Costas: Brady in convo as GOAT athlete of 21st Century

give me super bowls or a chance every year..don't give a rats behind what other fans or the media think of brady

robertweathers said:

With the way James is carrying that Cavs team of cast-offs, there is no debate.

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I don't root for the guy since he's no longer on the Heat, but this is straight up impressive. Still, the Cavs would be in a hole if not for Delevedova. The way he's guarding Curry is the game changer in this series. Curry is also choking a bit, but still. His defense mixed with LeBron being unstoppable has been Cleveland's saving grace. So soak it up, you fat bastards hailing from that **** hole of a city. Your boy came to the Heat to learn how to win, and win he did.

KontradictioN said:

I don't root for the guy since he's no longer on the Heat, but this is straight up impressive. Still, the Cavs would be in a hole if not for Delevedova. The way he's guarding Curry is the game changer in this series. Curry is also choking a bit, but still. His defense mixed with LeBron being unstoppable has been Cleveland's saving grace. So soak it up, you fat bastards hailing from that **** hole of a city. Your boy came to the Heat to learn how to win, and win he did.

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Yep. You could argue that Delevedova has outplayed Curry for a good chunk of the series.

TBR said:

They have to definite 'athlete'. I'm assuming it's just being used as a synonym for 'sports player'?

If so, I'd have LeBron and Brady as the top 2 for this century so far.

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At this point in time, LeBron isn't even the best NBA player of all time....probably not even in the top 10....yet. We'll see how that goes when he retires.

Brady is the second greatest team player in Boston sports history behind only Bill Russell. Quite a feat.

For my money it's Laird Hamilton, and he doesn't even compete. He invented tow in surfing and had more to do with big wave surfing than anyone else. He's the greatest surfer of all time and very few can actually even do what he does. It takes a rare athlete to surf 60-80 foot waves and it is believed that Hamilton and a couple friends actually surfed some that were over 100 feet. (According to Susan Casey who wrote The Wave and spent a year with Hamilton and crew). As great as the athletes already named are none have the athletic ability to ever do what Hamilton can do.

Ivan said:

For my money it's Laird Hamilton, and he doesn't even compete. He invented tow in surfing and had more to do with big wave surfing than anyone else. He's the greatest surfer of all time and very few can actually even do what he does. It takes a rare athlete to surf 60-80 foot waves and it is believed that Hamilton and a couple friends actually surfed some that were over 100 feet. (According to Susan Casey who wrote The Wave and spent a year with Hamilton and crew). As great as the athletes already named are none have the athletic ability to ever do what Hamilton can do.

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Not to mention the testicles...



Good call on Laird.

KontradictioN said:

Not to mention the testicles...



Good call on Laird.

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Thanks for the clips Kontra, Hamilton is a super freak. I can't even begin to comprehend how difficult it is to actually do what he's doing. The most I have ever had the balls to go out in is double overhead and it felt massive to me. The stuff he is doing is off the charts. If you get the chance read Susan Casey's "The Wave," it's a fascinating read and most of it is following Hamilton and his crew of tow in surfers. They are unbelievable athletes but maintain complete reset for the power of nature and the ocean and are actually pretty modest for guys who do what they do, that's one of the reasons they don't actually talk about the size of waves and she has to kind of drag it out of them. I also find it fascinating that someone who has never competed is considered the greatest of all time by those who are champions in the sport. Kelly Slater is 11 time world champion and he calls Hamilton hands down the greatest surfer of all time, and that respect is universal in the sport.

I think this is one of those discussions where "just to be in the discussion" is what matters.

Bolt, Brady, Federer, Phelps, S. Williams belong in it without a doubt. If LeBron can carry the Cavaliers on his back to the NBA title this year, it will be impossible to leave him out of it; it would be one of the greatest individual accomplishments in the history of team sports. I wouldn't want to have to pick among the six of them. Peyton has run out of time to burnish his post-season resume, as Costas suggests.

I think its incredibly difficult to compare team atheletes to Solo competitors.

Brady has to put other people on his back in order to win, where as someone like Tiger its all individual.

I really think there should just be two lists, Solo, and team based.

Brady is definitely in the discussion of best Team based athletes of all time.

ArchAngel007 said:

If the criteria is American atheletes then Phelps would have gotten my vote with Brady a close second. If it's international, it gets more tricky because Federer is up there winning all those tennis Majors and beating Sampras as well. I would also consider Lionel Messi conquering the world's biggest sport and regarded as the GOAT in soccer

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Messi....hands down. Its not even close. The greatest ever in the world's most played and popular sport.

borg said:

Messi....hands down. Its not even close. The greatest ever in the world's most played and popular sport.

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Whatever..... How many teams he was on choked in how many champions league seasons and WCs? How many other soccer players were proclaimed just so great for a few years. Flavor of the month... Get outta here with that messi nonsense.

Gumby said:

Whatever..... How many teams he was on choked in how many champions league seasons and WCs? How many other soccer players were proclaimed just so great for a few years. Flavor of the month... Get outta here with that messi nonsense.

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Only 27 years old, ......."Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time,[3][4][5][6][7][8] Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won seven La Ligas, three Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups."............some nonsense.....what a choker.

And unlike the NFL with 32 teams in one country, 209 nations compete through FIFA with thousands of professional teams throughout the world. "Best in the world" actually means what it says. And since the OP is about the 21st century, Messi clearly owns this century. I love the American mentality that has to believe only their sports matter. They love to be World champs in sports the rest of the world bypasses

Messi 'choked'? What? Good grief.

borg said:

Only 27 years old, ......."Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time,[3][4][5][6][7][8] Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards.

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popularity contests... IIRC in 2001-02 not a
one of our LBs got to pro bowls

With Barcelona, Messi has won seven La Ligas, three Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and

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Congratulations he plays for one of the two Yankees of the Spanish league in a system with no salary cap

two FIFA Club World Cups."............some nonsense.....what a choker.

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Great, won twice in a competition of a total of SEVEN TEAMS (see again Yankees comment ref a single player on teams with outrageous payrolls). ("The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about two weeks; ")

And unlike the NFL with 32 teams in one country, 209 nations compete through FIFA with thousands of professional teams throughout the world. "Best in the world" actually means what it says. And since the OP is about the 21st century, Messi clearly owns this century. I love the American mentality that has to believe only their sports matter. They love to be World champs in sports the rest of the world bypasses

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Here is the real record (Wikipedia) for true World cups/championships instead of your made up Fifa bs: 1 Olympic and one U-20. The rest of even placeing results = "runner up" (2014/2007). Or 3d or less so we didn't list it (WCs: 2010, 2006/CAs: ???)

FIFA U-20 World Cup: Winner 2005 Netherlands U-20 Team
Copa América: Runner-up 2007 Venezuela Team
Olympic Games:.

2008 Beijing Olympic Team
FIFA World Cup: Runner-up 2014 Brazil

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He may be the best soccer player in world right now. He still isn't dominant enough to change the dynamics of the game and put a team (Argentina) on top unless he has a huge payroll behind him (Barco). BUT, you can say that about a TB or Lebron- they win championships and near champs with scrubs around them.

But just my opinion (an admitted soccer know-nothing American who just happens to be living in the country that last beat down messi's team in WC) so don't let it bother you so much. I probably am just talking smack because my wife is on a business trip.

Cmmon Gumby I am a die hard Madrid fan but when you see Messi play you can only slow him down but he'll eventually find a way to hurt you.

ArchAngel007 said:

Cmmon Gumby I am a die hard Madrid fan but when you see Messi play you can only slow him down but he'll eventually find a way to hurt you.

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D'you miss my last para? just messin w Borg.

Although thinking it over... my 2d to last para is true anyway too, but the part i left off is soccer players expire quickly after 30. There will be a different greatest current player by the time messi is 31. Hell didn't ronaldo just get the votes and not messi this year? TB still going strong -age 37 in a sport with avg career span 3.5 years.

ArchAngel007 said:

Cmmon Gumby I am a die hard Madrid fan but when you see Messi play you can only slow him down but he'll eventually find a way to hurt you.

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Ok, now you got me going... I'll triple down on stupid....

By the age of 22, XXXX had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2008, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. He also won the 2013–14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. In January 2014, XXXX scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged 28.[3]

Often ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time,[4][5][6][7][8][9] XXXX is the first Portuguese footballer to win three FIFA/Ballons d'Or, and the first player to win four European Golden Shoeawards. In January 2015, XXXX was named as the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during its 100th anniversary celebrations.[10][11] With Manchester United and Real Madrid, he has won three Premier Leagues, one La Liga, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, two Copas del Rey, one FA Community Shield, one Supercopas de España, two UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cupand two FIFA Club World Cups.

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Doesn't above sound an awful lot like the write up for Messi?

But of course it's Ronaldo.

See, I can quote wikipee too

Messi needs to win the World Cup to complete his legacy. I wouldn't think any less of him if he didn't but there's just something missing if he didn't. Champions league is just a competition for the richest club.

Gumby said:

Whatever..... How many teams he was on choked in how many champions league seasons and WCs? How many other soccer players were proclaimed just so great for a few years. Flavor of the month... Get outta here with that messi nonsense.

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Barcelona just won the trifecta for the second time and Messi has been one of the top three players in the game since he arrived there. He is without question one of b the greatest players ever.