Athlete of the Month
Miguel Cabrera, Baseball, Venzuela: Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrerra is in the hunt for a second consecutive Triple Crown. At the end of May, the Venezuelan, who last year was the first Triple Crown winner in baseball since 1967, was leading the American League in batting average at .367, was second with 16 home runs and had a league best 61 RBIs. He also leads in runs scored with 44.
Sidney Crosby, Hockey, Canada: Sidney Crosby has helped lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the NHL’s conference finals round as the Stanley Cup favorites, He is the leading scorer in the postseason in the first two rounds with seven goals. That includes scoring three goals in 22 minutes for his second career playoff hat trick against the Ottawa Senators. Crosby, who returned to the lineup after a shot broke his jaw, has 15 points total in 10 postseason games.
Tony Kanaan, Indy Car Racing, Brazil: Tony Kanaan, on his 12th try, won the Indianapolis 500. His chance to finally win came at the end of a history-making race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Kanaan pounced at the green flag for the final restart with three laps to go and zipped past leader Ryan Hunter-Reay. The 2004 IndyCar champion won $2.35 million for his victory.
Tony Parker, Basketball, France: San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker has stepped up his game in leading his team to the NBA finals. In 14 games, he is averaging 23.0 points per game to go with 7.2 assists per game. Parker scored 37 points (15-27 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 6-6 FT) to go with four rebounds and six assists to complete a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies and advance to the championship game.
Ryan Whiting, Track & Field, United States: Ryan Whiting got his Diamond League season off to a strong start May 10 by recording a meet record and world-leading mark in Doha, Qatar. Whiting, the 2012 World Indoor gold medalist, reached a new personal best to win the men’s shot put with a mark of 22.28m/73-1.25. That mark was the top throw by an American since 2007.
Tiger Woods, Golf, United States: Tiger Woods ended a weekend of heated words with Sergio Garcia by winning a tense duel over the final hour in The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass. Tied with Garcia with two holes to play, Woods won by finding land on the last two holes for par to close with a 2-under 70. It was Woods' 78th career PGA Tour victory and his fifth win in eight tournaments starts this season.
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Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Track & Field, Jamaica: Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce is off to a great start in the Diamond League track season. The Jamaican sprinter won the women’s 100-meter race at the Diamond League opening meet in Doha, Qatar and in the second meet in Shanghai, China. Her winning time at the Shanghai race was 10.93 seconds,a world leading time. Fraser-Pryce, a two-time 100-meter Olympic gold medalist, also won the 200 meters in 22.48 seconds at the Qatar Sports Club.
Brittney Griner, Basketball, United States: Brittney Griner got the dunks in her professional debut with the Phoenix Mercury, becoming the first WNBA player to do it twice in one game. Griner threw down a one-handed dunk early in the fourth quarter and a two-handed dunk in the closing minutes. She joined Candace Parker (twice) and Lisa Leslie as the only WNBA players to dunk in a regular-season game. Griner finished her first game May 27 with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Jennifer Johnson, Golf, United States: Jennifer Johnson earned her first career LPGA victory by winning the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic Championship. The 21-year-old Johnson shot a closing round 7-under 65 to beat defending champ Stacy Lewis. Johnson's final round total was a tournament record of 21-under 267. She made 25 birdies for the week on the Robert Trent Jones Crossing Course.
Amantle Montsho, Track & Field, Botswana: Amantle Montsho won the women’s 400-meter race at the season opening Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar. The Botswana sprinter also set a meet record in the Diamond League meet in New York with a time of 49.91 in the 400. Montsho, the 2011 World Champion, now owns the three fastest times in the world this year in the 400 meters.
Keilani Ricketts, Softball, United States: Keilani Ricketts threw a no-hitter and had 12 strikeouts in Oklahoma’s 7-1 victory over Michigan on the opening game of the Women's College World Series. Ricketts, the Collegiate Softball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, improved to 32-1. The no-hitter was the seventh of Ricketts' career and sixth this season for top-ranked Oklahoma—and the 16th in WCWS history.
Serena Williams, Tennis, United States: Serena Williams successfully defended her title by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–1, 6–4 in the 2013 Madrid Open. Williams then won her second consecutive title of the month of May by capturing the women’s title at the Italian Open by beating Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3. The women's top-ranked player in the world dominated the No. 2 Sharapova and No. 3 Azarenka in the tournaments.
