The World's Greatest Athlete? WSJ says Sid's #6

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121392004594090355.html?mod=todays_us_weekend_journal

With the Olympic Games approaching, The Wall Street Journal set out to answer this parlor-game question: If Earth had to send one man to the Intergalactic Olympics, who should go?
WSJ reporter Reed Albergotti visits with decathlete Bryan Clay to see how a mere working stiff measures up to what some consider the best all-around athlete.

Identifying the world's greatest male athlete turned out to be easy to argue but difficult to answer empirically. No matter how impressive, world-class athletes mostly excel at single tasks. Olympic gold medal weightlifter Hossein Reza Zadeh can, in two quick motions, lift 580 pounds over his head, the equivalent of a year-old heifer. Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie can run a mile in an astonishing four minutes, 45 seconds, and repeat the performance 26 times in a row. Put either man on a tennis court or pitch them a 95-mile-per-hour fastball and they might whiff as badly as any weekend hacker.

Sports physiologists don't have a system to rank all athletes. University of Texas exercise physiologist Ed Coyle said doctoral students have tried in the past "only to have their professors shut them down after months of continuous work."

The Journal sought to identify the world's greatest athlete with an approach that, while not completely scientific, took a number of measures into account. A panel of five sports scientists and exercise physiologists was given a list drawn up by the Journal of 79 male athletes. Candidates had to be active in their sport and among the all-time best. (Women will be featured separately in a future article.)

The panel weighed individual performance stats, along with their subjective judgments about the relative difficulty of each sport, to give an overall grade to the athletes. (See "How We Did It" for details.) The judges graded athletes on speed, reflexes, stamina, coordination, as well as power, strength and size. The finalists, they said, exhibited a wide range of athletic skill in highly competitive environments.

There were some surprises. Tiger Woods, a dominant figure in professional sports, didn't crack the Top 10. Panelists said they didn't give golfers much weight when assessing overall athletic ability. Michael Phelps, one of the greatest U.S. swimmers of all time, also missed the top tier because, the judges said, swimmers generally don't perform well out of the water. Such endurance athletes as marathoners and Tour de France cyclists also failed to impress. Too one-dimensional, the panel said.

Trib: Malone to test free agency

Rob Rossi of the Trib reports Malone will not sign with anyone until  after July 1:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_573270.html

Left wing Ryan Malone said Tuesday he plans to opt for free agency -- a significant blow to the Penguins' chances of trading him for a pick in this weekend's NHL Entry Draft.

"We will not talk to anyone until July 1," said Malone, who will become an unrestricted free agent on that date.

Talks between Malone's camp and the Penguins hit a wall last week, and the Pittsburgh-born Malone is warming to the possibility of continuing his NHL career outside of his hometown.

Penguins officials, including general manager Ray Shero, are currently preparing for the NHL Draft Friday and Saturday in Ottawa. Those preparations include conversations with several clubs about acquiring early-round picks.

Shero is not commenting on off-season dealings.

The Penguins do not pick until the fourth round. Their first-round pick was included in the package sent to the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 26 for right wing Marian Hossa and forward Pascal Dupuis. The acquisition that day of defenseman Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs cost the Penguins their second-round pick. And their third-round choice was shipped to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 27, 2007, as part of a deal for right wing Georges Laraque, also set to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Penguins had hoped Malone could net them a needed early-round draft choice, perhaps from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are known to have serious interest. The Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday the Blue Jackets could strike a deal with the Penguins to acquire Malone's rights for possibly a second- or third-round draft pick.

Those plans now appear to be dashed because the Blue Jackets will not deal a draft pick to the Penguins unless Malone provides a guarantee he will sign with Columbus.

The Dispatch reported that the Jackets are willing to offer Malone a four- or five-year deal worth at least $4.5 million annually. The Penguins are not willing to go much beyond $3 million annually for Malone, who posted a career-best 27 goals and 51 points during the regular season.