Is Claude Giroux Philly’s Best Athlete in 2012? Yes, it’s only April. And yes, the Phillies (despite two masterful performances from Doc Halladay) are off to a bit of a slow start. But since we all have Flyers fever as they battle our cross-state rivals in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs (how does 3-0 feel, Pittsburgh?), it’s a question worth asking.

The folks at Philadelphia Magazine are conducting a poll for some of their annual “Best of Philly” categories, and one of them is “Best Athlete.” On the list are Giroux, the Philadelphia Union’s Freddy Adu, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Evan Turner of the Sixers and Hunter Pence of the Phillies (we hear you, Phillies fans…no sign of Halladay, Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels).

Giroux made all of Philadelphia proud in the 1st period of today’s game by engaging in a little scuffle with one Sidney Crosby (not to mention an assist and a goal today to go along with 28 goals and 65 assists in the regular season, and Friday night’s 3-goal, 3-assist performance in Pittsburgh). But beyond that, it got us to wondering…is Giroux in fact the best Philly athlete in 2012? (note: because the magazine is published in August, the voting closes in May.)

Quick aside: The Hockey News named Giroux the 3rd best player in the NHL back in March (behind Crosby and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk) and in January, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSW) named Giroux their pro athlete of the year.

Weigh in below…

-LD

[PhillyMag, CSNPhilly, Philly.com h/t The20’s @VictorFiorillo]

Photo: Getty Images