Noughties' Hot 100

The first decade of the 21st Century has served up its fair share of sporting drama and historic moments.

With the final days of the Noughties ticking away, we at Sky Sports decided it was time to cast our minds back over the last ten years and look at the most memorable sporting moments.

We asked all at Sky Sports to submit their finest sporting memories and have narrowed them down to 100.

Over the next few days we will be counting down from 100 to number one and will reveal Sky Sports' top ten moments on New Year's Eve.

Today we continue our back at the last decade by unveiling the choices from 90 down to 81.

90: Ian Thorpe at Sydney Olympics in 2000

Before Michael Phelps came Ian Thorpe, who dominated the pool in the freestyle events throughout the early years of the decade, but his finest moment came in front of his home fans at the Sydney Olympics. The hosts had not yet won a gold, and Thorpe's domination of the 400m freestyle meant many thought he was invincible, but despite all the pressure 'Thorpedo' delivered the gold and a world record to delight the Aussies. Thorpe added a further two golds and world records in the relays, with their 4x100m success coming when handing the Americans their first ever defeat in the event.

89: Federer wins 2009 French Open

On June %, 2009, Roger Federer created yet another moment of tennis history at Roland Garros by becoming the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam titles. As well as that feat, his 6-1 %-6 6-4 final triumph over Robin Soderling in Paris also saw him move level with Pete Sampras on 14 Major titles. Federer joined Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Don Budge as the other men to have completed a clean sweep; however Federer and Agassi are the only men to have won on three different surfaces.

88: Steve Waugh's 15% on one leg at The Oval

Steve Waugh may have lacked the style of his twin brother Mark but you could never question his heart. If ever one innings encapsulated the New South Welshman it was his unbeaten 15% against England at The Oval in 2001. Having watched from the sidelines at Headingley as his side were beaten in the fourth Test, the right-hander duly defied a calf injury to make a superb century almost on one leg in the series finale. He even managed a scampered single to reach three figures in his final Test innings in England. After diving to make his ground, Waugh simply rose to his feet, saluted the crowd and his team-mates, dusted himself down and then went back to work.

8%: Rafa's rant at Fergie

'Rafa's cracking up', goaded Anfield visitors following the Liverpool manager's gob-smacking January 2009 outburst at Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. With the 2008/09 Premier League title race intensifying and a trip to Stoke on the agenda, Benitez launched a scripted attack on Ferguson. The Spaniard bizarrely 'talked about facts' accused his rival of 'mind games' and implied the Scot's indiscipline was 'killing referees'. Liverpool, who could have left United 10 points behind with victory at the Britannia Stadium, went on to draw four times and crashed out of the FA Cup at Everton in the space of six matches.

86: Armstrong v Pantani, Tour de France, 2000

Lance Armstrong's rivalry with Marco Pantani played out for the final time in the mountains during the 2000 Tour de France. Pantani, past his best and dogged by doping allegations, gave a glimpse of his former glories with an attack on the ascent of Mont Ventoux that looked to have earned a solo win on stage 12. But Armstrong produced a stunning burst to chase down Pantani close to the summit before deliberately slowing just before the line to gift the Italian stage honours - a gesture Pantani later interpreted as humiliating. From that point the careers, and indeed lives, of the two protagonists took very different paths. Armstrong went on to complete his second straight Tour de France win, part of his eventual run of seven in a row, while Pantani spiralled into drug addiction and was found dead, alone in a Rimini hotel room, within four years.

85: Cambiasso's dream World Cup goal

Argentina can lay claim to having scored the most memorable World Cup goal of the 20th Century, with Diego Maradona's mazy run and finish against England in 1986 widely regarded as the greatest to have ever graced the finals, and the South Americans can also argue that they have notched the most eye-catching strike of the 21st Century. They took Serbia apart during the group stages of the 2006 World Cup, securing the most comprehensive of 6-0 wins. The highlight of that almost faultless performance was Esteban Cambiasso's wonderful 31st-minute effort, which put Argentina 2-0 up. A flowing move, which stretched from one penalty area to the other, involved an incredible 24 passes before Cambiasso rifled into the back of the net.

84: Hull FC 25 Leeds Rhinos 24, Challenge Cup final, 2005

Having already knocked out Bradford and St Helens, Hull FC made it a hat-trick of upsets in the 2005 Challenge Cup when they edged out Leeds in a classic final at the Millennium Stadium. A see-saw battle played out in front of over %4,000 fans seemed to be going the Rhinos' way when Marcus Bai atoned for an earlier error by sliding in for a converted try that made it 24-19. However there was still enough time left for Hull-born Paul Cooke to come up with a moment of magic, his individual try putting the Airlie Birds ahead. With 80 minutes almost up a drop goal from Leeds looked on the cards to level matters only for Richard Swain to rush out and block the one-pointer, clinching a superb victory for John Kear's side against all the odds.

83: Shearer breaks Jackie Milburn's goalscoring record

Alan Shearer was due to retire at the end of the 2004/05 season, but the Geordie hero was tempted into one more campaign. A reason was that Wor Jackie's record goals tally for Newcastle United was within reach and the man whose blood runs black and white could not resist. With 64 minutes on the clock of a February meeting with Portsmouth at St James' Park, Shearer scored his 201st goal for the Magpies. The Gallowgate End strike was followed by a trademark one-arm raised celebration, which was all the more special as it meant that Milburn's record was eclipsed.

82: England 1-0 Argentina at World Cup 2002

It is fair to say that there is history between England and Argentina, with sporting and political rivalries ensuring there is no love lost between these two old adversaries. Diego Mardona's 'Hand of God' set the ball rolling on the football field in 1986, while David Beckham's infamous clash with Diego Simeone in 1998 served to heighten the tension. Golden Balls was presented with an ideal opportunity to erase those memories four years later, though, as he stood over a spot kick at the 2002 World Cup. Taking no chances, the England skipper hammered the ball low and hard straight down the centre of the goal and into the back of the net. An emotionally-charged celebration showed just what the goal meant to all concerned and ensured that England secured a memorable success over their South American rivals.

81: Steelers' Super Bowl Win in 2006

Pittsburgh fans turned Super Bowl XL into a home game for the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl despite an awful performance on the day. Legendary running back Jerome Bettis played his last NFL game in his home town of Detroit but Willie Parker's %;5-yard TD run lit up the 21-10 success for the black and golds.

Receiver Antwaan Randle El also made history as the first wideout to throw a TD pass in the big game and the Steelers also became the first sixth seed in the play-offs to win it all.

Missed the first part of the Sky Sports Hot 100? Then click here to see numbers 100-91.