2008 SPORTS DOC SPORTSMEN OF THE YEAR

        If 2007 were any indication, then we knew what to expect from 2008.

        In 2007 we were treated to the likes of Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Tim Doneghy and Roger Clemens; In 2008 it was sadly much more of the same, with Pac Man Jones, Manny Ramirez, Plaxico Burress and once again, Roger Clemens.

        It also gave us Chad “Ocho Dufus” Johnson, Hank Steinbrenner and Cody Martin & Matthew Hill—the two Atlanta high school baseball players who intentionally let a pitch hit an umpire in the head because they didn’t like his strike zone.

        It also gave us a complete reversal of fortune in the case of Bret Favre.  In 2007 he was hailed as one of the best of sports, due to his enthusiasm, drive and talent.  In 2008 he was scorned for his selfishness, indecision and complete choke in the Jets’ final five games.  Truly a case of “what have you done for me lately”.

         Yet, amidst all of these flaws, there once again emerged the good in sport—which, as usual, more than amply outweighed the bad.  And it is this good that is celebrated with this year’s Sports Doc Sportsmen of the year.

        We’ll save this year’s winner for later—a way to build up the suspense, if you will.

        #10-JOSH HAMILTON, OF, Texas Rangers.  In 2008, Hamilton was one of the most powerful weapons in all of baseball, hitting .304 with 32 homers and 130 rbi’s, and an explosive performance in round one of the Home Run Derby.  But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.  Hamilton, the #1 overall pick in the 1999 draft, spent eight years developing a drug addiction that led to living in crack houses, sleeping in cars and a life that was spiraling toward oblivion.  But Hamilton pulled himself up and rebuilt his life, dedicating himself to his family and to a higher authority.  He knows that at any time he could slip back into the hell that used to be his life—here’s to hoping he never takes that fall again.

        #9-BILL BELICHICK, Coach, New England Patriots.  Bill Belichick will never be confused will “good guy” coaches like Tony Dungy or Jeff Fisher.  He’s gruff, short with the press and has all the social graces of a dump truck.  But 2008 also proved that Belichick is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best coach in all of football.  This season the Patriots IR list included: Tom Brady (for the entire season), Lawrence Maroney (played just 4 games), Rodney Harrison (for 9 games), Adalius Thomas (their top linebacker).  They also saw starters like Teddy Bruschi, Ty Warren, Richard Seymour, Matt Light, Sammy Morris and Lamont Jordan, miss a slew of games.  The Pats had to go so far as to coax 39-year old Junior Seau out of retirement.  Yet they still won 11 games and barely missed the playoffs, due in most part to a remarkable (and probably best-ever) coaching job by a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

        #8-JIMMIE JOHNSON, NASCAR driver.  Johnson made history in 2008, becoming only the second driver to ever win three consecutive NASCAR Cup championships.  And he did it in an era that is by far the most competitive in racing history.  He also did it with style and dignity.  He doesn’t get involved in childish feuds with other drivers, he always credits his crew first-and-foremost and even when he doesn’t win, he’s usually the first driver to victory lane to congratulate the winner.  And, oh-by-the-way, his Jimmie Johnson Foundation has donated over $2-million to charities in the past two years alone.

        #7-BERNARD HOPKINS, Boxer.  Bernard Hopkins didn’t win title belt this year, but at the age of 43, he proved he still has what it takes to be a champion.  In 2008 Hopkins, who still treats his sport with the respect and dignity rarely seen in this day and time, absolutely man-handled 26-year old middleweight champ Kelly Pavlick in a non-title bout.  Richard Hoffer of Sports Illustrated said “there’s no bigger fool than one who counts on boxing stardom.  Or discounts Hopkins’ chances.”  After the Pavlik fight a smiling and humble Hopkins said, “A lot of people say Bernard Hopkins is old, and I am.  But I’m not finished.”

        #6-CHAD PENNINGTON, QB, Miami Dolphins.  Before the 2008 NFL season even began, Chad Pennington lost his job.  He was coming off a sup-par 2007, in which he was demoted to second-team, then Brett Favre decided he wanted to play, but the Packers had soured on his “I don’t…I do…I don’t…I do” act.  So the Jets brought in Favre and said bye bye to Pennington—one of the real good guys in the game.  All Pennington did was go to Miami and helped engineer the greatest one-season come back in league history.  After the Dolphins finished 2007 1-15, Pennington helped lead them to a 11-5 record and a playoff berth—fittingly secured with a win over Brett and the Jets on the final Sunday of the season.  Good things do happen to good people.

        #5-DARA TORRES, US Olympic swimmer.  Torres didn’t win a single gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games (much less eight), but at the age of 41 she brought home three silver medals, inspiring awe in everyone who watched.  Torres, a mother of one, had already had her days in the sun, earning nine medals in four previous games.  But in 2008 she transcended chronological boundaries by simply making the team, then coming within a hundredth-of-a-second of gold, falling in the 50 free to Britta Steffen, 15-years her junior.  Later she anchored the 400-medley relay, finishing second, yet turning in the fastest 100 relay split in history.  Not bad for a woman who already was the oldest gold medal winner in US swimming history—a record she set eight years ago.  Here’s to seeing her swim in 2012.

        #4-USAIN “LIGHTNING” BOLT, Jamaican sprinter.  While Swimming, Gymnastics and Basketball dominated the TV coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, Usain Bolt single-handedly revived what had once been the heart and soul of the games, track & field.  Bolt, who had set the world record in the 100 in May in New York, was a star in his own sport, but an unknown on the world stage.  That changed when he blistered the field in the 100 final, with an astonishing 9.69 (which would have been even faster  had he not coasted the last 15 meters).  He followed that up four nights later by breaking the unbreakable—Michael Johnson’s 200 meter record of 19.32 with a 19.30, and then he anchored two relay golds.  It’s still to be proven if Bolt’s influence is long term, but at least for a while, he’s given life back to track & field, the true essence of athletics.

        #3- MALLORY HOLTMAN & LIZ WALLACE, softball players, Central Washington University.  Holtman and Wallace were two pretty good ballplayers on the Wildcats, a Division II perennial playoff team.  Holtman, the ‘Cats’ all-time career homerun leader, was the conference player of the year, and Wallace a .300 hitting shortstop.  But what makes these two special is an act of sportsmanship that restore faith in human nature in the most jaded of us.  
        In the Wildcats’ game April 26, Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky, a reserve senior outfielder, slammed her first home run of college career.  In her exuberance,  Tucholsky missed first base.  When she pivoted to go back to the bag, she tore her ACL, crumbling to a heap on the ground.  After much discussion, Tucholsky was informed that if a pinch-runner were inserted she’d be robbed of her home run and would be credited with a single, and if her teammates or coaches assisted her, she’d be declared out.  That’s when Holtman and Wallace stepped to the forefront, picked up their opponent (which is allowed by the rules),  and carried her around the bases, lowering her to touch each base and getting credit for her only college homer.  Upon touching home plate the two handed Tucholsky to her teammates and returned to the field to resume the game.  Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace are why sports is beautiful.

        #2-MICHAEL PHELPS, US Olympic swimmer.  For over a week in August, Phelps turned the biggest athletic competition in the world into his own personal showcase.  Each night the drama played out as to whether Phelps could possibly live up to the media-imposed hype of a record eight gold medals.  And each night he didn’t disappoint.  Of course, an assist has to go to Jason Lezak’s blistering 46.06 split in the 4x100 freestyle relay, keeping the dream alive.  And who’ll ever forget the heart-stopping, fingertip-bending finish to the 100 butterfly.  But Phelps was much more than just an incredible world-class athlete.  He became a cultural phenomenon in what became the most-viewed event in American history.  NBC’s Olympic web page reported that Phelps accounted for 20% of the athlete-specific traffic in the 1.3 billion views of their site.  Phelp’s affect has been so far-reaching that NBC has announced it will offer the first-ever live coverage of swimming's world championships next summer and also will broadcast the U.S. nationals in 2009, 2010 and 2011.  Phelps, a naturally shy person, remains very down-to-earth and grounded.  But who can blame him if his head get just a tad bigger—he is, after all, the most popular athlete in the world.

        #1 (TIE)- DAVID REHR, Blinn College volleyball coach & GLEN WEST, Brenham High School football coach.  For the first time ever, my Sportsman of the Year goes local—to two men who brought honor and dignity to their teams and sports this year. 
        In the case of David Rehr, his Blinn Bucs brought the college its first-ever women’s NCJAA National Championship in any sport.  But more importantly they did it with smiles on their faces.  In an age when it’s customary to see athletes scowling with intensity and talking “trash” to their overmatched competition, the Bucs displayed the sportsmanship and attitude that we need so much more of in sports these days; a direct tribute to the coaching of David Rehr.  His teams, year-in and year-out, qualify for the National Tournament, but they do so in a manner that you can be proud of, whatever their record.  He’s also built a juggernaut of a program—leading the team to a 33-2 record and National Championship in 2008, a career mark of 294-52 (214-24 in six seasons at Blinn), six consecutive trips to the NJCAA Tournament and a team that perennially is an NJCAA Academic All-American Team.  Other coaches may put up bigger, gaudier numbers, but I can guarantee they don’t do it with nearly as much style, dignity or have nearly as much fun as David Rehr.
        For the past 11 years Coach Glen West has built the Brenham Cubs into one of the top football programs in 4A in the State of Texas.  Each year the Cubs go into the season expected to be a contender not only for a District title, but for a State title as well—except for this year.  Going into 2008, not a lot was expected from these inexperienced Cubs; a group with only four starter returning from a team that sent 14 athletes on to college football in 2007.  In the early going, it looked like the “experts” were going to be right, as the Cubs stumbled to a 1-3 record following an uninspired 21-0 loss to Huntsville.  But then something happened—the Cubs began to heed West’s long-time philosophy of “just get better each week.”  And boy did they get better.  While some say it was West’s best coaching performance, I say it simply proved that we have one of the best coaches in the state right here in Brenham—taking a group of unproven, raw athletes and turning them into a true football team (something his mentor Gordon Wood would likely be proud of)  Each and every week the team showed marked improvement, culminating with a regular season-ending win over arch-rival Waller that sent them into the playoffs on an unlikely run that ended four games later in the Region Finals against a powerful Dayton team.  Through it all, there was Glen West, giving credit to the players and assistant coaches when things were going good and taking sole blame when things weren’t so good.  But that’s par for the course for Coach West—that’s been his modus operandi since the first day he set foot in Brenham—a day we can all be thankful for.