with the average, speed, and defense he brought? Best ever, no doubt.

No way you can put Sampras over Laver when you really can't put Sampras over Federer anymore. Federer won on clay, and has the career slam. Laver was dominant, and, given the chance, he would have 20+ major titles. If you're going to put Jim Brown on your list, you have to put Laver. Brown had a short dominant career, so did Laver.

Jordan is the best ever in basketball, his clutch combined with his skill, and the things he did against much tougher competition than Russell...

and the Golden Bear will admit that Tiger is better, just ask him. Tiger is the best golfer ever. If Tiger's career ended right now, you would have to use the Jim Brown/Rod Laver rule and call him the best ever. The amount of wins he has at this age versus the number Jack had, it's not even close. Tiger has been dominant at every level of golf he ever competed on. He was a better golfer as an elementary schooler than EVERYONE at the local country club, and probably some PGA Tour pros.

[Ed Dantes]

i know the cool thing to do is NOT pick jordan as the best basketball player ever...the sad part is its completely asinine.

Bill Russell... 11 championships in 13 seasons, but most importantly, he wouldn't lose. He went 11-0 in decided playoff games. And he did it while everyone hated him.

Jordan was great, yeah... but I'd rather have Russell on my team. Even though he hated white people.

[RubberMallet]

just another gigantic player surrounded by allstars and playing against honkeys. The man couldnt' hit a shot outside 4 ft.

[jcmanson]

I knew I was going to get that, but you stated by his overall impact on the game and total dominance. He is the most dominant wide receiver, which I would argue requires the most athletic football players, and his impact on the game is immeasurable.

Are you posting from the year 2003? Please invest in google for me.

When his head is focused on the game he is still the best receiver in the game.

TO:
2008 69 rec 1052 yds 10 tds
2007 81 rec 1355 yds 15 tds
2006 85 rec 1180 yds 13 tds

Reggie Wayne:
2008 82 rec 1114 yds 6 tds
2007 104 rec 1510 yds 10 tds
2006 95 rec 1366 yds 12 tds

Larry Fitzgerald:
2008 96 rec 1431 yds 12 tds
2007 100 rec 1409 yds 10 tds
2006 69 946 yds 6 tds

[Ed Dantes]

I didn't mean athlete in terms of athletic prowess, just impact/domination of the sport.

Which is why Pujols is by far the best MLB Athlete. And one of the best in the world in relation to his sport.

Ruth and Williams didn't have the same overall game that Mays did. Mays was a 5-tool player. Ruth was a powerful hitter in an era where no one knew what to do with a powerful hitter, and an above average pitcher in an era when there were no good hitters other than Ruth. Williams was an amazing batter for average, but not the same kind of 5 tool player like Mays. 665 home runs, with the average, speed, and defense he brought? Best ever, no doubt.

No way you can put Sampras over Laver when you really can't put Sampras over Federer anymore. Federer won on clay, and has the career slam. Laver was dominant, and, given the chance, he would have 20+ major titles. If you're going to put Jim Brown on your list, you have to put Laver. Brown had a short dominant career, so did Laver.

Jordan is the best ever in basketball, his clutch combined with his skill, and the things he did against much tougher competition than Russell...

and the Golden Bear will admit that Tiger is better, just ask him. Tiger is the best golfer ever. If Tiger's career ended right now, you would have to use the Jim Brown/Rod Laver rule and call him the best ever. The amount of wins he has at this age versus the number Jack had, it's not even close. Tiger has been dominant at every level of golf he ever competed on. He was a better golfer as an elementary schooler than EVERYONE at the local country club, and probably some PGA Tour pros.

I totally understand -- but didn't you just contradict yourself? If you're talking about impact / domination, then there is no way you could NOT put Babe Ruth at the top. He hit 60 homers at a time when entire teams didn't have 60 homers. He dominated the sport like no other -- and keep in mind, not only was he the Bambino at the plate, but he was also Tom Glavine on the mound. He just stopped pitching because the Yankees wanted him to hit every day.

I go either way on the Willie Mays / Ted Williams debate... yeah, Willie was a better athlete, but I just wonder how much better Ted Williams would have been if he hadn't lost so many years to the war. And if we're talking about speculation... then Mickey Mantle has gotta be your #2 (or at least up there) He was known as a speedster, until he destroyed his knees on the Yankee stadium sprinkler system.

I really don't know tennis enough to argue about Layer. You're probably right. I will say that Jim Brown is the best football player ever, though.

With Tiger vs. Jack... I don't know. The game is vastly different today than it was 10 years ago, let alone 30. I do believe that Jack had tougher competition, though. Phil Mickelson is not Arnie Palmer... And Jack not only had 18 majors (which Tiger may equal and surpass), he also placed second another 18 times... I will say one thing, if I'm vying for a major and I'm in the final sunday pairing, I would poop my pants if I was teamed with Tiger. Jack? Yeah, I'd be intimidated... but not as bad as if I had to play with Tiger.


As for wild card though, I should have added Jim Thorpe. That guy broke a high school record in the high jump his first time jumping -- and he wasn't even on the team. He was just walking home from school.

[Ed Dantes]

just another gigantic player surrounded by allstars and playing against honkeys. The man couldnt' hit a shot outside 4 ft.

I dunno. If we're talking about 'impact' -- Michael Jordan ushered in a new era of sports and business, so he gets the nod.
If we're talking about 'domination' -- I once again refer you to the 11 championship in 13 years, and 11-11 in deciding games. He is the definition of champion (which is why the NBA renamed its finals MVP award 'The Bill Russell Award'.

[ToTheLeft]

I didn't mean athlete in terms of athletic prowess, just impact/domination of the sport.

Which is why Pujols is by far the best MLB Athlete. And one of the best in the world in relation to his sport.

Ruth and Williams didn't have the same overall game that Mays did. Mays was a 5-tool player. Ruth was a powerful hitter in an era where no one knew what to do with a powerful hitter, and an above average pitcher in an era when there were no good hitters other than Ruth. Williams was an amazing batter for average, but not the same kind of 5 tool player like Mays. 665 home runs, with the average, speed, and defense he brought? Best ever, no doubt.

No way you can put Sampras over Laver when you really can't put Sampras over Federer anymore. Federer won on clay, and has the career slam. Laver was dominant, and, given the chance, he would have 20+ major titles. If you're going to put Jim Brown on your list, you have to put Laver. Brown had a short dominant career, so did Laver.

Jordan is the best ever in basketball, his clutch combined with his skill, and the things he did against much tougher competition than Russell...

and the Golden Bear will admit that Tiger is better, just ask him. Tiger is the best golfer ever. If Tiger's career ended right now, you would have to use the Jim Brown/Rod Laver rule and call him the best ever. The amount of wins he has at this age versus the number Jack had, it's not even close. Tiger has been dominant at every level of golf he ever competed on. He was a better golfer as an elementary schooler than EVERYONE at the local country club, and probably some PGA Tour pros.

I totally understand -- but didn't you just contradict yourself? If you're talking about impact / domination, then there is no way you could NOT put Babe Ruth at the top. He hit 60 homers at a time when entire teams didn't have 60 homers. He dominated the sport like no other -- and keep in mind, not only was he the Bambino at the plate, but he was also Tom Glavine on the mound. He just stopped pitching because the Yankees wanted him to hit every day.

I go either way on the Willie Mays / Ted Williams debate... yeah, Willie was a better athlete, but I just wonder how much better Ted Williams would have been if he hadn't lost so many years to the war. And if we're talking about speculation... then Mickey Mantle has gotta be your #2 (or at least up there) He was known as a speedster, until he destroyed his knees on the Yankee stadium sprinkler system.

I really don't know tennis enough to argue about Layer. You're probably right. I will say that Jim Brown is the best football player ever, though.

With Tiger vs. Jack... I don't know. The game is vastly different today than it was 10 years ago, let alone 30. I do believe that Jack had tougher competition, though. Phil Mickelson is not Arnie Palmer... And Jack not only had 18 majors (which Tiger may equal and surpass), he also placed second another 18 times... I will say one thing, if I'm vying for a major and I'm in the final sunday pairing, I would poop my pants if I was teamed with Tiger. Jack? Yeah, I'd be intimidated... but not as bad as if I had to play with Tiger.


As for wild card though, I should have added Jim Thorpe. That guy broke a high school record in the high jump his first time jumping -- and he wasn't even on the team. He was just walking home from school.

Thorpe is ridiculous. Just don't know what to put him under. He was amazing at everything he did.

Ruth and Russell both have the same problem, they were the best player on the best teams doing ridiculous new things that NO ONE ELSE could compete with. Ruth changed baseball, but it wasnt because he was a fantastic athlete. He just figured out a way to change the game. He is one of the best players of all time for the ridiculous things he did, however, I just cant say he was a better player than Mays, and I think Mays Talent > Ruth's "impact". It's not like I watched half of these people anyways so I dunno. Which is the best/toughest part about debating all this.

[Ed Dantes]

Thorpe is ridiculous. Just don't know what to put him under. He was amazing at everything he did.

Ruth and Russell both have the same problem, they were the best player on the best teams doing ridiculous new things that NO ONE ELSE could compete with. Ruth changed baseball, but it wasnt because he was a fantastic athlete. He just figured out a way to change the game. He is one of the best players of all time for the ridiculous things he did, however, I just cant say he was a better player than Mays, and I think Mays Talent > Ruth's "impact". It's not like I watched half of these people anyways so I dunno. Which is the best/toughest part about debating all this.

Well, like I said earlier -- Mays had talent, no doubt. I heard he tagged up and scored from third on a pop-up to an infielder. You just don't do those things anymore. But with Ruth -- he led the league in shutouts one year! He has a winning percentage almost as good as Pedro Martinez's -- and his ERA ranks among the best for left-handed pitchers of all-time.

If he played in this era, I read somewhere that he'd hit 900+ home runs. 900! And that doesn't count how many more he'd hit if he played in today's Yankee Stadium. He could easily have cracked 1000.

(In fairness, Willie probably would have hit 800+ these days).

[RubberMallet]

just another gigantic player surrounded by allstars and playing against honkeys. The man couldnt' hit a shot outside 4 ft.

I dunno. If we're talking about 'impact' -- Michael Jordan ushered in a new era of sports and business, so he gets the nod.
If we're talking about 'domination' -- I once again refer you to the 11 championship in 13 years, and 11-11 in deciding games. He is the definition of champion (which is why the NBA renamed its finals MVP award 'The Bill Russell Award'.

nothing you've just said refutes my post.

[Ed Dantes]

just another gigantic player surrounded by allstars and playing against honkeys. The man couldnt' hit a shot outside 4 ft.

I dunno. If we're talking about 'impact' -- Michael Jordan ushered in a new era of sports and business, so he gets the nod.
If we're talking about 'domination' -- I once again refer you to the 11 championship in 13 years, and 11-11 in deciding games. He is the definition of champion (which is why the NBA renamed its finals MVP award 'The Bill Russell Award'.

nothing you've just said refutes my post.

Yes, Bill played with many great players. This is undeniable. Bill also played in a different game. That is also undeniable. What else is undeniable is that the Celtics were a good team before he arrived (finishing in the conference semis or playoffs), and with him in the lineup, became unstoppable. It was like than when he was in college, too: he won back-to-back national championships at San Fran (Jordan won a championship too -- but that one was really thanks to James Worthy, the next year, without Worthy, player-of-the-year Jordan couldn't help the Heels past the Elite .

Michael Jordan was a really really really really good basketball player. If I had to choose one of them to win a pickup game, I'd choose MJ. But you cannot dismiss Russell as the ultimate competitor. When you factor in the last two years of college (plus the Olympics to boot), he won 14 championships in 15 years. That doesn't happen by luck alone.

[NG33]

For the Soccer aspect. The best active player in the world would be either Christiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. Personally i like Messi more because 1) Ronaldo whines tall the time like he does nothing wrong and 2) His team got beat down on the soccer world's largest club (team) stage by Messi's (and Ronaldo's team was the clear favorite to boot). And the best of all time is very hard to tell. I'd with a toss up between Pele, Maradonna, Ronaldo (The Brazilian not Christiano)

anyway there's my two cents

[flamesfan30]

10. LeBron James
9. Peyton Manning
8. Lionel Messi
7. Kobe Bryant
6. Evgeni Malkin
5. Alex Ovechkin
4. Roger Federer
3. Brandon Webb
2. Tiger Woods
1. Michael Phelps
------

Basketball: Jordan
Baseball: Walter Johnson
Football: Jerry Rice
Soccer: Pele
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

[Kolzilla41]

10. LeBron James
9. Peyton Manning
8. Lionel Messi
7. Kobe Bryant
6. Evgeni Malkin
5. Alex Ovechkin
4. Roger Federer
3. Brandon Webb
2. Tiger Woods
1. Michael Phelps
------

Basketball: Jordan
Baseball: Walter Johnson
Football: Jerry Rice
Soccer: Pele
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

I commend you for not having Crosby on there. 90% of his goals this playoff season equate to Yao Min getting lob passes for dunks.