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  • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

    Originally posted by FreshFish View Post
    You had mentioned that you were planning to have 128 people and do a bracket from the outset. I have a suggestion based on the way most major sports handle large number of teams that I also think would be easier to administer, more fun for people to participate in, and also be a much fairer way to sort athletes....after all, you might have an athlete that would otherwise go deep into the tournament who is "unfairly" knocked out too early by running into someone even stronger.

    Div I college basketball has over 300 teams but only 64 in the bracket stage; World Cup soccer has about 190 teams but only 16 in the bracket stage, even Div I college hockey has about 58 teams but only 16 in the bracket stage. Before they get to the bracket stage, they have round-robin pool play and the top several teams from each pool advance to the next stage (in basketball and hockey, "pool play" is known as "conference play").

    If you do adopt this hybrid format, I'll help with the scoring if you like. I'll still vote if you remain with the 128-person single elimination bracket, for me it wouldn't be as interesting as this alternative.

    Also, you can start with 144 people if you want and still get down to a 32-person (or 16-person) single elimination bracket.

    Example 1:

    > start with 128 people, seed the top 16 as AA and 17 - 32 as A.
    > have 16 pools of 8 people each, with one AA and one A randomly assigned to each pool
    > everyone votes for their top 4 picks.
    > highest 4 in each pool advance to next round.
    > now you have 8 poos of 8 people each, 2 AA and 2 A (assuming they advance!) in each pool
    > everyone votes for their top 4 picks.
    > now you are down to 32.
    ... * Either you run your bracket from here,
    ... * or you have 4 pools of 8 people each, again pick top 4
    ... * or you have 8 pools of 4 people each, pick top 2
    > either of last two options gives you bracket of 16 (with 3rd * from above, this is how World Cup soccer tournament works)


    As I said, I think this format would be more interesting and more fun for the voters, it would allow candidates to build momentum to advance from round to round, and I surmise that it would be easier to administer (easier for you at least since you are only doing half the work until the brackets start up).
    I'm actually planning on doing something like this.

    I am splitting the list up into 8 "regions", each region will have 16 teams. There will be a poll among those 16 teams, and the top 4 vote getters advance to the 32 team head to head bracket. I'm making it a point to make sure that the regions are even, so one isn't stacked while some weaker candidates sneak through in a weak region. If going from >128 to 32 in one step is too much, I can take 8 from each region, and then re-arrange and re-seed and do another pool round to get to 32.

    I don't want to do head to head for the whole thing. Just think of how many polls I would have to make! Even at 32 I'm going to have to make a whole bunch of head to head polls.
    Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

    RIP - Kirby

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    • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

      If you wanted to start with 144 people and still have a bracket of 32 or 16


      (example 2)

      > Start with 16 pools of 9 people each
      > vote for top 5
      > now you have 80; ten pools of 8 people each, vote for top 5
      > now you have 50, five pools of 10 people each, vote for top 6
      > top six from each pool advance, along with 2 best 7th place finishes
      > now you have 32

      I can also construct something similar using other starting numbers if you want; I think you get the idea. For me at least this format is a lot more interesting and engages me more.
      "Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things."

      "Beer is a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- Benjamin Franklin

      "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." -- W. B. Yeats

      "People generally are most impatient with those flaws in others about which they are most ashamed of in themselves." - folk wisdom

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      • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

        Originally posted by FreshFish View Post
        If you wanted to start with 144 people and still have a bracket of 32 or 16


        (example 2)

        > Start with 16 pools of 9 people each
        > vote for top 5
        > now you have 80; ten pools of 8 people each, vote for top 5
        > now you have 50, five pools of 10 people each, vote for top 6
        > top six from each pool advance, along with 2 best 7th place finishes
        > now you have 32

        I can also construct something similar using other starting numbers if you want; I think you get the idea. For me at least this format is a lot more interesting and engages me more.
        I haven't decided on the final number yet. Somewhere between 128 and 160 and divisible by 8. I'll be doing some form of this, I just haven't decided exactly what I'll do yet. I'm just trying to get the list figured out right now.
        Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

        RIP - Kirby

        Comment


        • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

          For soccer, you might want to consider Mia Hamm of the US or Marta of Brazil.

          Comment


          • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

            still think there should be some mountaineers on the list. These guys are/were incredible athletes. Also there are some rock climbers that are incredible athletes, like Dean Potter, but I think they are harder to rank. I guess these "sports" aren't main stream enough.

            Mountaineering
            Reinhold Messner
            Steve House
            Ueli Steck

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            • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

              For football, I'd include two or three from among Deacon Jones, Sammy Baugh, Don Hutson, Night Train Lane, maybe Otto Graham. Also there should be an offensive lineman, maybe Dwight Stevenson? Not my forte, maybe someone else can suggest someone (Cortez Kennedy?).

              For tennis, I'd include Jack Kramer and Althea Gibson.

              For soccer, Michelle Akers.

              For basketball, perhaps Bill Walton?

              also, i suggest you consider chess; it takes a certain physical skill to concentrate so hard for so long....if you include chess, I'd suggest Gary Kasparov although Bobby Fischer is probably more well-known.
              Last edited by FreshFish; 03-30-2012, 10:20 AM.
              "Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things."

              "Beer is a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- Benjamin Franklin

              "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." -- W. B. Yeats

              "People generally are most impatient with those flaws in others about which they are most ashamed of in themselves." - folk wisdom

              Comment


              • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                Is this greatest 'athlete' or 'greatest participant of a particular sport weighed against all other sports'? imho it sure as hell isn't the former upon seeing the nominees.
                Well stated and I agree. When I think "greatest athlete", I think of those blessed with incredible athletic ability regardless of the sport (i.e. Gretsky, phenomenal hockey player, but great athlete?)

                Bo
                Deion
                Carl Lewis
                Bob Mathias

                Another, perhaps less obvious:
                Danny Ainge


                I say bring back "Superstars" so we can see who is the next Kyle Rote Jr.!!!
                Last edited by RENCEB; 03-30-2012, 12:21 PM.
                Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

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                • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                  Originally posted by RENCEB View Post
                  Well stated and I agree. When I think "greatest athlete", I think of those blessed with incredible athletic ability regardless of the sport (i.e. Gretsky, phenomenal hockey player, but great athlete?)
                  I would counter that the mental side of the game is just as important (if not more) as the physical side in being a great athlete. Otherwise just pick some huge person that can bench a lot or run really fast. Big deal. I'd guess what often makes good athletes into great ones is their mental ability, not necessarily their physical ability.

                  Comment


                  • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                    Originally posted by jen View Post
                    I would counter that the mental side of the game is just as important (if not more) as the physical side in being a great athlete. Otherwise just pick some huge person that can bench a lot or run really fast. Big deal. I'd guess what often makes good athletes into great ones is their mental ability, not necessarily their physical ability.
                    I agree with this completely. Physical ability combined with intelligence combined with mental toughness.
                    Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

                    RIP - Kirby

                    Comment


                    • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                      Zach Parise
                      Dominik Hasek
                      Ron Jeremy
                      Joe Thornton
                      Derek Boogaard
                      Stone Cold Steve Austin
                      Matt and Jeff Hardy
                      Jordan Kawaguchi for Hobey!!
                      Originally posted by Quizmire
                      mns, this is why i love you.

                      Originally posted by Markt
                      MNS - forking genius.

                      Originally posted by asterisk hat
                      MNS - sometimes you gotta answer your true calling. I think yours is being a pimp.

                      Originally posted by hockeybando
                      I am a fan of MNS.

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                      • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                        Originally posted by bigblue_dl View Post
                        If you don't like the athletes nominated, nominate some that you feel are worthy, that is why I'm getting input..
                        you ignored katerina witt without batting an eye!
                        a legend and an out of work bum look a lot alike, daddy.

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                        • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                          Originally posted by MinnesotaNorthStar View Post
                          Zach Parise
                          Dominik Hasek
                          Ron Jeremy
                          Joe Thornton
                          Derek Boogaard
                          Stone Cold Steve Austin
                          Matt and Jeff Hardy
                          If Ron Jeremy's on the list, then Johnny Wadd also deserves to be on it.
                          2011 Poser of the Year & Pulitzer Prize winning machine gunner.

                          Comment


                          • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                            Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                            Is this greatest 'athlete' or 'greatest participant of a particular sport weighed against all other sports'? imho it sure as hell isn't the former upon seeing the nominees.
                            It originally started out as the "greatest athlete", but quickly morphed into the "greatest participant of a particular sport/sports." This is why my original post included people like Thorpe, Carl Lewis, and some alpine skiers. Thorpe and Lewis were/are incredible athletes and anyone who has ever skied knows you have to be athletic to do it recreationally and extremely athletic to do it professionally. Again, just my opinion.
                            Last edited by UMDbulldogs#1; 03-30-2012, 09:24 PM.
                            How do they expect us to throw hotdogs at the gophers with that [Expletive deleted] net in front of us?

                            We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard...

                            Original Penalty Box Member

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                            • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                              Originally posted by jen View Post
                              I would counter that the mental side of the game is just as important (if not more) as the physical side in being a great athlete. Otherwise just pick some huge person that can bench a lot or run really fast. Big deal. I'd guess what often makes good athletes into great ones is their mental ability, not necessarily their physical ability.
                              I wouldn't nominate a weight-lifter or sprinter either unless either demonstrated abilities beyond just lifting/running, but it's just an opinion and I don't want to dump on the thread.

                              Comment


                              • Re: The Greatest Athlete of All-time

                                Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                                I wouldn't nominate a weight-lifter or sprinter either unless either demonstrated abilities beyond just lifting/running, but it's just an opinion and I don't want to dump on the thread.
                                Just pick the best decathlete and be done with it.

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