So ESPN decided to poll their contributors to generate a list of the greatest athletes since the year 2000 -- that's an important cutoff, since that takes out some of the work done by great players who bridged each side of the century. And it was a worldwide list. That's a lot of options over 25 years, and inevitably, some will be left off.

But the 100 top and no Larry Fitzgerald?

Fitz came into the NFL in 2004, so no issue there. He's second all-time in the NFL in receptions and yards. He was sixth in touchdowns. He was ... Fitz.

Don't get it twisted. I'm not trying to say Fitz should be top 20. There are some amazing athletes out there across a range of sports, many of which came out with championships that sadly, Fitzgerald did not.

A list like this is going to generate debate. There are also so many apples-to-oranges situations between individual sports and team sports, as well as different team sports. I won't pretend to be able to pontificate on international soccer stars, or Olympic sports. But a few names caught my eye on the list in comparison to Fitzgerald. Adrian Beltre. Jason Kidd. Calvin Johnson, who like Fitz put up big numbers but didn't win as a receiver (and in fact had less team success). Even Chris Paul, like Fitz a decorated player whose team never got there.

Again, it's all subjective. But those of us who watched Fitz up close and personal for all those years sure could make an argument he should have been one of 100.