Who is your own athlete of the decade?

[mix]

Greg Long
2009 Eddie Aikau champion
2008 Mavericks champion
http://www.billabong.com/us/team-rider/surf/269/greg-long
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_IRSVQccwo

Merry X-mas and Happy Holidays to all!

[Condem]

1. Tell you what, mix.

The Eddie Aikau got a ton of press in the NY Times. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Read every bit of it.

[mix]

2. my pleasure

I have followed pro surfing since I was a kid in southern California and the sport for years regarded itself as very poor...it's awesome to finally see surfers win large prize monies and receive lucrative sponsorship deals for what they do, even though relative to major pro athletes, their takings are crumbs.

Surfing as a sport really fits the internet age and globalization...these men and women are constantly on the move globally and rely on every sort of technology to chart and plot their movements. The internet also gives the sport a global audience.

[H2O Man]

3. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

would be my choice.

[mix]

4. .

:thumbsup:

[bigwillq]

5. Serena Williams (nt)

[Bluzmann57]

6. Well I was going to say that dirty traitorous

QB of the vikings, but I won't even give him that. So Kobe Bryant is my choice. Or perhaps Alex Rodriguez, steroids and all. The guy can play.

[Forkboy]

7. Martin Brodeur

* Most regular season wins (557)
* Most shutouts (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Most shutouts, regular season & playoffs combined (118)
* Most overtime wins (45)
* Most consecutive 30-win seasons (12)
* Most consecutive 35-win seasons (11)
* Most 40-win seasons (7)
* Most games played by an NHL goaltender (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Most total minutes played by an NHL goaltender (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Only NHL goalie to score a game-winning goal
* One of two NHL goalies (Ron Hextall) to score a goal in both the regular season and the playoffs

Regular season

* Most wins in a single season (48, in 2006–07)
* Most minutes played in a single season (4697, in 2006–07)

Playoffs

* Most shutouts in a playoff (7, in 2002–03)
* Most shutouts in playoffs, career: (23, tied with Patrick Roy)
* Most shutouts in a Stanley Cup final (3, in 2002–03; tied with Toronto Maple Leafs' Frank McCool)
* 2nd place: 98 Wins
* 3rd goaltender to win the Stanley Cup with a Game-7 shutout in 2002–03.
* 1st goaltender in history to have 3 shutouts in two different playoff series. (1995 against Boston in the Conference Quarterfinals, 2003 against Anaheim in the Stanley Cup final.)

Brodeur has also acquired more than 30 franchise records, including most all-time, regular season and playoff wins, shutouts, games lowest goals-against-average.
Awards

* Calder Memorial Trophy — 1994
* NHL 1st All-Star Team — 2003, 2004, 2007
* NHL 2nd All-Star Team — 1997, 1998, 2006, 2008
* NHL All-Rookie Team — 1994
* NHL All-Star Game — 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
* Olympic gold medal — 2002
* QMJHL 2nd All-Star Team — 1992
* QMJHL All-Rookie Team — 1990
* Stanley Cup — 1995, 2000, 2003
* Vezina Trophy — 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
* William M. Jennings Trophy — 1997 (with Mike Dunham), 1998, 2003 (tied Roman Čechmánek & Robert Esche), 2004
* World Cup of Hockey championship — 2004

[flvegan]

8. Toss up: Lionel Messi, Marta Vieira da Silva, or maybe Ronaldinho

[KamaAina]

9. Tiger Woods

and he's a two-sport man: he's also won several major golf tournaments!! :evilgrin:

[JonLP24]

10. My vote goes to....

Peyton Manning. Only player to throw for 4O,OOO yards in a decade. He has passed over 7 ypa in every season except for his rookie season. Also 314 touchdowns to 153 interceptions.

[joeybee12]

11. Lance Armstrong...then probably Roger Federer...

...nobody is going to top their records for many, many years.

[Twillig]

12. Michael Schumacher

Seven time champ, five consecutive in 2000-2004. Fifty-six wins in that time. (91(!) total.)

He can get a bit stabby when the world title is on the line, but otherwise seems a decent person.

Remember--coincidentally with today's date, and the op Big wave surfing picture--what Bush originally said the US was going to give to the Tsunami relief?

15 million.

Schumacher gave 10 Million.


From Bloomberg

He donated more than $50 million to charities the last four years, BusinessF1 magazine reported this month, citing public records in Germany

And I maintain that he was right to turn in on Hill in '95!

I'll have to get digital cable again and pay for Speed Channel 'cause Schumacher is coming back in 2010! Whoo!



This is a bit much though:

Michael Schumacher tower motors off in Abu Dhabi

[insanity]

14. He is coming back, too

Not with the horses though.

[Iggo]

13. Federer.

[insanity]

15. Federer, Woods, Edwin Van De Sar

All three of them have done amazing things in the last 10 years.

[Onceuponalife]

16. Kobe Bryant

duh

[Capt. America]

17. Ichiro