The best you've ever seen...

In person:

Baseball: Greg Maddux
Football: Is this NFL? If so, N/A
Basketball: Tim Duncan
Hockey: Whoever the best player was on the Atlanta Flames back in 1979.
Boxing: N/Z
Tennis: McEnroe
College football: Herschel Walker
College basketball: Dominique Wilkins
High school basketball: Dwight Howard
High school football: Eric Zeier

 

"Best I've ever seen who absolutely burned a holy-shit memory in my head after seeing them play":

Baseball: Randy Johnson (perfecto, baby)
Football: Michael Vick
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Mario Lemieux, Maxim Afinogenov
Boxing: N/A
Tennis: Martina Hingis 8) (hey, Federer lost the only I ever "saw" him play ... by "saw," I mean standing outside the court watching on the big-screen and awaiting the Hingis match I had a ticket for)
Golf: Tiger Woods
College football: David Pollack
College basketball: Stephon Marbury
High school basketball: Dwight Howard, Mark Causey, Chezley Watson
High school football: Darius Walker
High school baseball: Micah Owings, Victor Menocal


"Best I've ever seen, but not necessarily in person (or seen, but not in attendance at their absolute best)":

Baseball: Pedro Martinez
Football: Brett Favre
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky+
Boxing: Muhammad Ali*
Tennis: Pete Sampras*
Golf: Tiger Woods
College football: Herschel Walker*
College basketball: Tim Duncan*
High school basketball: Dwight Howard, Diana Taurasi*
High school football: Allen Bradford
High school baseball: Micah Owings, Jeff Francoeur


* never saw in person
+ saw the Oilers in 99's prime, but he was injured and didn't play that game -- then he retired the same year my town got a team, and we couldn't get tickets to see him. Greatest regret of my sports-attendance life.

 

Dammit! I thought Joe Jackson was the best you ever saw.












* I know that's not Eight Men Out. That's Buck Weaver when he sold out in the 80s after he gave up clearing his name. Incidentally, I'm told the street value of that mountain is off the charts.

 

"Hit, run, throw ... he was the best."

 

Baseball: Mariano Rivera (As a Mariners fan in the late 90s, if he came in, I knew it was over)
Football: Barry Sanders (I'll never forgot the around the world run he pulled off on a busted play. That motherfucker could run)
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky (He just defined hockey to me as a youth)
Boxing: Mike Tyson (I've never seen someone knock out a white guy so fast before in my life)
Tennis: Pete Sampras (Still remember rooting hard against him in the classic battles vs. Agassi)
Golf: Tiger Woods
College football: N/A (Haven't followed it enough to have an opinion)
College basketball: N/A (Haven't followed it enough to have an opinion)
High school basketball: Lebron James
High school football: Sean Donlon, running back, East Greenwich, RI
High school baseball: Dan Bracey, pitcher, East Greenwich, RI

 

OK, considering where I'm from some of these are limited...
In person --

Baseball: A-Rod or Griffey as Mariners, Ichiro in 2001.
Pro Football: Tom Brady.
College basketball: Rodney Stuckey (Big Sky conf. isn't known for basketball)
Golf: Maybe not the best but the most entertaining was Ray Romano.
College Football: Dave Dickinson w/o question.
Pro Basketball: Gary Payton (preseason, he had 26 points, and like 4 steals.)

 

In person ...

Pro baseball: Alex Rodriguez
Pro basketball: Tim Duncan
College football: Glenn Dorsey, Adrian Peterson
College basketball: Kevin Durant
JUCO basketball: Omar Thomas
High school football: Tough. Saw John David Booty, Jacob Hester, and Malcolm Kelly all in the same game. Nathan Vasher, Drew Coleman, Jorvorskie Lane, Chase Daniel, Curtis Brown, Lennon Creer, and Justin Johnson would have to be up there, too. Saw Adrian Peterson in a scrimmage.
High school basketball: Damion James
High school baseball: Zach Duke, Philip Humber (went to high school with Humber)

 

Pro Baseball: Willie Mays
Pro Basketball: Larry Bird
Hockey: Bobby Orr
College Basketball: Lew Alcindor/Pistol Pete/Ernie D.
College Football: O.J. Simpson
High School Basketball: Kobe Bryant
Tennis: John McEnroe
Pro Football: Jim Brown
Horse: Secretariet
Golf: Tiger
Boxing: Ali

Those I never saw but believe to be the best....

Pro Baseball: Ruth
College Basketball: Hank Luisetti/John Wooden
Horse: Man O' War
College Football: Red Grange/Sammy Baugh/Jim Thorpe
Pro Football: Bronko Nagurski
Tennis: Bill Tilden
Golf: Walter Hagen
Hockey: Maurice Richard
Boxing: Joe Lewis

 

In Person...

Baseball: Barry vs. Smoltz
Football: Jerry Rice from Steve Young
Basketball: Pao Gasol
College football: Drew Brees
College basketball: Greg Oden
High school basketball: Jared Jeffries
Track: Calvin and Alvin Harrison
Men's Golf: Brandt Snedeker
Women's Golf: Mina Harigae

Edit: Forgot about Snedeker

 

GodDAMN some of you guys have gone to an awful lot of games. I don't think I could fill two hands with actual superstars I've seen in person.

 

But you'd try.
(/ducking)

 

Guh.