So who's the greatest athlete of all time?

[Ben Kenobi]

1. Gretzky
2. Bobby Orr
3. Sawchuk

[monolith94]

This thorpe guy... isn't much of a looker, is he?

[Ted Striker]

Peep it. Here is ESPN's list.

Included are Bo Jackson, Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson.

Did you know Jackie Robinson lettered in 4 different sports at UCLA? The only athelete in UCLA history to do so:

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/multisport.html

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by monolith94
This thorpe guy... isn't much of a looker, is he?

He was an original True Player.

[bipolarbear]

I'd say, it would have ot be a decathalon champ. That is a full rnage of skills.

[Drake Tungsten]

This thorpe guy... isn't much of a looker, is he?

You racist...

[monolith94]

excuse me?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by dejon

You know what I mean.


Doh! Sorry, I must have missed them.

Question on hockey vs. basketball vs. American football: If they all require similar athleticism with regards to endurance, strength, athleticism, etc, doesn't hockey get the extra nod for performing on skates?

It does from me, but mainly because I don't skate all that well. Each of the sports you mention has some unique challenge that seperates it from the others.

Football has huge differences in positional responsibility and from that often very differently sized players. It also features both quickness and speed (as does soccer) because of the large field. It also features strength / mass in a way that is only exceeded by sumo along the line of scrimmage.

Basketball tends to feature freakishly tall people (with very few exceptions) who are nonetheless able to sprint the floor back and forth relentlessly in order to either throw the ball through the hoop from a fairly long way out, or bash themselves inside in order to jam it home. It features quickness over speed. The attributes for the sort of endurance and quickness necessary in basketball tend to be much more easily acquired by persons of medium or short stature, which makes it all the more impressive when I see someone like Shaq make a touch shot after tearing up and down the court for quite a few minutes beforehand.

Hockey players tend to vary less from one another in size, and tend to be more normally sized than in the aforementioned sports, though they definitely seem to be getting bigger these days. Like basketball due to the small playing surface and certain limitations on just who can hit whom (and when) quickness is king along with agility. Size alone cannot make the difference, though among players of equal skill size is an advantage as is strength. Skating skill is a huge factor, as is the ability to handle one's stick (rimshot!). This makes hockey more difficult for the recreational minded player to pick up on a whim, and limits the professional ranks to people who have had some experience of the game previously. Natural athletes are not going to simply strap on the skates and compete effectively their first time out anymore than they are going to do so in baseball.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by monolith94
excuse me?

You treated a person of semi-color in the same way that you would anyone, which makes you a racist these days. As Drake is a person of semi-color himself (as am I for that matter) he is enjoying his unique inborn genetic privilige to castigate you shamelessly. Just laugh at him and be sure to thank him for the free land and the get out of genocide free card.

[Drake Tungsten]

What Sikander said...

BTW, I'm hardly a person of semi-color. I have a small amount of Native American blood, but I would never claim to be Native American for any reason save scoring cheap points in a pointless internet debate.

[East Street Trader]

Good blood to have, I rather think, Drake.

Does your family history/legends run to the circumstances in which you managed to come by it?

[Drake Tungsten]

The story is sketchy at best. Just know that a great-great grandmother on my mother's side was Native American. Illinois tribe, IIRC. Wish I knew more, but I don't.

[Dis]

that's about how my family is. I think mine was a great grandmother who was native american- as my family hasn't been in the U.S. that long.