Mohammed Ali

One thing I haven't done in Louisville is to go to the Ali Center. Ali was from Louisville. There is a building right by my hotel that celebrates Ali and the things he believes in. Its a really nice building and I've thought about going, but I haven't been motivated enough to. I used to think he was a cool guy, but I've kind of soured on him.

At the turn of the century Ali was voted the top athlete of the 20th century. I don't think so. I'm not sure he was even the greatest boxer of his era. Ali got beat by Joe Frazier and others. I would rank Frazier ahead of Ali.

Another problem I have with him was his trash talking. He was probably the original trash talker. Since him there have been many others. That is not a great claim to fame. Trash talking probably does give you more notoriety and leads to your fame, but that doesn't make it a good thing.

Third item. I know this has been commented on before, but for someone to make his living from beating people up, but refuse to serve in Vietnam because he was opposed to violence seems like a conflict.

So who are the top athletes of the last century? I'll give you my picks - 1. Babe Ruth 2. Michael Jordan 3. Jerry Rice. I could put Ali maybe in the top 10, but that's the best I could do.