By the way, i think the blogger goTO inspired me to write this. His link is in my last post before this. His is much funnier, and more broad ranging to boot. His blog is called Northern Perspective, I think.
Winners, posessors of tremendous will, superb athletes...
Champions and dominators of their fields.
1. Michael Jordan. I saw him dominate the game at his size like few ever could. I rooted against him for his last five rings, but I have all the respect in the world for his competive spirit and nerves of iron on the court. Magic and Larry come close, but there is no other Airness than #23; the air is rare up there.
2. Muhammed Ali. In his prime Tyson nor anyone else would have stood a chance. Props to Jack Johnson and others for paving the way for the black athletes and boxers in general.
3. Roberto Clemente. This guy was the real deal, on and off the field. He had all five tools, and no one will ever know what his career stats might have been had he finished his playing days naturally.
4. Tiger Woods. I am not a big golf fan, really, but I think for mechanical superiority and mental acumen, this guy is the mind and body that I would take as the point man in a battle. Sheer competitive nature is exciting to behold, kind of like a great white shark going for its prey. In the form of a human with a club and a swoosh on his brow. Is that primordial?
5. My dad. I haven't even touched on the manly sports of football, soccer, and others, but I wanted a short list and I don't have bunch of time.
My father, born in 1937, is very human and suffers his imperfections. And obviously I am biased, but as far as a provider who sacrificed his body as a private contractor electrician and now as a generous grandfather and four year Air Force vet, Peace Corps volunteer, and active retired husband and community member, this a guy that will get the job done.
When there is a power problem, (which all of us can empathize with), he is the guy that figures things out and makes it right.
Not so athletic, but a constant fan of sports like football, basketball, boxing and the other various competitive events on screen and the occasional live sports competition, my dad is one of my dream teamers. He wouldn't be a member of many people's, obviously, but I can't think of a winner on a team without considering my pop. Driven. Constant. Professional.
wow way way way too many players ,teams!!! TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!! lets see, miami dolphins unbeaten year!!!! many many yankee world series wins!!!!! yes MJ included of course!!!! and yea the bulls winning the NBA championships!!!!! i would need 2-5 computers to count the many teams , players and ect ect to count!!!!
hey (LIGHT BULB) just went off!! why not post the 100 favorite teams , players????? you can think of????? i dont have the gray matter or the patience to think of them all!!!!! does someone?????
Thanks for the props, man. I'm glad you liked my entry. You've put together great compilation of world-class athletes. It would be very difficult to find anyone who has ever really been more dominant than Jordan, Ali, Clemente, and Woods in their respective sports.
And your dad sounds like a great man as well. Cheers!
edclinch
If we're talking athletes and their sheer determination and will to win. Then I'd have to say that'd be the tennis player Bjorn Borg. Long before there was Sampras , Agassi , McEnroe, Federer and Nadal . He dominated men's tennis like no other individual in the modern era of the game.
But if we're solely going now on the present day alone. Then Woods would be the guy that I for one would pick for this particular accolade. His desire and will to win is insurmountable and the intimidation factor that goes along with him is unprecedented.
When he quakes everyone else breaks out in a cold sweat.
edclinch
For rhe decade that Borg ruled tennis and one has to remember that when he retired he was only 27. He won 11 Grand Slam tournaments ......... 6 straight Wimbledon titles and 5 straight French titles as well as being runner up on a slew of occasions in the two other major Grand Slam tournaments. That level of consistency is unparallelled in the sport. And even by Sampras' standards which in some respects I believe pales in comparison. As the only real rival he had was Agassi.
And with regard to Lendl he was at his best as a hardcourt and clay court specialist. He could never win the big one which was Wimbledon.
When it's all said and done however it may well be Federer who'll go down as the greatest of alltime. A win at the French and usurping Sampras' grand slam record'll legitimize his status by far. I see him as having done that already anyway in term of his allround game.
As it now stand I'd rank 'em as follows
Federer
Laver (Complted the Grand Slam legitimately twice......once as an amateur and then as a professional)
Borg
Sampras
And then from thereon in the rest is anyone's guess.
I've a new NBA post up under this guise titled High Hopes We Got High Hopes ...! Let me know what you think as to the merits of the piece ? I'll look forward to reading
Last edited by rampantfanatic on May 17th at 1:50 AM.
edclinch
I tend to like the guys more who just wlk away from the sport once and for all. Rather than see 'em come back in vain and so often in doing so the end up tarnishing their legacy. As good as Payton was I'd still take Brown over him but only by a slim margin. The same way I'd take Hagler over Leonard and Hopkins as to best middleweights of the last thirty years.
edclinch Hagler retired just the once after the disputed loss to Ray Leonard for the middleweight title. Upon retiring he vowed never to box again and moved to Italy where he now lives fulltime.
As to best Cuban boxer of alltime that'd either be Felix Savon or Teofilio Stevenson. Though they never boxed at the professional level . They were multiple world and Olympic champions. They were being lured to defect to the US to become professionals. But the foresook the chance and remained in Cuba where both are highly respected trainers.
As to the best Mexican fighter that may well be Julio Cesar Chavez. He's an alltime great fighter of legendary status.
Best Panamanian without a doubt is No Mas....Roberto Duran.
I have lived in a few different sports areas and I am faithful to these places and their passions, give or take. I was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana (1970-1989). Bob Knight was a central figure. I then lived in Chile for two years, where soccer became more of a presence on my global map. After returning to the Hoosier state one year, 1992, I became more aware of college football for a five year stint in Provo, Utah (1993-1997). BYU Cougar football! I made another return to Indiana from 1997 to 1999, and then spent the last six years in southern California, minus the last six months of 2005, in southern Chile again. And I got back yesterday, UPDATE:Now in Loudoun Cty, Northern VA! I am in the South! I love sports enough to think that they matter...Some how.
