1. Top 10 Best Asian/Asian American/APIA Athletes By Sean Yang

2. What makes someone the “Best”? A few factors will be taken into consideration. First off, with comparing so many athletes from different sports, it is difficult to distinguish which athlete is “better”. Therefore we will use the following guidelines to determine which athlete is “The Best”. -How good is the athlete at their sport? -How groundbreaking are there achievements? Each athlete will be given a rating of 1-5 on the previous two questions and the athlete with the highest combined score will be deemed better. Also no two athletes from the same sport will appear twice.

3. How Good Is The Athlete At Their Sport? The accomplishments taken into consideration include awards/medals won, all-star team appearances, championships won, statistics averaged, and overall ranking within their sport.

4. How Ground Breaking Are Their Achievements? How do they compare with other Asian/Asian American/ APIA athletes in their field? How significant are there records in comparison to the rest of their field? What cultural barriers did they break and how do they change our way of thinking? How do they compare historically to other athletes in their field?

5. Tier 3 These athletes may be good, but do not dominate their sport. Or if they do dominate their sport, the appearance of an Asian American in their field is not uncommon.

6. Brian Ching #10 BrianChing is a chinese soccer play born May 24, 1978 Hawaii. He is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer, and for the United States National team.

7. Brian Ching Soccer Scored four goals in Houston's first-ever game 2 April against Colorado, the seventh player in MLS history to score four goals in a single game. MLS Cup 2006, MVP. Ching'simpressive September 30, 2006 bicycle kick versus DC United was voted MLS goal of the year.

8. How good is the athlete at their sport?2.5 How ground breaking are their achievements?2 He is a fairly good soccer player but he is not the most dominant. Other Asian soccer players are prevalent in Europe so he is not alone in his field either. Final score- 4.5

9. Paul Kariya #9 Paul TetsuhikoKariya is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain currently playing for the St. Louis Blues[1] of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is of Japanese descent.

10. Paul Kariya Hockey World Championships All-Star Team - 1994, 1996Lady Byng Memorial Trophy - 1996, 1997 ] Played in NHL All-Star Game - 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000NHLFirst All-Star Team - 1996, 1997, 1999 Other notables- Richard Park

11. Paul Kariya How good is the athlete at their sport? 3 How ground breaking are their achievements? 2.5 He is a great Hockey player making many all star teams. However his lack of MVP awards and championships put him at #9. He is also not groundbreaking in his sport; Richard Park another Asian hockey player rivals him in accomplishments. Final score 5.5

12. Jeanette Lee #8 Jeanette Lee, known throughout the world as "The Black Widow," has enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in billiards history. Repeatedly recognized by Billiards Digest as one of the sport's most powerful people. She was born in the US but is of Korean descent.

13. Jeanette Lee Billards More than 30 national and international titles. Formerly ranked as the #1 player in the world "WPBA Sportsperson of the Year" in 1998 Player of the Year honors from both Billiards Digest and Pool & Billiards Magazine. In 2001, Jeanette was the Gold medalist for the United States at the World Games and has also captured Silver twice at the World Championships In 2004, Jeanette won the World Trick Shot Championships and BCA Open. In 2005 Jeanette won the China Invitational and more recently

14. Jeanette Lee How good is the athlete at their sport? 5 How ground breaking are their achievements? 1.5 Being ranked #1 at your sport will earn you a 5 on performance, but in the sport of billiards there are many other Asian Americans who also dominate the table. Therefore, she neither stands alone in her accomplishment nor are her achievements unparalleled. Final Score-6.5

15. What makes a tier 2? These are very dominant athletes that are nearly the best at their craft. They may share company with other Asian/Asian Americans/ APIA but they are still the few.

16. Michael Chang #7 Michael Te-Pei Chang was born on February 22, 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is a former professional tennis player from the US. Known for his on-court speed and fighting spirit, Chang is considered by many observers to have been one of the best tennis counterpunches of all time. A Chinese American, he was extremely popular in Asia.

17. Michael Chang Tennis -youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17. - First and only Asian player to read Top 10 of the ATP world rankings and remained there for several years in the 1990s, peaking at World No. 2. Inducted into International tennis hall of fame in 2008. Other notables- Hyung-Taik Lee

18. Michael Chang How good is the athlete at their sport? 3 How ground breaking are their achievements?4 Being the youngest ever to win a Grand Slam title is an amazing accomplishment. He was once ranked #2 but his lack of consistency and further championships in his career lands him at # 7 on our list. Final Score -7

19. Michelle Kwan #6 Michelle Wingshan Kwan[1] is an American figure skater. She competed at a high level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history.]Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. She is of Chinese descent.

20. Michelle Kwan Figure Skating She has won nine US championships Five World championships Two Olympic Medals

21. Michelle Kwan How good is the athlete at their sport? 4 How ground breaking are their achievements? 3.5 The fact that she is so close to Kristi Yamaguchi in accomplishments take away from her ground breaking achievements. However, she still remains one of the best figure skaters of all time and lands #6 on our list. Final Score – 7.5

22. Hines Ward #5 Hines E. Ward, Jr was born March 8, 1976 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a football player who currently plays the wide receiver position for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was voted MVP ofSuperbowl XI. Born to a Korean mother and an African American father, he has become an advocate for biracial youths in South Korea.

23. Hines Ward Football 4× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) 3× All-Pro selection (2002, 2003, 2004) 2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII) Super Bowl XL MVP 2003 Steelers MVP 2× Steelers co-MVP (2002, 2005) Steelers Career Records for Receptions, Receiving Yards, & Receiving TDs Other notables- Troy Polamalu

24. Hines Ward How good is the athlete at their sport? 4 How ground breaking are their achievements?4 Being a Superbowl MVP means you are the best player on the best team for that year. However, it does not mean you are the best player in the league. Hines Wards achievement would be more groundbreaking if it weren’t for his APIA teammate Troy Polamalu who is also exceptionally good at football. Final Score 8

25. Ichiro Suzuki #4 Ichiro Suzuki who was born in Kasugai, Nishikasugai, Japanis a Major League Baseballoutfielder for the Seattle Mariners He was the second Japanese born everyday position player in the major leagues.

26. Ichiro Suzuki Baseball 9× MLB All-Star selection (2001-2009) 9× MLB Gold Glove Award winner (2001-2009) 3× MLB Silver Slugger Award winner (2001, 2007, 2009) 2× MLB Batting Champion (2001, 2004) 2001 AL MVP 2001 AL Rookie of the Year 2001 AL Stolen Base Champion 2007 MLB All-Star Game MVP Other notables- Hideki Matsui

27. How good is the athlete at their sport?5 How groundbreaking are their achievements? 3.5 Had it not been for the Japanese Hideki Matsui winning the World Series and being MVP , Ichiro’s career would have been much more groundbreaking. However, Ichiro is still one of the best players at his position in the league regardless of race and deserves the #4 spot on our list. Final score 8.5

28. What distinguishes a tier 1? They must fall into one of three categories They must be in the top 3 of their sport in respect to the history of their sport, not just Asian Americans. They must stand head and shoulders above in comparison to other Asian Americans in their field. They accomplished something truly historical.

29. Yao Ming #3 Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks at 13 years old. He is currently the tallest player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) He is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies, and he has been the richest celebrity in China for six straight years.

30. Yao Ming Basketball 3-Time FIBA Asian ChampionshipMVP(2001, 2003, 2005)NBA All-Rookie First Team(2003)7-Time NBA All-Star(2003–2009)3-Time All-NBA Third Team(2004, 2006, 2008)2-Time All-NBA Second Team(2007, 2009) During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.

31. How good is the athlete at their sport? 4.5 How ground breaking are their achievements? 4.5 Yao Ming stands head and shoulders, both literally and figuratively, above the next best Asian/Asian American basketball player. He is one of the most dominant centers in the NBA while healthy and is a cultural icon in China. Final score 9

32. Tiger Woods #2 EldrickTont "Tiger" Woodsis an American currently the Worlds No. 1 golfer. He was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements. He is one quarter Thai and one quarter Chinese.

33. Tiger Woods Golf Woods has won 71 official PGA tour events including 14 majors. Owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history. He has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so.Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000-2001 seasons.

34. Tiger Woods How good is the athlete at their sport? 5 How groundbreaking are there achievements? 4.5 His achievements are only matched historically by Jack Nicklaus with 18 major championships to Tigers 2nd play of 14 major championships. He is followed next by Korean golfer KJ Choi who has reached the top 10 in golf ranking. Final score 9.5

35. Liu Xiang #1 Liu is one of China's most commercially successful athletes and has emerged as a cultural icon

36. Liu Xiang Track Liu is an Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion. His 2004 Olympic gold medal was the first in a men's track and field event for China or any Asian country, in which the previous best was held by Olympic silver medalist C.K. Yang of the Republic of China. He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the "triple crown" of athletics: World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion

37. Liu Xiang How good is the athlete at their sport? 5 How ground breaking are their achievements? 5 Winning an Olympic gold signifies you are the best. Coupled with the fact that no other Asian country has EVER won a gold medal in track field makes for a 5 on the ground breaking scale. He changed the way people look at track and field by doing something truly unparalleled. Final Score -10

38. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wuEi3mFKEY Works cited Wikipedia.org