BONUS 3: At the turn of the millennium, the cable sports network ESPN ranked the greatest athletes of all time. Who were the top three athletes on their list?

As the 20th century came to a close, ESPN embarked on an ambitious project to name the greatest North American athletes of the past 100 years. The network (Review)'s "SportsCentury" list placed basketball icon Michael Jordan at the very top. His unparalleled dominance throughout the 1990s and his status as a global cultural phenomenon made him a compelling and contemporary choice. He was flanked by two titans from earlier eras: baseball slugger Babe Ruth, who redefined the power-hitting era of his sport, and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose influence famously transcended the boxing ring to impact social and political spheres.

Rounding out the top five were two athletes who utterly dominated their respective sports. At number four was Jim Brown, the legendary Cleveland Browns running back who retired at the absolute peak of his career and is still considered by many to be the greatest football player ever. He was followed by Wayne Gretzky, the hockey (Deals) phenom known as "The Great (Review) One" who shattered nearly every major scoring record in the NHL. The final list was a snapshot in time, reflecting the perspectives of the late 1990s and, of course, sparking the kind of passionate debate among fans that such rankings inevitably create.