Roger Federer, Tiger and Lance leading Sports Illustrated Candidates for Sportsman of the Year, according to Sportsbook.com

NEW YORK
- Sportsbook.com has posted odds on who
will be declared the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for 2005.
Considered one of the most prestigious awards that an athlete can have
bestowed upon them, the title seems destined to go to one of three athletes
who have dominated their respective sports in 2005 - Lance Armstrong, Tiger
Woods and Roger Federer.
"There are a lot of worthy candidates as this has been a wonderful year
in sports", said Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director, Sportsbook.com. "But
these three really stand above the rest both in their sports and beyond. Lance
won his seventh straight Tour de France, Tiger regained his form and dominance
with another Masters and British Open title and Federer had possibly one of
the greatest seasons ever on the ATP Tour, losing only three matches and
winning his third straight Wimbledon."
Federer is listed as the favorite with 11-2 odds, closely followed by
Woods (a winner in 1996 and 2000) and Armstrong (winner in 2002) at 6-1. Also
in the mix however are several female athletes who made a big difference in
the sports landscape in 2005. Top among them are Danica Patrick and Michelle
Wie, who both broke with convention and created controversy and attention for
their sports by competing with men. Patrick brought life back to the IRL
circuit and Wie showed that women and men playing together on the links may
soon be a common occurrence. Both women stand at 10-1 to win the SI award,
along with Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots. The last time
the award was given to a female was in 1999 when the US women's soccer team
took the honor.
Other candidates worthy of consideration include standout quarterback at
USC, Matt Leinart (8-1) and the US Congress (15-1) for its role in trying to
clean up sports and force major leagues to ramp up their anti-drug efforts.
The Chicago White Sox (12-1) and New England Patriots (50-1) once again showed
that team play at the expense of individual accolades and egos are the keys to
success.
"Everybody bets on sports at Sportsbook.com, and we think our fans are
going to have a great time wagering on who they feel is the most deserving
figure in the world of sports," added Czajkowski.
The 2005 SI Sportsman of the Year will be announced on Friday, December
9th at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on HBO.

Who will be 2005 SI Sportsman of the Year
————————————————————-
Roger Federer 11-2 Venus Williams 25-1
Lance Armstrong 6-1 Asafa Powell 30-1
Tiger Woods 6-1 Rafael Palmeiro 30-1
Matt Leinart 8-1 Tim Duncan/Manu Ginobli 30-1
Danica Patrick 10-1 Ozzie Guillen 35-1
Michelle Wie 10-1 Steve Nash 35-1
Tom Brady 10-1 Sidney Crosby 40-1
Chicago White Sox 12-1 Poker/WSOP 45-1
Anika Sorenstam 15-1 Mario Lemieux 50-1
Congress/Steroids 15-1 New England Patriots 50-1
LaDainian Tomlinson 15-1 Pete Carroll 50-1
Albert Pujols 20-1 New Orleans Saints 60-1
Trevor Linden 20-1 Phil Mickelson 75-1
Cheryl Swoops 25-1 Carson Palmer 100-1
Gary Bettman 25-1 Jose Canseco 100-1
Peyton and Eli Manning 25-1 Ricky Williams 100-1
Roger Clemens 25-1 Shaquille O'Neal 100-1

Recent SI Sportsman of the Year Winners
———————————————————-
2004 Boston Red Sox
2003 Tim Duncan and David Robinson
2002 Lance Armstrong
2001 Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson
2000 Tiger Woods
1999 US Women's National Soccer Team
1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa
1997 Dean Smith
1996 Tiger Woods
1995 Cal Ripken Jr.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sportsbook.com.

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