Sports Thread #2 For 12/23/09: A Sudden Amazing Evolution That Happen In Front of Our Eyes

Yesterday, the Associated Press have their Female Athlete Of The Year Award to Serena Williams. It was the second time in her career that she has won the award, and despite her shameful tirade at the US Open, she deserved the award clearly with her two major titles and finish at No.1 on the WTA rankings.

However, not getting much notice form ESPN and other major media outlets is the total results from the list. Take a look at the final votes if your eyes allow you to:

Serena Williams 66

Zenyatta 18

Kim Clijsters 16

Lindsey Vonn 15

Diana Taurasi 14

Maya Moore 13

Rachel Alexandra 10

Bridget Sloan 3

Jiyai Shin 2

Erin Hamlin 1

For those who aren't sports fans (or even casual fans), the names bolded on that list somehow, for me, you know, shouldn't be there.

Why shouldn't they be there (and hopefully all knowledge sports fans will agree with me since they obviously know why those names shouldn't AT ALL be there)?

Because they aren't humans. They are both horses.

Yup, the Associated Mess (because that is what that place basically now) decided it was a-okay to put horses on a list for "Female Athlete of The Year."

OY.

In fact, it is so bad that Zenyetta, who was such a dominant horse that she never lost a race in her career and became the first to win the Breeders Cup, finished runner up on this list. Second place.

In comparison, if you look at Male's list, in which NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson became the first driver to win the award

Votes
Jimmie Johnson 42
Roger Federer 30
Usain Bolt 29
Kobe Bryant 9
Albert Pujols 9
Tiger Woods 9
Michael Phelps 8
Peyton Manning 6
Joe Mauer 4
Manny Pacquiao 4
LeBron James 3
Tom Watson 2
Brett Favre 2
Drew Brees 1
Derek Jeter 1
Tim Tebow 1

Not a single "non-human" on this list.

Now thankfully, no non-human has ever won the Male or Female Athlete of the Year. But my mind only remembers the legend Secretariat on the list finishing 6th overall in his Triple Crown year (and unless you want to say that Tiger Woods is....well, you can go to other places to discuss that of course, or to Howard Krutz).

As a sports fan, you can quibble further about the nightmare of voting on the women's list. Clijsters, despite winning her second US Open in a great comeback story, only played a handful of hard court tournaments in he summer, is worth the number 3 award over WNBA MVP Diana Taurasi and Player of the Year Maya Moore?

No love of US track star Shanya Richards finally winning her first international individual championship at the IAAF World Track & Field along with gold in the 1600m relay? Or even recognition for Marta, the premiere women's soccer player on the planet and top star in the WPSL's inaugural season?

But all of those questions look extremely frivolous to the stunning and obvious joke that this total abomination of a list is from a news organization that already has tarnished its reputation on the political front.

Then again, if horses can stupidly be on the female's list, maybe someday the Associated Press' Male Athlete of The Year results will include "horsepower" on there as well.

Since it is now well known knowledge in the Associated Press world that horses are human females as well (and apparently, in 1973, for male's too.)