On what basis? Basketball is a physically more taxing sport, while Baseball requires just as much if not more eye hand coordination.
Atlete of The Decade
- Thread starter OddJack
- Start date
On what basis? Basketball is a physically more taxing sport, while Baseball requires just as much if not more eye hand coordination.
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
To be honest, I would have just assumed "athlete" meant "sportsman".
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
You think it's physically more taxing because all you are comparing is playing tennis vs playing basketball for one day.
If you compare the whole season a tennis player is going through, the fact that they cant rely on any team player, the mental stress, the traveling, tennis's knock out system, the fact that there will be no substitutes, time outs etc. you will notice that tennis is a tougher game to stay fit at.
While basketball results in more injuries, the injuries resulted from tennis players is mostly caused by repeating movements that wear down joints, tendons and muscles. This is why the average retirement age for a NBL player is above 35, which is above the corresponding age for a tennis player.
Andy G
Semi-Pro
Why must a sport be physically taxing for a person to qualify for athlete of the year? Billiards may not be physical, but it certainly is extremely difficult. Anyone who can be world #1 for the entire decade should automatically qualify for athlete of the decade. Let alone #1 for 2 decades back to back.
http://www.allisonfisher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=73
http://www.allisonfisher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=73
Quite Please
Rookie
Hahaha, well spoken. To be in consideration for best of athlete of the decade you have to have dominated your sport for a long time. We still need to see that from Bolt.
killertubbie
New User
you're wrong man!! Federer IS THE athlete of the decades not anyone else...
thalivest
Banned
I watch some womens billiards from time to time. She is AMAZING. Even her look is intimidating to her opponents. She was amazing at snooker before that.
Agreed. Federer is the greatest true athlete I've ever seen. Nobody has ever made it look so easy for so long as he has at a MAJOR sport.
Barry Bonds shouldn't even be considered a great baseball player. He was just a steroid-enhanced cheat.
IvanisevicServe
Banned
Pre-Steroid Bonds was the best player in baseball during the 90's.
Tennis matches on average aren't as long as NBA matches. Plus, most NBA teams play back to back multiple days in a row, resulting in more games played total. There are a total of 82 games played in the NBA, not including play-offs.
However, most tennis players do not play 82 matches in a year. In fact, very rarely do they do. Also, there is no substitution, but tennis is an anaerobic sport, that is not played in long spurts such as basketball. Tennis you get a break between every point, every change over, between sets, not including injury timeouts, etc.
Remember, that supposedly marathon match that Nadal and Djokovic played was really only something like 40 minutes of real tennis. Most NBA players clock that amount of time in a single game on the court (the starters do anyways).
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
Disagree. 82 Team player basketball games is less taxing than 82 tennis matches a year. Top players play as many or very close to that number, and since the discussion here is about the athlete of the decade, the top player would play as many matches a year.
And, you completely ignored my points regarding the types of injuries tennis players suffer and why the retirement age is younger.
DownTheLine
Hall of Fame
Tennis is harder. Coming from a person who played basketball for 6-7 years.
What? 6-7 years rec? Tennis players get to rest every effing 5 seconds. Basketball players have to run back and down the court hundreds of times. I bet you never hustled, or you are most likely just a kid.
Tennis players are generally wussy's. It's the sad truth.
tacotanium
Professional
i also disagree. more matches are played because one game doesn't suck up much energy when compared. for example football. why don't they play best 3 of 5 like basketball? because football need more stamina. although i do wish they make the playoff best of 5 games in football.
tennis player DO take breaks, but comes back on the court. basketball, there are substitutions, in which they take much more than 5 minute breaks.
if nadal and djokovic really played only 40min of "real tennis", thats 40min of max sprinting/running. in basketball usually they don't do this, most players jog around the court.
basketball in generally is harder than tennis because it's a team sport. team sport are more prone to errors/fouls, ex. football. if you know what i mean.
tacotanium
Professional
and no they don't RUN down the court hundreds of times. they walk n jog....lol. tennis players actually RUN during rallies. bball players won't need to run that fast and they get longer breaks.
tennis is a pretty hard sport. requires a lot of stamina and athleticism. the real wussy's are table tennis players. they're all fat and can't move.
i've never heard or read anything about tennis players being wussy's.....in my life....ever. you probably never hustled playing tennis. lol
back on subject....i wouldn't consider any football players best athlete of the year. to me they just don't stand out that much, athleticism wise, for some reason. the dominant of the sport doesn't mean best athleticism. tiger wood is best at golf......but golf doesn't required any athleticism, just like nascar, fishing, and table tennis.
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No.... You are totally wrong. Have you ever played basketball? The most you have to "run" in tennis is a couple steps to hit the ball. The only time you truly run is either a short angle or a dropshot. How many of those do you get a match? Very few. Just watch a real match, they move 5-6 steps maximum in a normal rally, then they get a 15-30 second break. Plus changeover. And "injury" timeouts. Also, when you miss a ball, another free break. Basketball players do not get to break when playing.
Yes, they get longer breaks, but they also have to work harder.
OddJack
G.O.A.T.
First of all, just a kid or no, everyone is entitled to their opinion. One thing I really hate here is personal attacks(unless you're responding to it).
I remember it was estimated Nadal ran 2.1 miles in Verdasco match. Yes, it was an epic match but it was also close to average distance a basketball player runs in a game, 2-3 miles.
Physical aspects aside, lonely as tennis is, it requires a level of mental toughness sports such as basketball does not require. Tennis has no time limits, it is always up to you and only you to win or lose. So, when we talk about toughness of a sport it is not only " effing" how many times they ran back and forth, it's also how they did it.
jazzyfunkybluesy
Banned
Whats the point of debating on which sport is tougher?
Epic match; remember. It took a what, 6+ hour match for Nadal to run the same distance a basketball player usually runs. Basketball players run that on average 82 games per year.
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
It is so that..... at the end of the debate, we all come to the conclusion that a certain sport is tougher than the others.
[kidding, yeah, it's pointless good clean, healthy fun;....but not as healthy as actually going out and playing any and all of those sports.....and in that spirit, I'm off]
mtr1
Professional
You are an idiot. All your posts are now worthless because of that statement.
tacotanium
Professional
i go to table tennis tournys with my friend every monday. they all may not be fat but the majority can't move. really can't move.
debating is the fun part sometimes.
off course no ones ever right.
FedSampras1
Rookie
Tiger is a hypocrite sex addict cheater, and golf shouldn't even be considered a sport.
Phelps is a junkie moron.
Bonds is the Nadal of baseball (biggest cheat in MLB)
And the rest doesn't count (Bolt appeared in 2008 )
So Federer by far
Phelps is a junkie moron.
Bonds is the Nadal of baseball (biggest cheat in MLB)
And the rest doesn't count (Bolt appeared in 2008 )
So Federer by far
mtr1
Professional
Are these people elite level players? In all the other examples given in this thread people such as Phelps and Federer have been talked about, yet for table tennis you give an example of some low level "competition". Watch some real table tennis, the players are far from fat.
pame
Hall of Fame
Just to set the record straight for those of you saying Usain Bolt only won Olympics in 2008. In fact he won the World Championships (in Berlin) this year, both 100 metres and 200 metres - in each case blitzing the world record by 1 and 1/10th second, and has now run the first sub 9.6-seconds 100 metres (he ran if memory serves me 9.58 secs). Also was part of the winning relay (but that's team, not individual)
Not saying he should be the Athlete of the Decade, just correcting the info given that he only did his stuff in 2008
Not saying he should be the Athlete of the Decade, just correcting the info given that he only did his stuff in 2008
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veroniquem
Bionic Poster
What does sex addict have to do with golf? Does that somehow diminish Tiger's professional achievements? And who knows, maybe his hyperactive sexuality is what gave him the impetus to win everything. (Maybe that's what Fed admires in him
). And how is Nadal a cheat in any way, let alone the biggest?
D
Deleted member 25923
Guest
In response to all of these: Basketball is definately more physical and taxing of a sport. I would get more tired when I used to play.
Tennis requires more skill and technique, but it also requires lots of athleticism.
When we talk about best athlete of the decade, we're talking the Player who did the best at their own sport. So Federer may not be as athletic as Usain Bolt, but he may still be a better athlete in the sense of what he has accomplished.
The debate is more about what's a sport or not.
Personally, I find baseball a pretty lazy sport. When half of the players are picking their ass waiting for an easy fly ball to catch, that's definately not as much of a sport as tennis or basketball.
Azzurri
Legend
lance Armstrong, ever hear of him?
Armstrong was as TDF-*****. He never could win a Vuelta or Giro. That's a big strike against him.
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
Total cheeseball, too. Weak personal integrity. What a smug little twerp. [his persona, family life, interaction with single women while drunk, etc]
But, I do not question his status as one of the most accomplished athletes of the decade.
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Azzurri
Legend
i admit I am not a bike fan, then why has no one ever won 7 TDF in a row like Lance? sounds like he was the best rider. what is different about the Giro or Vuelta.
Azzurri
Legend
I have heard a few things and I know from personal experience he can be a diXk. he is NOT what he seems in the least.
pame
Hall of Fame
It's like if Fed won 6 Wimbledons and no other slam.
thalivest
Banned
TDF is more alot about your team more than your individual ability. Armstrong was fortunate for a long time to be the leader of the most dominant overall team.
Azzurri
Legend
so these other events are as big as the TDF? why is it never mentioned on tv around here. ESPN and some other sports stations always talk about the TDF, but none other.
Azzurri
Legend
i see. but he still has to ride. sorry guys, but the TDF gets so much press while the others getting nothing to the normal masses, so how big could these other tourneys be??
Yup, the Giro, Vuelta and TDF are the 3 "Grand Tours" of bicycling. It's important to win all of them to be considered a truly all time great. This is why I consider Alberto Contador superior to Armstrong, as he has already won a "career slam" in cycling by winning a Giro, Vuelta and TDF(2x).
Azzurri
Legend
I see. thanks for the info.
Fedex
Legend
Chris Hoy would certainly be a candidate if we're talking cycling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy
See Odd Jack. There's still a world outside the USA.
Even a wee country like Scotland can produce great athletes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy
See Odd Jack. There's still a world outside the USA.
Even a wee country like Scotland can produce great athletes.
dropshot winner
Hall of Fame
Armstrong and Bonds have both used PEDs, I don't understand how anyone wants them to win.
It's between Woods and Federer.
It's between Woods and Federer.
dropshot winner
Hall of Fame
Probably because Formula1-racing is the most boring sport since competitive-"watching grass grow".
I can't believe how often Eurosport wastes its airtime for it when at the same time some good tennis is going on.
malakas
Banned
how is it possible that "watching paint dry" game of golf is with Tiger and not "watching grass grow" game of F-1?
F-1 is very popular in europe at least.Much much more popular than golf.
If the problem is that F-1 isn't a real sport well golf is neither.
dropshot winner
Hall of Fame
I agree, Golf is just as boring. Unfortunately Woods' popularity and achievements make him near impossible to ignore.
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