Big Brown

[lightfungus]

Big Brown woke up that morning and realized he was being told to run a race that he didn't get anything for, thus he said fuck it and took his sweet time. Plus, if I had to run the 400m dash and I hadn't gotten all the dump-time I needed, I wouldn't make it past the first turn.

Can you really hypothesize why a horse didn't run as fast as usual? Honestly....

My cat usually licks my face and is sweet, but sometimes the lil' fucker bites me. It's an animal...Big Brown's motivation isn't exactly the same as the jockey's or anyone in the stands watching the horses. Yet people put money on this "sport" thinking they can predict an outcome...

But the best athletes in the world play basketball, fwiw. No other sport translates better to all other sports. And these athletes are superior specimens of the human species.

[Wes]

If you qualify jumping and being tall as qualifying to be the best athletes, then basketball would be #1. Otherwise, probably not.

[GTDawg]

The physical abilities needed to excel at basketball are pretty significant.

And, basketball is generally considered as the sport with the best all around athletes.

I would say it is quite a bit more than being tall and jumping. But I'm sure you probably knew that and are just making a silly statement.

[Daomonk]

While i agree with baseball players being great athletes. I have to go with tennis players probably being the most athletic players from all standpoints.

Edit: With basketball being second

[Wes]

track and field is far and away the most athletic sport there is.

[Daomonk]

depends on how many events a person players of course. A mile runner might not be agile. A shot putter is usually just strong.

But tennis u need:

Strength, speed, agility, hand eye coordination, finesse(touch). Same as basketball really.

[Reel Deal]

I love that you're mentioning tennis because I work for the pro tour, however, all of the things you listed are also needed to play hockey and and they have to do that on two thin blades on a sheet of ice (oh, and you have to be mindful of the fact that other players are trying to take your head off). No other sport combines as many skills as is required to play hockey. Sorry, but imo, hockey players are the best athletes in the world. And, I don't think it's close.

[lightfungus]

I honestly did think of hockey players, and almost included them in my original statement. Hockey players are tough, and I think require everything that basketball players require. However, I also think basketball players, because of their size, are more impressive athletes. I always have said Shaq was written a bigass check the moment he was conceived, and that he won the lottery. I also always thought I was just as athletic as Shaq, and could do the same things he does. But honestly, if I somehow were to grow to that size I am not sure my hand-eye coordination, foot coordination, or body control would keep up. It's like blowing up a picture of lower resolution, it just doesn't look as good. Lebron is a much higher resolution than I am.

These hulking giants move so fast compared to their size, and have so much body control of a much larger body that they are simply elite models of the human body.

[GTDawg]

And many track and field stars are not able to compete in a wide range of events.

Athletes in the decathlon have a wide-ranging skill set.

But, for example, runners don't have the strength of shot-putters and vice versa.

Also, although their skill set can be wide-ranging...some of those attributes don't transfer well to other sports. They could very well not have the eye hand coordination to succeed in a golf or baseball. And, as can be seen by the lack of track stars in football, running is a broad idea that encompasses many different more specific qualities.

I think it is important to not judge a best because there are so many different skill sets that are so wide-ranging that it becomes tough to make certain distinctions.

Obviously there are people that break all the rules.

Jim Thorpe
Jim Brown
Dave Winfield
Carl Crawford

People that were so supremely talented that they were able to excel at any sport they wanted. It just depended on what they focused on.

[Reel Deal]

You forgot the one that I think was probably the most talented of all... Bo Jackson.

[GTDawg]

You know, as soon as I typed it out...I knew I was forgetting someone and I just couldn't remember who it was.

but yes...I would put Bo Jackson on the short list of most physically gifted and talented human beings to ever grace this world.

[Talking Poker]

I was thinking the same thing - twice.

And I don't even enjoy watching hockey (well, the NHL anyway) unless I'm actually at a game.

[lightfungus]

I just learned about some of these guys looking them up. BTW, Babe Ruth as #1?



+rep for this post.

[lightfungus]

How many track and field athletes do all the competitions?? I would take a pro basketball player in a competition that included ALL remotely sport-like activities over any other athlete to do better overall. Professional basketball players, the best ones of course, can do things that nobody else on this earth can do. They are larger, faster, stronger, and have more endurance in an overall sense than any other athlete. If you want to throw in intelligence to that mix then the best basketball players excel there too. I think games like basketball, hockey, soccer, and select positions (mostly QB) in football have the smartest athletes because of the team aspect and the need to process lots of information very quickly.

You can have Michael Johnson, I'll take Lebron all day everyday. There are so many basketball players that played SO many other sports and finally settled on basketball: allen iverson was a Mike Vick like QB, Lebron carried his HS team at wideout (I read his HS coach estimated BronBron scored a TD on something rediculous like 3 out of every 4 times he touched the ball in any way i.e. screens, passes, etc.), and I am willing to bet many, many more examples exist on the pro level.

Think about it, there are only 5 starting spots(13 total I believe) on 32(ish) teams in the best league in the world. Name other all around athletic sports that has that kind of competition for spots?

[lightfungus]

What athletes were you thinking of? And I guess you could qualify basketball as jumping and being tall if poker is an Ace beats a King and calling heads or tails...