pretty strong feelings this guy has about phelps...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff1203,0,5420836.column
Phelps beat the world
By David Steele
This one's pretty easy to deduce, even though it's a shame to have to diminish one person's accomplishments to elevate another's. Nevertheless …
If Cal Ripken Jr. had done what he did in the same year Michael Phelps won his eight Olympic gold medals, who would earn the SI Sportsman of the Year honors?
The answer is as simple as the answer to this: Which is bigger, majorleague baseball or the Olympics?
There is no grander stage than the Olympics, and doing what Phelps did on that stage, against the best in his sport, with the eyes of the world on him, eclipses even Ripken's record. Actually, the debate should probably be limited to other Olympians - Carl Lewis, Eric Heiden, the Dream Team, the U.S. hockey team, for example. But that's a Faceoff for another time.
Baseball wishes it could command a stage a quarter of the size the Olympics do (of course, if it could, the Olympics would not have given the sport the boot). In fact, had baseball not given up its place in the sports universe years ago as carelessly and pointlessly as it had, the Streak might never have had to carry the weight that it did.
Overall, there are other past Sportsmen or -women to whom Phelps might have to take a back seat. With all due respect to the Iron Man, Ripken is not one of them.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff1203,0,5420836.column
Phelps beat the world
By David Steele
This one's pretty easy to deduce, even though it's a shame to have to diminish one person's accomplishments to elevate another's. Nevertheless …
If Cal Ripken Jr. had done what he did in the same year Michael Phelps won his eight Olympic gold medals, who would earn the SI Sportsman of the Year honors?
The answer is as simple as the answer to this: Which is bigger, majorleague baseball or the Olympics?
There is no grander stage than the Olympics, and doing what Phelps did on that stage, against the best in his sport, with the eyes of the world on him, eclipses even Ripken's record. Actually, the debate should probably be limited to other Olympians - Carl Lewis, Eric Heiden, the Dream Team, the U.S. hockey team, for example. But that's a Faceoff for another time.
Baseball wishes it could command a stage a quarter of the size the Olympics do (of course, if it could, the Olympics would not have given the sport the boot). In fact, had baseball not given up its place in the sports universe years ago as carelessly and pointlessly as it had, the Streak might never have had to carry the weight that it did.
Overall, there are other past Sportsmen or -women to whom Phelps might have to take a back seat. With all due respect to the Iron Man, Ripken is not one of them.
Imo Nascar is on the down now for a few yrs.a lot of cutbacks coming next yr across the board for them.They tried and tried to pump Dale Jr every yr to be the man etc, but he does not win enough to be the poster boy of this sport.Too many races week in and out, a very short off season, the good ol boys running in the sat races and just over kill imo.80's and the early 90's was the peak of this sport for me and i may watch 15 mins a yr on tv now, very boring as the big money killed this sport with so many drivers on 1 team etc, a little like the boring cart series to me....................ck
