Tag: roger federer

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All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Aliens spotted at Wimbledon

If you watched the instant classic between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the Wimbledon grass then you know all about the celebrities in attendance. Well, you at least know that Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani were there because the cameras showed the power couple at least once every ten minutes. However, you might have been too star struck to notice the “others” who showed up to the matches.

With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places.

The faceless mutants have a penchant for A-list celebrity bashes and have been spotted at Elton John’s White tie ball and Harrods summer sale, opened by Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall.

With a membrane of skin stretched tightly over their eyes, noses and mouths, the alien-like figures were most recently snapped ‘watching’ a match perched on Murray Mount at Wimbledon.

Oh, those were aliens!? We thought those faceless freaks were this dude and Joan Rivers.

In other news…

[EBSports.net]: Batter, and penis, up!

[The World of Isaac]: God bless, America and God bless, American flag bikinis

[Cuzoogle.com]: Troy Tulowitzki joins an elite club

[The Caveman Network]: Rampage whooped by UFC’s new light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin

[The Sports Muffin]: The American League’s flubs and snubs

[FilteringCraig.com]: The Nets aren’t the only club looking to sign LeBron James

[The Big Lead]: Epic, epic, epic Wimbledon final on Sunday

[SportsAgentBlog.com]: It’s all about the mo-ney!

[The Sports Hernia Blog]: MLB unveils the new logo for Tampa Bay

[CalBearsShop.com]: The Golden Bears football team gets a new wardrobe

And finally, freestyle swinging.

Categories
General Sports

The world’s greatest athlete is not who you think it is


Arguing over who’s better than who in the wide world of sports has been going on for decades. It’s a difficult and often sticky situation because trying to compare athletes from different sports is like comparing apples and oranges. ESPN put together one of the most compelling arguments by assembling the SportsCentury: Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century, but that was just a bunch of people giving their opinions on the matter.

Why can’t there be a more scientific approach? Well, now there is; thanks to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal sought to identify the world’s greatest athlete with an approach that, while not completely scientific, took a number of measures into account. A panel of five sports scientists and exercise physiologists was given a list drawn up by the Journal of 79 male athletes. Candidates had to be active in their sport and among the all-time best. (Women will be featured separately in a future article.)

The panel weighed individual performance stats, along with their subjective judgments about the relative difficulty of each sport, to give an overall grade to the athletes. (See “How We Did It” for details.) The judges graded athletes on speed, reflexes, stamina, coordination, as well as power, strength and size. The finalists, they said, exhibited a wide range of athletic skill in highly competitive environments.

There were some surprises. Tiger Woods, a dominant figure in professional sports, didn’t crack the Top 10. Panelists said they didn’t give golfers much weight when assessing overall athletic ability. Michael Phelps, one of the greatest U.S. swimmers of all time, also missed the top tier because, the judges said, swimmers generally don’t perform well out of the water. Such endurance athletes as marathoners and Tour de France cyclists also failed to impress. Too one-dimensional, the panel said.

Based on their findings, here are the Journal’s Top 10:

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

You probably haven’t ever heard of the guy, but it’s hard to argue against someone who can “jump over Shaquille O’Neal,” “throw a 16-pound ball the length of a 53-foot yacht” and “leap over a two-lane highway.” Oh, and he’s run a mile in 4:21.

Links:

[WSJ.com]: The World’s Greatest Athlete?
[WaitingForNextYear.com]: LeBron James: World’s (Second) Greatest Athlete

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All Other Sports

Tennis players might look comfortable, but there’s a whole lotta itchin’ going on

You know how it is to be sitting around watching TV and eating microwave dinners when something just doesn’t feel right. You’re just not comfortable. You know what it is, it’s that damn underwear. So, what do you do? Well, you drop trou and finish off that Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes in comfort, of course. And now, tennis players are fighting for their right to go commando.

Yeah, we know, it’s pretty strange behavior, but it’s nothing compared to some of the stupid things that golfers do.