Hey I Made It, I'm the World's Greatest

All we ever do in sports is rank things. The best pitchers of the 1960s (#1 Bob Gibson), the best dynasties in college football (obviously the 1930s Golden Gophers), and the greatest sports moments in 1985 (who knows, I'm making this stuff up off the top of my head). We make top ten lists, we argue who belongs where, we use statistics to back up our amateur analysis, and we feel indignant when someone disagrees. The internet has only made it worse with idiot bloggers who think they know something about everything, making mundane posts about pointless topics and self-serving rankings of the most unimportant things.



Well, this is eerily similar to one of those posts (I am the aforementioned idiot blogger) , though there won't really be any rankings, merely statements which people might find offensive and inaccurate. What I will try to do today is look at random sports and assign a "greatest current player" to each one. That is to say, greatest player currently playing in a professional league/competition of that sport. So, for example, it differs from greatest living player because MJ isn't going to win the basketball argument, because he isn't playing (unless, of course he decides his Bobcats are so pathetic that he comes out of retirement for the third time to attempt a comeback to raise ticket sales), and Wayne Gretzky isn't going to win the hockey argument.

Now, I like to consider myself "knowledgeable" about a wide variety of sports but I'm only an expert in a few (tiddly-winks, dodgeball, and lawn mower racing, aka the sports on ESPN 8, The Ocho). Just remember that while the picks may be wrong in your opinion, you should probably take most of them with a grain of salt because I haven't been able to watch hundreds of games in every sport. So, to cut the useless rambling short and cut to more useless rambling, I give you the Ultimate List of Greatest Active Athletes in Their Respective Sports (as of June 30th, 2011).

Baseball

Call me biased, call me a homer, call me whatever you like. But I would say that this is one of the categories that, if a poll was taken, this person would probably get the highest percentage of votes (current circumstances notwithstanding). Being a baseball great requires longevity, consistency, and dominance. Of the players currently on MLB rosters, the obvious (in my opinion) choice is Albert Pujols. Over the last ten years, no one has come close, with the possible exception of a tainted A-Roid, er... I mean A-Rod, to the kind of consistent production Albert has posted. And if stats aren't enough for you, he has a World Series ring too. And 3 MVPs. And 6 Silver Sluggers. And 2 Gold Gloves. Oh yea, and 9 All-Star selections. And he has played in at least 140 games every year (until this one). Since being a position player and a pitcher are so different, I'll give an honorable mention to Roy Halladay. The guy has been unreal for a long time. Definitely the best pitcher in the game right now.

Basketball

Well, so much for avoiding controversy. I'm going to go with a guy who has produced the stat lines but hasn't quite grasped what it means to be truly great. He has five few rings than Kobe, the same number of MVPs as Steve Nash, and is currently sitting a 2 in the stat line under huge choke jobs. But in my mind LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world. When you put up a triple double and people say you had a bad game, you know you're good. Like, really good. If people come up with the term "soft triple-double" just so they can bash you, it's an indication that you are a transcendent player. Sadly, LBJ hasn't stepped up in the clutch but it doesn't take away from the fact that he can post 25-8-8 without breaking a sweat. So although the opinion isn't a popular one and titles are apparently the only thing that matters in peoples' eyes, I'm taking James as the greatest player right now. Sorry.

Hockey

Ok, so things might get a little foggy here but I still feel I have a grasp on the current hockey landscape. And it seems that my choice in this sport is going to have a similar feel to the choice I just made in basketball. Though his team has fallen very short of expectations and he doesn't have a title to his name, the most dominating and greatest force in hockey right now has to be Alexander Ovechkin. The guy lights up the rink in a way few others in the league can compare to and he's been doing it for longer than the current crop of "great" players. Everyone always says that Ovechkin and Crosby get all the attention and that there are players who deserve it more, but I don't think those players do it as consistently as Ovi does. In the last 12 season, there have been 11 winners of the Hart Memorial Trophy. The only player to win it twice was Ovechkin. And though his team has fallen flat on its face in the post-season, Ovechkin has posted great numbers in the playoffs, doing everything in his power to push them to the next level.

Football

This one is especially difficult because football has about 20 different positions, all of which are important in their own right. Running backs can't make incredible runs without good blocks (unless you're Marshawn Lynch against the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 playoffs), quarterbacks aren't nearly as good with protection and guys who can catch the ball, and a pass rushers can't get sacks without good coverage in the secondary. It's as if every position has to feed off of another position. But, we still have to award the title of greatest and since the NFL has become an extremely pass-heavy league, and the guys who get the credit are the quarterbacks, I'm giving the honor to Peyton Manning. Yes, that's right. I'm giving it to him over Brady, Brees, and hot pick Rodgers. Over Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson. You put any other person on the Colts, they go 7-9 or worse year in and year out. Manning is other-worldly. And he got a ring to stop the "can't win a title" talk. His numbers are eye-popping and he'll probably end up going down as the greatest ever if he can stay healthy long enough. So yes, if you are likely to go down as the greatest ever, you'll probably also the current greatest player as well.

The Other Football

Most people argue this is a two horse race. And it's also difficult to assess because there are multiple primer leagues around the world, unlike the last four sports discussed. Another factor to take into consideration is that defenders and goalies can be considered just as important as goal scorers, they just don't necessarily get as much credit. Sadly, that trend will continue because both of the "horses" in this discussion are players who score and score often. But one is better than the other (in my opinion). Not much better but better still. Some would argue he gets better service because he is always around world-class passers but few can refute his on-ball brilliance and ability to astound thousands with his strikes. Also, he flops a lot less than the other guy in contention. That's right folks, the greatest player alive in the beautiful game is Lionel Messi. While him and Christiano Ronaldo have both struggled to find super success with their respective national teams, it is rare to find offensive player who can rise to the top on both stages consistently (examples of this phenomenon include Fernando Torres, Miroslav Klose, and Wayne Rooney). While you can't give him too much credit for Barcelona's ascent to one of the "greatest teams of all-time" he certainly has been a big time contributor. And the guy is only 24 so he can still build his legend with a great showing in Brazil in 2014 with Argentina.

Golf

There are strange circumstances surrounding this selection, which really sets it aside from all the previously discussed sports. But, regardless of recent fall-out, no one has really asserted themselves as truly great in the absence of the world's best. A bunch of no-namers have come out of the wood work to win major championships and only recently has a youngster begun to really challenge for the title of greatest current competitor. The honor still has to go to the ever intriguing Tiger Woods. Though he hasn't won a tournament in about a year and half and his major-winning pace has taken significant hits in recent years, he is still the greatest golf competing (though you could technically argue he isn't currently competing, but that would be getting way too technical). He still has the skill set, he just hasn't quite figured out the mental half of the game. Well that and the fact that his swing is still evolving. While Rory is beginning to climb the rankings and place himself in the record books, there's a way to go until him, or anyone else for that matter, overtakes El Tigre.

Tennis

This could be especially tricky for most people but I find it rather easy. If we are taking about right here, right now there is only one logical choice. If we are to put the world's two best players on a court (any kind of court, clay, grass, hard, dirt, carpet... yes, there are carpet tennis courts), the winner would usually be the younger of the two, especially now. He has asserted himself as the current greatest player. And it's probably because your prime in tennis is just so short because youth is everything in such physically demanding marathon of a sport. So yes, though I despise him, Rafael Nadal is currently the greatest tennis player over a might-be-done-with-his prime Roger Federer. Nadal has dominated recent results on all surfaces and is probably going to overtake Federer's slams record if he keeps up his current pace. So it's kind of an awkward situation when everyone was anointing Fed as the greatest player ever and he might not even end up being the greatest player of a decade. Although, luckily for those interested in tennis, it has made for some fantastic matches and an ever-constant flow of articles relating to a sport that sometimes doesn't get the recognition it should.

Ok. So that's it for realistic entries. Here are some that didn't quite make the final edit.

Women's Soccer

Apparently the Brazilian Marta is hands down the best female soccer player, not only now, but ever. Go figure.

X-Games

So yea, this is incorporating like 25 "sports" that aren't really alike, but I'm going to go out on a limb and saying that Shaun White is the current greatest. 1. Because if I remember correctly he can do it in summer and winter. 2. He seems to also be the most popular X-games athlete (success breeds popularity, right?). 3. He would have cut that hair by now if it wasn't working for him.

Women's Tennis

Even experts in this sport can't decide on the greatest because it is impossible to predict who wins major tournaments, minor tournaments, and mid-major tournaments. They currently seed the women's draw of major tournaments by labeling dozens of rabbits with individuals' names and having them race. The order the rabbits finish is the order of the draw. Maybe I should change it to hottest current female tennis player rather than greatest to make it a more interesting (and in all likelihood gather a wider audience).

Competitive Eating

I'm pretty sure it's Joey Chestnut because the only other person you can name in competitive eating is Kobayashi, and he's way past his prime.

NASCAR

Not a sport so I won't even consider putting any thought into this. Although all I would have to do is look at the Sprint Cup winner for like the last 12 years (Jimmie Johnson) and it would say the same name, so I'm assuming he is the greatest current "driver" (they don't get to be deemed athletes in my book).

Cricket

I wouldn't even attempt to act like I know the name of a single cricket player, let alone know who the best was.

Softball

Does Jenny Finch still play? She's got my vote.

Boxing

Manny Pacquiao, right? Oh wait, most people can only name one boxer and he's it so it's by default.

Summer Olympics

Yes, I'm grouping these all together and saying Michael Phelps. But only because if he happens to stumble across this blog in between bong hits with his buds (hehe, get it) I don't want him feeling neglected or angry towards me.