Greatest Current Sportsman

[SideshowTim]

roger federer just won his 9th grand slam title and he's only 25, tiger woods just won is 12th major title and he's only 30. it's hard to go past these two at the moment, both remain so dominant and will probably go down as the best ever in their respective sports.

[mike_donnelly]

roger f has done it on different surfaces, tiger w only ever plays on grass.

[Roarke]

....what? even if you don't think golfing should count to sportsmanship....what? what the hell does dealing with surfaces have to do with being a sportsman?

i abhor tennis but i think you'll probably have to give it to federer.

i'm refraining from popular american sports because i don't think there's a big canidate among them who's dominance is all encompassing (albert pujols, perhaps, but that's about it)

[Gabbo]

roger f has done it on different surfaces, tiger w only ever plays on grass.

what? i guess you'd like to see them golf on clay?

but yeah, federer has just been so dominant in the tennnis world. he's fucking unstoppable. like roarke said though, it's too hard to pick somebody so dominant in the more popular sports because you just don't see it...maybe brett favre lol.

[smyce]

What the fuck are you talking about Donnelly? How do you manage to tard up every single thread you decide to post on?

I dont think golf is a sport, more of a skill. Therefore by default it would be Federer.

[SideshowTim]

roger f has done it on different surfaces, tiger w only ever plays on grass.
this is silly, you see not every golf course in the world is the same, and every new golf course is essentially a new "surface". woods has won something like 70 tournaments all around the world on a variety of different "surfaces".

[mike_donnelly]

I never said that it made Roger F the greater sportsman, I just made a statement. Many people in the tennis industry judge greatness by success on different surfaces though, there is talk of Roger will be considered the greatest ever if he wins the French Open.

[mike_donnelly]

....what? even if you don't think golfing should count to sportsmanship....what? what the hell does dealing with surfaces have to do with being a sportsman?

i abhor tennis but i think you'll probably have to give it to federer.

i'm refraining from popular american sports because i don't think there's a big canidate among them who's dominance is all encompassing (albert pujols, perhaps, but that's about it)

Lebron James will eventually dominate, if you don't consider him to already have some sort of dominance.

[God]

Both Federer and Woods have the potential to be the greatest their sports have ever seen, its very hard to seperate them. Both are great to watch.

[:bang:]

hahahaha...best part is fedzie hasnt even 'done it' on clay yet.

i think golf is the gayest thing ever, but its hard to argue with tiger. especially in a year where the best soccer stars laid eggs at the wc

[box elder]

it's easily tiger. and not just because i have no interest in tennis, but because tiger has dominated his sport almost non stop for about 8 years now. if federer keeps the pace he's at another 3 or 4 years, then it can be considered. and how is golf not a sport? is it only a sport if you have to run or something?

also, babe ruth never hit a home run out of a football field. what a loser.

[Homer Jay]

Federer

[Dead Nigga Storage]

for me, at least part of being the greatest sportsman has to entail at least a partial necessity for athleticism. golf doesn't require it 1/20th as much as tennis does...not only are they equally dominant in their respective sports, but federer at least is required to stay in fantastic shape to remain as dominant. tiger could put on 60lbs and play with a cigarette dangling from his lips and wake up as the same golfer.

[box elder]

yeah, because we all know how dominant Daly is. i'm sorry, but golf does require athleticism. they have to walk the entire course everyday, and when guys are out of shape, it shows up on the later holes (which may be one reason mickelson choked so bad at the u.s. open, because he's gotten fat as hell and seemed like he was about to pass out). yes, tennis obviously requires more aerobic capacity than golf, but it requires more than most sports. that's like saying beseball isn't a sport because someone like babe ruth could dominate when he was overweight and smoked.

[:bang:]

baseball requires about as much athletic talent as golf, though

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you'll notice i didn't use a baseball player as my choice, danno.

p_c_g should also note that i did not say golf wasn't a sport.

[:bang:]

that wasnt really my point, i was discounting the 'has to keep in shape part' but whatever.

i'd contend that feds and tiger arent even close to being equally as dominant though.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

while i will perfectly well concede that fat guys can do well in baseball (ortiz, vaughn, colon, giambi etc.), many of them live out shorter, injury filled careers. baseball puts much more stress on the body, and, for your typical top players (pujols, beltran, guerrero, rodriguez, jeter, cabrera, soriano) who give you TRUE peak performances are all in much better shape than it takes to walk a golf course. i'm sorry, but there's a difference between being in good enough shape to walk around a golf course and being able to be at the peak of a game in baseball. yes, alot of peak golfers are in good shape, but like i said, they wouldn't be any significant amount worse if they put on the weight. hell, i don't even consider the ability to walk for a day to be athletic...i can and have done it.

also not a lot of 60 year olds in baseball. point being, golf players can be much more out of shape without consequence on their game than a guy like federer, and i definitely think that counts for something. subjective questions call for subjective criteria.

[box elder]

the drop-off for fat or old guys is not as extreme in golf, true. but you still never see 60 year olds or 300 pounders competing at the highest level. and i really don't see why the aerobic aspect weighs so heavily. if that's the criterion, then long-distance running is always going to trump ever other sport, isn’t it? i mean, they need to have the muscle tone and coordination to swing the club the way they do, so how’s that not athletic?

[Dead Nigga Storage]

there are lots of things in everyday life that every single person can do that require good muscle tone or coordination that aren't sporting events. again, i'm not decrying golf as not being a sport, but the level of athleticism in it is not exceedingly special. the three major components to athleticism are physical strength, agility, and stamina. physical strength in golf (and in baseball) takes a backseat to technique and form. a relatively weak muscled golfer or baseball player (such as myself) can make up for a lack of muscle in their form...their ability to swing. if you can put a good swing on a ball in both sports, you can put it exactly where you want it to and compensate for the lack of power behind the swing by putting good FORM into the swing. agility i will give you, as i think it is something involved in nearly all sports. stamina, i definitely say no to. the ability to spend a day walking is the most strenuous part of golf, and it doesn't compare to the punishing level that most other sports put on you, or even close. relative to any given everyday activity, golf has an edge in athleticism. relative to most given major sports, it severely lacks in it. i have no vendetta against golf, but it is, frankly, more of a focused, specific skill than it is a feat of athleticism.

edit: and yes, long distance running probably is one of the most athletic endeavors. however, for the necessity of being trained in several arts, triatholon participants are probably some of the most athletic groups of individuals in the world.

[vinceq]

federer

[:bang:]

does that mean that form doesnt mean as much in tennis. cause id disagree

[box elder]

i'll grant that golf isn't the most physically demanding sport; i never implied that it was. but what i don't see is why that would make a golfer any less of a great sportsman than someone who does play a more physically demanding sport. if you agree that it's a sport, than its participants are necessarily "sportsmen," so if they're great at their sport, they're great sportsman. i also don't really see why you think baseball is so much more physically demanding (especially insofar as stamina is concerned). yes, a baseball player is going to need to run at full speed from time to time or dive/slide on the ground, which a golfer is not. but these things are fairly few and far between for each individual player. the average player will have to run in 5 second spurts, maybe 5 or 6 times in the game. seems that walking all day would take more physical stamina than that, even if it takes less physical skill.

[the 'house always wins]

tiger woods without a doubt.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

no, danno, that's not what i was trying to say.

and pcg, like i said, its a subjective question to ask us who is the greatest sportsmen. for me, there are two seperate components to it...who is the most dominant in their sport, and then, on top of that, who it is that has a higher peak of physical fitness and ability overall. if, as i support, they are both equal in dominance, the tiebreaker, to me, for this subjective question, is as to who is a more physically-able sportsman than the other, and i think federer has to come out on top there.

[:bang:]

except tiger is more dominant

[Dead Nigga Storage]

tiger is currently has won more events and has a more extensive past, but in their respective sports, i think there is a larger talent gap between federer and, say, nadal or roddick, than there is between tiger and singh or els or mickelson. such a gap only promotes the continuation of dominance.

[:bang:]

having more competition makes tigers accomplishments more impressive

[Dead Nigga Storage]

more impressive, yeah, but also more likely to fall from the throne than federer. (if i remember correctly- i don't follow golf as closely as others here- i thought tiger fell off for a little while for some period of time or another in the last couple of years). in the scheme of dominance, that would give the edge to federer. frankly, i don't give a shit one way or the other, and would like to point out that i most certainly do think that tiger is VERY dominant in his sport, but this is just merely a difference in opinion or interpretation of the question.

[:bang:]

i dont care either, i was just trying to push you over 3 paragraphs

[Dead Nigga Storage]

want me to delete all the above and combine them into one quote-filled post? i can. ;) good work, everyone.

[robb]

what about johan santana?

[Dead Nigga Storage]

it's almost impossible to argue that currently there is a better tennis player than federer, or golfer than tiger. it can very easily be argued that johan is not the best player in baseball.

[:bang:]

if i were to pick an american team sport player he wouldnt even come to mind

[kevin]

yeah seriously. plus he's on the twins which is like points against him

[kuumuus]

deion branch

[smyce]

Would any of you consider walking a sport?

[The mayor of Albuquerque]

I think it would have to be a basketball player. While both tennis and golf have their challenges and physical requirements, basketball combines running, jumping, thinking ahead, teamwork, and hand-eye coordination in a constant manner that those other two do not (well, tennis sort of does). I think that the level of athleticism needed to excel at basketball is far enough beyond that it stands alone as having the best athletes as a whole. So, Dwyane Wade or LeBron James is the greatest. Or Federer.

[mike_donnelly]

I got the impression that the guy who started this thread was only letting us choose between T.W. and R.F. The topic becomes tough when it comes to team sports, because people will always knock players down based on not having championships. For example, I think Lebron James is the best current sportsman, he has no championships though, if he had at least 1 decent teammate he would though.

[kevin]

he's only been in the league three years and his supporting cast is mediocre. not having a championship yet is perfectly understandable. i'd say lt may be the best athelete in football. guy can do just about everything

[pat]

don't really like tennis at all, but there's no way i can argue against federer in this thread

[SideshowTim]

I got the impression that the guy who started this thread was only letting us choose between T.W. and R.F. The topic becomes tough when it comes to team sports, because people will always knock players down based on not having championships. For example, I think Lebron James is the best current sportsman, he has no championships though, if he had at least 1 decent teammate he would though.
you can choose whoever you want. i just think that federer and woods are the greatest sportsmen in the world.

[God]

its certainly a lot harder to pick the best players in team sports, but players like ricky ponting for cricket and daniel carter for rugby would certainly be at the top of their sports.

[smyce]

its certainly a lot harder to pick the best players in team sports, but players like ricky ponting for cricket and daniel carter for rugby would certainly be at the top of their sports.

Yeah these household names surely are in the discussion.

[God]

becuase they are not household names in america ? you ask any follower of cricket in a country that plays cricket (england, australia, new zealand, india, bangladesh, south africa) they will know who ricky ponting is. you ask any rugby follower in a rugby playing nation, they know who dan carter is.

I for one do not know johan santana or Dwayne Wade. I simply posted those players becuase itr was seeming the topic was veering towards nominating players from basketball etc. I was not saying they were the greatest current sportsman, only the probably greatest current players of their sport.

[smyce]

Too bad the thread wasnt titled "Greatest players in each sport". If you posted in this thread I assume you were nominating them for greatest sportsmen. I apologize for not reading your mind.

[SideshowTim]

Too bad the thread wasnt titled "Greatest players in each sport". If you posted in this thread I assume you were nominating them for greatest sportsmen. I apologize for not reading your mind.
my god...he's giving his opinion, and an incredibly valid one at that. shut up.

[smyce]

He stated that it was NOT his opinion that these were the greatest sportsmen yet he posted in a greatest sportsmen thread. Did you read the black parts? I think its wonderful that his opinion was that these donkeys are great at their sports. But this thread was for greatest sportsmen. Apparently I was wrong for assuming since he posted in this thread thats what he meant.

[God]

you call them donkeys. you also called golf a 'skill'. then you asked whether you would consider walking a sport. hard to figure if you were being sarcastic with the last one, but you can't consider walking a sport if you consider golf a skill.

Anyway, just to enlighten you guys on Dan Carter. He plays at the most important position in the rugby team (fly half) (the one who kicks the goals, makes the plays, tactical kicking) he basically runs the show. since carter moved to this position for the new zealand rugby team, they have lost 2 internationals out of 17 (and 3 out of 30 in total internationals he has played) , that is an extremely impressive record in international rugby. He is being called our greatest ever player, he is not the greatest current sportsman worldwide, but he is new zealand's. I would argue ricky ponting is australias.

surprised that no-one has mentioned schumacher either, perhaps two years ago maybe he might have been up there.

[smyce]

People's argument that golf is a sport always goes back to the fact that they walk the course. So I asked if anyone thought walking was a sport.

[Spartan]

surprised that no-one has mentioned schumacher either, perhaps two years ago maybe he might have been up there.

because being a world class sportsman generally requires a widespread feeling of respect, gamesmanship, and class.

He honors none of those.

[God]

jesus. i just looked up his wikipedia article and he has attracted a lot more controversy that i thought. fair enough.

and thanks for clearing that up smyce.