The Baltimore Bullet
by Poacher
On December 3rd, Sports Illustrated will name its Sportsman of the Year. Past winners include Tom Brady, Dean Smith and Bonnie Blair.
Always a topic for light-hearted debate the award never fails to generate interest from sports fans nationwide. Last year the controversy centered around the snubbing of Roger Federer in favor of basketball player Dwyane Wade (yes he puts the y before the a it’s not a typo). Looking at the current nominees I feel confident in saying that this year’s recipient is likely to be just as controversial. Thus far nominees include: Sidney Crosby(!), Paula Radcliffe (had a baby), Mike Bacsik (pitcher who gave up home run #756 to recently indicted Barry “I’ve got three cap sizes” Bonds, Tim Duncan (forward, NBA champion San Antonio Spurs), Karch Kiraly (44 year old beach volleyball legend in his final season), Appalachian State football team (upset Michigan and has since been beaten by Wofford), the Iraqi national soccer team (queue the violins), Matt Ryan (QB for Boston College), Lorena Ochoa (a golfer, or more importantly, a Mexican golfer), Heather O’Reilly (forward for the U.S. Women’s soccer team, the same team that got beat, threw a hissy fit and took it out on their coach), the University of Florida men’s basketball team (back-to-back national titles) and Tony Dungy (coaches Peyton Manning). There is still time for more nominations but these nominees, with the exception of Sidney Crosby, range from the pedestrian to the downright insulting considering who’s not on the list. Lorena Ochoa? Heather O’Reilly? Karch Kiraly? Appalachian State? It seems the yearly award has degenerated into a contest between the SI staff to see who can come up with the most obscure, screwball nominee, thereby turning the award into nothing more than an annual politically motivated pity clap. So far nobody has dare named the elephant (or in this case whale) in the middle of the room. But he does indeed have a name and his name is Michael Phelps, my sportsman of the year.
2007 was the year of the bullet. The Baltimore Bullet that is. It began in late March and early April during the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Phelps went down under and gave the sporting world one of the most jaw-dropping single athlete performances in the history of competition. Seven gold medals (should have been eight) and five world records (four individual and one relay) etched Phelps’ name in swimming lore alongside that of his only possible rival, Mark Spitz.
Phelps’ win in the 200 meter butterfly final was transcendent as he smashed a world championship final field by three seconds. Had Spitz been in the pool that night swimming his best race he would have lost to Phelps by over eight seconds. After the meet one of Phelps’ teammates quipped, “Maybe we should have three teams: America, Australia, and Michael Phelps.” This performance alone would be enough for Phelps to garner SOTY honors but he still had work to do.
August of 2007 found the Phelps juggernaut in Indianapolis, Indiana competing in the National Championships. Phelps did not break any world records in Indy, all he did was enter seven races, a grind of a schedule, and win six. The one race he didn’t win, the 400 meter freestyle, was an “off” race for him, that is, he doesn’t train for it and considered it more of an experiment than a race and still finished third. Phelps is constantly trying new races and distances always willing to risk defeat to race against the best. That’s called courage. There is simply no stopping the phenomenon. Heather O’Reilly?
http://www.castefootball.us/viewarticle.asp?sportID=8&teamID=0&ID=23261