[benandjerry]

Odd comparison I know, but its not in terms of career accomplishments, as it'd be really hard for anyone to put Lidstrom above most likely the best tennis player ever, even though I think hockey is the harder sport to reach the absolute top. One is recently retired and the other is closing in on the end of his career.

What I'm wondering is, who do you think is the better ambassador of their sport and the classiest guy. Really tough decision for me, I'm leaning Lidstrom, but its close.

[k13]

Lindstrom is not even Top 10 in hockey, no comparison to Federer.

Just a player who played for a long time with good players if he was on the Islanders for his career no one would even mention him.

[benandjerry]

How the fuk did you decide that hockey is the harder sport to reach the absolute top at?

The top tier hockey players are much better trained physically, and thats not really close. Different kind of skillset required for each sport for sure, its just my personal opinion that its harder to stand out in hockey.

Lindstrom is not even Top 10 in hockey, no comparison to Federer.

Just a player who played for a long time with good players if he was on the Islanders for his career no one would even mention him.

Not sure who Lindstrom is, Lidstrom on the other hand isnt top 10, though most probably top 20 as well as top 5 dman all time. If you bothered reading the post though I stated that I clearly think Federer is the better player in his sport, and also the question wasnt who was the better performer, rather who was the classiest guy and best ambassador for their sport.

Just out of curiousity, you do realize you're exaggerating a bit with the nobody would mention him part?

[Deuce]

Benny, K13 has proven over the years to know absolutely nothing about pucks, pal. Disregard the character.

[jjgold]

Federer by a mile

[mynameismud]

Federer by a mile

this

[k13]

Just out of curiousity, you do realize you're exaggerating a bit with the nobody would mention him part?

The average person has never heard of Lidstrom. Fact.

Only Crosby can be ambassador in hockey.

I think Selänne can be put in this classiest/ambassador category but his exposure is rather low too unfortunately.

[Goat Milk]

Lidstrom is the man.

No it does not take more to play in the NHL. Actually, of all the major sports, NHL is the least selective sport. While being at the time is very hard because it's tough to stand out in hockey, I don't think it compares to standing out at the top in tennis. It terms of fitness, you look at the top guys like a Djokovic, probably 4% body fat with tree trunk calves. Hockey players much tougher but no chance as fit as him.

Then you look at the mental.

Tennis is way more mental. You are alone. You don't have a team to pick you up when you're down.

That's why the top 3 guys have dominated tennis for the last DECADE.

There aren't 3 guys in NHL that dominate the league every year. It's always some new guys in the mix every year, turning themselves from good players to stars. Rarely happens in tennis.

[BuddyBear]

IMO, Federer is probably the best athlete ever in any sport. The only thing preventing a complete consensus on him being the best athlete ever is that he did not dominate Nadal. To be honest, the only worthy comparisons for cross-sports with Federer are: Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky.

[a4u2fear]

when i see a thread started by someone who has a picture of the team/player in their avatar, don't even need to read to know what was said.

[benandjerry]

The average person has never heard of Lidstrom. Fact.

Only Crosby can be ambassador in hockey.

I think Selänne can be put in this classiest/ambassador category but his exposure is rather low too unfortunately.

Not sure if serious about Crosby.

Agree that Selänne is a very classy guy though.

k13 and deuce, i know you guys love the wings and we all know that Lidstrom is a legend.. however, i don't want to hurt you guys feelings, but Lidstrom believe it or not, even though he's amazing, is not well known. Alot, and i mean, alot.. of people have never heard of him or at least know what team he's on. i don't know why, but this is fact. he flies under the radar. we don't hear much about him anywhere. maybe it's because he's a very quiet guy, doesn't say much and just plays the game well. Coffey and Bourque were huge in the 80's, Orr was huge in the 70's... but not Lidstrom.. i don't know why.

i swear if you randomly asked 1 million sports fans in America what team Lidstrom plays for, i'll guess 8% will know.

I think this comes down to two things, he isnt from North America and he was not a very flashy player, but rather did depend on his exceptional positioning. Hockey fans would recognize this while most people would find him pretty average.

Lidstrom is the man.

No it does not take more to play in the NHL. Actually, of all the major sports, NHL is the least selective sport. While being at the time is very hard because it's tough to stand out in hockey, I don't think it compares to standing out at the top in tennis. It terms of fitness, you look at the top guys like a Djokovic, probably 4% body fat with tree trunk calves. Hockey players much tougher but no chance as fit as him.

Then you look at the mental.

Tennis is way more mental. You are alone. You don't have a team to pick you up when you're down.

That's why the top 3 guys have dominated tennis for the last DECADE.

There aren't 3 guys in NHL that dominate the league every year. It's always some new guys in the mix every year, turning themselves from good players to stars. Rarely happens in tennis.

I believe this is your opinion rather than a fact. Anyway I'm going to disagree, feel free to back up your arguments with sources. Djokovic is easily one of the most fit tennis players, if not the most fit, only Nadal among the top players can compete there. While its certainly low, I do doubt that he is 4% BF though, he's an athlete, not a body builder, not that BF% is the best way to determine ones level of fitness.

While we all have our own criteria for what is the tougher sport, here is a table from ESPN only ranking boxing above hockey, tennis coming in at #7; http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills

Hockey is beating tennis in the majority of categories, the one where tennis has the biggest advantage is hand eye coordination, which is something you to a large extent is born with.




Not going to bother replying to the no comparison posts since they obviously didnt read the question, nobody is really questioning who was better at their respective sport.

[InTheDrink]

Is Feds considered a classy guy? I'd always been under the impression that he was viewed as arrogant and aloof. Not that I have a problem with it....I'd be a shithead if I was the best tennis player of all time.

[mathdotcom]

Odd comparison I know, but its not in terms of career accomplishments, as it'd be really hard for anyone to put Lidstrom above most likely the best tennis player ever, even though I think hockey is the harder sport to reach the absolute top. One is recently retired and the other is closing in on the end of his career.

What I'm wondering is, who do you think is the better ambassador of their sport and the classiest guy. Really tough decision for me, I'm leaning Lidstrom, but its close.

who cares

[adila1401]

Yo come on dude..Fed is the man, > Lidstrom, whoever he is..no disrespect intended

[Goat Milk]

I can't be sure about Novak. But it would not surprise me if he was less than 4% body fat. I actually think he's around 2-3 but i don't know.

A guy like JOrdan was 2% in his prime.

Dwayne Wade last year was 3.5% body fat going into the season.

http://slumz.boxden.com/f16/dwyane-w...y-fat-1667379/ --- source.

And that's at 230 pounds...

Novak is like 190 195 at most.

[Pinocchio]

Don't be stupid. The minimum bodyfat percentage of anyone of these athletes is 5% or more. Djokovic is at 7% minimum. Anything under 8% is very low for a man, and anything below 5% is unhealthy and dangerous. Anything below 3% is life-threatening and 2% is not even possible - you can't be alive and have 2% body fat. But of course you can say that you do, and some schmucks will report it, while others will believe it.

When someone tells you they have 3% bodyfat, you need to ask them if they've ever heard of hydrostatic weighing? Because they need it. Bad.

[Goat Milk]

Don't be stupid. The minimum bodyfat percentage of anyone of these athletes is 5% or more. Djokovic is at 7% minimum. Anything under 8% is very low for a man, and anything below 5% is unhealthy and dangerous. Anything below 3% is life-threatening and 2% is not even possible - you can't be alive and have 2% body fat. But of course you can say that you do, and some schmucks will report it, while others will believe it.

When someone tells you they have 3% bodyfat, you need to ask them if they've ever heard of hydrostatic weighing? Because they need it. Bad.

No I don't believe it. Mine was taken for research purposes, I volunteered, as did one of my buddies. I was 10.5% body fat and he was 7 point something. I'm pretty sure I can get below 8% if I really wanted to--then it starts getting super hard from there to go down. No way he is the same as Djokovic.

Jordan was 2% body fat in his prime. It's a fact.

Djokovic is no more than 5% body fat bro

His whole game is based on his athleticism and endurance

[benandjerry]

No I don't believe it. Mine was taken for research purposes, I volunteered, as did one of my buddies. I was 10.5% body fat and he was 7 point something. I'm pretty sure I can get below 8% if I really wanted to--then it starts getting super hard from there to go down. No way he is the same as Djokovic.

Jordan was 2% body fat in his prime. It's a fact.

Djokovic is no more than 5% body fat bro

His whole game is based on his athleticism and endurance

I wasnt following Jordan's career, but its not true. Going to link you to wiki as well as quote a certain part of the article.

Description Women Men
Essential fat 10–13% 2–5%
Athletes 14–20% 6–13%
Fitness 21–24% 14–17%
Average 25–31% 18–24%
Obese 32%+ 25%+

Essential fat is the level below which physical and physiological health would be negatively affected. Controversy exists as to whether a particular body fat percentage is better for one's health; athletic performance may also be affected. The leanest athletes typically compete at levels of about 6–13% for men or 14–20% for women. Bodybuilders may compete at ranges even lower than these levels. Certified personal trainers will suggest to male bodybuilders that they aim for a body fat percentage between 2–4% by contest time.[citation needed] However it is unclear that such levels are ever actually attained since (a) the means to measure such levels are, as noted below, lacking in principle, and (b) 4-6% is generally considered a physiological minimum for human males.

Professional bodybuilders does not maintain competition levels of BF in the off season because it just isnt healthy. Jordan was not 2% during his prime. Djokovic is most likely not the 4% you mentioned, and I sincerly doubt he is below 5% most of the time. I'm not sure why you lean so heavily on body fat %, its not the best measurement to determine ones level of athleticism or endurance.

[face]

dominant athletes i can think of:

jordan: 6 titles

jack nicklaus: 18 titles

kelly slater: 11 titles

michael phelps: 18 gold medals

federer: 17 titles (competed in 24)

the great one: 4 cups

[k13]

2% bf Jordan........

He would die on the court. lol

[showtiime]

[k13]

If I could find it I would post you my printout of my 4.3 bf % LOL

Accurate....

[lunchbawks]

comparing a hockey player to a tennis player? WTF man 2 totally different scenarios

gotta say federer though, he singlehandedly crushed the tennis world, Lidstrom always had a great supporting cast

[Goat Milk]

I wasnt following Jordan's career, but its not true. Going to link you to wiki as well as quote a certain part of the article.



Professional bodybuilders does not maintain competition levels of BF in the off season because it just isnt healthy. Jordan was not 2% during his prime. Djokovic is most likely not the 4% you mentioned, and I sincerly doubt he is below 5% most of the time. I'm not sure why you lean so heavily on body fat %, its not the best measurement to determine ones level of athleticism or endurance.

You could be right, but if I am 10.5 then I have to believe Djokovic is under 5 percent... Professional bodybuilders are no where near a guy like Djokovic. They couldn't last 3 games on the tennis court in blazing 100 degree heat. Their upper bodys are too big to withstands the type of tension you put on your legs and the strokes you're taking.

[Djstucky]

dominant athletes i can think of:


jordan: 6 titles

jack nicklaus: 18 titles

kelly slater: 11 titles

michael phelps: 15 gold medals

federer: 17 grand slam titles (competed in 24)

Not to nitpick but Phelps has 18 golds...

[CanuckG]

Gretzky even took a shitty LA Kings team to the final

[benandjerry]

comparing a hockey player to a tennis player? WTF man 2 totally different scenarios

gotta say federer though, he singlehandedly crushed the tennis world, Lidstrom always had a great supporting cast

it is isnt it? though as stated in the first post as well as the poll, its not a comparison of their actual sports performances in their respective sport, rather a comparison of who was the classier guy and better ambassador of their sport, one that I think is comparable. nobody is arguing that Federer isnt the better performerer, if I wanted that comparison it'd be vs gretz, orr, or lemiux.

You could be right, but if I am 10.5 then I have to believe Djokovic is under 5 percent... Professional bodybuilders are no where near a guy like Djokovic. They couldn't last 3 games on the tennis court in blazing 100 degree heat. Their upper bodys are too big to withstands the type of tension you put on your legs and the strokes you're taking.

Going to stop arguing with you, but its the other way around, the whole idea of body building is as defined muscles as possible, which essentially is as low BF as possible in combination with as pumped up muscles as possible. They certainly wouldnt last very well on the tennis court though, but its not their goal either. Djokovic certainly is one of the more ripped athletes though, different abilities required for different sports. Not trying to bash him at all in this thread or anywhere else, I really like the guy (and hope he beats nadal every time since I'm not a fan of his ).

[k13]

Djokovic is not ripped, he's a bean pole, a stick.

I don't know how these tennis players have such tiny arms.

[darrell74]

I'm a hockey fan and love Lidstrom. Love hockey just like anybody else. Again, I'll pay for NHL center Ice, in October.

But out here in New Mexico, most people could tell you who Roger Federer is, most people couldn't tell you what sport Nikalas Lidstrom plays.

[k13]

He's like Robin Söderling compared to federer.

[benandjerry]

I'm a hockey fan and love Lidstrom. Love hockey just like anybody else. Again, I'll pay for NHL center Ice, in October.

But out here in New Mexico, most people could tell you who Roger Federer is, most people couldn't tell you what sport Nikalas Lidstrom plays.

I know, tbh, even most casual hockey fans would consider Lidstrom pretty good, some would say very good, but few would say the best player of the last two decades overall (and arguably the best player of the last decade), simply because he wasnt flashy. This definitely gives an edge to Federer as better ambassador purely on his famousness and career accomplishments (not saying he wouldnt be regardless, I think its close), but its hard to go against Lidstrom as far as class acts go even though I think Feds is a very classy guy. I'm a bigger fan of hockey than I am of tennis though I really like it as well, so I didnt vote at all as I may be biased.

He's like Robin Söderling compared to federer.

Not even close, Soda couldnt hold a candle to either in the class department. Purely in famousness world wide maybe. He was a pretty good player though.