Are there transcendent athletes?

I'm with you on every one that you named. Did not see Maravich or Cassanova in college but based on their pro careers and collegiate accomplishments, I don't think you've gone overboard in the least bit. Cannon is probably another. Even without taking into account modern training, nutrition, etc., his "measurables" such as size and speed translate into today's game without any difficulty whatsoever.

We are talking about then to now. So far. Not the future.

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Are there transcendent athletes?

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Pete Maravich, Tommy Casanova,
Shaquille O'Neal, Alan Faneca and Glen Dorsey.

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Of course. But would anyone add Kevin Faulk, Laron Landry, Brandon Larson, or Josh Reed?

Is there no tight end in the last 50 years who could have started ahead of Billy? If thats the case, football hasn't evolved as much as these young guys think, huh?

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Shaq was listed as one of the all time NBA players a few years ago, so I dont think there will ever be a college team that he couldnt start on.

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I tend to agree but I also realize anyone watching George Mikan play in the early 40's would have said the same thing about him. George, without an evolution to his game, couldn't play or at least not be dominant today. Who's to say the evolution of athletes over the next 5 decades might not render Shaq just as obsolete?

You really think any of those three could run back a punt 84 yards in the mud? And what in their LSU stats gives you that idea?

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s there no tight end in the last 50 years who could have started ahead of Billy? If thats the case, football hasn't evolved as much as these young guys think, huh?

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I completely agree. Someone like Cannon could play today and be a star. I think Billy's skills and abilities lend themselves to tmaking the transition to another era better than someone like Shaq.

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Someone like Cannon could play today and be a star.

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Yeah, assuming he gets modern training, I'm pretty sure he could. Not most of his contemporaries though.

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I guess I just cant imagine athletes changing that much in the next 50 years. Seems that unless steroids are freely allowed, athletes are reaching the limits of...I dunno, biology or physiology. you know what I'm trying to say.

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I know exactly what you're saying and I have the same difficulty imagining what an athlete 50 years down the road will look like. But then I compare players and their physiques from the 40's with athletes today and can't come up with a good enough reason not to believe the evolution will continue.

Just when we think someone has run a fast, jumped as high, or lifted as much as is humanly possible, someone comes along to break the record.

I'm 34 so I might be around when someone runs the 6 second 100 meters.

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I'm 34 so I might be around when someone runs the 6 second 100 meters

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I would pay good money to witness those 6 seconds.