Roger Robbed by Tiger for AP Athlete of the Decade Award

Forget about Tiger's media storm, and his douchiness, and his infidelity, and his dishonesty, and his......ok, I'm rambling now, but just forget all of that, and compare his accomplishments from 2000-2009 with that of fellow sporting greats Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong. The Associated Press revealed their pick for Athlete of the Decade, and they chose Tiger.

Personally, this irritates me. And I'm sure it pisses off many of you guys as well. In 6 years, 2003-2009, Federer won an all-time record 15 Grand Slams. He has won 61 titles dating back to 2000, has reached 22 consecutive Major semifinals, reached 10 straight Major finals from 2005 to 2007, and while doing it all, the Swiss didn't have a caddy giving him tips. He also had to move his body in more than one rotation. SHOCKER!

In a perfect world, the argument would be finished, but the classic Golf/Tennis debate had to be brought up. The typical "golfers have to play the course and the entire field of players" debate.

Well, here is an argument for all of you who support the AP's choice. It's called the "tennis players actually have to break a sweat."

I'm not trying to negate Tiger's achievements, because he most definitely is one of the elite "athletes" in sports, but just because he took golf to a new level by being extremely fit, it doesn't necessarily mean his opponents were without a beer-belly of their own.

Tennis Players and cyclists have to be in prime physical shape at all times, or they suffer the consequences. Not one competitor in these two sports could ever gain a few pounds and hide it in their next tournament or race. Golfers, on the other hand, can completely get away with it. Just ask John Daly.

Conclusively, I really like golf, and I have played a few times and really enjoyed it, but comparatively to what tennis players and cyclists have to go through in their sport, I don't see it as appropriate for a golfer to win the title of 'Athlete of the Decade'. To tell you the truth, I would have been fine if Armstrong was ahead of Federer, considering his incredible feats in the cycling world, but to give this award to Tiger is almost immoral.

Who do you guys think is Athlete of the Decade?