Clean living is the cardinal principle in the lives of the world's greatest athletes, as the phenomenal performances of these outstanding characters will obviously show.
I met Tiger Woods, and I looked in his eyes - and I saw Derek Jeter. They don't have to tell people they're good. They just prove it by the way they love the competition.
Americans' addiction to sports, with the NFL at the top, is based on the excitement generated by the potential for the unexpected great play which can only happen with honest competition from great athletes.
We're the greatest athletes in the world without a doubt.
Who were the best players I had ever played against? Raul, Messi, Zidane.
Michael Jordan was criticized. Barry Bonds was criticized. Some of the greats in every profession have been criticized. Not everything is peaches and cream.
We're focusing on producing top, great athletes for the Olympics.
No matter what your background or where you are from, the one thing we can all respect is when great athletes and great passion leads to great achievements.
All athletes, without fail, are potentially great and good. A great athlete is a little man tirelessly inspired.
I did not choose necessarily on the basis of significance. If you have a vote for the most significant athlete, then you have Ali, then you have Babe Ruth, then you have Michael Jordan.
I think sometimes I guess you see records, say you want to get there and use that as motivation. In a way, it's kind of cool if there is a possibility to rewrite history and be up there with the greats of Olympic history.
There's been so many unbelievable players in Los Angeles, maybe the best of the best.
Great players make history in their own country.
The really great athletes make their news on the field, not off the field.
I have a lot of respect for Shaq. He's one of the greatest NBA centers of all time.
Ireland has always been a nation of great athletes from the past: in the nineties, we had Sonia O'Sullivan and Steve Collins.
It was a great privilege for me and my teammates to follow in the footsteps of sporting greats like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.
That is what great athletes can do: they give us a model of striving for human perfection.
I just have a lot of respect for Terry and his family. He played without a mask, and his life was tragically ended. And it just means a lot to me to be up there with him and the other greats that have played that long.
