Best Athlete of Our Time?

amazing..

He is in the convo, especially due to his exploits as a football player in high school (and his mastery over the bowling pin). I would put MJ and Lebron in the convo as well from basketball, and include: Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Bo Jackson, Devin Hester, Deion Sanders, Maradona and Mario Lemieux off the top of my head. Basically, these are people who I've seen regularly defy humanity on a sports field since 1980 - which is my basic criterion for the question.

Deion played both World Series and SB.....that has to put him at the top

I don't know about Devin Hester...I think it's far too early to put him in this particular conversation. Best PR or KR of all-time? Most def, but beyond that I'm not sure. I put my man AI at or near the top of this list primarily due to the fact that from a physical perspective, he's fairly regular, with the exception of his arm length. Probably need to put Mr. Woods in the conversation too...

Devin Hester isn't even close to A.I. in terms of overall athleticism... IMO.

Best athlete of our time=Champ Bailey

I also heard someone say once that Iverson could've been a great middleweight fighter if he had tried.

In terms of cross-sport athletes, I'd have to say it's between Iverson, LBJ, Jordan, Bo Knows and Primetime. I would also guess some soccer players should be in that equation, but I just don't know enough about soccer.

Bo Jackson excelled in in everysport he played, gotta be a toss-up between Bo and Deion

What a great athlete Bo was... one of the great sports tragedies of our times that no one remembers.

ya he came amd went so quick, ill never forget when he ran vertically up the wall after a flyball catch as a roryal

It's Bo Hands down

Iverson has my vote- I dont think he ever gets tired, moves at full speed at all times

Champ Bailey? Really? Curious to hear your thoughts why he belongs in the conversation...

Just hang out on the threads with TC for a while, and it will become very clear, very quickly. Love ya, TC.

katkat does not mince her words, only truths........now go on and do like she say........

katkat does not mince her words, only truths........now go on and do like she say........

what up Katkat

What up! Did you see the pic of Weezy that Dewey posted on the mugshot thread? Just for you.

of course i saw it, but that post got taken down

Champ is definitely the best CB in the league. Hands down. I'll give him that.

by the time he's done, the best CB of all time, but also one of the top 5 athletes in football...he's run a 4.19 40, and also played basketball and track in HS

he "ran" a 4.19 40.

What do you think about his bro, Boss Bailey. Who is going to Denver to play with Champ.

What do you think about his bro, Boss Bailey. Who is going to Denver to play with Champ.

hands down? Asomugha is the best cover corner in the league. The reason he doesn't get the picks Champ does is they do not even throw his way.

ASomugha is good, but definitely not in Champ's league....more QB's throw at Ashomugha than they throw at Bailey...nobody throws at Bailey

Dave Winfield was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and by the Atlanta Hawks (as well as an ABA team) but he settled on a Hall of Fame baseball career. I think he is in the convo.

totally forgot bout DW, great mention and underated as all hell like rofman said, didnt steinbrenner have something to do wit that

Agreed. One of the most underrated baseball players of all-time.

The answer is A.I.

yes it is....

I think Iverson won dat he never gets tired and his quick and he wont stop, he broke most of da bones in his body so u know he a beast

heres one for ya.........Carl Lewis

good point, but i like the other guys because they excelled at all these other pro sports. i'm sure carl lewis would've been an excellent guard/WR/CF, but we just don't know...

unless i'm way off base here. did carl lewis ever do anything besides track? i mean, let's put bruce jenner in the convo, then.

And maybe even Mary Lou Retton :) Just kidding.

And maybe even Mary Lou Retton :) Just kidding.

i think jenner deserves a mention, coz he and lewis had pure athleticism maybe not spacalized skills to a specifis sport but a sfar as running and jumping these guys were King

Carl Lewis tried out for the Cowboys in the 1980's and could not make the team. We do know about his possibilities at wide receiver. They didn't exist.

steriods...

Allen iverson,is the truth,I give credit were is do!!!!beside hugging the ball in philly!!!the guy plays hard,in my opinion first ballot hall of fame---just for his size---he takes the football mentality in to his game---he will not win a champ in denver--everybody on the team has bad knee's,the starters--camby,martin -- the bench played better in playoff---

Someone on this string mentioned Woods as one of the best athletes ever. Are you kidding me? Having a caddie hold your bag for 18 holes does not qualify as an athlete. He's the most skilled at the game of golf. But there is nothing remotely athletic about the game of golf. A women has made the cut at a PGA event. And I've seen 60 year olds make PAR or better. (A la CHI CHI Rodriguez) But I haven't seen a women get drafted, or CHI CHI for that matter, by the NFL, MBL, or NBA yet. (Not to mention the dozens upon dozens of beer bellies that dominate the leader board, covered by the most grotesque polo shirts on earth)
Having said that, I'm cool with naming Iverson for now. Baseball is more of a game, as it is an athletic sport. So the baseball corssovers get penalized in my mind becuase hitting a ball is a skill similar to a golf swing. But being able to dominate an athletic sport like football and basketball is truly spectacular.

I'm no golf lover, but it sounds to me like you're saying that golf isn't a sport. Tiger is one of the most dominant athletes of all-time, and he has no teammates to pick up the slack for him if he's having an off day. Golf requires incredible mental and physical ability, and while it may not be the most strenuous of sports, I would still call Tiger an athlete.

I would have to throw Tiger in the group just because he has been so dominant in his sport and he's not close to being done yet.

POUND-for-POUND THE MOST TALENT-per-INCH, THE ANSWER, ALLEN IVERSON.

haha..who said that again? bill walton? i agree with him!totally

You guys are all wrong, it's obviously

BUTTERBEAN

Couple of more cheesesteaks and he'll be there.

Tiger is a GOD, but if you put him in a decathlon with just about any of the other people in this thread, I'd lay heavy odds that he would get waxed.

Bjorn Borg/Pete Sampras/Roger Federer - this thread needs a little tennis love.

EXACTLY. WOODS would come in last place in any Decathalon with the players mentioned. Except for Butterbing. Just don't see him polevaulting all that well. But tennis players do need to get their respect.

"before there was a mike vick there was allen iverson"

gotta vote for Bo Jackson, but AI gets a lot of respect

I didn't see Lance Armstrong in the group either. Got to give that Texas boy his props after winning all of those Tours.

....something about steroids......

Mike Vick