AP Athlete Of The Year

It is nice to know that the The Associated Press has the pulse on the sports world when they named Jimmie Johnson as Male Athlete of the Year. They are at least better then the people at SI. SI named Derek Jeter as Sportsman of the year, I guess that is slightly different then Athlete of the Year but not relay that much. After not just winning the NASCAR title not Once, Twice or even Thrice but nailed down an unprecedented quad title to his resume. Finally that was enough to be recognized for what he managed to accomplish. Johnson received 42 votes from editors at U.S. newspapers which are members of the AP. Tennis star Roger Federer (30 votes) and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt (29) were the only other athletes with totals in the double- digits.

It was too bad that SI couldn't get their lips off the "Ace" of the New York Yankees long enough to appreciate exactly how special Jimmie Johnson has been to not just his team but to the sport as a whole. This is probably even more impressive then winning all 4 Grand Slams in either golf or tennis in one year but for whatever reason does not get the same love in the media. Jimmie had the hurdle of proving that it wasn't just a car winning the award but that he was a worth candidate.

After NASCAR made up so much of the gap between itself and the rest of the main stream sports over the years you would think that it would be above being treated as a second class citizen. In the US it raised itself into the top 4 in the major Pro Sports landscape both in terms of fans but also main stream media and sponsors. I is also nice that New York City mayor’s office designated a "Jimmie Johnson Day" earlier this month, the champion suggested "everyone should have the day off and go have margaritas."

In any event I am glad that Jimmie is finally getting some good pub outside of just his sport and is being rewarded for just how special the run that he is on truly is. Congrats to Johnson and the entire Lowes 48 Team...with a special nod to Crew Chief Chad Knaus who is the architect of this dynasty. Perhaps Chad is overlooked in this whole thing but he is the driving force and the relationship between himself the owner the team and the driver.

2009 Sportsman Of The Year

Derek Jeter has just been named as the SI 2009 Sportsman of the Year. I will submit that he is a worth candidate and is the captain of the team that won the World Series, he is the ultimate team player, his numbers are either holding steady or are better now at an advanced age then when he was in his prime which is remarkable PLUS he is a very likeable figure. All that said I do not think that he should have been given this award. Perhaps it is more of a "lifetime achievement award" but even still I think there were some more deserving people.

Tim Tebow is one that comes to mind. He has the Heisman, he has the National Championships he has the looks the leadership and that is just what he does on the football field. When you add onto all that with his humanitarian work and everything he does and has done off the field it is hard to saw that he is not deserving of the award. The fact that there are questions about how he will be as a pro should have been a factor as well. This may be the only time where he will be in a position to win the award and that is now gone.

My vote would have gone to Jimmie Johnson. He has done what no one has ever done in the history of NASCAR winning 4 consecutive Championships. He is doing something that in any other sport would be deemed as super-human and the coverage is weak and the fact that he was overlooked as SI’s Sportsman of the Year is just another bit of proof that there is a double standard. Maybe it is because he is only part of the equation and technology is a big part of it. I find that a weak explanation or excuse, it is a team sport where he uses what he is given, the car is only a small part of what makes him so great. I am guessing that the voters have held his sport against him. When you are at the top of the mountain and not getting the respect that should come with it must be at least a little frustrating. Guess the millions of dollars and the trophies and the super attractive wife make up for that.

Other people that were in consideration were Manny Pacquiao, Kobe Bryant, Usain Bolt and Roger Federer. All these guys deserve to be in the conversation but just didn’t have enough to take the title.

With all that Tiger Woods did over this past year he very well could have been in this list. Imagine if he had won and was going to be honored at the awards night and on the cover after what has gone down regarding himself his wife and his very secretive car accident. That could have made for a very awkward situation for all involved.

The Evil Amongst Us

Well Baseball is done for another year and the Champions have been crowned, and it is in fact the Evil Empire. The New York Yankees have dismissed the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games. This was a big win for the already history heavy Yanks. To manage to win the title in the first year in moving into the brand new New Yankee Stadium will be brought up until it is closed and a third version is built. Will it ever live up to the original stadium with all the ghosts? Probably not in the beginning but perhaps over time, knowing how crazy and the blind loyalty fans have for this team that they will make it the shrine that they already believe that it is and should be.
It is now the question who built this stadium ARod, Rivera, Jeter? I just hope that it is not Matsui...granted he had a great game but that is what it was 1 game. I was pretty shocked when they named Matsui as the MVP that was I guess was a convenient cop out in a series that didn’t have a defining player or moments that you could say there was no other choice. Rivera would have been a better choice in my mind but what can you do?

I pose the question is there anyone who is less deserving of any praise in this championship then the duo of Joba "The" Chamberlin and manager Joe Girardi? Maybe it isn’t his fault but if there is one thing that I havn’t been able to understand or tolerate is the "Joba Rules". It is things like that that is ruining pitchers and not allowing them to progress to the level that they could get too. Young pitchers with strong arms are not china dolls. If they are treated like babies that is what they will develop to be. That ties in with Girardi who help enforce that strategy in addition to over managing in game situations with that novel of a stat book that he has on his bench. You ever see a manager pull out a bible like that and make decision after decision based on that? The absence of a "gut" feeling takes away some of his credibility.

I guess that you have to give credit where credit is due. When you pay for starting pitchers like AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia and mix it in with Mark Texteria then add that to the rest of a star studded high priced lineup it is hard not to win it all.

Who Is Your MVP?

The Phillies sent out ace Cliff Lee to toe the rubber last night in game 5 of the World Series on full rest, the Yankees countered with AJ Burnett on short rest. Cliff was old school good and AJ got lit up like the 4th of July. What is interesting on how just the smallest thing can change the outcome or flow of a game of baseball. In game 2 the ump was giving AJ the wide outside strike allowing him to dictate each at bat. Game 5 the ump calls strikes-strikes and balls off the corner as balls. That made Burnett throw his fastball over the plate where he got tagged and was ineffective for the most part.


Chase Utley just keeps mashing and is getting to the point where regardless of who wins the World Series, he may be in a real good position to be named MVP. If the Phillies mange the improbable and do somehow pull the upset then it isn’t an issue but if the Yankees do manage to close things out at home then who is most deserving of the honour? Utley is tearing it up so far and has tied Reggie Jackson’s home run record, his hits are coming in important times and not just meaningless tag on runs. Does Mariano Rivera finally get credit for not only a post season but career of being the best of the best at that position. Does Jeter or Damon get the nod for having some multiple hit games and scoring a few runs? ARod has had a decent series on the whole. He hasn’t lit it up but the 3 or 4 hits that he has got have been big or game changing. As well his overall numbers over the course of the playoffs are very good. An MVP and a World Series win just might finally make him a true Yankee.

Despite the fact that the series has been fairly interesting, which is a change from the last few years of being anti-climactic, there has not been a clear cut dynamic performance by any one person. It is that team effort thing and not the one guy saying ‘jump on my back and i’ll take you there.’ That is what makes it such a tight race for the award. Since this is baseball I guess it is anyone's guess until the ballots are counted.

Alone At The Top - Jeter Passes A Legand

The Captian came through on Friday night, cementing his place in Yankee lore. With a third inning single Derek Jeter surpassed Yankee legend, the Iron Horse- Lou Gehrig Leave it to Jeeets to do it on the anniversary of 9/11, a day that is so important to America and even more so in New York.

Going into the game Jeter was tied with Gehrig with NO. 2,721 hits, most of any Yankee all time. It is kind of surprising that of all the great players that have played for the Yanks that there has never been a member of the 3,000 hit club. Gehrig probably would have reached that mark had his career ended so suddenly in 1939 and then two years later, he passed away at the age of 37 from the disease that would later bear his name.

Jeter is younger then Lou was and should have enough baseball left in him to reach the 3,000 mark. Now I am a firm believer that the Yankees are the baseball version of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They are loved by many and fans are arrogant, obnoxious and loud. The kind of people that you just can’t stand to be around. They are the people that think that the team is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that they can do no wrong and any bit of reasoning or logic just falls on deaf ears. Sure it is annoying but there is little that one can do. I also understand that the sport is better for them, We have to face it baseball is good when the Yankees are good, It may make you sick, and it should but it is the truth - it really is true there is a fine line between love and hate.

It is with all that information that we have to acknowledge just how good Derek Jeter is and what a great player, leader and person he is. He is the James Bond of baseball....Guys want to be him, girls want to be with him. He is one of the smartest players in the game and has the looks and the skills that most people only dream of. Doing it all on the biggest of stages, as captain of the New York Yankees just ads to the appeal. When all is said and done he will likely be one of the most decorated Yankees of all time, he is already in the same breath as Mantle, Maris, Ruth, Gehrig and Domaggio. I am sure that Mr. Steinbrenner was of the most pleased to see Derek reach this Yankee milestone.

Jeter - A big hit at Yankee Stadium

Derek Jeter, the current Mr.Yankee went 2-for-3 the other night to break a tie with Lou Gehrig for most hits all-time at Yankee Stadium. The two hits give Jeter 1,271 to Gehrig's 1,269. The hit came in Jeter's 8,002nd major league at-bat, and he passed Gehrig for second on the Yankees' career list behind Mickey Mantle (8,102). This is just another notch in Jeters belt to prove that he is one of the all time Yankee great. Now I hate the Yankees as much as the next guy and I am very happy that it looks like their streak of 13 straight playoff appearances will come to an end. I am a huge Braves fan and I want the Braves 14 straight division titles/playoff appearances not to be matched by the boys from the Bronx. With that being said I do respect what Jeter has done through out his career. He is one of the greatest clutch performers of all time, the ultimate professional, a class act all the way, The Captain. It won’t take too long after he decides to retire before you see his bust in the New Yankee Stadium with his #2 retired along with the other all time Yankee greats, the likes of Mantle, Ruth, Dimaggio et al. Yankee Stadium will close this Sunday after the last home game of the season and it is fitting that the House That Ruth Built is going to become the House that Jeter closed down with every hit and hustle play he has has over his Hall of Fame career.
Congratulations Derek, this record is one that will not be broken.