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12-16-2009 07:00 PM #1
Woods named Athlete of the Decade
Even after a shocking sex scandal that tarnished Tiger Woods, it was tough to ignore what he achieved on the golf course.
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12-17-2009 03:08 AM #2
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Rightly so!
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12-17-2009 06:47 AM #3
Obviously an American award. I'd give it to Roger Federer. Second place would be either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.
Donny Vantage NFL Guru, since 1974
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned
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12-17-2009 07:09 AM #4
Nadal > Federer. So how can a guy be the greatest of the decade when there's another player better than him?
Football is a team sport. These guys you speak of didn't put on Tiger Woods performances. THey didn't have Joe Montana, Steve Young superbowl stats. Did Tom Brady put the team on his shoulders during those superbowl runs? No. He played solid, didn't make mistakes, and the team won by 3 points every time. Tom Brady hasn't won anything since he became a "superstar". He hasn't won anything since Vinatieri and that great NE defense left either.
Same for Peyton, every year the guy puts up monster stats and chokes in the playoffs. The year they won their defense shut down every opponent they faced. Peyton struggled but they won despite him.
Tiger did it all by himself. He obliterated records. His opponents were aiming for second place most of the time.
I'd add Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps as honorable mentions.You only get out of something what you put into it
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12-17-2009 07:18 AM #5
I would go with Armstrong over Woods. 7 Tour de France wins 1999-2005 after returning from cancer. Over that period he won 22 indivual stages and 11 time trials. I think that's a bit more athletic than playing and winning golf tournaments.
It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.
Colby
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12-17-2009 09:29 AM #6
I'm with you as well Colby.
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12-17-2009 10:08 AM #7
I am as big of fan as any of Armstrong but the Tour de France is one event a year. In that span Armstrong wasn't also winning the Giro d'Italia or Flanders. I don't know how many total Tours Lance won this decade but it certainly doesn't rival Tigers tourney wins, it might not even match tiger's major victory totals.
Federer is the only athlete I would have voted over tiger. His record is undeniable over the decade, he hasade the finals of something like 17 of the past 18 majors including the 15 wins. He also won the World Sportsman of the year from 2004-08
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12-17-2009 11:22 AM #8
Personally don't believe any golfer should be considered athlete of the year or decade.
Donny Vantage NFL Guru, since 1974
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned
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12-17-2009 11:39 AM #9
i'll agree with donny. how can you compare a golfer to a mma fighter? You can't. Oh my god i forgot about Fedor! Yes the award should go to Fedor, the emperor.
You only get out of something what you put into it
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12-17-2009 11:43 AM #10
What? How did David Wells NOT win this??
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12-17-2009 02:02 PM #11
Federer had to have been close. He is the greatest player of all time in his sport. It may be an easier debate than Tiger and golf. The records are already his.
My name is Paul. And I'm a golfaholic.
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12-17-2009 04:01 PM #12
IMO Woods was the right choice for this award, hands down.
Al Gore didn't invent the internet, but he did invent global warming.
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12-17-2009 04:43 PM #13
Agree with Fundonny, no golfer should win athlete of the year/decade. Federer or Armstrong are both better candidates.
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12-17-2009 04:48 PM #14
Reason is yes, there are golfers who are athletes, but you need not be an athlete to be a PGA golfer.
Donny Vantage NFL Guru, since 1974
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned
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12-17-2009 04:51 PM #15
To me, if golfers are included in the elligible "sports"' for consideration, tiger is avery good choice for athlete of the decade.
We can't debate the particular challenges of each sport (well, I guess we can, can't we?) But rather consider who excelled beyond compare in their particular field in the past decade.
It's been a long time since a golfer dominated a decade like Tiger has dominated this past one.Andrew
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12-17-2009 04:58 PM #16
Whereas no tennis player has ever dominated the way Federer has. He is unquestionably the best to ever play his sport. Tiger ain't there yet.
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12-17-2009 05:00 PM #17
Bingo. That's why Federer deserved this more then anyone.
Donny Vantage NFL Guru, since 1974
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned
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12-17-2009 05:53 PM #18
"He won 64 tournaments, including 12 major championships. He hoisted a trophy on every continent where golf is played. And those 56 titles in one decade on the PGA Tour? Consider that only four of golf's greatest players won more in their entire careers."
To me that last line says it all.....take a second to reflect on that and then tell me that he wasn't deserving.
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12-17-2009 06:22 PM #19
Federer has 15 grand slams in 7 years. 2 per year.
The next closest, Pete Sampras, took 13 years to amass his 14 grand slams. He also never won the French open.
What others take 10-15 years to do, Federer has done in half the time...he doesn't even need the full decade.
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12-17-2009 06:26 PM #20
Age
Federer 28 (turned pro in 1998 age 18)
Nadal 23 (turned pro in 2001 age 15)
Matches played
Federer 839
Nadal 492
Winning Percentage
Federer 80.8
Nadal 81.5
Career Titles
Federer 61
Nadal 36
Championships
Federer 15
Nadal 6
Head to Head All time
Federer 7
Nadal 13
Head to Head in Grand Slam finals
Federer 2
Nadal 5
I will give Federer the title of best tennis player this decade and even of all time based on his resume so far. He finally won a french open this year to earn the career grand slam. However, i'd put Woods ahead of Federer because Tiger never had a rival. It's Tiger vs the rest. Federer had a rival, who beat him 66% of the time. So even though Federer's body of work is very impressive, he didn't stand out like Tiger did vs the rest. Or even Lance Armstong vs the rest, or Fedor Emilianenko vs the rest.
Shaq also has a shot at this award. 4 championships and total domination of his opponents. IF he could only shoot a free throw he'd be unstoppable.You only get out of something what you put into it
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12-17-2009 06:26 PM #21
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12-17-2009 06:51 PM #22
How many of them can win on a given weekend? If Federer is in the tournament, basically only 1. The issue is not that golf has a deeper field...it's that no matter how good the field is in tennis, if Federer is there, the competition doesn't matter.
For the last 8 years, if Federer has been in a tournament, the assumption has been that he will win. In golf, Tiger is always the favourite, but it's never treated as a foregone conclusion. With Federer, you assume victory before the tournament even starts.
I think your argument about Nadal actually strengthens the claims for Federer's dominance. Clay tennis is nothing like other tennis...it requires such a specialized skillset that even the best tennis players can struggle. Sampras is a classic example. It is very rare for a player to excel on all 3 surfaces. But Federer has dones just that. He happened to be playing alongside Nadal, who is a specialist clay court player, and arguably the best ever. If it weren't for a freak from Mallorca, Federer would have 19 grand slams by now.
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12-17-2009 07:15 PM #23
Head to Head All time
Federer 7
Nadal 13
Federer dominated everyone, except Nadal who dominated him. Nadal, the clay specialist, beat Federer on his favorite surface, grass, in his "prime". I'm not sure how that strengthens Federer's case. I think it strengthens the fact that Nadal is Federer's cryptonite.You only get out of something what you put into it
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12-17-2009 07:23 PM #24
Clay courts: Nadal 9–2
Hard courts: 3–3
Grass courts: Federer 2–1
I see what you're saying Jon. If we take clay out of the equation the matchup is very even. Still, it shows that Federer did have a "rival" who could beat him. I dont think Tiger ever had that. Duval, Sergio, Phil, Vijah;. .... Tiger creamed them all.You only get out of something what you put into it
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