The Wall Street Journal's 10 Greatest Male Athletes (Still Active)

[Cydar]

Just throwing this up for discussion.

One of the criteria for the list is that the athlete had to be active in his sport. For the rest of the article which explains their selection method here is the link:

LINK: Who's the world's greatest athlete?

As for the actual list here is the link:

LINK: The world's 10 greatest athletes

Edit: Here's the list:

1)Roman Sebrle, decathlete
2)LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3)Floyd Mayweather, boxer
4)LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
5)Roger Federer, tennis
6)Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
7)Liu Xiang, 110-meter hurdler
8)Jeremy Wariner, 400-meter sprinter
9)Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, FC Barcelona
10)Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

 

[CyGuy33]

Interesting list, some Olympic athletes getting some pub.

 

[BigSkyCy2]

Didn't Floyd Mayweather retire?

 

[Benny34]

No Tiger?

 

[Clones85']

Wow I didn't even click on the link after looking at the list. Terrible list

 

[isuarch80]

Didn't Floyd Mayweather retire?

Which time? :wink:

 

[superfan]

The omission of Tiger Woods doesn't bother me. As my old wrestling coach used to say, "Golf isn't a sport, it's a hobby"

The one that does strike me is Michael Phelps.

 

[Kinky F]

Just throwing this up for discussion.

One of the criteria for the list is that the athlete had to be active in his sport. For the rest of the article which explains their selection method here is the link:

LINK: Who's the world's greatest athlete?

As for the actual list here is the link:

LINK: The world's 10 greatest athletes

Edit: Here's the list:

1)Roman Sebrle, decathlete
2)LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3)Floyd Mayweather, boxer
4)LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
5)Roger Federer, tennis
6)Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
7)Liu Xiang, 110-meter hurdler
8)Jeremy Wariner, 400-meter sprinter
9)Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, FC Barcelona
10)Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

This all goes back to one's definition of an "athlete". Is it speed, hand/eye coordination, strength, balance, endurance, a combination of all?

Wariner can run fast, but put him on a tennis court or in a batting cage and he may look silly. Is he still the 8th best athlete in the world even though he may have no hand eye coordination? Crosby can skate and hit a puck, but maybe he runs a 5.4 40 and has a 20 inch vertical. You can go through and say that about most of these guys.

No Tiger Woods struck me as well. Is LeBron a better athlete than Kobe? How so? Also, wrestlers and gymnasts and (surprisingly) ballet people are some of the best athletes out there, and none of them are on the list. Would any of us have argued Cael being one of the best athletes when in his prime? Interesting list though.

 

[sodakjoe]

I'm glad that instead of just picking famous names, they actually considered the parameters of the word, "athlete". For anyone unaware of the events which comprise a decathlon:

Day 1
100 meters
long jump
shot put
high jump
400 meters

Day 2
110 meter hurdles
discus
pole vault
javelin
1500 meters

This has to be someone who can sprint, run distance, throw, and jump. The variety of athletic skills you must possess to consistently compete in an event like this is astounding. Those that participate in this are truly impeccable athletes.

 

[sodakjoe]

In case anyone was wondering, I don't really follow track, I just really appreciate the athleticism of decathletes. Apparently this guy topping the list holds the World Record for Decathlon, just take a look at this guy. Holy crap. Don't want to meet this dude in an alley, that's for sure.

 

[Kinky F]

In case anyone was wondering, I don't really follow track, I just really appreciate the athleticism of decathletes. Apparently this guy topping the list holds the World Record for Decathlon, just take a look at this guy. Holy crap. Don't want to meet this dude in an alley, that's for sure.

Great athlete for sure, but I'd rather meet him in an alley than an Olympic wrestler, NFL football player, Boxing champ, etc. etc. Does he have any hand eye coordination? Can he hit a 100 MPH fastball? Can he catch a football? Can he make a basket? Who knows. He's fast and strong though.

 

[balken]

Great athlete for sure, but I'd rather meet him in an alley than an Olympic wrestler, NFL football player, Boxing champ, etc. etc. Does he have any hand eye coordination? Can he hit a 100 MPH fastball? Can he catch a football? Can he make a basket? Who knows. He's fast and strong though.

Can he drink upwards of 30 beers per day?

“I’m concerned about our beer supply. After this case, and the next case, we only have one case left.”

 

[d4nim4l]

The omission of Tiger Woods doesn't bother me. As my old wrestling coach used to say, "Golf isn't a sport, it's a hobby"

Screw that. You think he hits 300+ yards just because of his equipment? Or he hits his irons farther out of the rough than a lot of pros do out of the fairway because of his equipment? No. He trains like an athlete in any other sport and he has completely revolutionized professional golf because of it. Just read any of the multiple articles out there about it.

Great golfers can do it without being an "athlete". It has been done. However, with the way Tiger is changing the game (and has changed it) shows what happens when an actual athlete takes up the game and dedicates himself to it.

 

[bigredqb7]

1 soccer player, who is a little washed up at the moment, and no tiger woods? worst list ive ever seen in my entire life