Sammy Sofa

But that's a big part of the point; Ali ended up being as absurdly famous as he was around the world at a time when the world wasn't as connected as it would be later. But "most famous" still means how many (or what % of) people know of the guy. I believe that Ali was known by a higher percentage of the connected people during his time than any athlete today. But there are SO many more connected people today (overall and as a %) that it is almost inevitable that the raw numbers will be higher for today's athletes. Sure; if we're just going by basic awareness of someone's existence, then everyone from Kanye West to Donald Trump is technically more famous than basically anyone before the current era due to how the world is connected now, but so much of that is due to social media and pop culture saturation. Ali reached his level of fame around the world based on people who WANTED to know what he was doing and saying. So many more people had to work much harder to seek that out than nowadays. Like, I inexplicably know way more about Kim Kardashian and her family despite never actually seeking any of that information out. Ali, on the other hand, somehow reached religious figure-levels of fame and recognition at a time when a ton of people had to literally spread the word about him. It's bonkers. Post-Michael Jackson, I don't even know if we CAN see someone that famous again just based on how linked up we all are.

I don't know what tell you; I was out of the country for most of that, and it was definitely popular, but nowhere near that "holy [expletive], everyone stop what you're doing/did you see what Jordan did last night?" I mean, I'm obviously not arguing that Jordan wasn't global famous; he clearly was and is. Ali just was on a crazy different level. Yeah, that is hugely influenced by the difference in their sports and the eras they were at their peak; Jordan's arguably the reason that basketball started spreading globally like it has, whereas Ali benefited by being the greatest at a sport that was already cemented as a global phenomenon and was basically at its peak in popularity. Whatever the reasons, Ali somehow ended up on a level you usually just see for religious figures or world leaders. I think it's really tough because we're judging it based on reports of folks (old sportswriters and reporters) that are inclined to glamorize Ali's fame too. I sure wasn't around to see any of Ali's fights. I'm honestly surprised this even turned out to be such a contentious thing; I just assumed he was one of those rare figures everyone though was on another level of fame/global awareness.

But that's a big part of the point; Ali ended up being as absurdly famous as he was around the world at a time when the world wasn't as connected as it would be later.

that brings up the massive difference in the sports themselves. Boxing was huge at the time and Ali was the biggest name, but how many of his fights were truly global events? Maybe a half a dozen? Jordan had exponentially more games, and even if you just count things like series clinching games, his comeback, finals games, dunk contests and olympics, he was out there for world wide consumption far more often. I think Jordan competes simply on the globally famous question. He may not be as popular or beloved or respected, but those are different questions. But the dude is quite famous. I don't know what tell you; I was out of the country for most of that, and it was definitely popular, but nowhere near that "holy horsefeathers, everyone stop what you're doing/did you see what Jordan did last night?" I mean, I'm obviously not arguing that Jordan wasn't global famous; he clearly was and is. Ali just was on a crazy different level. Yeah, that is hugely influenced by the difference in their sports and the eras they were at their peak; Jordan's arguably the reason that basketball started spreading globally like it has, whereas Ali benefited by being the greatest at a sport that was already cemented as a global phenomenon and was basically at its peak in popularity. Whatever the reasons, Ali somehow ended up on a level you usually just see for religious figures or world leaders.

Pretty much. Jordan was arguably famous around the world more for a logo/brand than anything else; to a good chunk of the globe he might as well have been, I dunno, Calvin Klein, basically. Ali was famous and known everywhere just for being Ali. I'm not sure how or why you make the distinction for how either was known. From a personal standpoint, I lived overseas a lot when Jordan was at his peak popularity and it cracked me up how many kids I went to school with in Asia and Europe who were obsessed with Air Jordans, but couldn't tell you a thing about the NBA or even Jordan himself. It's not like I'm saying Jordan WASN'T popularity; he was, enormously so, but even just from a standpoint of how many people watched or listened to their respective sports, I have to imagine Ali trounces Jordan, and it's not even close. Ali's fights were global events, plus he was such a gigantic figure in terms of social activism. Ali was seen not just as an athlete or spokesman or a pop culture figure, but basically as an icon for politics and race and even philosophy. Plus there's the big factor of how much Ali transcended just being famous for his sport. The guy ended up being famous worldwide for basically just existing, whereas guys like Jordan and Tiger never really got being just being crazy popular athletes and spokesmen. I think Michael Jackson is much more comparable vs. someone like Jordan or Tiger. It's an incredible, almost religious figure-like level of fame. He's like Pele, Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee somehow rolled up into one person.

Michael Jordan Not even close. Pele is the only athlete I can think of who might have compared to Ali at the top of his fame. Pretty much. Jordan was arguably famous around the world more for a logo/brand than anything else; to a good chunk of the globe he might as well have been, I dunno, Calvin Klein, basically. Ali was famous and known everywhere just for being Ali.

YEAH, TALKBOY.

No wonder this dude is pissed all the time; he must think because the Cubs are the best team in baseball EVERY loss is an affront.

This is the Braves, this is what your suppose to do against the worst team in baseball. Should have been this way all 3 games. = http://wwwcache.wralsportsfan.com/asset/colleges/2015/03/06/14494853/imma_be_me-425x240.gif

He's 1-2.

Montero...puttin' on the Ritz?

Heck yeah, dummies.

How disappointed would you be if it wasn't as terrible as you expect?

Whut.

Taking a leak at the top of the lineup? I feel ya, bro. nah just forgot to turn the game on Sure, sure. I'm in your head.

Taking a leak at the top of the lineup? I feel ya, bro.

Ride dat Hey.

At this point in time, that 6-8 is brutally bad. Yeeeeesh.

That seems pretty insulting to Patterson.

I'm kinda stunned anyone thought Al Contra was more than a bag of meat at this point. What did he do, finally go on some kind of crazy tear in the minors recently?

Chase d'Arnaud sounds like a terrible character Johnny Depp would play.

I've got them at 4.35 runs per game in that stretch. But, regardless, things are so horrible that in this arbitrary time frame you've selected, they've still been only average. And we both know why you've chosen this time frame. Let's see, they scored 17 runs in the two games before that, and about a million in the 25 before that. Let's just throw them out, though, because they don't matter. Why are you going all Ski on a 41-17 team? We're wondering if teams have adjusted and are pitching us differently, and we haven't adjusted, or if this is just an extended blip on the radar. At worst we're looking at a stretch where the offense is just good instead of amazing. It's not like they're suddenly "un-adjusting" every 2-3 games, so since were not actually not seeing a sustained stretch of struggling offense, I really don't understand stressing out like this game is indicative of a larger, continuing problem. It's a long season and even the best teams have periods where they look mortal, or even bad, and this isn't even the latter right now.

Pitching backwards and challenging them. The Cubs have shown zero ability to adjust to it. Yeah, the death spiral since they were figured out has been BRUTAL.