5Jan/1010:26 AM

Larry Fitzgerald named Fanster.com 2009 Phoenix Athlete of the Year

By Vince Marotta

Once again, the gang here at Fanster.com, and a panel of 25 Phoenix sports media members and sports bloggers have put our heads together and put our voting caps on to determine the 2009 Fanster.com Phoenix Athlete of the Year.

It is with great pleasure that we announce Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald as the recipient of this year’s award.

Fitzgerald started 2009 by capping an incredible 2008 season with arguably the most dominant individual performance in NFL postseason history. In four postseason games, Fitzgerald caught 30 passes for 546 yards and scored 7 touchdowns in the Cardinals’ improbable run to Super Bowl XLIII. In that game, it was Fitzgerald’s 64-yard touchdown reception with 2:37 that put the Cardinals up 23-20 in a game they would eventually lose 27-23. For good measure, a week later, Fitzgerald caught 5 more passes for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, leading the NFC to a 30-21 win. He was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

In the 2009 season, Fitzgerald picked up right where he left off, catching 97 passes for 1,092 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdown receptions and was a big part in the Cardinals’ winning their second straight NFC Western Division Championship. He was also voted to his fourth Pro Bowl, and second consecutive as a starting wide receiver for the NFC squad.

Despite Fitzgerald’s fantastic 2009, the voting was very close. Fitzgerald narrowly edged out teammate and 2008 Fanster.com Phoenix Athlete of the Year Award winner Kurt Warner. Former Arizona State basketball star James Harden finished third in the voting. See complete voting, and find out who comprised our panel below.

Fitzgerald also won the fans poll on Fanster.com, with 39% of the vote. Warner finished 2nd in that tally as well, with 30% of the vote, and Phoenix Mercury guard and WNBA MVP Diana Taurasi finished third with 5%.

2009 Fanster.com Phoenix Athlete of the Year Final Voting

Phoenix Athlete of the Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	PTS
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals	13	4	5	0	2	98
Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals	9	11	2	1	0	97
James Harden, ASU Basketball	2	2	4	2	4	38
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix	1	3	4	2	4	37
Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks	0	1	3	9	1	32
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns	0	2	2	5	5	29
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks	0	1	2	2	1	15
Mike Leake, ASU Baseball	0	1	1	1	1	10
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes	0	0	0	1	2	4
Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes	0	0	1	0	1	4
Karlos Dansby, Arizona Cardinals	0	0	1	0	0	3
Kyle Ciliento, Pinnacle HS Soccer	0	0	0	1	0	2
Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	0	1	0	2
Daniel Bejarano, North HS Basketball	0	0	0	0	1	1
Darnell Dockett, Arizona Cardinals	0	0	0	0	1	1
Brett Hundley, Chandler HS Football	0	0	0	0	1	1
Hamilton HS Football Team	0	0	0	0	1	1

Fanster.com 2009 Phoenix Athlete of the Year Voters: Mark Asher - Sports 620 KTAR, Jerry Brown - Fanster.com, Dave Burns - Sports 620 KTAR, Jeff Dean, John Gambadoro - Sports 620 KTAR, Dan Hilton - Suns.com, Bruce Jacobs - Fox Sports Radio, Travis Johnson - 92.3 KTAR, Mike Jurecki - XTRA Sports 910, Bob Kemp - The Fan AM 1060, Krag Klages - Fanster.com, Michael Kossett - Fanster.com, Luke Lapinski - XTRA Sports 910/Phoenix Coyotes Broadcast Team, Vince Marotta - Fanster.com, Paul Martinez - AZHardball.com, Ron Matejko - MVP Phoenix, Kevin McCabe - The Fan AM 1060, Mark McLane - Fanster.com, Eric Myers - Fanster.com, Chuck Powell - Fanster.com, Luca Rossi - Fanster.com, Darren Urban - AZCardinals.com, Eli Wahlstrom - Fanster.com, Mark Weber - Fanster.com, Ben York - Fanster.com/Slam Online