A top 10 worthy of praise

Golfers, baseball players, track and field (other than decathletes) and swimmers. Sorry golf fans, but I can't put Tiger Woods in the conversation of greatest athletes in the world based on my criteria, at least not in my top 10. Woods simply doesn't measure up with the athletes on my list in terms of overall athletic ability. That's not to say Woods isn't athletic; far from it. But it doesn't help Woods' cause that nothing his opponents do directly affects what he does.

Woods plays the golf course, not his opponent. Baseball players and endurance runners don't make the list because they're too one-dimensional. Alex Rodriguez is great at hitting a baseball, which takes great balance and coordination, but the sport is too stationary and doesn't lend itself to a great deal of athleticism. Swimmers, meanwhile, are great in the water but take them out of the pool and they're merely ordinary.

So here's my top 10 (and let the debate begin).

10. Anderson "The Spider" Silva, 6-2, 205, Mixed Martial Arts fighter.

The best MMA has to offer. Silva is a Brazilian Muay Thai champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Translation: He's one bad dude. A reigning Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC), Silva combines unparalleled agility, along with speed, strength, size, coordination and endurance.

While MMA is not for everyone, there's a tremendous amount of technique involved. Yes, there's technique in fighting, and that's why Silva is at the top of his profession, because he's studied and perfected his art for years. Other great MMA fighters include B.J. Penn and Lyoto Machida.

9. Manny Pacquiao, 5-7, 135, boxer.

Now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is retired, Pacquiao takes over boxing's best "pound for pound fighter" title. Pacquiao earned his fourth championship in fourth different weight class last week after his ninth-round TKO of David Diaz for the WBC lightweight title. Supremely talented and gifted, Pacquiao possesses unbelievable hand speed, strength, courage and heart, to go along with an ever-improving work ethic. Boxing is one of the most demanding sports because of the physicality involved.

Try throwing 20 punches and see how tired you get. It's exhausting. Pacquiao can launch that amount in less than 10 seconds over and over and over again. He can also take a punch -- and that means a lot of pain.

8. Cristiano Ronaldo, 6-1, soccer.

The 2008 Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year, Ronaldo possesses a flair for the dramatic, exquisite touch and an uncanny sense around the goal. He pressures defenses from everywhere on the field -- he switches sides a lot in the midfield -- and is arguably the best finisher in the world. His free kicks are deadly and Daily Journal Sports Editor and soccer aficionado Nathan Mollat said he saw Ronaldo score once on a backheel. Only 23, Ronaldo, a Portuguese who plays for Manchester United, displays a tremendous amount of imagination and creativity, lending the beautiful to the beautiful game.

7. Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 187, tennis.

Tennis has never seen the likes of the reigning four-time French Open champion. Nadal combines unreal speed, athleticism, footwork, agility, strength and endurance. Nadal can hit winners from six feet beyond the baseline -- even farther if he's playing on clay -- and no one in the history of the game has been able to combine his defensive tactics with his offensive firepower. When they were in their prime, Lleyton Hewitt and Michael Chang played better defense than anyone, but Nadal runs down balls that normally would be winners AND immediately puts his opponent on the defensive.

6. LaDainian Tomlinson, 5-10, 221, football.

Able to start and stop on a dime, LT is the complete package, a physical marvel who can punish bigger defenders and outrun smaller ones. Already over 10,000 yards rushing for his career, Tomlinson relies on his peerless vision to hit the holes hard, then accelerates and powers through and past defenders with his strength and footwork, which is unmatched in football.

5. Sydney Crosby, 5-11, 200, hockey.

Dubbed The Next One, in reference to Wayne Gretzky's The Great One, Crosby is a youngster but giant among men -- he's only 21. But he's already won an MVP award, and the high-flying forward is only going to improve with age. Packing speed, size, power, agility and the ability to take a hit -- all this on a 1/8 inch blade, mind you -- Crosby's level of stamina and explosiveness is something to behold.

4. LeBron James, 6-8, 245, basketball.

There aren't enough superlatives to describe King James. He's the best player in the NBA, bar none -- sorry Kobe Bryant fans, but LeBron took a much inferior cast than what Kobe had this season and nearly toppled the Celtics in Game 7, while the Lakers suffered an embarrassing Game 6 defeat in the Finals. Teams are already lining up salary cap space to make a run at James in 2010, when he becomes a free agent. If James had a legitimate supporting cast in the last two years -- someone call FEMA and get this guy some help! -- he would already have two championship rings. If Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry doesn't get James some players to work with, the King is as good as gone.

3. Bryan Clay, U.S. decathlete.

Decathletes can do it all. Clay, who is poised to win the gold medal in the upcoming Beijing Games, can run the 100-meter hurdles in 13.50 seconds, throw the discus 173 feet, pole vault 16 feet, 5 inches, throw the javelin 232 feet and run the 1,500 in 4:50.97 seconds. Oh, and he can high jump 6-6. Any questions? The decathlon consists of 10 grueling events, and many consider the best in this field as the greatest all-around athlete in the world. Clay's versatility and ability to excel in a number of categories make him one of the best -- if not the best athlete -- in the world.

2. Alberto Contador, 5-10, 140, cyclist for Team Astana.

Last year's Tour de France champion doesn't grade out well in size but measures high in speed, strength, hand-eye coordination and endurance. Contador is solid in time trials -- an event where you're basically at 100 percent of your heart rate for the duration of the race -- and a beast cycling up mountains that your car would have a hard time scaling. Ever try conquering a descent on a bike at 65 mph? That would be suicide for most of us. Professional cyclists handle it with ease.

1. Roger Federer, 6-1, 177, tennis.

Arguably the greatest player in tennis history, Federer combines all of the criteria I mentioned earlier, thus earning him top honors. The great ones make the game look easy, and Federer is no exception. Put a racket in his hands and he's magic, able to pull off incredible shots in a physically demanding sport. He's the winner of 12 grand slam titles, and is widely regarded as having the four greatest years in tennis' Open Era, from 2004-07. In this span he broke numerous records, including 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals appearances, and currently has a 64-match winning streak on grass.

Federer can play five grueling hours of tennis in 90-plus degree temperatures, hit a 130 mph serve one moment and a delicate drop shot the next, stroke the ball with heavy topspin and slice, show a Midas touch at the net and sprint to balls that most players can only dream of retrieving. Pro tennis requires an unbelievable amount of endurance, hand-eye coordination, speed and agility.

A top-ranked player must show an expertise in a wide range of categories, and Federer is nonpareil in this regard, thus making him the greatest athlete in the world.

Averting disaster

Not to toot my own horn -- of course, that's what I'm about to do -- but when the whole Tim Lincecum-Alex Rios proposed trade almost went down in the offseason -- thank you Brian Sabean for not pulling the trigger -- it seemed like I was one of the few people in the media to be strictly against the deal from the Giants point of view.

Had Sabean gave the OK, it would have plunged the Giants into an even deeper abyss they are in now. Lincecum, the current Sports Illustrated cover boy, has quickly developed into one of the best pitchers in baseball. While Rios is a very good everyday player, you don't trade a franchise-type arm like Lincecum for anyone other than a Josh Hamilton or player of that caliber.

The fact that anyone even considered trading Lincecum in the offseason or agreed with the logic in doing so-- it doesn't matter if you have all these great young pitchers when you have no offense -- was foolhardy at best and idiotic at worst.

Emanuel Lee can be reached by e-mail: emanuel@smdailyjournal.com, or (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.