Sportsbook.com
Post Sportsman Award Odds
Sportsbook.com has posted odds
on who will be declared the Sports Illustrated
Sportsman of the Year for 2005. Considered one
of the most prestigious awards that an athlete
can have bestowed upon them, the title seems
destined to go to one of three athletes who
have dominated their respective sports in 2005
- Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.
"There
are a lot of worthy candidates as this has been
a wonderful year in sports", said Alex
Czajkowski, Marketing Director, Sportsbook.com.
"But these three really stand above the
rest both in their sports and beyond. Lance
won his seventh straight Tour de France, Tiger
regained his form and dominance with another
Masters and British Open title and Federer had
possibly one of the greatest seasons ever on
the ATP Tour, losing only three matches and
winning his third straight Wimbledon."
Federer
is listed as the favorite with 11-2 odds, closely
followed by Woods (a winner in 1996 and 2000)
and Armstrong (winner in 2002) at 6-1. Also
in the mix however are several female athletes
who made a big difference in the sports landscape
in 2005. Top among them are Danica Patrick and
Michelle Wie, who both broke with convention
and created controversy and attention for their
sports by competing with men. Patrick brought
life back to the IRL circuit and Wie showed
that women and men playing together on the links
may soon be a common occurrence. Both women
stand at 10-1 to win the SI award, along with
Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots.
The last time the award was given to a female
was in 1999 when the US women's soccer team
took the honor.
Other
candidates worthy of consideration include standout
quarterback at USC, Matt Leinart (8-1) and the
US Congress (15-1) for its role in trying to
clean up sports and force major leagues to ramp
up their anti-drug efforts. The Chicago White
Sox (12-1) and New England Patriots (50-1) once
again showed that team play at the expense of
individual accolades and egos are the keys to
success.
"Everybody
bets on sports at Sportsbook.com, and we think
our fans are going to have a great time wagering
on who they feel is the most deserving figure
in the world of sports," added Czajkowski.
The
2005 SI Sportsman of the Year will be announced
on Friday, December 9th at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on
HBO.
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