Congratulations to Saints' QB Drew Brees, who has just won Sports Illustrated's 2010 SOY Award.

From the presser:

(New York, NY - November 30, 2010) - SI Group Editor Terry McDonell announced today that Drew Brees is the 2010 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Brees is the 57^th honoree since the magazine's founding in 1954, joining a transcendent group of athletes and sports figures including Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Jack Nicklaus, Derek Jeter, John Wooden and Cal Ripken Jr. to receive the award.

The billing on the Sportsman cover, The Saints' Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback Continues to Inspire a City on the Rebound, encapsulates what Brees means to his team and his town. "Drew's accomplishments go far beyond delivering a Super Bowl title to a notoriously long-suffering franchise," McDonell said. "He has been a driving force in a battered city's ongoing efforts to rebuild and renew while simultaneously resurrecting his own career."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Layden: "It's hard to point to a relationship in our league, between a player and a city, that's more meaningful than the Saints and Drew Brees."

Hard for me to argue with this selection. A hard-working, competitive leader on the field, as well as off the field.