SPOTY - 2008 !

NervexProf

It's that time again....'Sports Personality of the Year'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_ ... efault.stm

Time to get the Bike Radar forumites behind Chris Hoy and Nicole Cook surely!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Cooke

Triple World Champ Chris Hoy, and triple Olympic champion too...whilst Nicole is World Champ on the road and Olympic gold medal winner.

C'mon make sure you vote for both these superb athletes, rather than a golfer, or overpaid footballer!

Both will get my vote, being big on talent, and not interested in celebrity.

Crapaud

Don't forget Mark Cavendish for his 4 Tour stage wins, Prof!

Decisions, decisions.

gabriel959

It has to be Rafael Nada. Wonderful sportsman and amazing achievements!

Or may be Contador for his Giro D'Italia and Vuelta a Espana double (plus loads of minor victories)!

Only problem is that they are not british

spen666

sadly (for cycling), I suspect it will be won by Rebecca Addlington

Ironically, there could be too many cyclists in with a chance and will split the cycling vote - potentially

Le Commentateur

I'd be amazed if Addlington doesn't win it.

redvee

Would be nice to see Vicky P dressed up to the nines collecting the award, or is that just a fantasy of mine being aired in public. Can see the Olymic squad picking up the team of the year if they can be classed as a team.

TheStone

Hamilton is favourite!

Would like Hoy to win, but wouldn't be too disapointed if Addlington gets it.
Cav can wait for another year. Cooke deserves it, but will be overlooked again.

nasahapley

Good point TheStone, if Lewis Hamilton wins up the F1 championship I would have thought he'd be an absolute shoe-in. I think this would be a pity, because while there's no doubting the lad's got an abundance of talent, F1 seems like less of a 'sport' with each round that passes. If it is a cyclist that gets it, I'd like it to be Cav. Chris Hoy may have won three sprints, but Cav won four having cycled 100 miles to get there each time!

However, if any nationality were eligible for SPOTY, I'd have to give it to Valentino Rossi. What he's done this year is incredible, and love him or loathe him, nobody could deny he's got more personality than just about any other sportsman/woman alive today!

redvee

Le Commentateur wrote:

I'd be amazed if Addlington doesn't win it.

She'll win it by a nose :oops:

wiffachip

joey barton obviously

redvee

wiffachip wrote:

joey barton obviously

He'll beat you up if he doesn't win

Crapaud

redvee wrote:

Le Commentateur wrote:

I'd be amazed if Addlington doesn't win it.

She'll win it by a nose :oops:

Will she be balancing an inflatable ball on it?





I'll get my coat...

Anonymous

TheStone wrote:

Hamilton is favourite!

Isn't it supposed to be sports personality though?

VerwoodAsh

Looks at the odds the bookies are offering -

http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/sports-personality-of-the-year/win-market

then I expect it will be Lewis, Addlington & then Hoy.

If lewis doesn't blow it - ten he will also have history on his side as both Mansell & Hill have won SPOTY in olympic years too.

My Heart says Hoy, but my head says he will come third

VerwoodAsh

What is interesting though - is even all the bookeis believe it is going to be a three horse race. The odds go up a lot for current 4th placed Andy Murray.

If you want a cyclist to win - then the effort has to be put behind Hoy and sorry to the others that could split the title.

northernneil

I used to be interested in the SPOTY until some part royal riding a horse appeared on it and at that point I knew it was a load of cr@p and never watched it since


having said that if nicole cooke was male she would be classed as one of our greatest ever athletes - and thats quite a sad statement

mercsport

Yeah , Nicole Cooke is the girl for me ! Although it wouldn't surprise me at all if the utterly charmless Christine Ohuruogu topped Nicole .

I've long suspected that the judging has always run along the lines of the recent crop of 'phone in vote' scandals of recent months : It's a fix . :shock: That it is , really , all ultimately decided by some aged , overweight , golf / cricket / football obsessed BBC controller hanging around for his knighthood . The extravaganza having been paid for by the gullible public and the telecom / BBC rake-off fix .

I can also conjure up a picture in my head of next year's SPOTY having ' Lance ' humbly / gratefully accepting - via a pre-recorded televised 'live-link' ( due to more pressing committments ) - the award from a truly grateful British public for bringing such sporting joy into their lives over the course of 2009 . Well , at least it would be a cyclist .

Richard_D

northernneil wrote:

I used to be interested in the SPOTY until some part royal riding a horse appeared on it and at that point I knew it was a load of cr@p and never watched it since

You mean you have not watched it for over 30 years. From memory Princess Anne one it in1972 for doing what here daughter did but one better. Olympic gold .

captain_oakley

I have long believed that SPOTY is fixed, add the BBC's obsession with the
Diversity Directorate and I think we can guess where the awards are going......

Hamilton, Ohuruogu, etc

Don't get me wrong Lewis Hamilton is an outstanding talent, but I feel in this
year of Olympic triumph, the BBC should go with the actual winner and not
pander to the diversity brigade...

..... and as for Andy 'Personality Plus' Murray

My heart says Hoy, Cookie & Tim Brabants ( the sheer effort of working as a
A & E registrar and his training programme...... 'much respect')


'Mad Jack: Beyond Thunderbone'

frenchfighter

Mark Cavendish:
2008: 19 First places, including 4 in the TdF (in itself incredible)
Previous years (impressive): http://www.markcavendish.com/palmares.htm

Chris Hoy:
2008: 3 Olympic Golds, 2 World Championship Golds, 1 WC Silver
Previous years (incredible): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy

Nicole Cooke:
2008: Olympic Gold, Gold UCI World Champs, Gold British National Road Race
Previous years (outstanding): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Cooke

Victoria Pendleton:
2008: 2 Golds World Track Champs, 1 Silver WTC, 1 Olympic Gold, 3 Golds British National Track Champs
Previous years (incredible): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Pendleton

Lewis Hamilton:
2008: Formula 1 Grand Prix 1st, including for individual races: 5 1sts, 2 2nds, 3 3rds
Previous years (impressive): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton

Rebecca Adlington:
2008: 2 Olympic Golds, 1 Gold World Champs, 1 Silver WC, 3 Golds British Champs, 2 Golds ASA Champs, 1 Silver ASA Champs
Previous years (ok): http://tinyurl.com/5uq3kq

I view achievements in road cycling as far superior to those on the track, so taking that and a few other things into consideration I would go for Nicole Cooke or Mark Cavendish (although he should probably be better suited in later years when he has hopefully won a sprinter's jersey for the Giro, the Tour or both).

I don't think Hamilton has done enough this year to deserve it. Formula 1 isn't a 'sport' in my opinion anyway.

Addlington's achievements this year are better than I expected. Consider though that a medal in swimming is incomparable to a medal in road cycling, although comparable to a medal in track cycling. I think she will win, but don't particularly want her to win. The only swimming events brought to the attention of the public are the Olympics so I doubt she could win it in any other year.

Anyway I have little faith in the British public - how can you take this award seriously when Zara Philips won it in 2007 - basically she won because she is somewhat connected to those people who we pay to live in Buckingham Palace. Sadly the voters saw that and all sense of 'sporting achievement' went out the window.

northernneil - I agree with both your statements, and indeed the second one is sad.

afx237vi

NapoleonD wrote:

TheStone wrote:

Hamilton is favourite!

Isn't it supposed to be sports personality though?

That rules out all the cyclists too. Kriss Akabusi for the award!