Brazil's World Cup victory tops ballot outside North America
By STEPHEN WADE -- Associated Press
LONDON -- Brazil's World Cup victory was No. 1 this year, leaving Michael Schumacher, Tim Montgomery, Lennox Lewis and the Olympics as distant also-rans.
That was the conclusion of a worldwide survey of Associated Press subscribers from more than 30 countries who picked Brazil's unprecedented fifth World Cup title as the top international sports story of 2002.
The vote wasn't close.
Of 63 ballots from sports editors on every continent -- excluding North America -- Brazil received 48 first-place votes, with the 15 other first-place choices scattered around.
Schumacher winning his fifth Formula One title was second. The German had the greatest year in F1 history, claiming a record 11 victories and combining with Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello to win 15 of 17 races.
Montgomery's 100-meter world record was third. The American sprinter ran 9.78 seconds, shaving 0.01 seconds off the previous mark held by Maurice Greene.
The World Cup also produced the fourth-place story: the poor showings of defending champion France and former champions Italy and Argentina, and the surprising runs of South Korea, Turkey, Senegal, Japan and the United States.
Fifth went to Lewis' knockout victory over Mike Tyson, which left the former heavyweight champ bleeding and flat on his back in the eighth round.
Points in the AP poll were awarded on a sliding scale, with 10 for first place down to one for 10th place.
Brazil's World Cup victory received 548 points, followed by Schumacher (283), Montgomery (276), World Cup surprises (231) and Lewis (194).
The 2002 World Cup showed soccer's old guard changing everywhere but at the top.
Ronaldo scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over Germany in the final as the world's greatest striker redeemed himself and his nation from the bitter flop in the '98 final loss to France.
Brazil's "Three-R" attack of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho wiped out memories of the defeat in Paris, when Ronaldo seemed to play in a trance after being hospitalized hours before the match with convulsions.
"The secret is enthusiasm, friendship, union and sacrifice," said Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "We had to revive the image of a victorious Brazil."
Co-hosts South Korea and Japan were also winners, pulling off a nearly perfect month of soccer graced by unfailing courtesy, ultramodern stadiums and the absence of hooliganism that soiled France's '98 finals.
The figure skating scandal at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics was sixth in the voting with 167 points.
The allegations of vote-fixing in the pairs event -- which led to the unprecedented awarding of duplicate gold medals -- overshadowed the well-run games. A reputed Russian mobster was arrested in Italy over the summer on charges of conspiring to fix the pairs and ice dance events.
Lance Armstrong's fourth straight victory in the Tour de France was seventh with 161 points. Armstrong has overcome a well-publicized battle with cancer and a fifth title would link him with four legends -- Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain. Only Spain's Indurain has won five in a row.
Eighth place (134 points) went to Pete Sampras' victory at the age of 31 in the U.S. Open, where he beat Andre Agassi in the final for his 14th Grand Slam title. It was Sampras' first Grand Slam title since Wimbledon in 2000.
Yugoslavia's victory in the World Basketball Championships and the abysmal showing of the United States (losing three times and finishing sixth) ranked No. 9 with 108 points.
The domination of the Williams sisters was No. 10 with 98 points. Serena Williams beat older sister Venus in three Grand Slam finals and took over the No. 1 ranking.
