The Blue Board

Nascar Driver

Hockey is definitely #1 in terms of the hardest game to play. But best athletes... probably not.

Everything is so specialized that it is hard to pick one thing. I think you really need to look at a decathlete as the best athlete in the world. However, even that is flawed because it totally takes hand-eye coordination out of the equation.

I think it's no coincidence that we think that some of the best athletes of all time were guys like Jim Thorpe, Bo Jackson and Dion Sanders. Multi-sport athletes who excelled at both football and baseball. Football showed off their core athletic ability while baseball showcased their hand-eye coordination and "skills".

word, they do more than just make left hand turns. You have made me rethink this

1. Professional Gamers
2. Nascar Drivers
3 Poker Players ( as seen on ESPN)
4. Curling Athletes
5. Surfers ( sharks involved )
6. Golfers
7. Water Polo Players
8. Pool Players
9. Bowlers
10. Hot Dog Eating Contestants

Thorpe and Bo (high school) were also elite Decathletes.

Agree that Decathletes are the best pure athletes in the world. In terms of mainstream sports, I'd say elite CBs in football (ie. Mel Blount, Mike Haynes, Darrell Green, Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey, Patrick Peterson) ....(Dee Milliner, Vernon Hargreaves, Marlon Humphrey, Tony Brown) are fast, agile and strong and I could see many exceling in basketball, track, etc.

Dave Sime (once the world's fastest man) and Richmond Flowers are a couple of elite athletes not well known by the public.

Bo is IMO at this juncture, the greatest athlete to ever walk earth. Just my opinion and I'm a Bama fan.

My question is today. Not all time. All time is a debate that would rage for months.

Is it AP, Lebron, Mike Trout???

Pitchers, no one here will agree with that, but science backs it up.

hockey players aren't even athletically close to football players or BBall players but their sport is harder to play. I'd go with AD, Megatron, Lechode, Blake Griffin in no particular order...

It has more to do with stamina and the wear and tear of the body. Everyone can pitch, but to throw at different angles, different grips, using all your muscles over and over again, while mentally playing head games with base-runners and the hitters. Throwing overhanded is the only unnatural body movement in sports, throwing a football is still over handed, but because of the distribution of weight and shape of a football it is easier on the arm muscles. I honestly don't believe it, but the views of most athletic athletes can be taken different ways. BUT i have never felt my body as sore as throwing 8 innings. There is a substance called Lactic Acid that builds up in the body while using muscles over and over again in the arm, that is the cause of a sore arm, elbow or shoulder. Pitchers and QBs are the only one who experience this in sports, but QBs dont throw 100 pitches, and dont have to press to throw as hard as possible everytime, with a weight distribution of a baseball. Also the change-up and curveball is the worst thing you can do to your arm. This is taking an unnatural movement, and bending muscles in ways they are not suppose to bend. With a change up the arm is taught to keep the same arm speed while slowing the ball down. This would be equal to the whiplash that you would get in a small fender bender, but on your arm.