Anybody watch Jordan and Ivan Lendl this weekend?

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Matt Taylor

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There's something about Michael Jordan's golf swing that I can't get enough of. It ain't exactly pretty, but something about it is smooth. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's the best athelete ever to walk the face of the planet. Lendl's swing looked good too, but he didn't play that well.

Anybody see any of this tournament? Anybody else like Jordan's move at the ball? I'm not saying I want to swing like him; I'm just saying it's fun to watch.
 
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Whiteflash

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All I can say is that MJ will NEVER be on any golf tour(except the celebrity kind). If he thinks he will make it to the Senior tour with that swing he is "NUTS".

Ivan has a decent motion. I get the feeling that both played way over their heads this weekend. Who knows maybe MJ's swing is good as I am a mid cap myself.
 
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Matt Taylor

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No, I agree with you, I don't think Jordan's swing is good, or fundamentally sound. But it might be the most fluid motion I've ever seen anywhere. I wonder what would happen if Jordan, in my opinion, the world's best athelete ever, had access to great instruction and turned his laser focus onto being a great golfer.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

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Why is Jordan the greatest athlete in the world? Can you give me some reasons? Obviously he dominated the game of basketball and no one will probably ever be able to do that again but GREAT ATHLETES are just that, they can excel at many many sports.

I think Deion Sanders was a better "athlete" than Jordan. Note he wasn't a better player than Jordan in either of his sports but he was a better "athlete" in my opinion.
 
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dclaryjr

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Uh oh. Everytime a thread starts in rec.sport.golf concerning who is or is not an athlete, you can count on a couple hundred replies. If you don't have an agreement to a definiton "athlete," it's hard to go any further.

I think Lance Armstrong is in the midst of one of the greatest athletic feats of all time, but he sure looks dorky playing basketball in the Dasanti (sp?) commercial.
 
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Matt Taylor

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Just briefly, (not looking to get into a war about this -- I know that this is my opinion that I'm stating to be fact :))Jordan is the best athlete ever because he was the best basketball player that ever lived, and basketball requires more athleticism than any other sport.

Baseball is a skill game -- if you have the proper hand-eye coordination, you can play baseball, even if you can't run or jump or move latereally out of your own shadow. You could smoke cigarettes while you play baseball -- any game that you could smoke and play can't require that much athleticism. There's some, but not like basketball.

Football is close, and much athleticism is needed for football, especially the skill positions (I guess that's why they call them skill positions). If you look at most QBs, RBs, and WRs, most of these guys are great basketball players. Roger Staubach, Randy Moss, Terrel Owens, (this list could go on forever, so I'll stop here.)

To be a good basketball player, you must be able to do more things athletically than any other sport. Explosive movement, going from a stop to full jump quickly, moving quickly laterally, backwards, forwards, diagonally, being quick, being strong, having the endurance to do all these things all night -- these are the athletic skills needed to play basketball. In baseball you need some of these skills. In football and hockey you need more. Soccer? Give me a break, not even close.

If athleticism is golf skill, then basketball is Bethpage Black. And if Jordan could do what he did to Bethpage Black, then he is the greatest athlete ever.

I realize that some people won't agree, and that's cool -- I'm not trying to start a battle or anything. This is merely my crackerjack opinion, and it means nothing to anyone other than me. :)
 
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Jim Kobylinski

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Mat, what it really comes down to is your opinion. If you believe that basketball requires the most talented athletes then of course jordan would end up being the greatest athlete in the world, that is just plain logic.

I believe that basketball takes a lot of athleticism but i don't believe it requires the most of any sport. Each sport is unique if what it depends and if hand/eye coordination is all it takes in baseball can't it be said the same for basketball? Aim with your eyes and shoot with the ball?

Let's end this debate before it gets started as our opinions vary on the definition of athlete and we'll go no where :)

HOWEVER, if i did agree that basketball was the most athletically demanding sport, then yes i'd agree with you about jordan.
 
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Matt Taylor

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Well said, Jim. I agree with you that the above is only my opinion. Deion is a great athlete, no doubt about that. In my opinion :), he would have been a great basketball player as well if he wanted to be.

I'll tell you this - athleticism does not necessarily translate into a good golf swing -- reference Charles Barkley. Somebody had a good line when they said Barkely's golf swing looks like a man being attacked by bees.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

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LOL @ Matt...i'm glad we can be mature and civil. That is what i like about this forum, there are no "children" here. Golf is really a "humbling" game imo of any of them out there. Also i think Charles was more a power player than anything else, i was pretty young when he was in his prime but i don't remember much of him having a good shot but i was young and just maybe don't remember.

As for Bo Jackson i'd really be curious where he would've ended up if he didn't have that knee injury that basically ended his sports career as a whole
 
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mb6606

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Bo had a hip injury. He was a big fast explosive running back and a true power hitter. the only ahtlete to be an ALL STAR in two mmajor profesional sports. Each sport requires it's own skills and the fact that each of these gifted athletes can compete on the professional level speaks for itself. Jordan never played baseball past his sophmore year in High School (he was 5' 10" at the time). The fact that after not playing baseball for nearly 20 yrs he could even compete in the AAA Minors is amazing.
 
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glfnaz

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I'm probably one of the few, maybe the only person on this forum who has actually played golf with Charles and has hit balls with him on the range *many* times. I'd like to point out because it is not widely known that Charles only has that hitch in his downswing when under pressure. On the range or when he playes with his buddies; usually Roy Green and Vince Coleman, he is mostly hitch -free.
He is not great, but he'll play to mid 80's or so.
There is something about him when he is on TV or playing around strangers where the 'hitch' becomes real active.
And in general he'll practice on the range in the summer in the AZ afternoons when it is hot and there are few folks around to bother him.
Best Athlete--Got to be Secratariat
 
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mcflog

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The title of "World's Greatest Athlete" traditionaly went to the winner of the Olypic decathalon. However decathalon does not pay 30 million a year. And is best athlete someone with natural gifts or someone who is mentally superior and works harder than everybody else. Lance Armstrong works harder than everyone else. MJ outworked everyone. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) is much more of a natural athlete. However for my vote the greatest natural athlete to ever live was a golfer, Sam Snead.
 
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Archie Swivel

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quote:Originally posted by mgjordan

The best athletes are the track and field/decathalon participants. There isn't even a comparison with Jordan.
Click to expand...

But what about coordination? Track and field guys may be strong and fast, but athleticism must have some scintilla of hand/eye coordination.

What intangible quality did Jordan have over, say, Vince Carter-- grace?
 
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