Top athlete/memory of London Olympics

Oh Effin My. That was classic.

 

Without question, the biggest moment of the Games was the USA-Canada soccer game. People were talking about it for days, right into the gold-medal game (which was a pretty good game in its own right).

But the star of these Games, IMO, was Usain Bolt. The last image I'll carry from the Olympics is Bolt pulling away from a game American challenge in the final leg of the 4x100.

 

If we're arguing SI's Sportsman, remember, SI likes to throw a humanitarian twist into it. Now, should the AP give me a vote for male athlete of the year, Bolt and Phelps are 1-2.

 

I didn't catch a lot of the events on TV; just heard about them and read about them. So the one I enjoyed the most of the eight to 10 events I did catch was Katie Ledecky's 800 free. It was a thing of beauty to watch her just give 'er at full speed the whole way. She also looked legitimately surprised that she won.

 

A couple of my top athletes/moments:

1. U.S.-Canada soccer game/Morgan's game-winning goal
2. Usain Bolt
3. U.S. women breaking world record in 4x100 ... loved when Jeter pointed at the time as she crossed the line
4. Oscar Pistorious competing as double amputee
5. U.S. women's swim team performances, especially Missy Franklin and Ledecky

 

Winner of her heat in the 100-meter hurdles LoLo Jones!

 

My top memory is that NBC set aside time for the "Olympics" and pushed the affiliates' local news back by an hour, then ran shows like "Go On" that they hope to promote so they can get out of fourth place during the last week of the "Olympics" when the 10 o'clock news could have been on.

 

I also gotta give it up to Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. Plain old domination.

 

Problem was he didn't actually WIN anything.

SI is too American centered and doesn't consider the uniqueness and importance of the Olympics. They'll probably pick some NFL or NBA player that every Tom, Dick and Harry already knew about.

 

Transport for London, the folks who run the Tube, trains, bues, etc. etc. in London.

Usually all it takes is a gentle push (like an hour or two of rain) for him to collapse in a nervous heap. But this time they really stepped up.

 

Sportsman of the Year is so set up perfectly for LeBron to win it, I would be absolutely floored if it was anyone else.

Big, marketable star? Check

Backstory/angle? Check, LeBron sheds the "choker" label and fills the one void in his resume.

Olympics? Check. I know its not a traditional Olympic sport, but he won a gold and Team USA was a huge story.

Never won it before? Check. Phelps did win it already

American angle? Check.

 

Given how much they hyped the female athlete angle in London and the fact it's the 40th anniversary of Title IX I expect the Sportsman of the Year will be "The Female Athlete" or something like that.