What is the All-Time Best Sports Rivalry Or Nemesis Between Two Great Players?

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What is the All-Time Best Sports Rivalry Or Nemesis Between Two Great Players?

I am looking for 2 greats, who played at the same time and were always competing against one-another or their teams were being led by each of them. Any sport, any players...what's the best? Naturally oh so many but I like my list, if you don't want to pick one of mine feel free to express your own.

| Closed on 08/15/08 at 05:00PM
FanIQ Pts? No | Sports | Multiple Choice Opinion Poll

68 Fans
0%	a. Mickey Mantle-Willie Mays
0%	b. Ted Williams-Joe Dimaggio
0%	c. Wayne Gretzky-Mario Lemieux
43%	d. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
29%	e. Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
1%	f. Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig
0%	g. Michael Jordon-Magic Johnson
7%	h. Wilt Chamberlin-Bill Russell
0%	i. Hank Aaron-Frank Robinson
0%	j. Ty Cobb-Joe Jackson
4%	k. Richard Petty-David Pearson
0%	l. A.J. Foyt-Mario Andretti
0%	m. Emmitt Smith-Barry Sanders
0%	n. Lew Alcindor-Elvin Hayes
0%	o. Bart Starr-Don Meredith
3%	p. Bob Gibson-Sandy Koufax
1%	q. Sammy Sosa-Mark McGwire
4%	r. John McEnroe-Jimmie Connors
4%	s. Dale Earnhardt-Darrell Waltrip
1%	t. Arnold Palmer-Jack Nicklaus

	&nbp;
TOP COMMENT
#1 \| 66 days ago 242fast (+)	+7 Bird and Magic were the best by far. Even when they face each other in the regular season, they played like it was game seven of the NBA finals. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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Vote for your favorite comments. Fans decide the Top Comment (3+ votes) and also hide poor quality comments (4+ votes).
#1 \| 66 days ago 242fast (+)	+7 Bird and Magic were the best by far. Even when they face each other in the regular season, they played like it was game seven of the NBA finals. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
	Was this comment...? (6) (1)
#2 \| 66 days ago Flip62 (+)	+5 All of these were good, but lets face facts! None except Ali - Frazier was a true knockdown, drag out, hate inspired rivalry. When those two meet in the ring, it was on!!!!!!!!!!!!! Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#3 \| 66 days ago Flip62 (+)	Cobb and Joe Jackson might be the second best simply because Cobb was such a nasty bastard! Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#4 \| 66 days ago majikmanseven (+)	+2 tough choice between bird/magic and ali/frazier... but think the ali/frazier was top simply because of the personal nature of the rivalry and the way Frazier still loathes ali to this day for his "uncle tom" BS all those years ago.... Ray Nitschke/ Dick Butkus would have been another good choice for this post... Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#5 \| 66 days ago tdbrought (+)	Great question, but I agree there were basically two choices. I went Ali/Frazier because of the personal animus that still exists between them. Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#6 \| 66 days ago Anthonyg7575 (+)	Aaron-Robinson? Arnold Palmer-Jack Nicklaus
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#7 \| 66 days ago tapout632 (+)	+4 Has to be Ali - Frazier. Unlike Bird/Johnson, these guys were not friends. I wasn't around to see Joe D. and Teddy Ballgame, but I heard they were great competitors. BTW, in tennis McEnroe - Borg was a better rivalry. They were complete opposites on the court. Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#8 \| 65 days ago irbe38 (+)	Anthonyg7575 wrote: Aaron-Robinson? Yeah, not sure where that came from, but what the Hell...they were both great and played pretty much in the same era. Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig
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#9 \| 65 days ago robsylvain (+)	+1 Bird and Magic are the best...they were rivals on the court but, despite the differences (style of play, Hollywood vs Boston....), they have become longtime friends Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#10 \| 65 days ago wil1018 (+)	+2 Kermit v Miss Piggy?
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#11 \| 65 days ago 242fast (+)	tapout632 wrote: Has to be Ali - Frazier. Unlike Bird/Johnson, these guys were not friends. I wasn't around to see Joe D. and Teddy Ballgame, but I heard they were great competitors. BTW, in tennis McEnroe - Borg was a better rivalry. They were complete opposites on the court. I actually heard they were great friends and Ali even gave Frazier money one time because Frazier was down on his luck. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#12 \| 65 days ago majikmanseven (+)	242fast wrote: I actually heard they were great friends and Ali even gave Frazier money one time because Frazier was down on his luck. +3 I don't quite believe that account... as recently as a couple years ago Frazier publicly made comments about who walks and talks better now... referring to ali's parkinsons... I hardly would call them friends. I'm sure Smokin was civil at public events... but the kinds of things ali said publicly about him... nowdays...makes anything Imus ever said seem like romper room. Joe was a simple guy, a decent guy, a city guy... and ali's "gorilla" talk and the "uncle tom" talk... crossed the line IMHO Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#13 \| 65 days ago 242fast (+)	majikmanseven wrote: I don't quite believe that account... as recently as a couple years ago Frazier publicly made comments about who walks and talks better now... referring to ali's parkinsons... I hardly would call them friends. I'm sure Smokin was civil at public events... but the kinds of things ali said publicly about him... nowdays...makes anything Imus ever said seem like romper room. Joe was a simple guy, a decent guy, a city guy... and ali's "gorilla" talk and the "uncle tom" talk... crossed the line IMHO I'm not a fan of either, I had just heard that all that talk by Ali was kind of like WWE style to promote and hype the fights. From what I understood, Frazier was confused by Ali by acting one way when the cameras were on and another when they were off. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#14 \| 65 days ago Kegger (+)	+1 Where is the other? Frankly other than Ali-Frazier none of these are really rivalries in my opinion. Gatti vs Ward? Sugar Ray Robinson vs LaMotta? Boxing alone has more than I can even name. Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#15 \| 65 days ago sdm (+)	242fast wrote: Bird and Magic were the best by far. Even when they face each other in the regular season, they played like it was game seven of the NBA finals. +2 I agree with Bird/Johnson. These guys go back to college ball in '79. Although not drafted in the same year (Bird went a year earlier) these guys just all out competed but had a great respect for each other. Ali v. Frazier is close, as was Jack v. Arnie. Great poll! Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#16 \| 64 days ago ntimid8 (+)	(Edited by ntimid8) +2 Can I go with, "or their teams were being led by each of them"? SEC football, I ask because I am thinking Spurrier-Gators/Fulmer-Vols. Just about any given year those two teams had knock down drag outs on the field with, Spurrier of course, mostly coming out on top. Mostly. BTW, being the NASCAR fan I am, I voted Earnhardt vs Waltrip,,,,,,so I could be nosy and "see" what everyone else said Dale Earnhardt-Darrell Waltrip
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#17 \| 64 days ago derms33 (+)	+2 Teams...Ohio St. and Michigan Players: Mantle and Maris John McEnroe-Jimmie Connors
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#18 \| 64 days ago derms33 (+)	+1 As for my choice...I chose the ones that matched up the most often in a sport that is not Team Oriented...next in line would be Ali and Frazier John McEnroe-Jimmie Connors
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#19 \| 61 days ago chadesanders (+)	just cuz it is fighting these guys Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#20 \| 60 days ago majikmanseven (+)	derms33 wrote: Teams...Ohio St. and Michigan Players: Mantle and Maris +1 after yesterday's men's final ... we someday will be adding Federrer/nadal to this list... what a match... reminded me of the old Mcenroe/Connors days! Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
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#21 \| 59 days ago danny_n94 (+)	Wilt-Russell. It may have been one-sided in playoff wins but those two head to head were great. Wilt Chamberlin-Bill Russell
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#22 \| 58 days ago Keeter (+)	+1 Excellent question - so many ways to slice-n-dice this: - Ali & Frazier were unreal as rivals.....but they did "only" meet 3 times - Wilt & Russell were perhaps the Top 2 in their sport for many years, and had some classic rivalries....but again, they were in team sports relying on their teammates for much - McEnroe could actually be on this list a few times; not just against Connors, but also Borg, and even Lendl I'm gonna throw some others out here as well: - Bobby Fisher against Boris Spasny (not sure of spelling of his name). They met many times for the Chess Championship of the world. I'm included them not just for that, but the fact that Fisher actually left the sport due to friction with Spasny - Affirmed vs. Alydar. Affirmed won the Triple Crown, barely beating Alydar in each race. In arguably the best rivalry in horse racing history, they were the only 2 horses to finish 1-2 in that order in each Triple Crown race, with Affirmed winning by a total of about 3-4 feet ! - Mickey Mantle vs. Willie Mays vs. Duke Snider. Not only were they competing to see who was the best CF in baseball.....but they also were battling to see who "owned" New York !! (well...at least until 1958 when the Dodgers & Giants moved) - Carl Lewis vs. Ben Johnson. I remember some of their battles on the track; just amazing. (yes...I know Ben was doped...but still was dramatic) - Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran. Again, some classic fights. - Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. True, they each have many years ahead of them, but their matchups have been almost legendary already. - Dick Butkus vs. Ray Nitchke. A battle twice a year to see who could knock the heads off of the other's runnign backs !! Excellent question !! Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#23 \| 58 days ago mandisdad (+)	+2 Tough question. I didn't pick any baseball players because they really didn't go up against each other, but rather against the other team. Ali-Frazier was great, but only three times. It came down to Bird-Magic or Chamberlin-Russell. I went with Chamberlin-Russell because they played against each other in the paint each and every game. Magic normally played guard and Bird was at forward so they weren't always one-on-one against each other. With that said, the games they played against each other were awesome. IMO, basketball has not been the same since then. Wilt Chamberlin-Bill Russell
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#24 \| 53 days ago jtm25 (+)	crap i was looking for magic and larry but didnt see it so i voted different Sammy Sosa-Mark McGwire
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#25 \| 50 days ago danxp888 (+)	(Edited by danxp888) I guess this would boil down to personal choice and era. I grew up watching and respecting the fierce rivalry of 2 legends. They revitalized (and saved!) the NBA. One of the most watched college game and one of the best finals ratings in the NBA would speak how special their duel was. Can't mention one person without the other Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#26 \| 49 days ago Beaneaters (+)	I loved watching the Lakers and the Celtics play when Magic and Bird were on the court, I guess 2nd place would be Palmer-Nicklaus. Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#27 \| 40 days ago JohnnyPyro (+)	Martina Navritilova vs. Chris Evert Lloyd should be on this list as well Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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#28 \| 30 days ago YankeeDudeL (+)	Rodgers-Favre...calm down, I'm kidding! Larry Bird-Magic Johnson
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