Weir wins Lou Marsh Award..by 1 vote

[Vote Quimby]

Weir wins Lou Marsh


By DAVID LEEDER
Globe and Mail Update


Mike Weir has capped the best year of any Canadian golfer in history by winning the Lou Marsh Trophy, presented annually to Canada's outstanding athlete.

Weir garnered one vote more than Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne to capture the prize. Exact voting results were not released.

Other finalists were: CART champion Paul Tracy; world track champion Perdita Felicien; divers Emilie Heymans and Alexandre Despatie; skier Mélanie Turgeon and speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon.

On a day that captivated millions of Canadians, Weir captured golf's most prestigious prize in a sudden-death playoff at the Masters in April. The 33-year-old native of Bright's Grove, Ont., became the first Canadian to win a major tournament, vaulting him into the PGA Tour elite.

Earlier in the year, he won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the Nissan Open in February. Weir finished fifth on the PGA Tour money list for the year, earning $4,918,910.

In 2003, Weir solidified his place among the 10 best golfers in the world at a time when the game has never been more competitive, and he handled himself superbly on an international stage at the recent Presidents Cup.

"I'm honoured to win the Lou Marsh award," Weir said in a statement. "Congratulations to all the other athletes who had good years, whether you were on the ballot or not. Special congrats to Eric, I hope you have as good a year next year.

"Thanks again to everyone in Canada for the overwhelming support."

Gagne became only the second Canadian to win the Cy Young since Ferguson Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., won in 1971 with the Chicago Cubs. The 27-year-old from Mascouche, Que., converted all 55 save opportunities he faced in one of the most dominant seasons in Major League baseball history.

The winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy, named for the former Toronto Star sports editor, is selected by a committee of sports editors and broadcast media people. The judging panel consisted of three people from the Star plus representatives from the Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, National Post, Toronto Sun, La Presse, Edmonton Journal, CBC, CTV, The Score sports television channel and The Fan 590, a Toronto all-sports radio station.

http://globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031216.wweir16/BNStory/Sports/

 

[Zorro]

Well Deserved!!!
CONGRATS

 

[tobywan]

See...I think at the LEAST, Weir and Gagne should've been co-winners of the award.

 

[The Tesseract]

Weir almost took off my head 2 years ago when he shot an errant ball off the 8th at Angus Glen.

 

[kuba]

I don't think he should've won BASED ON his masters victory. He had a decent year on the tour though, so I'm not surprised. I believe eric gagne and/or paul tracy were better. Hell, I wouldve voted for that Felicia chick who won the hurdles 100M.

 

[kerouacdude]

^^^
I agree Jake (about Perdita) - that was the biggest accomplishment by a Canadian athlete this year - no one expected that, not even with in the amateur establishment.

 

[sen]

bob mcowan said it best
mike weir can have a better season next year
gagne cannot

gagne should have won it, he was perfect.

 

[kennyboy]

Nice one Mike. Very well deserved.

And as for having a better year next year, most likely won't happen. He was the first Canadian to win a major. Doubt very much he'll grab another one next year, as much as I would love to see it happen.

This award is a crock of shit anyway. After Larry Walker got beat out by Jacques V, I put no more faith in this one.

 

[wayne kenoff]

golf is not a sport. not to take away from Mike Weir, but it's like winning the world series of poker in my books, a great accomplishment by a non-athlete. same with car racing. Gagne or the hurdler should have won.


*waits for abuse*

 

[kennyboy]

Spoken like a true armchair athlete.

 

[Liquidity]

Originally posted by wayne kenoff
golf is not a sport. not to take away from Mike Weir, but it's like winning the world series of poker in my books, a great accomplishment by a non-athlete. same with car racing. Gagne or the hurdler should have won.


*waits for abuse*

how is pitching any more athletic than a golf swing?

 

[sen]

Originally posted by Liquidity
how is pitching any more athletic than a golf swing?

this argument would hold true for any position other than pitching, in mlb.

go throw a ball for 2 hours at your regular speed and then mulitply that by 3 or 4.

 

[green_souljah]

Originally posted by wayne kenoff
golf is not a sport.

preach it brother!


How is driving around in a neat-o cart, walking only feet at a time to take a shot, smoking stogies, and being pissed by noon a sport?

In other words, I like golf, but not for its athletic points.

 

[Spinsah]

Originally posted by green_souljah
preach it brother!


How is driving around in a neat-o cart... a sport?

do you think then that CART and F1 drivers should not be eligible?

 

[Preroller]

Even Weir said that he though Gagne deserved to win.

I think they both did awesome things for sports in Canada.

DAVE

 

[kerouacdude]

the voting is done by GUYS, which is a shame in this case, coz objectively, what she did, coming out of nowhere, with the amount of funding she gets as an amateur athlete of her standing, is fucking amazing.

I'm sorry, I respect what Weir and Gagne did, but aside from the fact we overvalue pro athlete's accomplishments, there's a support structure in place for both of their accomplishments.

Name me the last Canadian female hurdler of note.

We're such Canadians - we bitch and moan when we suck in the Olympics even though we don't support them in the interim, and then when someone does something, it's ho-hum, pretty cool, but no comparison to what insert pro athlete's name did.

 

[green_souljah]

Originally posted by Spinsah
do you think then that CART and F1 drivers should not be eligible?

Good question.

They for sure should be eligible

Why?

Because to me, sport= pushing boundaries, outdoing your competition.

Going 300 KM/hr in a car around a corner to pass the guy ahead of you, thats balls! I just don't see that same level of competition in golf.

Most people probably won't agree with me, that's how I see it though.

 

[Liquidity]

Originally posted by green_souljah
preach it brother!


How is driving around in a neat-o cart, walking only feet at a time to take a shot, smoking stogies, and being pissed by noon a sport?

In other words, I like golf, but not for its athletic points.

eh? pro golfers don't drive around in carts, and they certainly don't drink on the course (a few do smoke, though)...

 

[Liquidity]

Originally posted by sen
this argument would hold true for any position other than pitching, in mlb.

go throw a ball for 2 hours at your regular speed and then mulitply that by 3 or 4.

when does gagne throw for 2 hours? he's a stopper!

 

[exrboy]

Congrats on Mikey getting the award. It was a great year for Canadians in sport and the close vote on this award shows it.

P.S Golf is a sport. (But I agree...the guys that don't walk the course are a bunch of sallys. You should have to walk the course unless you are:

1) Hungover to hell
2) Old...and can't walk long distances
3) You are golfing at Uplands....I swear...that course is just one big hill.

 

[debunct]

if the third baseman for the dodgers doesn't make an incredible play to save the game for gagne he isn't perfect and doesn't win the cy young. that is the fine line.

being a closer you rely too much on your teammates to be named athlete of the year.

mike weir SHOULD have won this. the masters is one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world. i don't care that he had a good year on top of the that. eric gagne never would have felt the pressure weir did coming down the stretch. it was the greatest mental and physical skill a canadian showed this year by far.

i think gagne's accomplishments were incredible but this is the masters. my vote to weir.

the guys who play golf drunk and on carts is like comparing to beer league softball....golf is a sport no question about it. athletics is more than just physical skill, and golf is an example of a mentally tough sport.

bye.

 

[green_souljah]

Originally posted by debunct
golf is an example of a mentally tough sport.

bye.

So what about chess? is it conisdered a sport?


I hear what you are saying but where is the line drawn.

 

[exrboy]

Originally posted by green_souljah
So what about chess? is it conisdered a sport?


I hear what you are saying but where is the line drawn.

Chess....requires very little physical activity. Try walking a golf course...up and down hills...blah blah blah...that's a sport. The question is...are darts a sport?

 

[sen]

Originally posted by debunct
if the third baseman for the dodgers doesn't make an incredible play to save the game for gagne he isn't perfect and doesn't win the cy young. that is the fine line.

bunk.
if tiger woods has an above average year, mike wins nothing.