Ok so here I am, after 4 years of knowing what a blog actually is, I am finally down to writing my own. It took a lot of self-belief and persuasion to finally do this. So, lets begin by saying that I really don’t wanna write about my life in my blogs because all of you are already facing this mundane life and have problem of your own so would be least interested in mine.Thats why I just thought of writing about Random things and keeping it simple. Believe me guys, to decide what to write about was not that easy and felt totally strangled but then it somehow occurred to me that as the FIFA 2010 World Cup(and Spain taking the top honour)just concluded it would be nice to write something about sports, and hence I got down to comprise a ‘Top 10 sports person of my generation’ list. So this is what I came up with….
1.SACHIN TENDULKAR (CRICKET)
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, born on 24 April 1973,is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and One Day International cricket.He is the only player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket.In 2002, just 12 years into his career Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time,behind Sir Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards.Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time,considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar’s technique, compactness and shot production.Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket on 20 November 2009, and has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award, India’s second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sporting honour.
2.ZINEDINE ZIDANE (FOOTBALL)
Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, born on 23 June 1972,is a retired French World Cup-winning footballer. Zidane played for club teams in France, Italy and Spain, and was the captain of the French national team. He was the iconic figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, Zidane returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s most outstanding player.At club level he won the 2002 UEFA Champions League and a La Liga title with Real Madrid, and two Serie A league championships with Juventus. Zidane and Ronaldo are the only three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners; Zidane also won the Ballon d’Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup. Zidane is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, and one of the select few who have captured all top national and club honors.Many experts have testified to Zidane’s skills and impact as an all-time great, such as Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira who has labelled Zidane “a monster” for his performance and playing skills. French footballer Michel Platini states Zidane is one of the most skillful players the game has ever known.
3.MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (FORMULA 1)
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher, born on 3 January 1969 is a Formula One racing driver currently driving for Mercedes GP. He is a seven-time World Champion and according to the official Formula One website is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”.He holds many of the formula’s driver records including most championships, race victories,fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season – 2004. In 2002 he became the only driver in Formula 1 history to finish in the top three in every race.After beginning with go-karts Schumacher won German drivers’ championships in Formula König and Formula Three before joining Mercedes in the World Sportscar Championship. After one Mercedes-funded race for the Jordan Formula One team Schumacher signed as a driver for the Benetton Formula One team in 1991. After winning consecutive championships with Benetton in 1994-95, Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996 and won another five consecutive drivers’ titles with them from 2000–2004. Schumacher retired from Formula One driving in 2006 staying with Ferrari as an advisor.After an earlier attempted comeback for Ferrari, as cover for the injured Felipe Massa, Schumacher signed a 3 year contract to drive for the new Mercedes GP team from 2010.Schumacher was noted throughout his career for his ability to produce fast laps at crucial moments in a race, to push his car to the very limit for sustained periods.In April 2002, for his contributions to sport and his contributions in raising awareness of child education, he was named as one of the UNESCO Champions for sport, joining the other eight which include Pelé, Serhiy Bubka and Justine Henin. He won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award twice, in 2002 and 2004 for his performances in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He has also received nominations for the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 awards.No-one has been nominated more times than Schumacher in the award’s seven-year history.
4.TIGER WOODS (GOLF)
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods
Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods, born on December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements.Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time.He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships, and has won at least one of those events each of the 11 years they have been in existence.Woods has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times,the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons.
5.MICHAEL JORDAN (BASKETBALL)
Michael Jeffrey Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, born on February 17, 1963 is a former American professional basketball player.Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National Championship in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA’s Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring.In1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a “three-peat”. Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-DefensiveFirst Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press‘s list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.
6.ROGER FEDERER (LAWN-TENNIS)
Roger Federer
Roger Federer , born on 8 August 1981 is a Swiss professional tennis player. As of 5 July 2010, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He previously held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks and 285 total weeks, one week behind record holder Pete Sampras.Considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time,Federer has won a male record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is the most recent of six male players to capture the career Grand Slam, one of three (with Rod Laver and Andre Agassi) to do so during the Open Era and one of two (with Agassi) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals. He holds the record of reaching the semi-finals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from 2004 Wimbledon Championships – 2010 Australian Open.Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and appeared in 18 of 19 over four and a half years from 2005 Wimbledon Championships – 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. Federer has won 4 ATP World Tour Finals and 16 ATP Masters Series tournaments. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.As a result of Federer’s successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–2008).He is often referred to as The Federer Express or abbreviated to Fed Ex.
7.MIKE TYSON (BOXING)
Michael Gerard 'Mike' Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson, born on June 30, 1966, is a retired American boxer. Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champion and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title when he was 20 years old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. Throughout his career, Tyson became well-known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior both inside and outside the ring.He was the first heavyweight boxer to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles simultaneously. Tyson is considered to have been one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.Nicknamed “Kid Dynamite”and “Iron Mike”,Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, with twelve of them occurring in the first round. He unified the belts in the splintered heavyweight division in the late 1980′s to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in the first 91 seconds of the fight.After being released from prison in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights. He regained a portion of the heavyweight title, before losing it to Evander Holyfieldin a 1996 fight by an 11th round TKO. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield’s ear. He fought for a championship again at 35, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis in 2002. Tyson retired from professional boxing in 2006 after he was knocked out in consecutive matches against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.
8.USAIN BOLT (SPRINTER)
Usain St. Leo Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, born on 21 August 1986, is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and, along with his teammates, the 4×100 meters relay. He also holds the Olympic record for all three of these races. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009 he became the first man to hold the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.Bolt distinguished himself with a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition’s youngest-ever gold medalist.He turned professional in 2004, missing most of his first two seasons due to injuries.In 2007, he beat Don Quarrie‘s 200 m Jamaican national record with a run of 19.75 s. In May 2008, Bolt set his first 100 m world record with a time of 9.72 s. He set world records in both 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics - 100 m record time of 9.69 s broke his own previous record of 9.72 s; with a record time of 19.30 s he broke previous record of 19.32 s by Michael Johnson at the1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In August 2009, a year after the Beijing Olympics, he lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships. His record breaking margin in 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements.His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”.
9.MICHAEL PHELPS (SWIMMER)
Michael Fred Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps, born June 30 1985, is an American swimmer. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-seven world records in swimming.Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz‘s seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals – six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games record set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps career Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold.Phelps’s international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of fifty-four career medals thus far in major international competition, forty-five gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sportsman of the Year award.
10.LANCE ARMSTRONG (CYCLIST)
Lance Edward Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong, born on September 18 1971, is an American professional road racing cyclist who is best known for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survivedtesticular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He rides for UCI ProTour team Team RadioShack.In October 1996 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, with a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005, and is the only person to win seven times, having broken the previous record of five wins, shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.In 1999, he was named the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports.In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN’s ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong retired from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009, and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France.
Ok, so there you go….finished with the compilation and almost over with my first blog. Before you can ponder over how good my compilation is I want to say that I have compiled the list only from the sports that I have seen and understand.I am sure there are hundreds of other sports and even more sport-star.Many of you may might also think some other players deserves a place in this blog like might be Pete Sampras/Agassi in place Roger Federer or might be Michael Johnson in place of Usain Bolt . But after putting in a lot of thought process into it I realized that sports is a number game, and all these Sport-star not only have/had a glorious career but have the numbers to back it up too.
If there is something else that you think, please feel free to leave a comment.
Till then see ya all and Keep It Random!!
