Reactions: Your Sportsman of the Year picks

The Boston Red Sox are SI's 2004 Sportsmen of the Year. Who should have won the award? SI.com readers chimed in with their opinions on this year's Sportsmen, and here are a sampling of their thoughts. 

It's hard to argue when you already hit the nail on the head!
-- Shawn Howard, Manchester, N.H.

There is only one choice: Pat Tillman. Tillman is the only figure (that I know of) since the '40s who turned his back on the 'big time' to do 'The Job'. That action is in the finest tradition of American patriots and heroes, and it deserves recognition.
-- S. Fitzner, Washington, D.C.

No offense to tried and true Boston Red Sox fans, but the rapid expansion of Red Sox Nation has created fair-weather fans who would no sooner follow the Sox through their decades of failure than they would the Tigers of the 1990s and today. To declare Red Sox Nation Sportsmen of the Year is essentially to present the honor to pop culture itself. The Sox are trendy, they're fun, they're in. Red Sox Nation no more represents the fans who've spent lives waiting, or even died waiting, than it does those who will continue to root for the team now that it has achieved the previously unattainable goal. The Boston Red Sox are an inspiration to us all because they never gave up, and they had faith in themselves and in each other. However, Red Sox Nation is nothing more than a cliche.
-- Lauren B., Alpena, Mich.

It would be a tie between Pat Tillman and Lance Armstrong. Their merits speak louder than words will. They have set a bar that all should strive for. In life, in sports, and, sadly for Tillman, in death. Two role models that are truly bigger than life.
-- Lenn Davis, Rapid City, S.D.

The Detroit Pistons deserved consideration. They were totally written off in the NBA Finals and ended up stomping on the L.A. Lakers. I would hate to think what happened two Fridays ago cost them some votes.
-- Andrea VanDenBergh, Belleville, Mich.

I believe Sportsman of the Year is wrong for Pat Tillman. He embodied more than just what's good about sports. I think 'Man of the Year' would be more appropriate.
-- Charles, Dubai, UAE

I second Mark Mravic's nomination, but with a different twist. It is the Greek people, not Athens or the Games, that deserved consideration for Sportsman of the Year. For it was the people of this small country that not only delivered the venues and a terrorist-free Games, but extended a hospitality and simplicity to the athletes, the spectators and media that had not seen at an Olympics for many decades.
-- George Veras, Scarsdale, N.Y.

what does Barry Bonds need to do to win? Not only is he an extraordinary player, but his skills have changed the way the games is played and managed.
-- Jim Scott, Denver

Hands down, Michael Phelps. As a young swimmer myself, I can find no one better to look up to. From giving up his earned relay spot to Ian Crocker in the Olympics to passing the Wheaties box to adoring girls, he is everything that I aspire to be as I grow up. But truly, the fact that he has worked so hard to get where he is is a lesson we all must learn, that good things come from those who work toward them.
-- Steph McKay, Hinsdale, Ill.

Sportswomen of the Year should be the US Women's Softball Team, Basketball Team and Beach Volleyball Teams. Tri-Sportswomen of the Year!
-- Kim Bernot, Pittsburgh

My Sportsman of the Year is Tom Brady because you never hear any controversy about him and all he does is just win. He's won two Super Bowl and has two Super Bowl MVPs. He takes a team with "no superstars" and contributes in their winning ways. Thanks, Tom.
-- Bernice, Lynn, Mass.

Vijay Singh should be the Sportsman of the Year. What he has done is truly remarkable. The first player to earn more than $10 million and win nine tour titles, including a major. If Tiger Woods had done something similar, he would undoubtedly have been a shoo-in for this award.
-- Vish Abeygunawardena, Toronto

The award is called Sportsman of the Year, not Sportsmen or Sports Team of the Year. Picking the Red Sox is a joke. They had the second-highest payroll in baseball and won only because they could afford Curt Schilling. Lance Armstrong is by far the Sportsman of the Year. It doesn't matter if he has won it before. Armstrong had a fabulous year and deserves the award over a bunch of overpaid pseudo "athletes".
-- Jeff Berger, Del Mar, Calif.

Ron Artest, for representing the epitome of what the American professional athlete has strived to, and been encouraged to become.
-- Sarah Greenaway, Seattle