SI Sportsman of the Year: Who Ya Got?

Probably no one will agree but Manny Pacquiao. Jerry Izenberg made a great comparison the other day to Barry McGuigan, how when McGuigan fought Protestants and Catholics in Ireland put the weapons down and cheered for him and with Pacquiao it's Catholics and Muslims in the Philippines. Boxing is probably less popular than the UFC but there are still some great boxers out there and Pacquiao is one of the best. If there was any competition he'd be at 135, but he pretty much beats anyone within 15 lbs. If he fights Mayweather it would be huge, well as big as a boxing match can be nowadays.

 

I'm not convicting him at all. Neither am I ready to unequivocally pronounce him -- or anyone else -- clean. Many athletes have passed many drug tests before later failing one. Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, among others, never tested positive. Does that make them innocent?

I'm not telling you Bolt is guilty. Just saying you might want to slow down before declaring anyone ``has done it clean,'' especially when you're using that as a reason to honor him as Sportsman of the Year.

Your other arguments are valid. That one is not. Because you don't know.

 

Mr man,

Was Phelps clean? Because I don't know. I know that he would have been tested like Bolt. But I don't know.

o-<

 

Why, because the NFL has a salary cap? Neither will win, but one is the best closer ever, the other is maybe the 4th or 5th best QB in the NFL.

 

Sportsman of the Year. Career achievements shouldn't matter. Rivera isn't even the most important Yankee. Roethlisberger has the great drive to win the Super Bowl and a fast start to the '09 season.

No, neither guy deserves it, but Rivera is less deserving. Hell, even Jeter would be a better choice.

 

Roger Federer and Derek Jeter are the obvious favorites for this award. Federer set the record for career Grand Slam tournament championships. S.L. Price would turn in a story we should all read. Jeter turned in his best season in a long time, perhaps his best season ever, and Tom Verducci would write another opus to a future Hall of Famer. (Though Joe Posnanski would write a story that would be so much more fun to read.)

But, just to throw this out there ...

What about Tom Izzo and the Michigan State men's basketball team?

No, Izzo and the Spartans did not win the championship, they did not beat the Tar Heels, they did not come close. But they provided a spark to a city and a state when it needed it most. Remember that, in March and April, our optimism, as a nation, was much lower than it is now. We had no idea how much lower we might go. We were unemployed and we were struggling and we looked to Izzo and the Spartans for some inspiration. (Granted, I was unemployed and I was struggling and I have lived much of my life in the Midwest and could relate some, I think, to a lot of what was happening then, but I do not think I was alone, not at all.)

If anything, the fact that Izzo and the Spartans lost means more. They tried their best and they lost. And we, as Americans, are also learning to live with that, too, because we are trying our best and China is still being touted as the next great world power. Will they be the Sportsman of the Year? Probably not. Federer will sell a lot of covers. So will Jeter. Sidney Crosby might sell more after his first Stanley Cup championship. But if I had a vote, I would vote for them, for what they represent, for what they accomplished, for what they mean to a lot of folks, even folks who live far from the struggles of the Midwest.

 

The award should go to Goliath. Champions in 2009: Yankees, Lakers, Steelers, Florida football, UNC basketball, Federer and Jimmie Johnson. The only "upset" was Pens over Wings.

 

I like that idea!

 

It's interesting - I kind of piece together who it might be by who HASN'T received a big feature lately. There was an article on Mich. State's hoop squad over the summer, sounds like Johnson just had a feature by JoPo and I know they've written about Fed in the past (I almost thing Price has peeled the Onion as far is it will go on Fed). Leaving Jeter.
Though naming Jeter and Federer, two guys who saw a return to championship form after a period of frustration, might be a good read. I know Gillette would love it.
I've always wondered what the lead time is on this - most of these guys are fairly busy this time of year, whether in season or not. Kind of hard to schedule a trip to New York on a specific day with three or four weeks notice.

 

Bill Belichick[/coltsfans]

 

Bill Belichick [patriotsfans]