FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Lance Armstrong has designs on an eighth Tour win in 2009.

Denis Poroy/AP

It's been a while since we've seen an athlete run away with Sportsman of the Year honors like Michael Phelps in 2008. But next year's race should prove more competitive, with a number of candidates in position for realistic Sportsman bids.

Here's a look at a dozen potential '09 Sportsman of the Year winners and their odds of collecting the honor. We've also summed up -- in 25 words or less -- the year they'll need to have in order to win.

* * *

Lance Armstrong

Odds: 4-to-1

Wins eighth Tour de France title at 37, becoming oldest winner in race history -- and second individual to win Sportsman twice (joining Tiger Woods).

* * *

Kobe Bryant

Odds: 6-to-1

Completes unlikely escape from Shaq's shadow by captaining Lakers to 71-11 record and defeating hated Celtics for 15th NBA championship in franchise history.

* * *

Tom Brady

Odds: 8-to-1

America loves a comeback. Returns to '07 form after missing '08 season with shredded ACL. Helps the Patriots become "the Patriots" again.

* * *

LeBron James

Odds: 10-to-1

It's a coronation for Cleveland's King Without A Crown, who carries the Cavs into the NBA Finals and snaps his city's 44-year title drought.

Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing.

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

It's official: Sports Illustrated has named Michael Phelps its Sportsman of the Year.

The announcement just came through on the Today show, concluding perhaps the most anticlimactic campaign in the 55-year history of the honor. Phelps put an effective stranglehold on Sportsman back on Aug. 17, after winning his record eighth gold medal in Beijing.

It's the sixth time the magazine's most prestigious honor has gone to an Olympian, after Bonnie Blair and Johann Olav Koss (1994), Edwin Moses and Mary Lou Retton (1984), the "Miracle on Ice" team (1980) and Bobby Joe Morrow (1956). American decathlete Rafer Johnson, the '58 honoree, won in a non-Olympic year.

Looking down the list of past Sportsman winners, Phelps' resplendent year ranks favorably against just about any other. Many previous Sportsman winners were "body of work" picks, like Arthur Ashe in '92, Cal Ripken, Jr. in '95, Dean Smith in '97.

But when it comes to accomplishments in a single year, can anybody's resume compare to Phelps? Maybe Wayne Gretzky in '82, Orel Hershiser in '88 or Tiger Woods in '00 -- but even those are debatable.

What do you think? Where does Phelps stack up all-time among Sportsman of the Year winners?

Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps [Sports Illustrated]
Former Sportsman of the Year winners [SI.com]

Drew Rosenhaus spoke with the Monday Night Football team during halftime of last night's Jacksonville-Houston game, but the renowned agent was reluctant to address certain questions about client Plaxico Burress.

Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley have shone for Miami.

Chris Keane/Icon SMI

All times Eastern.

• 7:00 p.m., ESPN2: Just hours after slipping out of the AP Top 25, Joe Krabbenhoft and the Wisconsin Badgers travel to Virginia Tech in search of their first-ever road victory in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

• 8:30 p.m., ESPN: The Jaguars and Texans put their identical 4-7 records on the line, jockeying for little more than draft position and pride.

• 10:30 p.m., TNT: The Heat meet the Warriors in Oakland. Casual fans may leap at this chance to check out first-year phenom Michael Beasley. But don't sleep on fellow first-year standout Mario Chalmers, the Miami point guard who's given the Heat an important spark on the defensive end.

• 11:00 p.m., PBS: Five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson swings by the Charlie Rose show.

• 11:00 p.m., Versus: Rocky IV is either the best or worst film in the Balboa canon depending on the viewer's willingness to embrace camp. But love it or hate it, Rocky's quest to defeat a fearsome Soviet boxer with a 2,150-psi punch remains one of pop culture's most enduring pieces of Cold War agitprop from the '80s.