1. wayne gretzky 2. michael jordan 3. tiger woods 4. ali (only saw tapes) 5. michael schumacher honorable mentions: wilt, patrick roy, tony hawk, dave mirra, pele (only saw tapes)
Point well taken, MacBeth. The reason I would rate Montana higher is because I think playing quarterback is the most demanding position in football. The mental aspect is what seperates Montana and Rice. Even the best wide receivers can be taken out of the ballgames. A good team can survive this (see the current 49'ers and the non-production of Terell "Core-of-two-frickin'-fantasy-football-teams-and-is-literally-killing-me" Owens). On the other hand, teams don't usually win if their quarterback is shut down. But you are defintely right about the Montana-Rice 49'ers...they were nasty.
I remember watching Ben Gay in high school at Spring. Everytime he touched the ball he would plow through the line, then out run the whole secondaries of opposing teams. He would run over people twice his size. He was just amazing.
BRUCE LEE, hands down. any questions? "Using no way as way" "Having no limitations as limitations" - Bruce Lee
Ben Johnson? That's nuts. Edwin Moses I can see because he went so long without defeat, but Johnson only had one good event and he was dominant for much less time than Carl Lewis. And Lewis was awesome in multiple events. Edit: I just saw in the other thread that you 'hate, hate, hate' Carl Lewis, so no explanation needed.
Lol! WHile the hating does enter into it, I'll admit, it has more to do with dominance. Have you ever seen the Johnson 100 at the Olympics? Most single dominant performance I have ever seen. Allow me to explain... The hundred has progressed fairly steadily in increments of about the same fractions of a second... 0.01. Sometimes 0.05 or some such thing. At the Seoul games, with the Carl Lewis bragging about how these were his games, etc. Johnson ran a 9.79! That time has only recently been equalled by Green. Put it this way...he was 10 years ahead of the normal progression in 100 m times, which in sprinting would be like going out and hitting 100 homers next season. And more incredibly, if you watch that run, he was slowing down and rainsing his fist in triumph 5 m BEFORE the finish, which if you understand sprinting means he was decelerating on purpose, and probably lose 0.0 3-4 from his time at least. Watch Lewsi' face when he looks over and sees how far ahead Johnson is...complete disbelief. That's dominance. And in terms of the drugs, I was a pretty good sprinter, and had several friends in the high ranks, and everyone, believe me, EVERYONE at that level is on drugs, and everyone knows it. NO one doubts that Lewis was any cleaner than Johnson, Ben was just caught because, well, he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with. But in terms of relative dominance, he is the most dominant sprinter I have ever, or probably will ever see. But in terms of greatest athlete, you will notice that Lewis made the list and Johnson didn't, in the other thread, despite my complete disdain for the greatest prima dona in sports history.
Bo Jackson, if he had not been hurt so early in his career, would have revolutionized two major professional sports.
Because dominating against a league full of weak ass centers dosen't qualify ya in my book. Before all the centers went lame, it was sweep, sweep, sweep for Shaq. Guess a 3-Peat makes everyone forget. Much props to Jerry Rice Macbeth. Ya realize if the Raiders go to the Superbowl this year, that will be the 3rd QB Rice has led there? Amazing...... Well, the position is much easier when ya are throwing to the greatest WR ever. Mabye my opinion would be different if Rice didn't make every QB that played with him look so damn good, but he has. How can ya forget Tiger Woods?
I'm not a sprinter, so I won't claim to be an expert. But it seems pretty reckless to say Lewis was on drugs. Especially considering how long he was dominant in the sport and how many tests he had to take. And especially with no evidence to substantiate that charge. And even if true doesn't it seem likely that Johnson, who had done nothing before or since, had gone over the top with the drugging? How else would you explain the dramatic leap in the time? You're entitled to your opinion, but I think the fact that they ruled that run out says a lot. And did you put Edwin on your list for one particular performance or for his dominance over time? Seems like one drug induced explosion from Johnson shouldn't be compared to dominance over time.
for my lifetime 80's/90's/00's Jordan Bird Magic Dream Shaq Walter Payton Barry Sanders Favre Elway Big Mac Dave Stewart Kirby Puckett Nolan Ryan Mario Lemieux Gretzky Tiger Woods
Michael Jordan Tiger Woods Wayne Gretzky Martina Navratilova Micheal Johnson Lance Armstrong Barry Bonds
I can't agree. Michael Johnson's 200m was it for me. 19.32 secs when the previous record was 19.72. 0.4 secs off the WR in one go? That's amazing!
