Yes, Aaron Rodgers had a great 2011, but........ [View all]

[marmar]

......sorry AP, Nole is male athlete of the year.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — When Aaron Rodgers needs to rekindle the feelings that drove his rise from a junior college quarterback to Super Bowl MVP, he doesn’t have to look too far.

Rodgers held on to the many rejection letters he received from marquee college programs as he was coming out of high school. Even today, he leaves a few of them sitting out at his house.

“I chose the couple that I thought were most demeaning to display in a space in my house that really nobody is able to see but myself,” Rodgers said. “It’s something that I think is important to keep fresh on your mind. Maybe not every day, but once a week, your eyes might pan across it, and you have a little laugh about the journey you’ve been on — at the same time, remembering that there still are people out there that you can prove something to.”

.....(snip).....

Rodgers received 112 votes out of the 212 ballots submitted from U.S. news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander finished second with 50 votes, followed by tennis standout Novak Djokovic (21), Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton (6) and NASCAR champion Tony Stewart (5). ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20111221/SPORTS02/111221042/Verlander-loses-out-Packers-Rodgers-AP-male-athlete-year?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p