The Greatest Athlete in the World....

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121392004594090355.html?mod=sports

I stumble on to a pretty fun little Wall Street Journal article about how to figure out the greatest athlete in the world. Being the WSJ, they are very right-brained, thorough, and scientific about the process. The difference between what their editors said, and what you might say in a local drafthouse over this same subject matter? They based it on six categories, and then each person came up with their own top 10 list. Below are their results, as well as the criteria for their selection.

1. Roman Sebrle: First decathlete to reach 9000 points in a competition
2. LeBron James: We all know about him on a court, but he was also an All-State WR his junior year, at 6'8" 225 lbs!
3. Floyd Mayweather, boxing: 39-0 in what is probably the most physically demanding sport
4. Ladanian tomlinson, San Diego Chargers: I think he got points for his uncanny start-stop-restart abilities. Plus he's a badazz RB
5. Roger Federer, tennis dominator: Combines sprinter's speed with an acrobats reflexes/coordination
6. Sindey crosby, NHL Pittsburgh Penguins: arguably hockey's best athlete
7. Lui Xiang, 110m hurdler: dude RAN 19.5 mph while jumping over 3.5 foot hurdles to set the 110m world record!
8. Jeremy Wariner, 400m gold medal sprinter: 400m and 800m runners are crazy
9. Ronaldo de Assis Moreiera, FC barcelona: Don't know much about soccer, but I don't doubt his place on the list. Any soccer guys with input?
10. Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees:ARoid is 6'3" 225 lbs, and is considered one of the top athletes in baseball.

The list was comprised using these criteria, and I'll list the top performer for each:
-Vision and Reflex: Lewis hamilton, Formula One racing
-Stamina and Recovery: Alberto Contidar, cycling
-Power, Strength, and size: Vladimir Klistchko, boxing
-Speed: Asafa Powell, Jamaican 100m WR holder (at the time)
-Success and Competitiveness of Sport: Tiger Woods
-Coordination and Flexibility: Yang Wei, gymnast



Although I don't doubt the validity of the list, I would like to make a few changes. You can keep pretty much everyone on the list except for Crosby, ARoid, and drop LdT a couple spots. I have to think that there is a better athlete in the NHL besides the waify Penguin; although I don't watch hockey, so I don't know of anyone. Maybe even the soccer guy, with the same reasoning. It is my own personal bias that an IronMan triathlete woud be on the list; however, they would be lascking in other areas of the criteria (speed, sucess, and power strength & size). I would also have to bring up crossover pro athletes into the mix. I know that there are TONS of NFL players that could probably make an NBA team, although they would probably ride the pine-but that's not the type of crossover type that I'm talking about. I'm thinking lesser-knowns, like Brock Lesnar, Sheila Taormina, and Eva Twardokens to name a few. Brock Lesnar is a former NFL defensive lineman, who had a stint in pro wrestling (not a sport, but still a demanding profession), before beoming a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) stud. MMA is known for being intensely grueling, and those how do it claim it to be the toughest athletic endeavour around. Sheila T just recently qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games in the Modern Pentathlon event (shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian, and running). The remarkable thing about this is that she has also competed in two other Olympic events: a gold medal winner on the 1996 US 4x200m relay team, and triathlon competitor in 2000 (6th place) and 2004 (23rd). I think that's pretty remarkable. Eva T (no relation) is a 2x Olympic skier, who is one of the strongest people in the world, pound-for-pound. Another athlete that nearly mmissed the list was myself. Many people forget that I have experience in gymnastics, wrestling, running, triathlon, and football. Another lesser-known fact about yours truly is that I was twice named All-Blesser team in Avon Lake pickup basketball, one of my proudest achievements.

Anyways, it's a pretty cool take on a conversation sports fans have been having for years. Beats watching baseball....bring on the NBA draft!

Sheila T story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060200814.html