KEEP ON PUSHING: Sports Illustrated has named
Lebron James as its 2012 Sportsman of the Year. It'll sell more magazines than a Usain Bolt cover would have, which is the only other name which immediately comes to mind, but it's hard to complain about this choice.
You could potentially make an argument for Lochte/Phelps and their rivalry, or for "The Fierce Five." However, in terms of the ratio of media attention/fixation to actual playing time and quality of that playing time, I'm kind of surprised it wasn't Tebow.
ReplyDeleteIt IS a little odd that they chose an NBA player in an Olympics year.
ReplyDeletePersonally, my pick would be Serena Williams. After all her health issues of the last few years, she won two majors and two Olympic gold medals this year; and even though she's not ranked #1, she's clearly the best female tennis player in the world.
Eh, a giant douchebag in a sport run by giant douchebags. It's like Dennis Conner all over again.
ReplyDeleteVery good player on a very good team wins championship he was supposed to win is boring. I'd go with the destruction of Lance Armstrong An Olympic nominee that wouldn't sell any magazines would be the US women's soccer team.
ReplyDeleteIt's an award for both achievement and narrative, and James finally winning a title (and the Olympic gold) accomplishes that. I'm disappointed that Federer never won this during his peak years, but talk about a "very good ... championship he was supposed to win..." guy.
ReplyDeleteA very good choice. Phelps won in 2008, but before that the most recent winner-for-Olympics was Bonnie Blair/Johann Olav Koss in 1992, and then Edwin Moses/Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
ReplyDeleteWow, hadn't realized that... nor would I have thought that was the case. And, yes, technically Lebron is an Olympian - but he's a pro athlete first. And does anyone think that the US wouldn't have won gold without him on the team? (Serena is also a pro athlete first and Olympian second, but individual sports are different.)
ReplyDeleteAnother thought about Serena's greatness. Steffi Graf (French 87 - French 99), Martina Navratilova (Wimb 78 - Wimb 90) and Chris Evert (French 74 - French 86) won all of their majors in 12-year spans. Serena (US Open 99 - US Open 12) is now at 13 years and counting. She doesn't have their total titles - yet? - but her longevity is striking, particularly given how much more physical tennis is than it was a generation ago.
I would have gone with Marco Scutaro.
ReplyDeleteServiceable, well traveled, aged, journeyman, traded in-season without complaint. Provides offensive spark, replacing a PED plagued player.
Vanquishing a cash-infused Dodgers foe that purchased several players in an attempt to win the west.
Winning 3 straight elimination games on the road against the Reds. Winning 3 more elimination games resulting in a victory in 7 against the Cardinals. Came back to win the NLCS MVP even after Holliday rolled him on a dirty play at second.
Swept the heavily favored Tigers in the World Series.
Plenty of visual punch to go along with the story (e.g. Rain drenched ninth).
Well loved by team-mates. A real lack of "The Decision" level cringe inducing behavior.
What's not to like?
mawado
The guy below my office window, where they staged the victory parade (and I mean literally two floors below my office window, where I could have hit him with a balled-up piece of paper), shouting into the mic on the back of a flatbed truck, yelling "WHEN I SAY MARCO, YOU SAY SCUTARO! MAR-CO! [no response, because this is the staging area and not the parade route] MAR-CO! SCU-TARO! [the last bit shouted by the same guy, because, again, there was nobody to respond to the call]. That's what's not to like.
ReplyDeleteThough I did appreciate the salsa band, even if they were too loud for me to get any work done.
Eh, I'd have gone with Andy Murray, but I'm not exactly disappointed.
ReplyDelete