The Irrational Confidence of athletes appreciation thread

[Remote]

You gotta love Kevin Garnett

 

[NYC Rebel]

You gotta love Kevin Garnett

His 89’ hesitation had me DYING!

 

[FlyRy]

Those 2 are hilarious

 

[Erratic415]

I need footage of 44 year old Jim Brown loudly claiming he could beat Franco Harris in a race and then getting smoked while pulling a hammy.

Harris Beats Brown at 40 Yards, Wins 2-Day Competition

Former Pittsburgh Steeler running back Franco Harris defeated former Cleveland Brown running back Jim Brown in the 40-yard dash Friday to win a two-day competition.

www.latimes.com

Jim Brown talked about making a comeback at age 47.

Why did Jim Brown even think about a comeback at age 47?

Why does Jim Brown, at 47, even think about making a comeback?

vault.si.com

"Gaining 1,000 yards in a 14-game season is like walking backwards," says Brown. "Gaining 1,000 yards in a 16-game season isn't even worth talking about. The standards today are lower, the conditions are easier and the expectations are less." He will concede this to Harris: "Franco is having a lovely performance in his twilight years." Then he gets in a jab. "If Franco hangs around long enough," Brown says, "and keeps running out of bounds, he'll get my record."

He always disliked Franco Harris for running out of bounds. In the NFL Network top 100 players ever back in 2010, he was the one talking during the Walter Payton segment, and was still taking shots at Franco, saying “I respected Walter breaking my record because he didn’t run out of bounds like some other running backs” lol

There’s a story of him thinking he could take Muhammad Ali in a boxing match, although I think he denied that the story was true.

For starters, there's Muhammad Ali versus George Chuvalo in 1966, the first fight Arum promoted. Jim Brown introduced Arum to Ali, and it wasn't long before the Hall of Fame running back asked Arum for a favor: Put me in the ring with the champ. I can take him.

Arum knew Brown was tough. He had heard the stories. Brown had beaten up Cookie Gilchrist, the 6-foot-3, 251-pound AFL fullback. He had flattened John Wooten, the 6-2, 230-pound NFL guard. Make the fight with Ali, Brown said, and we'll all make a fortune.

"So I went to talk to Ali," Arum recalls. "He says, 'Jim wants to do what? Bring him here.' So I took him to Hyde Park in London, where Ali used to run. Ali said, 'Jimmy, here's what we're going to do: You hit me as hard as you can.' So Brown starts swinging and swinging, and he can't hit him. He's swinging wildly and not even coming close. This goes on for, like, 30 seconds. Then Ali hits him with this quick one-two to his face. Jimmy just stops and says, 'OK, I get the point.'"

Arum, one of boxing's most powerful promoters, still hustling

For Arum, who turns 81 on Saturday, the same day Manny Pacquiao will face Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, every fight

www.si.com

 

[Slim]

Dion Wiaters
Nick Young
Lance Stephenson

These dudes have the confidence of a perennial a ALL NBA player and I fukkin love it

 

[Silkk]

The Kobe Stopper

 

[Erratic415]

I wouldn’t say this is really ‘irrational confidence’ as Pernell Whitaker was amazing, but it’s a funny interview.

The Ring will ask retired boxers which opponents were the best in different categories. These are some of the insightful answers Pernell gave.

BEST JAB

Buddy McGirt: I didn’t really get hit with them jabs. I tried to keep guys on defense. That was one of my best assets. That’s where I start off at, using the jab and being constant, keeping my jab out there. I think every fighter should have a good jab; a good jab could take you a long way. Of the guys I fought I would say Buddy McGirt had the best jab.

BEST DEFENSE

Azumah Nelson: (Laughs) That’s a tough one because it never took me long to get to anybody. But if I picked someone, I would say Azumah Nelson. I don’t think nobody on this planet had a better defense than I did. There are a lot of fighters with good defense but not like Pernell Whitaker.
BEST PUNCHER

Julio Cesar Chavez: Everybody I’ve been in the ring with was considered a big puncher. The one who stands out the most would be Julio Cesar Chavez. I didn’t experience any big shots. I don’t like taking punches.

FASTEST HANDS

Oscar De La Hoya: I made all these fights so easy, it’s hard to say who had the better hand speed. I consider all of them being great, they just weren’t quicker than I was, though I would say Oscar De La Hoya had good hand speed. They start off with speed but by the time I break ’em down, the speed’s over.

FASTEST FEET

Diosbelys Hurtado: I didn’t have a problem with anybody. All the fighters I fought were good fighters. It’s hard to give credit when you make guys look so bad all the time. I would say Diosbelys Hurtado had good feet. Like I say I just went in there and took fighters out of their fight game, turn them into being ordinary fighters.

SMARTEST

All of them: All of the guys I fought were smart fighters; I was just a little smarter. Chavez was pretty smart, De La Hoya was a pretty smart kid, McGirt, I fought him twice, he was a veteran. I don’t have no favorite.

RingMagazine.com

Stay updated with exclusive boxing news, fighter rankings, match analysis, and upcoming fight schedules. Your trusted source for professional boxing since 1922

www.ringtv.com

 

[Erratic415]

double post

 

[NYC Rebel]

Donnie Long: 3:10 “I could punch better than Tyson.”

 

[OsO]

Arenas and McCants should have permanent real estate in this thread.

 

[K-Apps]

 

[IrateMastermind]

Does anybody have Rod Strickland return to the nba? He played for the rockets when they had T-Mac and Yao.

It was embarrassing. He stopped playing both ends of the court and hung back on defense like he was playing at the Y

I never seen a pro athlete so outta shape. I think he retired the next day.

 

[premier58]

Kendrick Bourne saying he felt that he was as good as any WR in the league on the TO and Matthew Hatchette podcast. Adrian Broner boldly declaring that he beat Pacquiao after their fight. Chuck Liddell after suffering a series of brutal knockouts to Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Rich Franklin, he would always say afterwards, "I got caught."

 

[Reggie]

Isaiah Thomas the new age version is somewhere up there.

 

[Apprentice]

Nobody gon mention Darius Miles quote after Cavs drafted LeBron