The world's best sportsman to return from injury?

[corn02]

Cabrerra won the US Open one of the toughest tournaments to win. He doesn't exercise and likes cigars. You said the vast majority of players ( with some exceptions) exercise 3 hours on average when they are not in tournaments. I disagree with you and just because you read a few autobios doesn't change my opinion. In the top ten in the world at the minute you have Sergio Garcia, Phil Michelson who wouldnt be gym monkeys but these 2 alone is 20% of the current best players in the world ( not exceptions and i wuld hazard a guess that the lower you go in the ranking the lower the more lax players will be in this regard but im sure you will prove me wrong)
Why are you comparing golfers and footballers( even though all the payers you mention are from a different era and have retired with years!), why not compare them with dart players?

Ok i'll compare them with Darts players, golf players do more fitness work than darts players - i don't get your point here?

I chose football because I say you believe that is one of these athletic sports? How can you say golfers are not gym monkeys and then I'd imagine you'll claim footballers are.

As per your examples, Mickelson realised that not hitting the gym was causing him to lag, he therefore hit the gym and took up martial arts, his muscle percentage has increased dramatically.

Garcia does four two-hour gym sessions a week, throw in a tournament at the weekend and you will see he does a lot.

[nrico2006]

An argument could have been made for fed a few years ago, currently he's not even the best in his own game.  Tiger takes the accolade easily imo.

Has this thread changed to the worlds best sportsman?

Federer is going through a slump by his standards and this has been happening for the past year, but thats not to say that he won't come out of it and reign over Nadal again (I think he will).  Federer would have been regarded as the best sportsman this time last year without a doubt.  Presently Usain Bolt would be a serious contender for best sportsman surely?

[corn02]

An argument could have been made for fed a few years ago, currently he's not even the best in his own game.  Tiger takes the accolade easily imo.

Has this thread changed to the worlds best sportsman?

Federer is going through a slump by his standards and this has been happening for the past year, but thats not to say that he won't come out of it and reign over Nadal again (I think he will).  Federer would have been regarded as the best sportsman this time last year without a doubt.  Presently Usain Bolt would be a serious contender for best sportsman surely?

Sportsman was what I was getting at, not sportsstar because Beckham would have that in the bag.

[stew]

Hardly the world best sport star ever or even still active.

I'm sure you'll tell us who is

Federer in my opinion but if want most consistent, Phil the Power is hard to beat.

Laughable that you would snigger at the mention of Tiger and then offer Federer and Taylor as replacements. All valid contenders, but golf is a sport where any group of 30 golfers can win the big ones and Tiger usually comes out on top.

When or where did I snigger at Tiger?
Schumacher was some driver ,while Lance was great but there will always be doubts.

Armstrong never tested dirty so he gets the benfit of the doubt, the loveable french went to great lengths to discredit him and even broke into his room and still couldnt get him.

I hope he wins it again to slap it up them, I doubt he will though, I think he might finally be beaten this year.

[Roger]

Paul Gascoigne did pretty well after his injury at Spurs and deserves a mention.

[INDIANA]

Brian Mullins in 1982/83. Believe me no-one else would ever have played again.

[Bogball XV]

An argument could have been made for fed a few years ago, currently he's not even the best in his own game.  Tiger takes the accolade easily imo.

Has this thread changed to the worlds best sportsman?

Federer is going through a slump by his standards and this has been happening for the past year, but thats not to say that he won't come out of it and reign over Nadal again (I think he will).  Federer would have been regarded as the best sportsman this time last year without a doubt.  Presently Usain Bolt would be a serious contender for best sportsman surely?

My apologies for hijacking the thread with best sportsman, but Bolt?  I could wiki him, but can't be bothered, he's a 100m runner I think, I know nothing of his achievements, but (and I haven't checked out Puck's link on what is a sport and what isn't) I would be loathe to include athletes here, mainly because sports to my mind should also include an element of skill.

[corn02]

Amazing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DCW_Yoy5Q

[ludermor]

Ok i'll compare them with Darts players, golf players do more fitness work than darts players - i don't get your point here?
I chose football because I say you believe that is one of these athletic sports? How can you say golfers are not gym monkeys and then I'd imagine you'll claim footballers are.

As per your examples, Mickelson realised that not hitting the gym was causing him to lag, he therefore hit the gym and took up martial arts, his muscle percentage has increased dramatically.
Garcia does four two-hour gym sessions a week, throw in a tournament at the weekend and you will see he does a lot.

You choose football im sure you have your reasons (even though it defeats your agrument)
Show me your proof where Mickelson hit the gym.
Garcia says he goes to the gym when he has time and then in his own words Usually probably work
out about four days a week and I will probably
spend just around two hours, a little bit of cardio
and a little bit of weights and all that stuff.
and then http://www.andalucia.com/golf/sergio-garcia.htm
No, nothing out of the ordinary. I practice a little. If I have time I go to the gym, but nothing out of the ordinary. So to me that is the same as a 'normal' person i going to the gym.
Ok take the some of Europe Ryder cup stars
Colin Montgomery
Darren Clarke
Lee Westwood
Miguel Angle Jimenez
Look you said there are exceptions but id nearly go as far to say that superfit golfers are the exceptions and you cant back you your statement A pro golfer would spend as much time in the gym as a Premiership player. An average non-tournamnet day for a golfer would probably include about 3 hours in the gym

[corn02]

I'll get them links now, but can you back up where all Premiership players spend this much time in the gym?

[ludermor]

 did i say that?

EDIT just checked i never mentioned footballers.

[corn02]

mickleson:

I immediately lost 20, 25 pounds and put on about 10 to 15 more with muscle from lifting, trying to build up stamina doing 45 minutes to an hour and a half of cardio five or six days a week. I've started a new martial arts, a different type of martial art from what I'd been doing."

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news_07/phil_mickelson_1.html

A quote from Harrington sums it up for me.

"In any given week, I will spend 70-plus hours on my golf," he said. "It may not be high-intensity work at times, but including my gym work, it is easily 10 hours a day, seven days a week, and it catches up with you. I know a lot of people work double weeks, but out here when you're not at your peak, it shows up very quickly. That's why you have to take time off. You can't get away with being average."

I'm actually finding it hard to find schedules. Vijay is known to be in the gym by 6am most mornings. Tiger's the obviosus gymaholic and he really brought the ethic into the game. You listed a few players there, as I said there are exceptions, Daly, Cabrerra, Jiminez, but they were all at the top of the game before Woods came a long. You must not follow it closely if you don't realise that players take a different approach to it now. You listed Clarke (see quote below), but he is the perfect example of someone who bucked up his trends to suit the different manner of the sport.

"I look back over my career and wonder if my lack of discipline in terms of my shape and fitness cost me tournament wins when I was younger, " the Northern Irish golfer admitted. "That's why I decided, three years ago, to get fit before it was too late"  - a quote from Clarke from last week.

Ok you mentioned Garcia's routine, combine that with the four hours he probably spends on the driving range each day and it is fair to say it i  fairly physical.

[corn02]

Just because some golfers go to the gym this wouldn't make it an athletic sport, for every Tiger Woods i could give you an Angel Cabrera

That's your quote.

In today's game you are way off to suggest that just some golfers go to the gym. You could not give me a Cabrerra for every Woods. Out of the top 200 in the world, I would imagine 90% plus would do massive gym work combined with practising.

[Puckoon]

You think fitness and stamina does not come into golf?

You are looking at it from our view point, which is walking around an 18-hole course.

A pro golfer would spend as much time in the gym as a Premiership player. An average non-tournamnet day for a golfer would probably include about 3 hours in the gym and about six hours practicing.

Read some of the autobiographies and come back to me and tell me there is not athleticism in it.

Sorry Corn - Ive no time to read the autobiographies - but I will say this, if a pro golfer spends as much time in the gym as a premiership player - how do you explain the montys, the miklesons, the jiminez's, the cabrerras of the PGA TOUR? Most pga events start with a pro am, and most nights there are relatively big dinners after the pro am, the cut, and the final round. Then its back on a plane to home for a few days and all over again.

Im not saying its not a tough schedule - but dont think for a second you can point to Phil Mikleson at me and say - hes an athlete.

Just an alternative opinion.

Sorry lads, just read the last few pages.

Anyway corn - if your article on mickelson is from 07, then its out of date - he was heavier this year than in recent times.

[corn02]

You think fitness and stamina does not come into golf?

You are looking at it from our view point, which is walking around an 18-hole course.

A pro golfer would spend as much time in the gym as a Premiership player. An average non-tournamnet day for a golfer would probably include about 3 hours in the gym and about six hours practicing.

Read some of the autobiographies and come back to me and tell me there is not athleticism in it.

Sorry Corn - Ive no time to read the autobiographies - but I will say this, if a pro golfer spends as much time in the gym as a premiership player - how do you explain the montys, the miklesons, the jiminez's, the cabrerras of the PGA TOUR? Most pga events start with a pro am, and most nights there are relatively big dinners after the pro am, the cut, and the final round. Then its back on a plane to home for a few days and all over again.

Im not saying its not a tough schedule - but dont think for a second you can point to Phil Mikleson at me and say - hes an athlete.

Just an alternative opinion.

Yeah well I'll have to disagree with you then, fair enough. Re: the players you mentioned, all pre-Woods era and there is no doubt Woods has shaken up this aspect of the game and rebranded it.

Mickelson has drastically improved his gym work.

Also if you think they spend most nights at dinners, that is flawed logic.