Top 25...

[lithera]

ESPN is 25 years old and they're polling to see who the top 25 athletes of that time period are. I can't seem to rank them but people who would have to be on my list are:

Wayne Gretzky
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Larry Bird
Carl Lewis
Lance Armstrong
Barry Sanders
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Martina Navratilova
Alberto Tomba


If it weren't limited to 25 years I'd have to put Marc Spitz on there.

Comments

[c-jyd.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is a tough one. And I am a major sports nut. First I'd have to figure out what it'd take to be among the best athletes. I'd disqualify a number of people who would make some lists like Mark McGwire because he wasn't a great all around anything, he had one skill which he performed at a high enough level to make it ok that he couldn't catch a cold sometimes.
Also, really the list should, if anything, include more soccer players than anything else. Its the world's game, and its had its share of great players. But it also gets very little press on ESPN, which focuses largely on the major American and Canadian sports. So I'll keep my commentary mostly to those.

Baseball :
Barry Bonds however, from baseball, is in. Not because of the home runs, these are, in my opinion, not nearly the best years of his career, just the most hyped. Its dominating defense, enough speed to have as many steals as home runs until recent years, and really not having a weak point to his game.

Ichiro is a maybe for baseball. Winning 7 consecutive batting titles in Japan is a huge feat, their hitters are more percentage oriented than American players. To be that good, plus have that kind of speed and defense, he's in.

A-Rod, Ripken, and most other baseball players are not though.

Football :
Barry Sanders, certainly. I'd add Walter Payton and Jerry Rice. Not Emmitt Smith. Sanders and Payton did amazing things on their own. The Cowboys real strength was in that monster offensive line. Dan Marino could have run for 100 yeards some nights behind that. Smith is good. He isn't top 25.

Also for American football, I'd consider the three quarterbacks who really defined the position for a good part of the last couple decades, to the point most of the current crop of QBs are being compared to who they're most like. Montana, Elway and Marino.

As sad as I am to say it, as much as I'm more a defense fan for football, only player with the dominance and personality in the time scale would be Lawrence Taylor.

Basketball :
Five players, and five players only. Jordan, Bird and Johnson would and should be on a lot of lists. Dr. J is borderline timewise, but wrevolutionized the game, and played into the necessary time period. Likewise Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. All time scoring leader, and so dominant in college they /outlawed slam-dunking the basketball for four years, then reinstated it in the NCAA when he went pro/ to give other people a chance.
Shaq - nope, he's good, but he isn't good enough to carry a team like a Chamberlain or Alcinder. He proved that, even with Hardaway, in Orlando. Coming to the 'Yankees of Basketball' Lakers and winning championships doesn't mean anything to me. And he's the only other player right now who should be in the same league as the five mentioned. Given a few more years that coulde change, but not right now.

Otherwise, from Olympics, hard to argue with Karl Lewis, Joyner-Kersee and Navratilova.

I'd like to include more Olympians, but really can't in a lot of areas. The longevity of career isn't there in alot of those sports, and few people have maintained long-term dominance over everyone else in their field. They likely will include a few more in there.

Hockey-wise, no question about Gretzky. I'd be tempted to include Mario.

It pains me to admit it, but for dominance of a sport I'd be inclined to go with Mike Tyson. For a time before he went completely around the bend, he was unbeatable and was the unquestionable icon of his sport. Now he's just a bad sideshow, which I hope disqualifies him from contention. Most of the other great boxers were a little before the time mark. Some of them were still boxing into the 25 year point, but most of those fall into the category of doing stupid things to extend a career.

Lance Armstrong I can't question for dominating a sport.

Willie Shoemaker. Although his period of real dominance came before the 25 year mark, he was still strong and active in his sport well past the 25 year cutoff, and set an unbelievable number of records in his time.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

I'm tempted to include Mario or Stevie. If you're talking about being the heart and soul of a team and the ability to give a team a chance any night they play....