The indiviual sports and

The individual sports and basketball are next on my list. The decade in individual sports were dominated by famous one named celebrities. Tiger, Annika, Serena, Venus, Lance, Petty boy Floyd, Roger, Rafa, Usain, Phelps, J.J. just to name a few. I will add Oscar, Manny, Lennox to this list as well. We have seen the greatest performances by these individuals in all types of competitions. Lance overcame cancer and steroid allegations to win the Tour de France several Times. Usain Bolt ran a 9.69 in the 100 meters. He could have run faster if he did not turn around to see how far ahead he was. Micheal Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the most recent Olympic games. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras' record for grand slams in a career. Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 in a final round in a tournament and retired with 10 major championships won. She absolutely dominated her sport at a level that no one has in years in women's golf. Lennox Lewis reigned over the heavyweight division in Boxing, retired as a champion and defeated every fighter that he fought. Manny P. and Pretty Boy Floyd end the decade as pound for pound the two best fighters in the world. They are slated to fight next year and hopefully it will be memorable. I will take this stand though that the boxer of the decade is Oscar De la Hoya!!!! He is the most significant fighter in the world even though now he is retired. He has carried the sport on his back for the entire decade. As Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones did before him, De La Hoya fought everyone. He may have lost some fights but he did not back down from anyone. He is in my pantheon of the greatest athletes of all time. I admire him as much as I admire Micheal Jordan. His promotional corporation is what is keeping boxing alive today. As Mixed Martial Arts is growing in popularity, De La Hoya has put his name, money, reputation up to try and save a sport that needs a true star. It is a shame that the Klitscho brother are heavy weight champs now because they will never fight each other. Thank You Oscar for what you have done and been to a sport that needs a super hero.
Jimmie Johnson has had an incredible decade. Winning four straight cup titles to finish the decade is a feat that may never be matched. He is setting his sights on doing it again next year. Venus and Serena Williams ruled the tennis court in women's tennis over the decade. Martina Hingis, Kim Clisters, Lindsey davenport, and Justine Henin, gave the Williams sisters a fun decade of great competition. Maria Sharapova deserves mention too. Steffi Graf came back and won another major then married Andre Agassi. So much history was lost when Agassi and Sampras retired this decade. It opened the doors for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to take the mantle to the next generation. Federer was a machine. Vanquishing opponents like they were puppets. Nadal was a god on the clay courts. A knee injury lately has hampered his play but we look forward to another five years of dominance by both of the men. The athlete of the decade is Tiger Woods. He won 12 majors this decade. He is the only golfer to be defending champion in all four majors. He is the record holder in lowest score to par in all of the major tournaments or has the record for the largest victory margin in all of the major tournaments. He played the British open one year that 131 bunkers and did not put a ball in a bunker once in all four days. He is a dog off the course and recent events are portraying him in that light. He became the first billionaire athlete. Nuff said...
I am sure that I am missing a lot of people. Dara Torres, Appollo Anton Ono, Tony Hawk, Shaun White, Jeff Gordon, Sarah Hughes, Micheal Schumacher, all had great decades. We lost Dale Earnhardt which is still being felt in NASCAR. The Rise of MMA fighting. Pro Wrestling is still going strong. Bode Miller and the rise of African Americans in winter Olympic sports. Joel Calzeghe was undefeated as a boxer and defeated living legends, Hopkins and Jones Jr. The next decade will be interesting to see who replaces these stars as they age...