In the gentleman's game of golf the first name that pops into just about everyone's mind is Tiger Woods and rightly so. But, before Tiger there was another golfer that still is greater than Woods and his name is Jack Nicklaus. In other sports, there are athletes that are competing to become the best of their sport and even though many of you reading this article will soon learn, there were athletes far better than those that we tune-in to watch and root for today.

1. Jack Nicklaus: Greatest Golfer in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Jack Nicklaus was playing professional golf long before Tiger was even a cub and his record of the most won major PGA tournaments still stands to this very day. Although, Tiger Woods is on track to toppling this record as well, as long as injuries doesn't end his incredible career early. Jack has won 18 professional majors, has been the PGA Tour of the Year 5-times, and is a member of the World Golf Hall Fame. He also has posted in 2nd place 19-times, Top 3 finishes 48-times, Top 5 finishes 56-times, and Top 10 finishes 73-times and most of these wins came before Tiger was old enough to hold on to a club.

2. Babe Ruth: Greatest Baseball Player in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Babe Ruth played baseball from 1914 to 1935 and was known by other names such as “Babe”, “The Bambino”, and “The Sultan of Swat”, but no matter what we call him he was no doubt the greatest baseball player to have ever set foot on the field. He scored an incredible 714 home runs before retiring in 1935, which stood for another 39 years until Hank Aaron broke the record in 1974. Babe proved that it was possible to rack up 60 home runs in a single season in 1927, in which this record stood strong for another 34 years, until it was finally broken by Roger Maris (1961). Ruth had the 10th highest batting average of .342 in baseball history and he recorded a .690 career slugging percentage and a 1.164 career OPS, which still holds as a record in major league baseball today.

3. Michael Phelps: Greatest Swimmer in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   The 23 year old, Olympic American swimmer Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer in the world hands down. He has kicked his way to winning an astonishing 14 Olympic Gold Medals and 2 Bronze Medals after combining the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics together. Let's not forget that Mr. Phelps has also competed in the World Championships and won 18 Gold Medals and 3 Silver Medals in those games. The world's greatest swimmer has competed in the Pan Pacific Championships in 2002 and 2006 and accumulated another 8 Gold and 3 Silver medals all the while competing in the 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, 200m backstroke, 4 x 100m freestyle relay, and 4 x 200 freestyle relay. He has broken countless world and Olympic records and is considered to be the greatest Olympian of All-times.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Greatest Basketball Player in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   The 7 foot 2 inch center for the Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1975) and later for the Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1989) stands virtually alone at the top of basketball's elites. Sure, some avid basketball fans will frown at this fact, but when considering that basketball is a team sport and much of a player's greatness derives from their willingness to feed the talents of the other players, then he is the best ever. He scored 38,387 career points, 17,440 rebounds and made 3,189 blocks and was awarded the NBA MVP six-times and won 6 NBA Championships, before retiring in 1989.

5. Pete Sampras: Greatest Professional Tennis Player in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Pete Sampras is the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen commands a court. During his long and exciting career, he has collected 14 Grand Slams men's singles titles, won Wimbledon singles title 7-times, won the US Open singles title 5-times, won the Grand Slam Cup 2-times, won 11-times on the ATP Master Series and won on the ATP Tour an impressive 32-times. Pete Sampras was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 17, 2007, after proving to the world he is really the greatest in the world of Men's Tennis.

6. Pele: Greatest Soccer/Football Player in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) formally played Brazilian Football from 1956-1977 for the Santos (1956-1974), New York Cosmos (1975-1977) and played for the National Team of Brazil from (1957-1971) and scored 1280 goals. His great ball handling skills on the field would become legendary and make Pele a national treasure of Brazil. Check out more about Pele's dominating career.

7. Muhammad Ali: Greatest Heavyweight Boxer in the World

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) an Olympic Gold Medallist in the 1960 Rome Games for the Light Heavyweight division and a 3-time World Heavyweight Champion is still the only man to have won the heavyweight boxing championship three back-to-back times in history. “The Champ” competed in 61 total fights and winning 56 times and an unlucky 37 fighters were knocked out by the powerhouse punches by the World's Greatest Heavyweight Boxer - “The Louisville Lip” Muhammad Ali.

Who in the world could possibly disagree with these seven athletes' total dominance of their sports? Bring your best nominations to the table, because I firmly believe that my choices are the greatest athletes in the world - prove me wrong.

In the past several decades, the highest professional level of football has become the number one spectator sport in America. It has clearly surpassed baseball in the minds of many sports fans. Among the factors cited in the fans' preference of the gridiron over the diamond are more action, more speed and athleticism among the athletes, the excitement of seeing violent mayhem among 300-pound behemoths, and in the case of many males, scantily-clad young women shaking their pom-poms and dancing around.

I am no exception in my being a fan of the 100-yard sport, particularly at the collegiate level. Major college football is absolutely my favorite sport to watch, and the varsity squad of my alma mater, the UCLA Bruins, is my favorite team in all of sports. I have been a fervent and passionate supporter of the True Blue and Gold for over twenty years, and some of the happiest days of my life have involved Bruin victories over their crosstown rival, USC.

Having stated that, and having been immensely involved in baseball as a player, coach, and fan since the age of ten, there are still some areas where the national pastime still surpasses the gridiron. As much as I prefer to watch college football, these are still the things that make baseball still a credible game over football

1. The difficulty of playing the game. I would like to see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Reggie Bush, or any other NFL player (or a fan) try and hit a 95 mile-an-hour fast- ball, or an exploding slider, or a curveball breaking from 12 to 6. There is a reason why ballplayers who are only successful at the plate three out of ten times are multi- millionaires. You think Brett Favre would be rich and successful if he only completed 3 out of 10 passes?
   
   
2. The physical conditions of former NFL players as opposed to former MLB players. Ex-gridiron stars in constant pain, with plastic joints, and barely being able to walk are commonplace. Jim Otto, the Raider's former offensive line standout, has had both his knees replaced, among other joints, and takes 30 minutes to get out of bed in the morning. The former Baltimore Colt legend Johnny Unitas could not straighten his hand after his days were done. Joe Namath's knees were causing him extreme pain throughout his career; they were eventually replaced, of course.
   
   Dick Butkus, the god-like Chicago Bear linebacker, cannot squat down today. Earl Campbell, the bruising Houston Oiler running back who was an icon of my youth, needs a cane to get around. The list goes on and on. Baseball players, while having their share of injuries, do not get the career-ending debilitations at the same level of ex-football stars; one has a better chance of being able to walk without excruciating pain after a career with the Yankees than after a career with the Cowboys..
   
   
3. Because football games are controlled by a clock, if one team is winning by forty points with two minutes left in the game, it is a foregone conclusion that the game is essentially over; the losing team would have no chance at a comeback, because there simply wouldn't be enough time. In baseball, however, a team still needs to get 27 outs in order to win a game, regardless of how many runs they are winning by. As long as the team that's losing has not made that 27th out, it still has a chance. Unlike in football, you can't just take a knee at the end of a game and kill the clock. Many a time has a team scored the winning runs while down to their last out.
   
   
4. Baseball has more of a historical significance, as far as statistics, records, and folklore. Here's an illustration Say that a person asks these questions - What is Walter Payton's lifetime rushing yards total? And what was Jim Brown's when Payton passed him? What is Brett Favre's touchdown passing total? And what was Dan Marino's when Favre passed him? It is highly likely that the most fanatical football fan wouldn't know the answers to those questions. The casual baseball fan, however, knows that Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, that Henry Aaron passed him with 755 homers, and even that Barry Bonds broke that record in 2007 with 762 dingers.
   
   The casual fan knows that Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games, and that Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, the last man to hit so high. He would know that Nolan Ryan pitched seven no-hitters, and passed Sandy Koufax, who had four. These are things that make baseball the pastime that it is; having a sense of history and being that football doesn't have, not in the same way. When the Yankees were drawing 70,000-plus crowds on a regular basis in the 1920's, the NFL was struggling to attract crowds on high school fields. In short, the history of baseball has a bigger part in the nation's fabric and folklore than their football counterparts.
   
   
5. Baseball skills are more difficult to master than football skills. In football, if you only stand out in one area, like blocking, you can be successful, without being able to throw, catch, or run. In baseball, however, a player's ability needs to be measured in at least three categories hitting, fielding, and throwing. Proficiency is needed in all three of those areas in order to be considered good. The sport is more challenging that way.
   
   
6. While football is a tremendous team game, when the outcome of a contest is on the line, a team can continuously go to its best guy to try and save the day; the Chargers can give the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson on every play and have him win the game for them (with a little help from his blockers, of course). In baseball, however, Alex Rodriguez still has to bat once out of every nine hitters; the Yankees cannot send him up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth as the winning run if his turn has not come up yet. If Richie Sexson is due to bat, A-Rod can't bat for him. In other words, he can't save the day. Sexson has to.
   
   When it comes down to it, I think it is a matter of individual and generational perspective when people debate whether baseball or football is the more preferable game, an apples versus oranges type of thing. It seems that the older generations, the baby boomers, their parents and grandparents, still consider baseball a formidable game to watch and enjoy, if not outright preferring it over football, because it is what they grew up with, while Generation X and their offspring tend to lean more towards the gridiron. One must remember that throughout much of the 20th Century, through the 1960's, baseball was the focal point of sports in American society. It was not until the advent of the Super Bowl in 1967 that football really began to make its rise in popularity.

At the end of the day, however, one must conclude that there are some things about football that make it better than baseball, and some things about baseball that still make it better than football. That is the essential point that I was trying to make, that despite the runaway popularity that football enjoys today, there are some things about the old national pastime that still make it enjoyable, and preferable to football.

George Carlin perhaps said it best when during his stand-up comedy routine in which he compared baseball to football, he said

"In baseball the object of the game is to GO HOME! And to BE SAFE!"

In the long run, I believe everyone wants that feeling.

I believe this because they have an excellent manager (debatable), a very fast and good hitting outfield. Paired with the catchers Soto and Blanco, and an amazing infield, who as of today have gone 6 games without an error. Finally they have a lights out pitching staff.

I believe Lou Pinnela is an excellent manager because he plays who is hot. He studies his opponent and puts the right person in at the right time. Though he may get very mad at times and maybe get thrown out he still keeps the cubs on track and winning games. Before when the Cubs had Dusty Baker they weren't winning many games and struggling to get to a .500 winning percentage. Now with Lou as manager as of now they are a fit 4.0 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and 5.0 games above the Cincinnati Reds. He also brought some astounding additions to the Cubs including Soto, Jim Edmonds, I am pretty sure Alfonzo Soriano, and that new pitcher from Notre Dame.

I say their outfield is fast because of Alfonzo Soriano, Koske Fukadome, and the cubs also have Felix Pie in the minor leagues. Although Koske and Felix are in a batting slump, Alfonzo Soriano and Jim Edmons are red hot and creaming balls. Don't forget about Reed Johnson who can come through if you need him to. As for the infield, at first is Derek Lee, a golden Glover and last year was going for the Triple Crown. At second is DeRosa and also Cedeno. DeRosa can hit well and is a good all around player, he can also play outfield and third if it is needed. At Shortstop Ryan Theriot, and also Cedeno can play there too. At third Aramiz Ramirez who can crush the ball.

Lastly their pitching is amazing with Carlos Zambrono whose only weakness is his temper. His pitches are very good and he can slug the balls for base hits and homeruns but he can also bunt if it is needed. Then there is Lilly whose veteran skills can get him out of rough situations. Dempster and Marquise may give up some runs but are reliable and they are good from batter to batter.

Since Sammy's family is un-wealthy, Sammy and his brother have many problems. For instance, Sammy's brother was unable to go to school or play baseball, because he had to work to raise money for his family. He worked as a shoe shiner on the streets.

Sammy's history in baseball began when his brother signed him up for baseball practice. The kids in the Dominican Republic had to play baseball with a wooden stick (instead of a bat) and a piece of cloth that they'd roll up into a ball (instead of a baseball). Pretty soon Sammy started catching up with the sport. When Sammy grew up a scout came to watch one of his games. The scout was impressed of what he was seeing so he was sent Sammy to the United States to play professional baseball. The first day he played was on the team called the Texas, Rangers. Half a year later he was drafted to the New York, White Sox. A couple years later he was once again drafted to the Chicago, Cubs. On the year 1998 Sammy scored 66 homeruns in that whole season and became the 2nd best homerun hitter at that time! “The man”, as they called him, was Mark McGwire and he scored 70 homeruns in that season of 1998. McGwire was beating Sammy by 4 homeruns and he was holding the record of the most homeruns hit. Unfortunately, the Dominican Republic was hit by a hurricane, so Sammy established a children's hospital there and also sent 80,000 pounds of rice, beans, and cooking oil to his hometown.

My opinion on this book and why I recommend it is that it was a very exciting book and the farther you get into it, the more exciting it gets. To imagine a child raised up in poverty becoming a national baseball star is amazing. I recommend this book to people of all kinds that are into the sport of baseball. I hope you enjoyed the information I provided about Sammy Sosa!

Ted was born in San Diego as Teddy Samuel Williams. He was named after his father Samuel Stuart Williams. His birth certificate was changed to Theodore, but everyone called him Teddy still. Him and his family were a mix of Welsh and Irish. He lived on San Diego's North Park at 4121 Utah Street. He attended Herbert Hoover High School. He played baseball at his high school. While in high school he had offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees. He didn't go to play with them because his mother thought he was too young to leave home, so he signed with the Padres, a local minor league team.

Main Accomplishments

Ted played for the Boston Red Sox and was accepted in 1939. He caused the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox. He was on the all-time and all-century team. He was given the American League MVP Award. He was in the 500 home run club. His number was retired in 1984 and he was elected it into the baseball hall of fame in 1966.

Goals

The main goal on Ted Williams was to be the best hitter in baseball, and he was. He was successful because he made his goal a reality. He was influenced to keep going to baseball because he was very good in his high school baseball career.

Major Influences

He influenced kids to be very good at baseball and possibly even influence people to make it to the major leagues. He made people try and copy his swing. He influenced people to come and watch him play because he was such a good ball player. He also influenced pitchers to throw very aggressively, in order to strike him out and not let him get a hit.

Personal Opinion

I think that this person was very successful in his life. He was one of the best baseball players in the history of baseball. He was successful because he made his dreams reality. He made many baseball accomplishments, like MVP, got his number retired, etc. His accomplishments show how much of a good baseball player he was in his lifetime.

The Traverse City Beach Bums are a professional minor league baseball team in Northern Michigan. They're a part of the independent frontier league with 11 other teams ranging from the Kalamazoo Kings, a few hours away, to the Washington Wild Things all the way in Pennsylvania.

The team is composed of talented baseball players from all around the United States, some who have already been around the block with various MLB teams, and some fresh out of college, and new to the whole thing.

The Beach Bums are Traverse City's first professional baseball team since 1915, preceded by the Traverse City Hustlers, and the Traverse City Resorters. The Beach Bums originally were located in Richmound, Indiana and known as the Richmond Roosters until the summer of 2005 when ownership was transferred to the Wuerfels.

Their stadium, known as Wuerfel park, was first opened in 2006 to a sell out crowd. The first game, played on May 24th, was against the Beach Bums greatest rival in following years, the Kalamazoo Kings.

Icons

The Beach Bums have two mascots, Suntan and Sunburn, who always steal the show with their amusing antics and love of dancing. They're both portrayed as bears, Suntan is a light brown, with dark sunglasses, while Sunburn is a bright red with googly eyes. They participate every game in the lead up to the first inning by coming down from the stands and dancing on the field to various tunes.

Between each inning either a game, contest, or giveaway is done to keep the audience involved and always entertained. Rather it be Race against the Mascot, where young Beach Bum fans run the bases to try and beat the clumsy bear, or the popular Meal or No Meal, where the contestant has the opportunity to win a $40 dollar gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse, there is always something to keep you occupied, and usually laughing.

The Wuerfels

John, Leslye, and Jason Wuerfel are the gears behind the machinery when it comes to the Beach Bums. Father John is not only CEO of the Beach Bums, but of Wuerfel Sports Development as well. He himself oversees the marketing and sales departments, when he's not mingling with fans on game days that is.

Wife Leslye is the general manager of WSD and the TC Beach Bums, but on game nights she can be found passing out the daily giveaway at the gate to the first 500/1000 people through the gates, always with a smile and a few kind words.

Son Jason is not only the Vice president of the Beach Bums, but the Director of Baseball Operations, the team's hitting coach, and operates the Traverse City Beach Bums Baseball Academy, which gives children an opportunity to learn how to improve at playing the game in a safe and fun atmosphere, with real Beach Bum players.

A family operation like this one leads to a family feeling when at the park. As their motto says, 'Go for the game, stay for the fun!'

The movie itself was pretty good and it depicted the Indians during the years of struggle as a hapless team that nobody could care about one way or the other. The original owner died in it and then you get the showgirl wife of Donald Phelps, Rachel Phelps. She was the main antagonist if you are a Cleveland fan and had true intentions of putting together the worst possible team in an effort to relocate the team to Miami. Along the way, equipment was being taken away in order to try to get this team on a losing streak but continues to fail along the way. In the final moments of the movie, the Indians defeat the Yankees to get in the playoffs leaving it in a cliffhanger as to what happened next. There's your short summary of the movie and right to the point.

The question is how does this relate to this 2008 Indians ball club? Well, if you look at the evidence on how the owner was cheap in the movie, you could see that Indians owner Larry Dolan is cheap. The most effort he built was before the season began giving CC the largest offer in the club history but turned it down. Could he return to Cleveland? While it would be nice, I would not put a lot into it. When a player gets really good in Cleveland, the common theme is get rid of them and that's the part that is the most aggravating part of it. The Indians have become a conservative team and doesn't seem to have that winning mentality. While they do not spend like the New York Yankees, there just needs a bit of a better effort of acquiring players and show the fans that you are willing to go out and get the championship.

This does however bring up an interesting question? Would Larry Dolan do this to get people to quit going to games? Could that be leverage of trying to get this team out of Cleveland once and for all? I bet Major League Baseball would love to see the Cleveland Indians gone for good. It may sound crazy and it probably is but you have to wonder that based on the track record. Since he purchased the club in 2000, only two playoff appearances and consistent rebuilding for no purpose at all. Everytime there is failure on this team, it continues this question and theory. I don't know about anyone else but doesn't it get ridiculous to see this team fail and not win it all? General Manager Mark Shapiro came across on the press conference announcing the CC Sabathia deal as someone who doesn't care about winning at all. That's what I believe and how I interpret his thoughts on the matter.

Looking at this team seems to have a lack of team chemistry and possibly aside from a few players a lack of wanting to win. Doesn't this seem like that the same ones from the Major League at the beginning of the movie? One has to wonder how did this happen? How in the world can you explain going from one win to the World Series to now an embarrassment? There is no explanation that could even be made because it's just not possible to explain it.

Other than that, it may seem a direct coincidence. The team this season is just horrible and hopefully will rebound the next season but I wouldn't hold my breath so much. Unlike the movie, this is reality and what you see is what you get. Maybe this team could have a happy ending if and only if a World Series championship is won.

To answer the question, that's a big maybe at this moment. You decide for yourself where this team stands.

Hope you like these tips and that they help you a lot.