The home page lists the best of the best, the athletes who stood taller, for longer, among their contemporaries (and, uh, Karl Malone. Sorry, there’s always one …)

But the inevitable question occurs when you reach the end of the list … who’s next? Or maybe it’s, “where are the football players?” The top 20 is dominated by three sports that allow all-rounders to shine. The specialists show up a bit later.

What was interesting was that the 30-point mark became this convenient round number separating the true greats from the rest. Everyone over 30.00 is an unquestioned hall-of-famer. Below that, it can be arguable.

But even in this rarified air, there is a sliding scale. The top 20 have a 5-point spread, from 37.69 to 32.65. The next 2.65 points encompass 47 players. As you go done the list, it keeps getting more crowded.

We’ll actually start with Tris Speaker, in anticipation of the inevitable day when LeBron James bumps him off the front page.

	Sport	Games	Total	Per 160	Rating
Tris Speaker	Baseball	2809	279.42	15.92	32.63
Walter Johnson	Baseball	808	177.51	19.20	32.53
Frank Woolley	Cricket	978	129.03	21.11	32.47
Oscar Roberston	Basketball	1126	143.83	20.44	32.43
Allen Iverson	Basketball	985	129.39	21.02	32.39
Garry Sobers	Cricket	478	70.00	23.86	32.23
Honus Wagner	Baseball	2809	274.75	15.65	32.23
Johan Cruijff	Soccer	618	88.12	22.81	32.20
Sammy Baugh	Football	171	28.67	26.83	32.18
Wilfred Rhodes	Cricket	1110	140.88	20.31	32.18
Ted Williams	Baseball	2299	239.37	16.66	32.13
Richard Hadlee	Cricket	660	84.97	22.73	31.94
Wally Hammond	Cricket	634	88.69	22.38	31.80
Eddie Collins	Baseball	2860	270.34	15.12	31.57
Stan Musial	Baseball	3049	281.54	14.77	31.55
Frank Robinson	Baseball	2843	268.77	15.13	31.52
Maurice Tate	Cricket	679	92.74	21.85	31.48
Jim Brown	Football	122	20.46	26.83	31.36
Rogers Hornsby	Baseball	2271	229.76	16.19	31.35
Mickey Mantle	Baseball	2466	242.59	15.74	31.32
Zico	Soccer	402	59.30	23.60	31.30
Gerd Müller	Soccer	625	86.01	22.02	31.29
Hakeem Olajuwon	Basketball	1383	160.80	18.60	31.28
Tim Duncan	Basketball	1643	182.49	17.77	31.28
Steve Van Buren	Football	87	14.89	27.38	31.24
Tich Freeman	Cricket	592	82.05	22.18	31.23
Jerry West	Basketball	1085	132.70	19.57	31.09
Alfredo Di Stéfano	Soccer	695	93.06	21.42	31.07
Nap Lajoie	Baseball	2480	240.67	15.53	31.04
Larry Bird	Basketball	1061	129.90	19.59	30.99
Mel Ott	Baseball	2745	256.29	14.94	30.95
Julius Erving	Basketball	1432	162.74	18.18	30.94
Joe DiMaggio	Baseball	1787	191.11	17.11	30.94
Peyton Manning	Football	293	44.37	24.23	30.89
Kevin Garnett	Basketball	1605	176.41	17.59	30.87
Wayne Gretzky	Hockey	1788	190.32	17.03	30.83
Dan Carter	Rugby Union	343	50.69	23.65	30.77
Don Hutson	Football	121	19.89	26.29	30.75
Newsy Lalonde	Hockey	316	46.87	23.73	30.58
Joe Morgan	Baseball	2699	249.00	14.76	30.54
Elgin Baylor	Basketball	980	119.92	19.58	30.53
Rickey Henderson	Baseball	3141	273.87	13.95	30.50
Gunnar Nordahl	Soccer	329	48.35	23.51	30.47
Lou Gehrig	Baseball	2198	215.25	15.67	30.34
Aubrey Faulkner	Cricket	118	19.04	25.82	30.18
Romário	Soccer	614	81.06	21.12	30.13
Bob Pettit	Basketball	880	108.34	19.70	30.11
Alex Rodriguez	Baseball	2860	252.37	14.12	30.00

A-Rod coming in exactly at the cutoff is right on brand. As promised, it’s a more diverse list, with football, hockey and rugby all getting someone in.

But the questions linger. Where’s Maradona? Magic Johnson? Remember when I said that 30 points was a great cutoff? Well, that’s mostly true, but you should see some of the names in the 29-plus range. They deserve their own posting, coming soon …