Now that I have looked back on the past decade for the big 4 pro sports and the big 3 college sports I have decided to look back at the decade in sports for all other sports.
Athlete of Decade: Roger Federer, The most dominant tennis player ever with 16 grand slam titles, a career grand slam, has appeared in 23 straight grand slam semi-finals, and has been 18 of the past 19 grand slam finals. He also has an Olympic Gold Medal from 2008 in doubles. Unlike his golfing counterpart Tiger Woods not only does he actually have the most grand slam/major titles in the history of the sport but he also has no off the court/course issues that we know of so is he better representative for the sport. Runner Up: 2. Tiger Woods 3. Jimmie Johnson 4. Lance Armstrong 5. Michael Phelps 6. Serena Williams 7. Randy Couture 8. Usain Bolt 9. Manny Pacquiao 10. Floyd Mayweather
Non-Athlete of the Decade: Dana White (UFC President): This man convinced two wealthy Vegas Casino owners, the Fertittas to help him invest in a dying sport and it to one of the biggest sports in the world. He is also responsible for the Ultimate Fighter reality show which was the launching pad for many stars in the sport and the sport itself. While he is controversial with his profantity laced tirades and Non-PC acts but he has steered the UFC through rough times and success while other promotions with more money and sometimes more exposure have died off due to bad leadership. 2. Chad Knauss (Crew Chief for Jimmie Johnson) 3. Steve Williams (Tiger's Caddy) 4. Jacques Rogge (IOC Director) 5. Richard Williams (Father and Manager of Serena and Venus).
Game/Match of the Decade: 2008 Wimbledon Men's Final: Rafael Nadal over Roger Federer in 5 sets. A classic that saw Nadal go up two sets to none on Roger's best surface. Then Roger came back to tie it up at 2 sets a piece setting up a classic 5th set which Nadal ended up winning 9-7. Nadal's victory in the greatest Tennis Match ever according to some led to him taking over the #1 ranking and was apparent passing of the torch in this great rivalry but Nadal's knees and Federer's resilence have changed this. Runners up: 2. 2008 Men's Golf US Open 3. 2007 Daytona 500 4. 2008 Olympic 100M men's fly (Phelps wins by a touch) 5. 2004 Masters
Fight of the Decade: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I April 9th, 2005- The fight that launched the UFC to the height it is at today, this 3 round war to determine the Light Heavyweight Winner of the Ultimate Fighter I was so good it had 10 million people watching Spike TV at 1 time. These two men went at it for 3 5 minute rounds which has been compared to Hagler- Hearns by some. The Ultimate Fighter season 1 which this capped off was a huge success for the UFC as it showed how far the UFC has come from it's no holds barred beginnings and showed that these guys are real athletes and real fighters. Griffin ended up winning via decision and went on to become the light heavyweight champ but this fight changed sports forever. 2. Guida-Sanchez TUF 9 Finale, 3. Ward-Gatti I, 4. Corrales-Castillo, 5. Vazquez- Marquez 3
Rivalry of the Decade: Federer-Nadal: While it only lasted for about 4 years this rivalry pushed Men's Tennis back to the forefront where Women's Tennis was, despite the fact that neither guy is American. The main crux of this rivalry is that Federer dominanted everywhere but Clay where Nadal always beat him while Nadal tried and later succeeded in becoming more then a clay court specialist. This rivalry brought the best out of both of these men and the sport. Runners Up: 2. Tiger-Phil 3. Serena-Venus 4. Couture-Liddell 5. Lance Armstrong- The French
Story of the Decade: The Rise of the UFC and MMA- A meteroic rise which started with TUF 1 and the Griffin-Bonnar classic and has continued to today, a week after the UFC debuted in Sydney. The UFC has set gate records in Pennsylvania, Sydney, England, Ireland and Canada. UFC 100 set the record not only for the highest gate but also the fastest sellout in the history of Las Vegas. The rise of this sport has coincided with the slow death of boxing, who's megafight that could have saved the sport being called off. The growth of MMA has created household names like Chuck Lidell, Forrest Griffin, Kimbo Slice (unfortunatly), and Randy Couture. Runners Up: 2. Drug Testing in these sports 3. Rise and "fall" of Tiger Woods 4. Michael Phelps 5. The Williams Sisters and their Father
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