Top tier racing drivers are going flat out for 2 hours at a time, even longer if it's a race like the Indy 500. You need a lot of endurance. The only respite you get is during pit stops. Hockey, basketball, etc players get to rest on the bench alot, and the games are usually only an hour in playing time with intermission. These athletes need to excel in bursts of speed, skill, etc. Not saying which is better, just saying they are different.

Here we go again. What is the definition of "sport" and "athlete" ?

I've seen fishing and darts on sportsnet before.
Is Chess a sport?
Is StarCraft a sport?

Jordan didn't play (well) in the 2000's.

Valentino Rossi isn't in the top 20?

The man has won races and world titles in every class and configuration of modern motorcycle GP racing. He has even dominated on uncompetitive machinery. Throughout the entire decade he literally broke dozens of records and redefined the sport.

He is also deservedly the 5th highest earning sportsman.

This list is bunk.

Of course the list is biased. Biased towards athletes who are/were famous in North America for the most part.

yea haha i realized it was 2000s right after i posted

No way Pacquiao is top 5. I dont think SI has it wrong.

Rossi has somthing like the highest winning percentage of any motorsport in history i belive? i was going to come in and say him, Motorcycle racing obviously takes more athletic ability than F1 if you were to throw both in, but i think F1 may take even more mental ability than MotoGP

with motorspots included it would have to be like Rossi, Schumacher, Woods in terms of pure ability and domination

I would say motorcycle racing takes more mental and physical ability than most traditional sports. 20 minutes flat out at the track wears me out more than a full game of AAA hockey ever did.

if thats the clincher for you then i guess we can rule out baseball as a sport too

http://counterkicks.com/wp-content/u...art-one-10.jpg
http://www.toxicways.com/wp-content/...permanDunk.jpg
http://static.technorati.com/10/04/0...bron-james.jpg

op ur saying pacman is relevant outside na and lbj is not? where besides the phillipines do ppl care more or know of manny more than lebron?

also to make it to the top 5 of this list ud prolly need to dominate at least 5 outta the 10 years id say, no? manny hasnt really been hyped tilmmore recently if im not mistaken
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u said it not me :D

Lebron is a hyped machine. Granted he's good, but he hasn't won anything. Outside of the philippines? Ask which basketball player can fill 50K ppl in Dallas Stadium.

Manny Paciquiao has been dominating boxing since 2000. He's been undefeated in 5 years. Just recently he fought a man 17 pounds heavier then him, with a 6 inch reach advantage and came out beating that man to a pulp.
He's been good for a very long time.

LBJ is relevant outside the NA as? a spokesman for Nike Shoes. He'll probably make this decade's top 5 easily, but in the 2000's not a chance.

Kobe is more dominant than all 3 combined

I say Roger Federer, that guy dominated singles tennis in the past decade (16 titles and 6 runner-ups)

How about Gretzky? (Yeah, i know he retired in '99 but it's close enough, no? lol)

Tom Brady
3 Superbowls
4 Superbowl visits
2 Superbowl game winning drives
The record shattering 2007 season
Hasn't lost a regular season home game in years
Married to Gisele Bundchen

Not bad for a 6th round pick

Roger Federer, that guy is a machine

:gtfo:

LOL @ John Cena comment.

I'd say tennis is probably one of the most intense sports both mentally, physically and emotionally. Gotta have lots of endurance and be focused 100% of the time as a tiny slip could have immediate consequences. Federer has proven time and time again that hes the best in the world so you could argue he should be #1

He's dominated in the 80s and perhaps the early 90s.

golf, baseball, curling, they're all SPORTS

the problem is that the players aren't ATHLETES, which is what this list is about, so no I don't think even top players from any of those sports should make the list

in order to be a top athlete, you need to be athletic