BY MATTHEW CRONIN

Justin Gimelstob recently said that due to the Federer frenzy, Pete Sampras is being shortchanged as tennis' alpha male. Even though the Sweet One hasn't played a tour match since '02, Gimelstob thinks that Sampras, now 35, could still take down Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

"The tennis that is being produced in Pete's backyard is beyond impressive," Gimelstob said.

Nonetheless, that's some kind of claim. But without a doubt, many observers have forgotten how good Sampras was and how in the annals of sports, he's right up their with the best ever in any athletic pursuit.

Before he claimed Federer was the most formidable foe he ever played, Andre Agassi asserted that the top five players in the sport were "Sampras, Sampras, Sampras, Sampras and Sampras."

So just how does Pistol Pete match up against His Airness, Michael Jordan?

Magic Johnson once said of MJ, "There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us."

Even Sampras, who is as self-assured as they come, could never find the courage to put his accomplishments in the same sentence as Jordan's, but the record book and his own near-perfect performances say otherwise.

A huge NBA fan, Sampras was so infatuated with Jordan that during the trophy ceremony after he won the '95 U.S. Open, he asked Nike CEO Phil Knight, who was sitting nearby, if he had convinced Jordan to come back yet.

Even Sampras hadn't quenched his Air Jordan thirst yet.

One would have to think that in '02, when Sampras came into the U.S. Open after having failed to win a title in the past two-plus years, that Jordan was pulling for him. Sampras and Jordan shared the unique ability to live up to their talent because they seemed to have no fear of the big occasion. They reveled in it and lived for it.

Comparing records and performances between an individual and team sport is difficult, but the two stats that are always crucial are the number of major championships won and the number of times the player finished No. 1. Both men excelled in both categories.

Sampras won a record 14 Slams and finished as the ATP's year-end No. 1 on six occasions - both records. Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and was named MVP in every one of those. He had a record NBA scoring average of 30.2 points a game.

Both had their signature moves, their go-to shots, and both usually stayed with what got them there, but when shoved into corners, they'd come up with something new.

"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength," Jordan said.

Air Jordan was the most prolific and creative dunker of all time, while Sampras' high-leaping slam dunk overhead was a can't miss shot that excited fans, intimidated foes and graced magazine covers the world over.

According to Magic, "Once Michael gets up there, he says, 'Well, maybe I'll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.' Then all of a sudden, he says, 'Well, maybe I'll 360. No I changed my mind. I'll go up on the other side.' He's just incredible."

The same could be said of the King of Swing, too. Sampras' glorious, mind-numbing, a million-aces-in-the-hole serve was his greatest weapon, but his ability to back it up at net was what brought him so many major titles. He covered the cords like a praying mantis, and even the most adept passing-shot artists had a rough time crushing a ball past him unless he was completely out of position.

While Jordan dunked on a number of imposing centers, it was his unblockable fade-away jump shot that turned him into an offensive machine, a shot which analyst Hubie Brown called one of the most devastating weapons of all time.

The two had other similarities: Jordan came back after a self-imposed baseball exile to win three more NBA crowns, while a seemingly declining Sampras shook off a major slump to win his last major (and title) at the '02 U.S. Open.

Most importantly, they were both consummate closers who beat the best players year in and year out. Jordan overcame a plethora of greats on tremendous teams including Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton. Sampras was the best of the greatest U.S. generation of all time - Agassi, Courier and Chang - and also overcame Hall of Famers Lendl, McEnroe, Becker, Edberg and Rafter.

Sampras liked the ball off his racket at crunch time, while Bulls teams learned that at the end of a crucial game, it was time to, as one coach put it, "get the F out of the way" for Jordan.

"He's God disguised as Michael Jordan," Bird said.

Sampras' former coach, Tom Gullikson, was just as amazed at his pupil: "If you took a video of Pete's game, you could give it to any kid and say, 'This is how you play.'"

So who accomplished more? It's almost impossible to say. Don't forget that in his last NBA championship, Jordan stole the ball and made the shot in the final seconds that won him and the Bulls the title. And Sampras? He stepped on his greatest rival, Agassi, without missing a beat for his final victory win at the Open.

But while Sampras walked away on top, Jordan retired and came back for a second time to play for the Washington Wizards. And while he could still put the ball in the hole from the outside, he was a shadow of his former self and was unable to polish the rust off his legacy.

As long as Sampras stays retired, his resume will stay polished and, consequently, looks a bit better.

Unlike Sampras, few athletes of any kind retire on top of the game. Rocky Marciano did, as did Jim Brown, Sandy Koufax, Bill Russell and John Elway.

So did Lance Armstrong after winning his record seventh straight Tour de France in '05. Competing as an American in a (semi) individual sport in France that is the Holy Grail of races isn't easy, and Armstrong never gained significant popularity across the pond. But he was certainly dominant and is considered the greatest cyclist ever.

Cyclists triumph due to expansive lungs, tireless legs and a commitment to riding through adverse conditions in enormous discomfort. Armstrong did that despite the fact that in '96, he had to fight off cancer. "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place," he said.

Armstrong believed that the key to much of his success was superior training, and Ivan Lendl shared that theory. Like Armstrong, his level of endurance was superhuman, and his willingness to suffer was stunning. Thousands of hours of practice were mandatory for this man who struck the ball like a well-oiled machine.

Like Armstrong, it took Lendl a fair amount of time to establish himself as a dominant player. Armstrong competed in the Tour de France for five years prior to winning, while Lendl lost in his first four major finals before claiming his first Slam at '84 Roland Garros. But once he found a way to calm his nerves, he was almost peerless, winning eight majors, competing in a record 19 Slam singles finals and finishing four years ranked No. 1 for a total of 270 weeks. Like Armstrong, he outworked his foes until his body said "no more."

How can you possibly judge who's the best player of all time? In part, the question brings to mind one of those NFL scouting combines, where players are broken down based on individual categories. That way, one could judge the best players of all time based on certain categories: eye-hand coordination, speed and quickness, strength and staminia, ability to raise their level of play at crunch time, exceptional skill (or "knock-out"punch,) variety of skills, mental toughness, championships won, duration of career, level of competition, and, finally, that good ol' category— intangibles. Unfortunately, when you break down the best of all time, (Ali, Jordan, Ruth, Gretzky, Woods, et al,) they almost always get ultra-high marks in virtually all the categories. What becomes more interesting is the missing links in the resumes of the all time greats. • Although early in his career Muhammad Ali had a potent right, critics eventually claimed he didn't have a big punch. Plus, he was banned from boxing for 3 years for refusing to go to war, taking away much of his prime. • Michael Jordan was a relatively modest scorer at University of North Carolina and a mediocre baseball player. He was criticized for his gambling activities, plus he only reached out in a modest manner on community and social issues and didn't know when to quit. • Putting aside ongoing rumors of drug use, Lance Armstrong's weakness came from the nature of his sport, which critics argue only calls on limited athletic qualities. Plus, he excelled primarily in a distant, overseas venue. • With Barry Bonds, it's hard to ignore the loud accusations of steroid use and, clearly, he'll never collect a Mr. Conviviality trophy. Still, his major flaw is that he never led a team to a World Series triumph. • Unless you want to crack Wayne Gretzky for his friends and wife having been involved in gambling, it's hard to fault him, except that he was a little "soft," physically, was not the best defensive player ever and has had only modest ("Coyotes don't like ice") success as a coach and executive. • Soccer icon Pele could be bullied physically and, for all his international celebrity and overflowing charisma, was not able to single-handedly establish soccer as a big-time, mainstay on the American sporting scene. • Pete Sampras - No French Open, backhand could be attacked on clay. • Rod Laver - Big gap between his Grand Slam years and, as was the custom then, most of his big wins came on grass. • Roger Federer - No French Open and losing record against Nadal. • Critics claim Joe Montana did not have a big gun and, in the huddle in big games, he could be distracted by celebs in the stands. (Whoops, we forgot, that was actually a strength.)

No athlete had a bigger impact on world culture than Muhammad Ali, but when it comes to an individual's impact on his own sport, John McEnroe is right up there with the former Cassius Clay. Mac never proclaimed himself to be the greatest of all time, but he has made the transition from being an all-time great tennis player to arguably the most listened to TV commentator in his sport's history, something that Ali never touched.

The two not only shared the gift of gab, but a genius' grasp of tactics, hand speed, and an acrobat's balance. They unleashed blinding flurries of jabs, hooks, serves and volleys. Their larger-than-life personalities hovered over their opponents and on more than one occasion, their foes were so starstruck that they looked defeated before the battle even began.

Ali, SI's Sportsman of the 20th century, won the heavyweight boxing championship three times and beat a plethora of greats - Liston, Frazier, Foreman and Moore. McEnroe won more than his fair share of major crowns (seven in singles and seven in doubles), pushed the legendary Bjorn Borg out of the sport and snared some memorable wins over Connors and Lendl.

When discussing artistry in sports, no two names come quicker to mind than the boxer who floated like a butterfly and stung like bee and the New Yorker who raged like a pit bull and bit like a king cobra.

Degrees of temperament were what set Ali and McEnroe apart, but that's not the case with Barry Bonds and Jimmy Connors. Both are in-your-face, cantankerous athletes who have had both hot and cold relationships with fans and media. Like Bonds, Connors was all about kicking butt on the field of play and showed little mercy when dispatching overwhelmed opponents. But while the always compelling eight-time Grand Slam champ Connors orchestrated a popularity surge when he reached the semis of the '91 U.S. Open as a 39-year-old, the 42-year-old Bonds has seen his marginal popularity plunge recently due to allegations that he took illegal steroids.

But this year, Bonds is in a position to do something that Connors couldn't accomplish, break the most hallowed mark in his sport, when he chases Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. Only his San Francisco Giants fans might cheer the record, but as Bonds said in vintage Connors speak: "I'm not afraid to be lonely at the top."

Looking on an international scale invites numerous comparisons and few are better than Borg and Joe Montana, two quiet men who are worshiped for their abilities to keep their cool during the most precarious moments and deliver championships in rapid succession - Borg with his 11 Slam crowns in seven years, and Montana with his four Super Bowls in eight years.

Popularity is something that both Wayne Gretzky and Andre Agassi have come to know well. "The Great One" and the "A-Train" loved the battle so profoundly and were so appealing. At one time, Gretzky, Agassi and their multimillion dollar smiles shared a financial interest in the All Star Café.

Like Gretzky, Andre was bred to play his sport, and both men profited immeasurably because of it. But as good as Agassi was (eight Slam titles and the only man to win all four on different surfaces during the Open Era), it's hard to measure up to Gretzky, who set 40 regular-season records and 15 playoff records and won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. He won nine MVP awards and 10 scoring titles and is the only player ever to total over 200 points in a season.

But that doesn't mean that Agassi doesn't bring additional hardware to the table, including an Olympic gold medal and a record 17 Masters Series titles.

Ultimately, the duo will likely go down as two men who kept their sports on the map.

You want popularity? Canadians were so gaga for Gretzky that when he was traded to the L.A. Kings, some politicians demanded that the government block the trade.

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