....Attempting to decide what athlete is the best in their sport or "The Best There Ever Was" is always arguable...Well, except for mebbe Roy Hobbs in "The Natural".
Not only do I think that Michael Jordan was not necessarily "The Greatest Athlete of the Last 100 Years" as he was named at the turn of the millineum, I could make a case for a woman, namely Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrickson-Zaharias from down here in Texas as havin' a better resume for that lofty honor. Takin' it a step further, Da Stevo, doesn't even think that Jordan was the best in his sport...Great?...notta question...Best?...arguable.
Whether or not one agrees or disagrees with the athletic merits of golf or not, to call it anything less than a sport would be another story. And even tho' you don't check-out the Business Section to find out the results of yesterday's tournament, or football score, etc, the fact that one goes to the Sports Section makes it fair to assume a whole lotta people definately think it is a sport....(Side note: With all the money these guys make, you can go to the sports section and learn a li'l 'bout "business", however...lol..more than we care about..)
With that digression outta da way, I DO think that the only sports figure that I think can be definitively called "The Greatest in His Sport", would be Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. By now everyone knows of his rapid rise to the top of his game as well as the stats to prove it...he's done what no one has ever done in the storied History of the game and no one has come close to doin' it as fast...not close.
To think that golf will see a true rival to Woods, ala the Nicklaus-Palmer days, get over it..It's jus' not gonna happen. Not only is Woods a giant among mere men in his sport, he is also an aberration...The golfing world will dread the day that golf ever gets back to normal.
The likes of Jordan, Babe Ruth, Brett Favre or whoever, will be seen again, if they haven't already. Team sports always discovers a stand-out figure and the one common-ground that all team sports has is that they all need help from teammates to get to where they are. In team sports the only athlete that I could say might be the "Best Ever" might be Wayne Gretzky.
Not Woods...he takes on a hundred or more a week-end, by himself, and kicks some serious #### inda process...
As the great, wise old sage, Brian MacNamee once shared with Congress:
SteveoinHTown Would the singularly minded Muhammad Ali ne' Cassius Marcellus Clay count ? That's if we're talking team sports or just an individual.
Get up you bum .....
I've a new post up written under this guise titled Under The Radar No More ...!
Let me know what you think as to the merits of the piece ? I'll definitely be looking forward to reading your comments.
Went to college in Dallas-1000 years ago--Now Im in St. Louis--For a bunch of Yankees, they play pretty good baseball in these parts--Its a shame they aint got no football!!!
ramp/top...Without question on Ali...Not only was he the smoothest heavyweight I ever saw and smartest...he was also a great man, in my book...for a black man to stand up to the system the way he did back then (Draft) took much balls...(same could be said for Curt Flood for goin' up agaist MLB)
fatman....True story...backinda 80's I acshully got drunk with Da Fat Man inna club he hosted in Nashville...dude would spend story's 'bout Howard Hughes and Jane Russell...dude couldn'ta weighed 150...little guy...lotta wimmin' around him tho'...I think he was kinda a novelty inda place..seemed like a reg'lar happy guy tho'...
Place called "The Stockyard"...dude wuz really a nice guy and we rapped fer a cupla hrs..Dude died a cupla 3 yrs or so later
Last edited by StevoinHTown on May 7th at 2:07 PM.
Joe Lewis was better than Ali, and if yer gonna talk Boxer balls for takin a stand you cannot leave Jack Johnson out!!! Ali once said Johnson was the original greatest, and he was wright. Knowing what society was like in the 19teens and twenty"s I'm still surprized Johnson lived long enough to die in a car crash.
Put me down for Jack Johnson, He was Ali before Ali was Ali...
B@O...I can see that...'bout Johnson...Never saw him or Louis actually fight and I don't know what difference it would make if I would've,,but ya have a point 'bout Johnson's persona....
So many nuances go into "Greatest Fighter" but I'll tellya this...In the apex of their careers...George Foreman and Tyson were the "baddest-####" fighters I ever saw... and as far as "heart", Joe Frazier never got his proper due...cat was a "warrior"...
It's what drinkin' in bars is all about...well..that and wimmin'...lol...One of the discussions that I rarely got an arguement about was Willie Mays bein' the "Best Pure All-round Baseball Player", I ever saw...Somtimes, ya gotta categorize it...
The SEY HEY KID will always be the best in my mind (all around player) and i wouldent dare question Smokin Joes heart, BUT Tyson Forman or even Sonny Listen ? I remember the beating Jimmy Young put on Forman after Ali did it to him. And once the cloke of invincebuility was gone for Tyson, so was Tyson
I liked Houston! And I miss Texas! But I have my boots on as I type!! They can take me outta Texas, but they cant take Texas outta me!!........This IS baseball turf! They are rebuilding this year and lead the league--I will hate to see the Cards when they put it together!!!!!
I'm a life-long native of the GREAT COUNTRY of TEXAS. Been a sports fan all my life. I can be serious, irreverent, humorous and sometimes foolish on a lotta my "takes". Never mean any malice to anyone and that's why I have an affinity for "blogging". Cuz, after all, yuh can't whack me upside the head if I change my mind....
Caveat:
I drink beer.
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