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Greatest Athlete of All Time

D'Amato dying had A Lot to do with Tysons demise. Kind of like when Tiger's father died. His and Tyson's fall didn't happen overnight. But the deaths of a strong male figure in their lives had an affect on both athletes.

In the sense that Tyson has no self discipline to keep himself on track. I mean he was still undefeated for 5 years after D'Amato died.
 
I read that they made the balls 2mm larger to slow down the game, by giving it more air resistance. But, if spin is hard to detect mid-flight or off the bounce, speed doesn't matter much.

that's very true. (and it made a really good ball machine I had obsolete for higher level training).
it did slow down the game a bit and the manufacturers of the rubber surfaces tried to compensate. Another lesser known fact was banning what was called "speed gluing". In the early 70s (according to what I heard) a top European player, Dragutin Surbek -one of the first power top spin players, tore the sheet of rubber on his bat. He didn't have any normal glue but he used the cement on a bicycle repair kit. That clue, due to the chlorinated solvents, caused the rubber to speed up when the ball was grazed with a "loop stroke" (as opposed to a smash where you hit the ball flat) and from the mid seventies until it was banned a few years back, gave heavy spinners more power. The health concerns from this caused it to be banned. (it really worked but the life of the rubber sheet went from about 80 hours of play to less than 30% of that). that probably slowed down the game more-at least in terms of the heavy loop drives. Rubber sheets were modified but never got the same power.

this is Surbek at the tail end of his 20+ year career playing one of China's top players (who is using a bat with short pips which is designed for smashing against topspin)

 
Why Soccer seriously?

Guys actually run, tackle and perform with a ball for 90 mins. In terms of team sports i would put a soccer player like Ronaldo above most in terms of being an all around athlete.

It's the only sport to reward the faking of injuries.
 
No, worries. Tom Brady does not qualify. Why? You may ask. Well, because he didn't revolutionize the sport, nor did he carry it on his back, at all. He just road coattails as the league's popularity declined.

My Nominees:

Basketball: Michael Jordan. Who else? He brought the league from a has-been dope club, where top draft picks died from crack overdose and entire teams were on the DEA's radar. A sport playing their Championship games on tape delay became must see TV during the Jordan era. He also redefined the #2 guard position, both offensive and defensively.
Runners up: Bird and Magic. If those two were one dude, they would have won.

Baseball: Babe Ruth. He is baseball.
Runners up: No one, really.

Hockey: Gretzky. Closest competitor: Gordie, and it is close.

Golf: Tiger. Took the game to a whole new level. Next, Jack. Also a close 1-2.

Tennis: Williams, Serena.

Boxing: Ali...no one else even compares

Soccer: ? Seriously. ??

Ok, now. we'll look at Tom's sport.
Football: Joe Montana. Why? First guy to use the pass to win Superbowls. Brought the air to the game and made it fun. Before Joe, football was basically a running back's league, four yards and a cloud of dust. Now, we see QB's throw for 4000 yards, and no one even drafts a running back in the first round unless their name is Cleveland.
Runners up: Jim Brown. Yep, a running back. But, a really special one. Next, Jerry Rice. If not for Joe, he probably would be the guy credited with putting air in the ball.


GOAT of all GOATS? Tough call, but I go with Ali. No other fighter has ever been able to put boxing on a major TV network during primetime. No other athlete was as quickly recognized. No other athlete really compares....except maybe the Babe. But, that was before TV.

In our time, Ali as the unique icon. In an earlier era that was Babe Ruth.
In basketball I would argue that Oscar Robertson represented the greatest individual advance in talent and ability over his contemporaries in any era. The modern game descends from him.
In football Bart Starr was Montana before Montana. The play action fake on third and short followed by deep strike pass was his signature contribution.
 
It's the only sport to reward the faking of injuries.

Actually you get a yellow card for simulation now. Same can’t be said for players in the NFL that draw holds etc
 
Actually you get a yellow card for simulation now. Same can’t be said for players in the NFL that draw holds etc

What in the world does "draw holds" mean? And the "yellow card for simulation" is an unenforced joke.

Soccer: Do nothing for 85 minutes, then fake an injury, get a penalty kick. Win.
And yes, I spent many years abroad and tried hard to appreciate soccer.
 
What in the world does "draw holds" mean? And the "yellow card for simulation" is an unenforced joke.

Soccer: Do nothing for 85 minutes, then fake an injury, get a penalty kick. Win.
And yes, I spent many years abroad and tried hard to appreciate soccer.


Drawing a hold is probably the wrong terminology but i didn’t really know how else to describe it. It’s when wide receivers etc have no real shot of a catch or just get beat by the coverage so they fake contact, throw their hands up etc. Essentially try and trick the ref into throwing a flag and are very effective at doing it.

As for your analysis of football ( soccer) you sound like a man that never really gave it a chance and like of older Americans are afraid of it and slightly envious of the following it has worldwide.
Also average goals per game on the EPL is 2.83 so it’s a lot more than 0-0 ties or 1-0 wins lol. But whatever mate at the end of the day it’s a sport that is still growing especially in the US and doesn’t really need your blessing.
 
Drawing a hold is probably the wrong terminology but i didn’t really know how else to describe it. It’s when wide receivers etc have no real shot of a catch or just get beat by the coverage so they fake contact, throw their hands up etc. Essentially try and trick the ref into throwing a flag and are very effective at doing it.

As for your analysis of football ( soccer) you sound like a man that never really gave it a chance and like of older Americans are afraid of it and slightly envious of the following it has worldwide.
Also average goals per game on the EPL is 2.83 so it’s a lot more than 0-0 ties or 1-0 wins lol. But whatever mate at the end of the day it’s a sport that is still growing especially in the US and doesn’t really need your blessing.

Influencing the officials is part of every sport. No objection there. What is unique to soccer is collapsing and writhing in pseudo-pain whenever an opponent passes within five feet. Drama queens.

I actually helped coach the sport when our children were small. If you played basketball you can coach a zone defense for soccer. We won our league.

I'm delighted the US will not be in the World Cup.
 
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