Ali

[mouview]

whos is on your opinion the greatest sportman of all time then saying u brought it up, Lewis? woods? jordan? pele? Messi? i would like to know?
cause i cannot see anyone who can compare up against him,
did make his name outside the ring alot more than any other sportsman but never ducked anybody unlike today boxers

WW Its all about opinions and I'm not devaluing your icon, just saying that he wouldnt have been mine, It has been said above just repeatedly saying you were the greatest ever, doesnt necessarily mean you are. Dont get me wrong he produced the goods when he needed too but so did others Lewis, Beaman, Pele and also Maradonna (Controversial but still applies).

So Im not sure that I have an Ultimate sporting Icon as I have a few but I still don't buy into the hype surrounding Ali.

I agree with you. Ali may have been great in terms of how well he caught the imagination of the wider public, not just those knowledgeable about boxing. Also, in terms of promotion and profile, he was ahead of the curve. However, SRR commonly and widely regarded as the best boxer of all time.

A number of factors need to be considered when trying to decide who was the best sports person of all time; how completely did they dominate their sport, the strength of their peers / competition in their era, their mastery of all the different facets of their sport etc.

For me, the main contenders would be Federer, Steven Hendry, Phil Taylor, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Loeb (especially), Usain Bolt (if clean), but most particularly Tiger Woods, who for over 15 years bestrode a sport notoriously difficult to master.

Plenty more too I'm sure.

[muppet]

Mouview mentions Bolt but most leave out athletes when considering 'the greatest'.

I love watching the Decathlon and for me those are usually the best all rounders in sport.

Roman Šebrle, Tomáš Dvořák, Dan O'Brien and the latest star Ashton Eaton all greats for me.

[Declan]

he also very nastily insulted Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson and most criminally imvho Joe Louis.

With Ali,it was a case of Louis criticising Muhammad for his Nation Of Islam stance and he insulted Ali by calling him Cassius Clay. Louis said that he lacked courage all this on top of that it was around this time that Ali was declaring his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war, for which later he was stripped of his title and had his boxing licence suspended. A legend like Louis, who served in Uniform in World War 2 criticising a draft dodging 'coward' and even using what Ali thought of as his 'slave name' in relation to him,so Ali responded in kind. The relationship between the two of them went a bit sour for a while,but thankfully reconciled quite a few years before Louis died. Also in later life, when the Subject of a "This is your Life" programme Joe Louis filmed a tribute and greeting to Ali, it was very moving and it was obvious to all that Joe was gravely ill and as the applause started Ali held up his hand and said "Joe Louis ..he was the greatest". the last guest was Joe Frazier and they hugged warmly.

An intriguing character in a lot of respects and a product of his time. His stand on the Vietnam war was unique and he changed the face of boxing forever.

Ps -IMO he was right to criticise Patterson by the way and Frazier is a whole other story.

[magpie seanie]

Mouview mentions Bolt but most leave out athletes when considering 'the greatest'.

I love watching the Decathlon and for me those are usually the best all rounders in sport.

Roman Šebrle, Tomáš Dvořák, Dan O'Brien and the latest star Ashton Eaton all greats for me.

What? No Daley?

[muppet]

Mouview mentions Bolt but most leave out athletes when considering 'the greatest'.

I love watching the Decathlon and for me those are usually the best all rounders in sport.

Roman Šebrle, Tomáš Dvořák, Dan O'Brien and the latest star Ashton Eaton all greats for me.

What? No Daley?

Great athlete, even greater plonker imho.

[NAG1]

Mouview mentions Bolt but most leave out athletes when considering 'the greatest'.

I love watching the Decathlon and for me those are usually the best all rounders in sport.

Roman Šebrle, Tomáš Dvořák, Dan O'Brien and the latest star Ashton Eaton all greats for me.

Why be great in one discipline when you can be above average in ten eh Muppet ! 

[Hardy]

Mouview mentions Bolt but most leave out athletes when considering 'the greatest'.

I love watching the Decathlon and for me those are usually the best all rounders in sport.

Roman Šebrle, Tomáš Dvořák, Dan O'Brien and the latest star Ashton Eaton all greats for me.

What? No Daley?

Great athlete, even greater plonker imho.

I salute yho:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Btl4ecpNc8