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The World |
 TIGER WOODS ...in championship form |
After Tiger and Lance,
who are today's immortals?
By BUCKY FOX
of TheColumnists.com
What in the world is going on?
This: Right now two athletes dominate Earth like nothing since the dinosaurs.
Tiger Woods is just back from Scotland, where he won the British Open. That’s his 10th major golf trophy. At 29 years old, he’s a lock to win nine more and grip the title of best ever. Life is good in his Orlando mansion.
Lance Armstrong has been pedaling in Paris, where Sunday he rode ahead of the Tour de France. That was the Texan’s seventh straight Tour title. Think of riding a bike up Alps and through fields for 2,200 miles. That’s enough to convince you Lance is the most out-of-this-world Armstrong since Neil.
Tiger and Lance. In the now. Breathe deeply and enjoy it.
Who else? Who makes a global impact behind that duo?
Consider these Super Six, which added to the Top Two equals the Group of Eight:
Andre Agassi. The Vegas star is in the last round of a terrific tennis career--eight Grand Slam titles. And amid an even better life--married to Steffi Graf, she of 22 major crowns.
Michael Phelps. He swam out of Baltimore to win eight medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics. And six were gold. At 20, this man glitters with future.
Ronaldinho. He’s not Ronaldo, the other Brazilian star who plays for Real Madrid. He’s not David Beckham, the other Real Madrid stud who plays for England.
This is Ronaldinho Gaucho. He doesn’t bend over hysterical fans like Beckham. He just does something foreign to the Brit: win. Ronaldinho’s free kick beat Beckham’s bunch in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, and Brazil went on to take the trophy.
These days Ronaldinho plays for FC Barcelona, but he saves his mightiest kicks for Brazil in world play, and that makes him the reigning FIFA Player of the Year. He’s simply the best in the world’s biggest sport.
He’ll try to stay that way next year when his Brazilians shoot for a second straight World Cup title.
Michelle Wie. This Honolulu native is golf’s queen waiting to happen. She’s 15 and 6 feet tall and can’t wait to tower over the world. To the point where she tries to swing her way into men’s tournaments. She’ll play in them soon enough. And win.
Shaq. He’ll make way for China’s Yao Ming in a few years. But right now Shaq controls basketball with his name and muscle. Not to mention his head. He says get ready to call him Dr. Shaq, since he’ll score a Ph.D. after winning a title with the Miami Heat.
Michael Schumacher. This German goes a tad faster than Armstrong. That’s because he steers a Ferrari, not a Trek.
He does share this number with Lance: seven. That many world driver championships makes Schumacher the top Formula One racer of all time.
How mega is Michael? In 2004 he pocketed $80 million, the same as Tiger.
Now that’s the fast lane.
©2005 by Bucky Fox. This column first posted July 27, 2005.
You can visit Bucky Fox's
website at www.BuckyFox.com
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to either "The Editors" or Bucky Fox. To send an email,
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