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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 9:58:32 GMT 1
I'd have chosen Farah over Daley for the final place on the shortlist.
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Post by ThinWhitePuke on Nov 30, 2010 10:00:46 GMT 1
Surprised McCoy is there tbh, no offence to him but given he a champion jockey he would have the pick of the best horses and at the end of the day what matters most in racing is how good the horse is so McCoy is only as good as the horse he rides But he's had to earn that position. You can't just stick anyone on a good horse and expect it to win. I'd say the jockey is a bigger factor in horse racing than the driver in F1, particularly in jump racing. Speaking of F1 it is weird to see Hamilton that high He had a very poor season by his standards with several mistakes during the season such as accidents and wrecking his tyres, had his poorest season yet really. |
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Post by Robin on Nov 30, 2010 10:46:20 GMT 1
Even more surprised to see Andy Murray with 12 votes, apart from two Masters titles he had a rather miserable year!
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 11:04:54 GMT 1
He did reach the Australian Open final...
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Post by Robin on Nov 30, 2010 12:33:49 GMT 1
....and lost miserably!
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Post by greendemon on Nov 30, 2010 13:12:07 GMT 1
it's nice not to see a footballer on the list for a change.
i'd probably go for phil taylor...
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Post by Maximo Mark on Nov 30, 2010 13:21:01 GMT 1
When I looked at the list I thought any one of about 7 could win. I doubted Westwood as I thought McDowell would get the Gold votes, Williams because it was too long ago and Swann because the biggest part of his year is yet to happen. So I was suprised to see that AP McCoy is odds on favourite at every bookmaker!!
Odds (ladbrokes)
McCoy: 4/5
McDowell: 9/2
Taylor: 7/1
Westwood: 8/1
Ennis: 14/1
Willaims: 16/1
Daley: 20/1
Swann: 25/1
Haye: 50/1
Cavendish: 50/1
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Post by ThinWhitePuke on Nov 30, 2010 13:29:16 GMT 1
When I looked at the list I thought any one of about 7 could win. I doubted Westwood as I thought McDowell would get the Gold votes, Williams because it was too long ago and Swann because the biggest part of his year is yet to happen. So I was suprised to see that AP McCoy is odds on favourite at every bookmaker!! Odds (ladbrokes) McCoy: 4/5 McDowell: 9/2 Taylor: 7/1 Westwood: 8/1 Ennis: 14/1 Willaims: 16/1 Daley: 20/1 Swann: 25/1 Haye: 50/1 Cavendish: 50/1 I think it is wrong to include people where the equipment at their disposal (jockeys, racing drivers for example) is a huge factor as opposed to individual brilliance, likewise I would not include footballers, a Man Utd striker is going to get a lot more shots on goal than a Fulham striker for example The sports award should be about individual achievement, McCoy would be nowhere if he rode 16-1 shots all the time, Hamilton/Button would be nowhere if they drove for Toro Rosso |
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Post by rubcale on Nov 30, 2010 13:30:09 GMT 1
Footballers don't deserve this award ever. If I pick one of them, it would be Cavendish, the IOM cyclist had an amazing Tour de France. He has been the most consistent of the year. But he didn't WIN though, he should not be rewarded for failure (Cavendish) when other candidates were winners in their chosen sport Like Greg Rusedski in 1997? |
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Paddy
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Post by Paddy on Nov 30, 2010 13:32:28 GMT 1
the premiership player who had most shots on goal last year was a bolton player!
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Post by rubcale on Nov 30, 2010 13:36:22 GMT 1
The one change I'd make would be Beth Tweddle for Tom Daley, seeing as she won a world title. Agreed. But overall it's not a very inspiring list. I suppose there is a good case for Phil Taylor but Darts just doesn't do it for me. I'd love to vote for my fellow countryman McDowell but might go for Jessica Ennis - she won from the front and withstood immense pressure in a field which contained all the leading competitors in the world at the Europeans. It might just be that Tony McCoy could win - there seems to be a lot of support for him in the Media. |
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 13:53:31 GMT 1
But he didn't WIN though, he should not be rewarded for failure (Cavendish) when other candidates were winners in their chosen sport Like Greg Rusedski in 1997? To be fair, that was a rather weak year. The runner-up was Henman! |
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 16:21:04 GMT 1
SPOTY history for the contenders and sports involved:
Tony McCoy - 3rd in 2002 behind Paula Radcliffe and David Beckham.
Phil Taylor - has been nominated in the past but never finished in top 3.
Jessica Ennis - was 3rd last year behind Ryan Giggs and Jenson Button.
Tom Daley - nominated last year. Has also won Young Sports Personality of the Year twice.
David Haye - nominated last year.
Mark Cavendish - nominated last year.
The others are nominated for the first time (I think - not 100% sure on Westwood).
Sports:
Horse racing: no jockey has ever won. Only McCoy and Frankie Dettori have finished in the top 3.
Golf: Dai Rees and Nick Faldo are the only golfers to have won. Rees won after captaining GB to Ryder Cup victory. Since Faldo won in 1989, Darren Clarke is the only golfer to finish in the top 3.
Darts: no darts player has ever finished in the top 3.
Athletics: 17 athletes have won the award. The most recent was Kelly Holmes in 2004. Ennis is the only athlete to finish in the top 3 since then.
Skeleton: unsurprsingly, no skeleton bob slider has ever been nominated. No winter sportsperson has featured in the top 3 since Torvill & Dean won the award in 1984.
Diving: no diver has ever finished in the top 3.
Cricket: 4 cricketers have won the award. The most recent was Andrew Flintoff in 2005. Flintoff is the only cricketer to finish in the top 3 since Graham Gooch in 1990.
Boxing: 4 boxers have won the award. The most recent was Joe Calzaghe in 2007. Henry Cooper was the first person to win the award twice. Only Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill have done so since.
Cycling: 2 cyclists have won the award. The most recent was Chris Hoy in 2008. Hoy was the first cyclist to finish in the top 3 since Beryl Burton in 1967.
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 16:43:15 GMT 1
I suspect Rafael Nadal will win the Overseas award but I'd like to see it go to Manny Pacquiao or Neil Robertson.
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Post by ThinWhitePuke on Nov 30, 2010 16:46:09 GMT 1
I suspect Rafael Nadal will win the Overseas award but I'd like to see it go to Manny Pacquiao or Neil Robertson. Wasn't PacMan caught testing positive for drugs not long ago ? While he is a great boxer I don't think a drug user winning award would set a great example |
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 16:53:01 GMT 1
I suspect Rafael Nadal will win the Overseas award but I'd like to see it go to Manny Pacquiao or Neil Robertson. Wasn't PacMan caught testing positive for drugs not long ago ? While he is a great boxer I don't think a drug user winning award would set a great example No, his proposed fight with Floyd Mayweather broke down due to disagreements between the camps over drug testing procedures. Mayweather's camp wanted random blood testing to be allowed right up until the day before the fight. Pacquiao has never failed a test and Nevada (which stages the majority of big fights) has an extensive testing programme. |
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Post by Tom on Nov 30, 2010 17:36:17 GMT 1
No outstanding obvious favourite for me. Agreed, it looks wide open this year. Personally i'd like Ennis and Williams to be in the top 3 but think both will miss out as i'm not sure winning a European athletics title is big enough for sports fans, and as i've seen mentioned Williams' sport isn't a major one and was so long ago that people may have forgotten by now. As for the others, the Haye-Harrison fight may count against Haye, not sure people are fussed enough about cycling or darts and Swann's chances really hinge on how he does in the Ashes, personally think he won't be Top 3. The Top 3 that i think it will be, in no particular order are: Tom Daley (Diving) AP McCoy (Horse Racing - Jumps) - simply because as already mentioned the media are bigging him up. Lee Westwood (Golf) I think there'll only be room for one golfer and Westwood is better known and has reached #1. McDowell imo is better known for Ryder Cup so is more likely to get his recognition in the team award (as someone who isn't really a golf fan and used to have an interest in the Open, the british one that is, but now just follows the Ryder Cup. And yes i know that McDowell is the US Open champion). |
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Post by rubcale on Nov 30, 2010 19:00:59 GMT 1
No outstanding obvious favourite for me. I think there'll only be room for one golfer and Westwood is better known and has reached #1. McDowell imo is better known for Ryder Cup so is more likely to get his recognition in the team award (as someone who isn't really a golf fan and used to have an interest in the Open, the british one that is, but now just follows the Ryder Cup. And yes i know that McDowell is the US Open champion). McDowell had the misfortune to win during the middle of the night in the UK when very few would see it. |
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Post by Panda on Nov 30, 2010 19:55:47 GMT 1
I think there'll only be room for one golfer and Westwood is better known and has reached #1. McDowell imo is better known for Ryder Cup so is more likely to get his recognition in the team award (as someone who isn't really a golf fan and used to have an interest in the Open, the british one that is, but now just follows the Ryder Cup. And yes i know that McDowell is the US Open champion). McDowell had the misfortune to win during the middle of the night in the UK when very few would see it. That hasn't stopped boxers doing well in the past. Plus it was McDowell who holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup... |
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Post by Shireblogger on Dec 1, 2010 9:47:26 GMT 1
What hasn't been mentioned yet is whether any of these people is capable of generating a block of public votes on non-sporting or semi-sporting grounds, just like Giggs did when he won completely undeservedly. (I agree with earlier sentiments, no British footballer has deserved this award for many a long year).
Are there lots of darts fans out there, riled by the lack of recognition of Taylor, who are running an internet campaign that will sweep him to victory ?
Personally, I'd give it to McCoy, as a sort of "lifetime achievement" award. He won two major trophies this year (Champion jockey and the Grand National), and has been the unrivalled master in his field for so long. And you need an enormous amount of skill, athleticism and courage to be Champion jockey.
Cavendish became the most successful British road cyclist of all-time during 2010, but the intricacies and foreigness of les grandes tours eludes most British people, as TWP demonstrated above.
By becoming world #1 (and playing a significant role in a team sport), Westwood is in with a shout. However, he doesn't have the profile of Monty or Faldo for example, and I think British audiences are beginning to take the magnitude of a Ryder Cup win for granted.
Of the outsiders, Swann still has a chance, if he takes a lot of wickets in the next Test. We know people have very short memories, and England taking a 1-0 Ashes lead could be enough for a late surge.
Finally, on pure personality terms, you cannot beat the adorable Jessica Ennis. If her interview comes up early on the programme, she may edge home by picking up the votes of all the neutrals / undecideds watching on tv.
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