Move over Roger Bannister, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, Dwyane Wade in da house

Re: Move over Roger Bannister, Mohammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, Dwyane Wade in da house

With Carmelo,Dwyane, and 'Bron standing in front with the words "PURE BRONZE" on the top.

 

This would have been a good year to leave the title vacant.

 

Re: Move over Roger Bannister, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, Dwyane Wade in da h

Why? There were plenty of worthwhile candidates -- Wade, Federer, Buck O'Neil, the Balco reporters, Tony Dungy, Jim Leyland, George Mason hoops, just to name a few.

 

Sampras has had similar seasons, as did Connors and Navratilova and Graf and Evert. As efficient as Federer is, he hasn't evevated his sport into something that's followed during the 48 weeks that aren't Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. The others are not particularly inspiring. As for the Balco reporters, the issue of the grand jury testimony is far from a moot, decided thing as to its rightness. Plus, I wouldn't imagine SI picking something that could be construed as creating a negative.

 

What about Bono - he has rebuilt the world.

 

Pujols I could see, but Bettis? Are you kidding? It is truly amazing how much hype he got for his role on that team. At least Wade was the Heat's best player. I can name at least 10 Steelers who meant more to their Super Bowl championship team than Bettis, and that is even if you want to figure in his locker room presence.

 

Boom's vote goes to Peter King.

 

Re: Move over Roger Bannister, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, Dwyane Wade in da h

The number of people on this thread, and in the comments section on si.com, who think Federer should have won suggests he has transcended his sport.

You're right about Connors, Navratilova and Graf. But Sampras never had a year like this. And Evert actually did win the award once. As for the point about Federer not elevating his sport into something that's followed outside of the major events, I don't see why that should matter. Nobody gives a damn about cycling, and it's much less popular than tennis, but that wasn't held against Lance Armstrong.

 

No, it just tells you that this year there were no great candidates. If Sampras, Connors, Everet or Navratilova ever had this empty a field, they might have won one.

 

I don't understand the anti-Wade stuff here. Anyone who has interviewed him, spent time with him, etc. can tell you he's a great kid. Not that that makes him Sportsman of the Year material. But it was a weak year, and as great as Federer is, Sportsman goes beyond beating your competition with a polite smile. Federer is sublime, but the award doesn't go to the sublime.
It would have been nice for the Balco reporters to get some love, but a bit self-serving. If you were going to put them on it, then you could argue they should have included ol' Canseco last year for really getting the ball rolling on this thing.
The SI Award, until Tiger retires, is kind of like the NBA MVP and Shaq. Shaq (until the last 2 years or so) is the MVP every year. But they didn't give it to him every year. Why? Variety maybe. Or it would get boring after awhile or whatever.
Anyway, Wade's a great kid.
Though I would imagine the AP ATHLETE of the year will most likely and deservedly be Federer.