What a difference a year makes

This time last year we were celebrating Bode's win of the World Cup overall. This year he ended his season early. The World Cup season is long and grueling, especially for athletes like Bode who compete in all disciplines of the sport. Bode suffered an injury in an early season crash that continued to nag him through-out the season. Once it was apparent the overal was out of reach, Bode decided to end the season.

Bode is uncompromising in his approach to life and ski racing. When he skis, he goes full bore, which has made him the most compelling skier to watch on the hill. It's an all or nothing approach and his decision to give up on the rest of the season coincides with this philosophy. We hope that Bode comes back healed, healthy and motivated for the 09/10 campaign.

We suffered a summer of golf without Tiger. Let's hope we don't have to suffer the same fate with Bode for next season's World Cup tour.

Greatest Athlete of All-Time?

Yesterday, Tiger Woods added another major championship to his mantel. Over the weekend there was much talk of his position in history as the greatest golfer ever. The volume was turned way up after he defeated Rocco Mediate.

This morning two sports writers from the UK Mirror didn't debate Tiger's position in golf, but whether he's the best athlete in all of sport today. While one reporter debated that Tiger was the best in all of sport, rivaled only by tennis's Roger Federer, the other had a list 5-

Call me a purist but the guys that I’m championing as being greater than Mr Woods are competitors in sports that are in no way flash and (with one exception) all considered minority sports.

They’re done for the love of the sport and the endeavour to achieve perfection rather than the money, fame and plaudits that attract people to more mainstream sports.

So in no particular order, the five sportsmen I think are greater than Tiger Woods at their given sports are: Phil Taylor (darts), Shaun White (snowboarding), Ronnie O’Sullivan (snooker), Bode Miller (Alpine skiing) and Ben Ainslie (sailing).

These are definitely 5 athletes who are dominant in their respective sports, but the flying tomato and Bode standout as all round athletes. Maybe Tiger, Federer, White, O'Sullivan, Ainslie and Bode should go head to head in the Superstars competition, to settle the score.

Our money of course would be on Bode. Bode won the competition in 2002 against some of the NFL's and baseball's top athletes.