Lionel Conacher Award For 'Beach?'
Sport editors and broadcasters from across the country currently sit with voting ballots in hand for the Lionel Conacher Award, which recognizes Canada's Athlete of the Year.
The winner of the Lionel Conacher Award will be announced in late December.
According to organizers (the Canadian Press), more than 100 voters take part in the voting process to determine the annual winner of the award.
There is no rule stating that the award must be given to a human.
According to organizers, the great thoroughbred Northern Dancer did receive votes in 1964. Organizers also say that they expect multiple World Record holder Somebeachsomewhere to receive votes for the 2008 award.
The Lionel Conacher was first voted on in 1932. Recent winners include Sidney Crosby, Steve Nash, Kyle Shewfelt and Mike Weir.
What Somebeachsomewhere has
What Somebeachsomewhere has done for the horse racing industy is what Mohammed Ali did for boxing. He has brought a lot of attention to a sport that needs it. He is an athlete, whether he be animal or human. Maybe the newspaper editors should start reading the sports page, or maybe SBSW isn't getting the headlines in their papers that he so well deserves.
Give it up, will you. SBSW
Give it up, will you. SBSW is a very big deal in the harness racing world, and deservedly so. But, as a former newspaper editor, I can guarantee you that most newspaper editors and broadcasters have never heard of him. It's not happening!
In reply to Give it up, will you. SBSW by Anonymous (not verified)
Really? I'm beginning to
Really? I'm beginning to believe that thanks to the campaign of Standardbred Canada, a lot of media outlets outside of the Toronto area have begun to notice and review SBSW's season.
Do we really expect him to win? No. But even if a few media outlets want to send votes his way, it would be a proper regognition of his contribution to Canadian sport this year. It was a down year for Canadian male athletes generally, which explains the choice (and I would agree it was correct) of Chantal Peticlerc for the Lou Marsh Award, so why not take a step away from the norm for once and recognize a great Canadian athlete, even if he isn't human.
In reply to Give it up, will you. SBSW by Anonymous (not verified)
What's wrong with you
What's wrong with you people? Don't you recognize a good story when you see one? The press routinely ignores standarbred racing even though the public is always hungry for canadian sports successes even in the less known sports - snowboarding, wheelchair racing for example.
John campbell, Cam Fella and Somebeach should be at least as well known as Sandy Hawley, Northern Dancer and Dance Smartly. Come on people - there are great Canadian stories out there in harness racing - give us something to brag about besides hockey (by the way - how proud are you of the Toronto Maple Leafs these days?)
Niatross was the New York
Niatross was the New York Post athlete of the year in 1980 ( Canadian owned, trained, and driven ), the same year as the U.S. hockey teams "Miracle on Ice". Why not the Beach in Canada? Besides, who else in sports had a better year? Maybe that American swimmer guy at the Olympics, but I don't think he is eligible!
Maybe we should be promoting
Maybe we should be promoting our human superstars (eg. Jody Jamieson) for such awards. The general public can relate more to their accomplishments and they WILL be around for years to come for race fans to continue to cheer for and bet on.
No Canadian male athlete did
No Canadian male athlete did what the Beach did this year. He absolutely deserves the award.
let the best man win GO
let the best man win GO BEACH...
He won the race fans hearts,
He won the race fans hearts, also two year old of the year,also maybe three year old of the year, he is a HORSE, THIS A PEOPLE AWARD, THAT SHOULD GO TO A HARD WORKING ATHLETES,Im also one of the biggest fan of BEACH,,IF NORTHERN DANCER DIDNT GET IT.THEN THE BEACH IS OUT ALSO.
When are you people going to
When are you people going to realize,he's a horse not a human.
I'm sure out there that there's a human athlete worthy of this award.
In reply to When are you people going to by Anonymous (not verified)
Where does it say that the
Where does it say that the award is to be given to a human only? Somebeachsomewhere is the fastest horse in the world. The World! He has done more for the Horse racing industry than any human. He has broken world records. In the words of Mohammed Ali, he is "the greatest". What more needs to be said?
do names like
do names like crosby,nash,shewfelt,and weir come in front of an equine athlete?answer is yes let it remain that way.
In reply to do names like by Anonymous (not verified)
Which one of Crosby, Nash,
Which one of Crosby, Nash, Shewfelt or Weir had a better year than The Beach ? We all know the answer...none of them even came close !