Wednesday, June 23, 2004
50 Greatest Athletes 1.01
I followed this somewhat closely in 1999 due to my love of both sports and lists that rank things. The two ideas go hand in hand of course, as I have been way too aware of having to follow the Red Sox on a day to day basis without televised games or even highlights. My rooting has degenerated into rooting for a web page to load with Boston listed ahead of New York (and watch out for those D-Rays!)
Back to the list, when it came out, I disagreed with some of the selections. But I will respect ESPN’s judgment, and thus wont be reorganizing the list at all, with one exception. I am kicking Secretariet off on the basis that horses and humans are different species of animals. If we aren’t going to count Pele because he isn’t North American, I think we can exclude on the basis of speciation. This exercise will be concerned with updating the list through the present. Whose performances since 1999 have made them worthy of Top 50 status And who deserves to get bumped up the ladder?
Non Major Sports Candidates
Lance Armstrong: Fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour de France a record 5 straight times. Specializes in destroying European teams in the mountainous stages in the Pyrenees and Alps, where riders go through 150 mile climbs through the mountains. In terms of pure endurance, cyclists are up there with marathoners in terms of stamina…except their races are 40 days long. He deserves it. (#44 after Dr. J. There are now 50 humans on the list.)
Tiger Woods: I know what you are thinking. Golf is incredibly popular in North America. But is it a sport? I don’t think so. If I dedicated myself to playing golf, I think I could get pretty good…obviously not professional level. If I spent every second of my life cycling I might be able to complete one stage of the Tour de France. I don’t think I would be that tired after walking the fairways at Augusta. Regardless, golf has clearly been accepted as a sport by ESPN. 3 golfers made the cut, pioneer Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. He isn’t at that level…yet.
Mario Lemieux: Had a few good years after 2000 in a comeback attempt, but wasn’t healthy enough to put up peak numbers worthy of moving up the list.
Pete Sampras: Set the record for total Grand Slams, but overall didn’t play as well as his peak. So no boost.
Basketball candidates
Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant: Too early to tell for two of my least favorite players in the NBA, for almost opposite reasons.
Shaq: Since this list, Shaq has won three titles, an MVP, and enjoyed a nice 5 year run as most dominant a player. I think Shaq also gets bonus points for being such an athletic freak. Such a totally unfair combination of size, strength, and speed. In many ways, he isn’t a great basketball player from a fundamentals standpoint. He’s game is built around exploiting his athletic superiority. I’ll put him on the list. (#41) Chris Evert gets the boot.
Football candidates:
Jerry Rice: Came back to make another Pro Bowl at the age of 87. I’d put him at number 25, just to give him the edge of Montana.
Emmit Smith: Passed Walter Payton to become the all-time rushing leader, but hasn’t had any good year since 2000, and some terrible ones.
MLB candidates:
Roger Clemens: Who?
Mo Vaughn: You don’t know this, but had Mo not gotten a debilitating knee injury, he was going to be traded back to the Red Sox where he was going to win 4 straight Triple Crowns, 5 straight Gold Gloves, and a stolen base title. Sadly injuries got in the way, and I can’t give anyone, even Mo, credit for fictional events.
Barry Bonds: Since 1999, Bonds has won the MVP three times and been shafted a fourth. He has set the single-season records for walks, home runs, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. He has sped by everyone on the all-time home run list, now closing in on the unthinkable 700. Compared to other players on the lists, his career and peak numbers are better than everyone’s besides Ruth and Mays. I can’t put him ahead of Jackie Robinson at 15 in good conscience. (#16) I also boot Pete Sampras in the interests of keeping O.J. on the list.
Back to the list, when it came out, I disagreed with some of the selections. But I will respect ESPN’s judgment, and thus wont be reorganizing the list at all, with one exception. I am kicking Secretariet off on the basis that horses and humans are different species of animals. If we aren’t going to count Pele because he isn’t North American, I think we can exclude on the basis of speciation. This exercise will be concerned with updating the list through the present. Whose performances since 1999 have made them worthy of Top 50 status And who deserves to get bumped up the ladder?
Non Major Sports Candidates
Lance Armstrong: Fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour de France a record 5 straight times. Specializes in destroying European teams in the mountainous stages in the Pyrenees and Alps, where riders go through 150 mile climbs through the mountains. In terms of pure endurance, cyclists are up there with marathoners in terms of stamina…except their races are 40 days long. He deserves it. (#44 after Dr. J. There are now 50 humans on the list.)
Tiger Woods: I know what you are thinking. Golf is incredibly popular in North America. But is it a sport? I don’t think so. If I dedicated myself to playing golf, I think I could get pretty good…obviously not professional level. If I spent every second of my life cycling I might be able to complete one stage of the Tour de France. I don’t think I would be that tired after walking the fairways at Augusta. Regardless, golf has clearly been accepted as a sport by ESPN. 3 golfers made the cut, pioneer Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. He isn’t at that level…yet.
Mario Lemieux: Had a few good years after 2000 in a comeback attempt, but wasn’t healthy enough to put up peak numbers worthy of moving up the list.
Pete Sampras: Set the record for total Grand Slams, but overall didn’t play as well as his peak. So no boost.
Basketball candidates
Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant: Too early to tell for two of my least favorite players in the NBA, for almost opposite reasons.
Shaq: Since this list, Shaq has won three titles, an MVP, and enjoyed a nice 5 year run as most dominant a player. I think Shaq also gets bonus points for being such an athletic freak. Such a totally unfair combination of size, strength, and speed. In many ways, he isn’t a great basketball player from a fundamentals standpoint. He’s game is built around exploiting his athletic superiority. I’ll put him on the list. (#41) Chris Evert gets the boot.
Football candidates:
Jerry Rice: Came back to make another Pro Bowl at the age of 87. I’d put him at number 25, just to give him the edge of Montana.
Emmit Smith: Passed Walter Payton to become the all-time rushing leader, but hasn’t had any good year since 2000, and some terrible ones.
MLB candidates:
Roger Clemens: Who?
Mo Vaughn: You don’t know this, but had Mo not gotten a debilitating knee injury, he was going to be traded back to the Red Sox where he was going to win 4 straight Triple Crowns, 5 straight Gold Gloves, and a stolen base title. Sadly injuries got in the way, and I can’t give anyone, even Mo, credit for fictional events.
Barry Bonds: Since 1999, Bonds has won the MVP three times and been shafted a fourth. He has set the single-season records for walks, home runs, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. He has sped by everyone on the all-time home run list, now closing in on the unthinkable 700. Compared to other players on the lists, his career and peak numbers are better than everyone’s besides Ruth and Mays. I can’t put him ahead of Jackie Robinson at 15 in good conscience. (#16) I also boot Pete Sampras in the interests of keeping O.J. on the list.
# posted by Marmaniac @ 4:30 AM 
