UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

Today, 2 persons stake claim to that title: Tiger Woods, 31 (golf)

…and Roger Federer, 25 (tennis).

They became friends last year, and both happens to play in Miami this week. They are undisputably the best at what they do, but that does not stop this question being asked in bars around the world: who’s better?

At Miami, Woods will play the CA Championship while 15 miles away, Federer plays the Sony Ericsson Open. Both are seeking to win in Miami for the 3rd consecutive year. It is a given that both events will draw big crowds. Each hopes to be among the spectators watching the other.

They became friends last year. Federer watched Woods play in Shanghai in November and Dubai in February while Woods watched Federer play at the US Open in September.

When Federer won the Australian Open early this year, he got a text message from Woods: “12 to 10.” Woods has 12 Grand Slam titles, 6 less than Jack Nicklaus’ record. Federer has 10 Grand Slam titles, 4 less than Pete Sampras’ record.

It’s a friendly rivalry. Woods won AP Athlete of the Year in 2006 but said Federer’s achievement’s exceeded his, calling him a living legend.

Woods plays a little tennis, and Federer recently picked up golf.

Woods has been World No. 1 for 435 weeks. Federer has been World No. 1 for 164 weeks, a world record for tennis.

But how about the most dominant athlete of all time? How are these two compared to other greats, such as:

Edwin Moses, the 400m hurdler, who was world record holder and remained unbeaten for 12 years.

If you consider eating as a sport, Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi, 29 is a contender too. He has won a virtual world championship for hot dog-eating 6 times in a row, a world record. In other words, he is the top ranked eater in the world.

Lance Armstrong, 36, the professional road racing cyclist, won Tour de France—cycling’s most prestigious race— a record 7 consecutive times, 1999 to 2005. What’s more amazing is that in 1996 he underwent brain and testicular surgery, and extensive chemotherapy to treat the testicular cancer that had metastasized to his brain and lungs.

Jim Brown, the lacrosse player, was so dominant that the game rule was changed.

Babe Ruth, the baseball player, whose record of 60 home runs in a single season stood for 34 years. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth Number 1 on the list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.”

Rocky Marciano (1923 – 1969), the boxer, was world heavyweight champion for 4 years (1952 – 1956). With 43 KOs (that’s 88% KO rate), he is the only champion in pro boxing history to retire without a defeat or a draw.

Cael Norman Sanderson, 28, the American wrestler was 2004 Olympic champion, and was undefeated in 4 years of college wrestling (159-0).

Jim Thorpe (1888 – 1953) is probably the greatest all-round athlete ever. He won pentathlon and decathlon Olympic golds, was a star in college and professional football, then played Major League Baseball. He also had a career in basketball. He’s the kind of guy who turns up at the bowling alley, then instantly scores in the 200s.

Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are probably basketball’s greatest ever players. Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a single NBA game and averaged more than 50 points in a single NBA season, while Jordan had the highest ever NBA scoring average, 30.1 points per game throughout his pro career. Abdul-Jabbar scored the most points, 38,387 in 20 years (1969-1989).

Rocket Richard, the ice hockey player, who was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, achieving the fabled feat of 50 goals in 50 games.

Gerd Muller, the only pro footballer (soccer) who scored more international goals than his number of caps: 68 goals in 62 games.

Wayne Gretzky, the ice hockey player, dubbed the sport’s greatest player of all time. He regularly played at a level far above his peers. He is the only player ever to total over 200 points in a season (a feat that he accomplished four times in his career). In addition, he tallied over 100 points a season for 15 NHL seasons, 13 of them consecutively.

Muhammad Ali, the boxer, who in 1999, crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated. He was World Heavyweight Boxing champion 3 times and Olympic champion once.

Sugar Ray Robinson, the boxer, is frequently listed at number one on the list of top boxers by boxing aficionados. He was 85-0 as an amateur and 69 of those victories came by knock out or TKO. He was the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times. Many critics regard Robinson as pound for pound, the greatest boxer of all time. Even Muhammad Ali, who called himself “The Greatest”, has said without hesitation that, while he thinks he is the greatest heavyweight in boxing history, that he would rank Robinson the greatest boxer of all time. Even other all time greats like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Leonard have said the same thing.

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