In his story for Tuesday, ESPN.com writer Bill Barnwell set out to find the best American athlete for every year since 1912, awarding the Best American Athlete Championship Belt to the person who won the year.The results? Babe Ruth held the title as best American athlete for 10 years, while Tiger Woods came away with six titles, Michael Jordan had five-and-a-half, and Muhammad Ali had four. Check out the criteria and results here.Heres your chance to weigh in: Who is the most accomplished American athlete ever?For the record, here are Barnwells thoughts on the topic:Michael Phelps is the greatest American athlete of all time. Hes the greatest Olympian of all time and its not particularly close: Phelps has 23 gold medals and nobody else has more than nine. The idea that the number of events in swimming inflates Phelps statistics doesnt really hold much muster. If it were that easy, why havent any swimmers before or after Phelps come close to matching Phelps totals? Ian Thorpe, the best swimmer in the world in the era immediately preceding Phelps, won five golds. Matt Biondi ended up with eight. Jenny Thompson, the most decorated Olympic female swimmer in history, also won eight. Spitz won nine. He might have won more had he kept swimming after the 1972 Olympics, but he didnt.If Phelps was narrowly ahead of the competition -- if he had 10 or 11 gold medals -- maybe the inflation case would hold up. But 23 to nine is a landslide. Nobody has won four gold medals in a single Olympics more than once. Phelps has done it four times. Nobody won eight medals in a boycott-free Olympics before Phelps. He did it twice, both in these 2004 Olympics and again in 2008. To the extent that we can compare athletes across different sports, Phelps has dominated swimming in a way that no other American athlete has dominated his or her sport at the highest level over a longer period of time. And if youre not picking Phelps because its impossible to make those kinds of comparisons, you cant pick anybody else. Authentic Custom Stars Jersey . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Gump Worsley Jersey Large . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. http://www.customstarsjersey.com/ . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Stars Jerseys China .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Cheap Stars Jerseys . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. ASHBURN, Va. -- When Washington Redskins corner Josh Norman signed his new contract in April, he knew life would change. He went from scrappy underdog to a moving target.Ever since Norman signed a five-year, $15 million-a-year deal with the Redskins, he has been knocked by other players -- New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Arizona Cardinals corner Patrick Peterson -- and roasted by fans anytime video of him getting beat in practice surfaces. And his comments now are turned into headlines.I can take it, Norman said. Im a big boy. Ive got some big shoes. ... If I can have that unique set of skills to fend off everything people say, I can take it. I can take it and continue to be successful.When you get a deal like that, everything comes with it. Everything is magnified times 10. You just have to be [careful] of that.Some of this stems from the contract -- hes the NFLs highest-paid corner. Some of it has been the result of his own words. In an ESPN The Magazine article, for example, Norman took a jab at Denver receiver Demaryiius Thomas, who caught one pass for 8 yards in the Super Bowl win over Normans Carolina Panthers.ddddddddddddI dont know what he was out there for, Norman said in the article. He was supposed to be an all-world guy and I shut him down.Thomas replied to Norman via Twitter:Norman declined to answer specific questions about the article on Tuesday.Beckham told GQ Magazine that Norman was relevant only because of him. Peterson tweeted out a video of Norman getting beat in practice.Once I was the underdog and I had to fight my way to the top and I had to drive, drive, drive and continue to work hard, Norman said. Im no longer the underdog. ... This is a new realm for me.Hell also be featured on the Fox pregame show most Sundays this season.A year ago at this time he was an improving corner on a very good Carolina defense. Now hes a target.I think its crazy, Norman said. I would never dream that in a million years. ' ' '