Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor, when asked in late August, said he would have gone with Jordan if not for what gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps had just finished accomplishing: "He's the hottest thing. It's amazing."

And if the athletes and coaches had all been asked now, more might have agreed with Maddon, the Rays manager, who spoke months ago about his infatuation with Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

"He's probably most acrobatic NFL receiver since Lynn Swann," Maddon said. "I would watch Larry Fitzgerald every week."

Now he can watch him on television on Super Bowl Sunday.

Further, if Kansas basketball coach Bill Self received this query after the Jets choked away a playoff spot, he might change his answer.

"I definitely would've paid to watch (Brett) Favre," Self said. "Up until five years ago, I would've paid to watch Barry Bonds. I thought he was he was the most fabulous athlete of all time. But that has gotten a little clouded.''

And so has Favre's appeal, considering his 2008 finish.

Things change quickly in sports.

When a correspondent asked Jon Gruden the "pay to watch" question last year, the former Super Bowl champion was still coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's since been fired. Gruden, for the record, picked Jerry Rice. "He was an inspirational athlete to me, and I got to coach him," Gruden said. "Really, I like teams, not individuals. I'll watch tennis or golf if I want to watch individuals. I'm not paying to watch one player. That's half the problem in the world today, if you ask me.''

The other half, if you ask some professional athletes and coaches, is that Tiger Woods isn't back on the golf course yet. So that they can watch him play. Even if they have to pay.

Also on NBCSports.com PFT’s Picks: Patriots will roll, Chargers will survive Circling the Bases: Handicapping the Halladay race College football: What was Yale coaching thinking? Opinion: So far, Nowitzki is NBA’s MVP  |  Fan Ranker Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

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