Minnesota Athletes of the Year

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                                                      Image courtesy of 13twentythree Photography

4. Caleb Truax

With five more wins to his credit in 2009, the Osseo native and University of Minnesota graduate (with a degree in sociology) ran his record up to a spotless 14-0.  Named Boxing Digest's "Prospect of the Month" in April, Truax concluded '09 with what is widely believed to be his most impressive win to date -- a 10-round Unanimous Decision victory over Welshman Kerry Hope last month.  Currently ranked as the country's No. 14 middleweight in the oft-debated BoxRec ratings (but really, is there any ranking system that isn't argued?), the win over Hope earned Truax the vacant WBF International super middleweight title.  Concurrent to recent training sessions at Shane Mosely's camp in Big Bear, Calif., Truax's rising star has been mirrored by the strength of his opposition.  His first four fights back in 2007 featured boxers with a collective record of 22-21-3.  His last four were a collective 70-29.  Boxing insiders throughout the Midwest are now aptly clamoring for a bout featuring Truax and the Minnesota middleweight title holder, Andy Kolle (19-2), who won the belt by felling Anthony Bonsante in March of this year.

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3.  Brett Favre

I've noted it many times before in this space, and I'll add it again herein: Bringing Brett Favre to the Vikings should be considered a failed endeavor should the Purple not make it to the NFC Championship game.  Given the exhaustive preseason drama combined with the noteworthy, albeit over-played recent power struggle with Chilly -- the theater that is Favre should appease critics only if the Vikings have a crack at their first Super Bowl appearance since 1976.  And to date, the league's oldest offensive player hasn't disappointed for the now-reeling 11-4 Purple.  Ranked among the NFL's top-5 in QB rating, completion percentage and touchdowns, the 40-year-old Favre looks to conclude '09 with the highest passer rating (104.3)of his career, in what will be recalled among the finest seasons of his 19-years in the league (so far).  His jerseys have become an instantly ubiquitous part of the T.C. landscape, and his mere presence has turned a solid Vikings' bunch into a weekly national story.  With the declension in play from New Orleans' quarterback Drew Brees in recent weeks, Favre has remained in the mix for what would be a record-setting, fourth MVP award.  Despite dropping three of their last four, the Vikings will still host at least one playoff home game as we collectively push for Dallas to beat Philly next week while we face the Giants in desperate hope of hanging on to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.  Favre needs to perform with celebrity coming down the stretch to prove that the juice has been worth the squeeze. 

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2. Lindsey Vonn

In recent days, Vonn suffered what has been diagnosed as a bone bruise in her left arm while competing in a World Cup race in Lienz, Austria.  But don't expect the injury to keep the Burnsville native away from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver come February.  With her second consecutive overall World Cup title in 2009, Vonn became the first American woman to ever win back-to-back World Cup titles and cemented her reputation among the luminaries of American alpine skiing.  With 25 career World Cup wins (nine of which were claimed this calendar year), she now has the most ever for a female racer from the U.S.  Vonn is expected to compete in all five alpine events in Vancouver (super-G, downhill, slalom, giant slalom, and super combined), where she'll aim for her first medal in this, her third Olympic games.  As one of the name hopes for the entire U.S. contingent, Vonn's career has proven as bizarre as it has accomplished.  To wit: recall that she won a cow (which she still owns) for winning a race in Val d'Isère, France back in the winter of 2005, and that she sustained a tendon injury in her thumb compliments of a broken champagne bottle at last season's World Ski Championships.  For those perhaps doubting that Vonn's wit isn't as quick as her skis, check out this clip from her October appearance on "The Tonight Show." 

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1. Joe Mauer
With his American League MVP, the Twins' catcher became the fifth Twin to win the award, following the accomplishments of Zoilo Versalles (1965), Harmon Killebrew (1969), Rod Carew (1977) and former Mauer roomie Justin Morneau (2006).  The MVP made Mauer just the second Minnesota-born athlete to be named MVP since the accolade's inception in 1911.  The first was Roger Maris, the 1960 and 1961 AL MVP, who was born in Hibbing and moved to Fargo, N.D. at the age of 10.
 
Mauer concluded '09 with what many' a scribe consider to be the finest offensive season ever for a catcher.  Along with owning the A.L.'s highest slugging (.587) and on-base percentage (.444), the Saint Paul-native won his third batting title in four years, becoming the first catcher in the history of hardball to thrice claim a batting crown.  Adding to the accolades, Mauer's .365 batting clip ousted Mike Piazza's .362 mark of 1997 to stand as the highest batting average ever attainted by a player at his position.  Some consider Babe Phelps' .367 clip with the Brooklyn Dodgers to be the highest, however Phelps' caught just 64 percent of his team's 154 games and had 7 fewer games behind the plate than teammate, Ray Berres.

Prior to his MVP, Mauer also won his third Silver Slugger Award and second Gold Glove. In June, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the second time in his illustrious, six year career.  With his current, 4 year/$33 million contract expiring after the season, the status of his next contract is the only baseball news in town that will compete with the fevered anticipation of our return to outdoor baseball. 

Honorable Mention:

Cole Aldrich, Jared Allen, Seantrel Henderson, Maggie McNamara, Isaac Odim, Denard Span