AP MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Armstrong is first athlete to win the award four times

He won his seventh consecutive Tour de France in July and has retired from bicycling.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Lance Armstrong takes fewer bike rides these days. He even describes himself as out of shape since retiring after his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory in July.
But he remains unbeatable.
Armstrong was honored Wednesday as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth straight year. He is the only athlete to be selected by sports writers four times since the honor first was awarded in 1931.
Armstrong received 30 of the 83 votes cast. Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush of Southern California was second with 23 votes, and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was third with eight, followed by tennis star Roger Federer and golf's Tiger Woods with seven each.
"It's nice to win," Armstrong said. "I'll never win again."
No, he won't. Not unless his new hobby of kite-boarding -- yep, think of a small surfboard or ski attached to a kite -- becomes a mainstream sport.
"I may have to take up golf," he said. "Take on Tiger."
Retired
The 34-year-old Armstrong retired after deciding there were no more mountains to conquer on his bike.
"I'd hoped to go out on top," he said. "As a sportsman it's really hard to do, to time it right."
The Texan calls his 2005 season "a dream." His final Tour was another dominant performance -- he won by the comfortable margin of 4 minutes, 40 seconds.
Stepping off the winner's podium for the final time, his goal was to kick back "with a beer, having a blast" and play with his three young children from his first marriage.
But it wasn't long before things turned sour.
In August, barely a month after he stepped into the Parisian twilight, the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that six urine samples Armstrong provided during his first Tour win in 1999 tested positive for the red blood cell booster EPO.
The most serious challenge
It was the most serious challenge to the legacy of an athlete who survived testicular cancer, which spread to his lungs and brain, to become one of the most inspirational athletes of his generation.
Armstrong angrily denied the charge, saying he felt like the victim of a "setup" in a long-standing feud with the French media.
"The latter part of the year with the rumor, that was a nightmare," Armstrong said. "Fortunately, sports fans see through it."
By September, he was happy again and announced his engagement to rocker girlfriend Sheryl Crow. But his competitive side was creeping up.
He created a stir when he said he might come out of retirement, mostly to win the Tour again in one last, grand taunt at the French. But he quickly retreated from that idea.
"It was fairly serious, but I didn't realize how much play it would get," Armstrong said. "My fault. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done it."
He isn't spending much time looking backward anymore. It's all about what lies ahead.
Founded foundation
He founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 and is ready to dedicate his time to lobbying for money for cancer research and survivorship programs.
"Cancer and what all can be done there, not just in the world of health care, but if it's education or political, this is a very real issue," Armstrong said. "We're at an interesting time in medical research. That would be a serious rush for me if I could effect change there.
"The initiatives to effect change will come out of the foundation," he said. "The think tank is there."
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