Top !0 Athletes of 2008

2008 was a big year in sports and was a big year for athletes. Naming the top 10 athletes is a challenging task. Unfortunately, a great athlete will be over looked or left of the list. Football players were excluded from this list due to the awards coming late in the year or early in the next year. Tom Brady won the MVP Award for the NFL for 2007 in 2008. However, this list contains Olympians, baseball stars, basketball stars, hockey stars, and World Cup skiers.

1) At the top of the list would be Michael Phelps. The Olympic swimmer won an amazing eight Gold Medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics. "Michael Phelps won gold medals in men's 200M freestyle, men's 100m Butterfly, men's 200m Butterfly, men's 200m individual medley, and men's 400m individual medley. He also won gold medals in the team events men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay, men's 4 x 200m freestyle relay and men's 4 x 100m medley relay."

2) A list of the top athletes of 2008 would not be complete without Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant won the NBA MVP for the 2007-2008 Season. Kobe Bryant also led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals in 2008. Then for an encore, Kobe Bryant was part of Team USA which won the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing.

3) Jamaica's Usain Bolt deserves to be among the top ten athletes of 2008 for winning the Gold Medal in the 100 meter race and the 200 meter race at the 2008 Olympics. Not only did he win those races he also set world records in both events while winning Olympic Gold.

4) Young stars like Alexander Ovechkin are helping the NHL move back to the sports forefront. In 2008 Alexander Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy as the leagues MVP. Ovechkin lead the league in goals scored with 65 and lead the league in points with 112. Leading in those categories Alexander also brought home the Art Ross Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy. The only trophy missing was the Stanley Cup which one day may have Alexander Ovechkin's name on it.