A list! Who doesn't love a list? In this one the Herald Sun's Jon Anderson's cobbles together his top 50 sports stars for 2006. Can you spot any obvious ommissions? Any unworthy inclusions? I can think of one possible exclusion (again), and I would dump all sports that don't have a ball except for boxing. But that's just me.
It's probably OK to include the likes of Chris Judd and Liz Ellis when you consider Sports Illustrated had Dwayne Wade as their No.1. But only just OK. SI are patently kidding themselves when, by any measure, the top two are the Butcher of Baghdatis and T-Woo.
50 Katsuhiko Sumii, Japan, Thoroughbred Racing
49 Janica Kostelic, Croatia, Skiing
48 Liz Ellis, Australia, Netball
47 Manny Pacquiao, Philippines, Boxing
46 Nicole Cooke, Wales, Cycling
45 Jeremy Wariner, US, Athletics
44 Libby Lenton, Australia, Swimming
43 Chris Judd, Australia, Australian Rules
42 Lebron James, US, Basketball
41 Thierry Henry, France, Soccer
40 Ladainian Tomlinson, US, American Football
39 Michael Schumacher, Germany, Formula One
38 Richie McCaw, New Zealand, Rugby Union
37 Albert Pujols, Dominican Republic, Baseball
36 Rafael Nadal, Spain, Tennis
35 Gianluigi Buffon, Italy, Soccer
34 Nicky Hayden, US, Moto GP
33 Britta Steffen, Germany, Swimming
32 Haile Gebreselassie, Ethiopa, Athletics
31 Lorena Ochoa, Mexico, Golf
30 Kobe Bryant, US, Basketball
29 Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan, Cricket
28 Valentino Rossi, Italy, Moto GP
27 Justine Henin-Hardene, Belgium, Tennis
26 Robbie McEwen, Australia, Cycling
25 Amelie Mauresmo, France, Tennis
24 Lauren Jackson, Australia, Basketball
23 Darren Lockyer, Australia, Rugby League
22 Ricky Carmichael, US, Supercross
21 Liu Xiang, China, Athletics
20 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Soccer
19 Karrie Webb, Australia, Golf
18 Evgeni Plushenko, Russia, Figure Skating
17 Emma Snowsill, Australia, Triathlon
16 Fernando Alonso, Spain, Formula One
15 Ryan Howard, US, Baseball
14 Layne Beachley, Australia, Surfing
13 Sanya Richards, US, Athletics
12 Sebastien Loeb, France, Rally Driving
11 Ronaldinho, Brazil, Soccer
10 Floyd Mayweather Jr, US, Boxing
9 Dwayne Wade, US, Basketball
8 Leisel Jones, Australia, Swimming
7 Kelly Slater, US, Surfing
6 Fabio Cannavaro, Italy, Soccer
5 Ricky Ponting, Australia, Cricket
4 Michael Phelps, US, Swimming
3 Asafa Powell, Jamaica, Athletics
2 Tiger Woods, US, Golf
1 Roger Federer, Switzerland, Tennis
You can't have Rossi and Hayden in the same list in the same year. Rossi lost, so he should be left out.
LeBron still has done fuck all so why is he listed? Same with Lauren Jackson this year.
And Karrie Webb has been tarnished by the mediocre brush for about half a decade now so how can she make the Top 20.
I would have subverted the list and stuck in Geraint Jones at No 7. He's done really well there all year.
Posted by: Russell Allen | 26 December 2006 at 08:31
I can't believe I didn't sneak GerOink into the list somewhere. I'm losing my touch.
Posted by: Tony.T | 26 December 2006 at 10:06
Faaark it really bites my bollocks that Fabio Cannavaro won both the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year... and then that nerf herder Jon Anderson puts him in at #6 in his list.
Cannavaro captains the most unworthy (and certainly luckiest) World Cup divers... sorry winners since the Brazil snoozed to victory in 1994 , he promptly jumps ship from Juventus to Real Madrid after the Juves get relegated for cheating in the Serie A (btw... is that a tautology??) and then sits back to collect the accolades!!
Yes I know he was named in the World Cup All Star team but my bollocks are still smarting.
Give me Jamie Carragher any day.
BTW I think Lauren Jackson's effort at leading the Australian Womens' Basketball team to the World Championship is a superior effort, although I'm not saying I would place her at #6 (although she should go higher than #24).
And the Seattle Storm weren't relegated for cheating !!
Posted by: The Green Man | 27 December 2006 at 00:37
Oh I almost forgot...
Merry Xmas !!
:-D
Posted by: The Green Man | 27 December 2006 at 00:40
My #1 is Zidane for putting some testosterone back into gayball
Posted by: murph | 27 December 2006 at 21:13
Was Penny Taylor more important than Jackson at the World Champs?
Posted by: Tony.T | 27 December 2006 at 21:29
TT... Well Penny Taylor (Gil) won tournament MVP, so maybe she was more important on that score.
I didn't watch the whole thing, just the final, so cannot really comment... of course often the accolades go to the leader of the team that wins (i.e. Cannavaro) but it's hard to imagine that the Aussies would have won without Lozza and I am not sure that Italy would have fared better or worse overall without Cannavro, although he of course strengthened their team.
BTW I don't think there was a tournament "best of" team picked for the basketcaseball but I am sure both PT and LJ would have featured!!
Posted by: The Green Man | 28 December 2006 at 10:55