The sporting year of 2008 will live long in the memory. We pick our top moments from the last 12 months.
We pick our top moments from the last 12 months
The sporting year of 2008 will live long in the memory.
Rarely has a year produced so many highlights from such a wide range of sports.
Whether you revelled in the achievements of Team GB in Beijing, enjoyed the tension of the all-English UEFA Champions League final or bit your fingernails over the last-corner drama that saw Lewis Hamilton crowned world F1 champion, there has been something for everybody.
We all have our favourite moments and the staff at
skysports.com are no different. Here we have picked out our personal highlights from the last 12 months.
If you think we have missed something or would like to comment on our suggestions then complete the feedback panel at the foot of the page.
Chris Harvey - Vaughan quits captaincy
I have always been a huge Michael Vaughan fan. For many, the prospect of Kevin Pietersen or Andrew Flintoff arriving at the crease is enough to make them down their pint and head out of the bar but in my eyes there has seldom been a finer sight than the Yorkshire batsman in full cry. It was therefore a sad moment when an emotional Vaughan stood down as England captain during the series defeat to South Africa. At the press conference to confirm his decision to quit as skipper, Vaughan, his voice cracking with emotion, said his dad had told him he could "walk away a proud lad". Mr Vaughan senior was speaking for many of us and I hope the former captain can make it back to top form and help England regain the Ashes in 2009.
Peter Fraser - Liverpool v Arsenal
At an interview in April, Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves told me that I look like Steven Gerrard - an undoubted highlight - but I am guessing my editor wants something a little less self-indulgent and a slightly more relevant to on-field action. Therefore, Gerrard and his Liverpool colleagues sending Arsenal packing in the UEFA Champions League in the same month cannot be ignored. It is perhaps easy to select a single match but, after the opening two games of the domestic-European trilogy between the English rivals had failed to live up to expectations, this instalment epitomised everything that is brilliant about football. A thrilling quarter-final second leg seesawed for 90 minutes at Anfield and was especially memorable as a wonder-run assist from Gunners forward Theo Walcott was cancelled by two late goals from Liverpool to secure a spine-tingling 5-3 aggregate victory.
Chris Burton - Nottingham Forest's dramatic promotion
Having slipped 11-points off the pace with time running out, it appeared as though the play-offs would represent the height of Forest's expectations in the 2007/08 campaign. However, an impressive victory away at Carlisle in April, a result which ended the Cumbrians' 14-match winning streak on home soil, set the tone for a remarkable promotion assault. Five further victories followed in their remaining six games, culminating in a nail-biting 3-2 success over Yeovil at a packed City Ground on the final day. With results elsewhere working in their favour, the Reds clambered into second place by the narrowest of margins and brought to an end their three-year flirtation with League One. Hopefully all that hard work will not be undone 12 months on but, with Forest currently languishing towards the foot of the second tier table, nothing can ever be taken for granted on Trentside.
Stephen Mills - Lewis Hamilton's triumph at the death
After seeing his world championship dreams implode in Sao Paulo in 2007, Lewis Hamilton arrived at this year's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix knowing that fifth place would be good enough to secure him a maiden title. After a cautious drive, Hamilton appeared to be cruising in fourth place until fate intervened and rain started to fall. He lost a place to Timo Glock who stayed out as the rest of the frontrunners pitted to change tyres and then it all appeared to go horribly wrong as Hamilton ran wide with two laps remaining, allowing Sebastien Vettel to overtake, relegating him to sixth in the race and second in the title standings. Felipe Massa crossed the line believing he had snatched the championship in front of his home fans, but as Ferrari celebrated, there was one more pulsating twist to come as Glock's struggling Toyota appeared out of nowhere and Hamilton regained fifth place - and the championship - with barely two corners left. Rarely has any sporting season had such a heart-stopping climax.
James Pearson - Back-to-back titles for Rhinos
With 2008 proving a miserable year for Leeds United, my highlight over the past 12 months has again been provided by the Leeds Rhinos. Brian McClennan's side entered Old Trafford as champions, but St Helens were strong favourites for the title after claiming the Super League leaders' shield for a fourth consecutive season and following an emphatic 38-10 victory over the West Yorkshire outfit in the play-off semi-final at Knowsley Road. The signs were ominous early on when Man of Steel James Graham crashed over as Saints looked to provide head coach Daniel Andersen with the perfect leaving present. However, no-one told the men from Headingley the script. Tries from Lee Smith and Ryan Hall gave Leeds a surprise half-time and while Saints perked up following the interval the Rhinos somehow maintained their stranglehold on proceedings thanks to Danny McGuire's brace to become the first Leeds team in history to win back-to-back titles with a 24-16 success few predicted beforehand.
Graeme Bailey - Tiger wins US Open
Just two months after knee surgery when most people would have been watching from the sofa - Tiger was, painfully, marching across Torrey Pines to victory. But this was no straight forward victory, not only beating the assembled field of the world's best - but Tiger played through the pain-barrier to the extent where he could barely walk - indeed the resulting surgery he needed after the tournament ruled him out for the rest of the year. Woods struggled throughout the opening 72 holes, and led by a shot going into the final round. Despite being emblazoned in his customary red shirt for the closing 18 holes, he could not finish things of in his usual domineering fashion - indeed on the last hole he needed to sink a 12 footer to take it to a play-off and deny Rocco Mediate, and he obliged. As if the previous 72 holes were not enough to test Woods, the next 19 duly highlighted why he is the greatest ever. Again going to the 18th he needed a birdie to save himself and he sunk it before claiming the most memorable victory of his career on the 19th hole of the play-off. You know when Tiger's describes something as his greatest achievement, it is something to be savoured.
Tony Curtis - Dream ending for Dallaglio
Lawrence Dallaglio has always been a player that has split opinion but for a minute, at least, Twickenham stood united in honour of the former England captain. After a long and colourful career, spanning the amateur and professional era, Dallaglio brought an end to his playing days at the Guinness Premiership final - and what a sign off for the back-row star. The rapturous applause - which was cranked up a decibel or 10 when his picture appeared on the big screen - that rang around Twickenham when Dallaglio left the field 10 minutes from the end of Wasps' 26-16 win over Leicester was enough to have the hairs on the back of the neck stand in appreciation of the great man as well. In his last season, Dallaglio had pulled Wasps away from their early season troubles to the showpiece final and fittingly he finished with another winners' medal to add to his collection. How Wasps could do with Dallaglio on the pitch again this season...
Peter O'Rourke - Spain winning Euro 2008
Spain have for so long been regarded as football's biggest underachievers, but they finally came good in Austria and Switzerland to deservedly win Euro 2008.
Luis Aragones' side were the stand-out side at the finals and they reaped their rewards by winning their first major title in 44 years.
Spain's brand of attractive football was a joy to watch at the finals and despite no Home Nations making the tournament their success was a joy to behold with Liverpool's Fernando Torres scoring the winner in the final against Germany.
Graeme Mair - Cavendish takes the fast lane
After winning two stages in June's Giro d'Italia, Mark Cavendish came into the Tour de France carrying a heavy burden of expectation. A barren first four days meant the pressure was mounting on the Manxman to live up to his pre-race billing as the fastest man in the peloton. The breakthrough came on stage five when Cavendish produced a late burst to take the honours in Châteauroux. With the first one safely in the bag the victories kept on coming and - helped by Team Columbia's text book lead outs - he was first across the line on stages eight, 12 and 13 - all bunch sprints. His domination of older, more experienced rivals was total - he was simply too quick and they knew it - as the 23-year-old became the first Briton to secure four wins during a single Tour. Cavendish's superb performances laid the platform for cycling's profile to explode later in the year with the exploits of Britain's track team at the Beijing Olympics - the Madison debacle involving Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins being the notable exception.
Paul Higham - 'That catch' in Super Bowl drama
Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix had been a defensive affair until the final three minutes proved to be the most dramatic in the game's history, as the New York Giants sprung a surprising and dramatic victory.
The previously unbeaten, all-conquering New England Patriots, led by superstar quarterback Tom Brady, were just one game away from an historic unbeaten NFL season - and expected to win against a New York side who had upset the odds just to make the big game.
After a largely defensive game, the Pats had scored a touchdown to lead 14-10 with 2.42 left on the clock, and the Giants then faced a third down with 1.15 to go and were staring down the barrel.
Quarterback Eli Manning looked like being sacked, which would have meant 'game over' for Big Blue, but he somehow not only escaped the clutches of the Patriots defence, but also threw a 35-yard pass to David Tyree - who then produced jaw-dropping catch, clutching the ball against his helmet as he slammed into the deck - and held it.
Four plays later and Manning then found Plaxico Burress for a TD with just 35 seconds to go to seal one of the most dramatic and unexpected of Super Bowl victories.
Joe Drabble - Wimbledon drama
Just as my enjoyment of the All England event was waning, up stepped two of the greatest tennis players who will ever play the game to put on the most sensational five sets I have ever seen. Originally it was Rafael Nadal, then it was Roger Federer, but by the fifth set I didn't care who won as long as they just kept playing! The match had everything - long rallies, diving volleys and unbelievable winners before Nadal clinched his first ever Wimbledon title 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 in near pitch black darkness. When the Spaniard breezed into a two-set lead Federer could easily have wilted and thrown in the towel - especially after his straight-sets mauling in Paris a month earlier. However, the former world number one dug deep, very deep, holding his nerve in consecutive tie-breaks before the pair matched each other blow for blow throughout a sensational deciding set. I don't know who was more worn out after the game, the players or the spectators but the Wimbledon 2008 final was undoubtedly my sporting highlight of the year.
Adam Norman - Usain Bolt's Olympic sprint treble
The name of Usain Bolt was barely known outside the realms of athletics, but that was all to change at the Beijing Olympics. The Jamaican was beginning to earn a reputation as one of the best 200m runners in the world, but at the turn of the year he had taken part in only a handful of 100m races.
However, by the start of the Games he already held the world record of 9.72secs in the sprint, and would go on to lower that by becoming the first man to dip under 9.7secs, bettering that time by 100th of a second.
But even that didn't please all onlookers - as he was so far ahead of his rivals Bolt had eased down in the final 10 metres, thumping his chest as he crossed the line in a canter that suggested he could have smashed the record out of sight.
Bolt then cruised through the heats of the 200m and had the gold medal in safe keeping at the halfway stage of the final - all eyes were already on the clock.
And with Michael Johnson's 12-year record under threat, Bolt proved himself the true competitor as this time he charged through the line, bettering the American's time by two-100ths of a second.
What is so fantastic about Bolt is he seems such a natural runner, his jaunty, loping stride belying the extraordinary speed at which he is travelling. And fans got to see him a third time in Beijing, in the 4x100m relay, where he and his Jamaican team-mates cruised to the gold medal...breaking the world record in the process.
Lewis Rutledge - The rise of Murray
Andy Murray became the first British man since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to make it through to a grand slam final with a remarkable run at the US Open in September. Having bowed out with a whimper against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, the Scot took his revenge as he beat the newly crowned world number one in the last four at Flushing Meadows. He could not quite reproduce the same awesome performance in the final as Roger Federer won in straight sets but Murray had announced his arrival to the tennis world. The 21-year-old also captured back-to-back Masters Series titles and will be targeting a grand slam victory when the new season gets underway.
James Dall - Cesc Fabregas named Arsenal captain
Cesc is a hero of mine and 24th November 2008 marked a joyous day in the world of sport. I make no secret of my fellowship for the Gunners. I also make no secret of my disappointment at Arsene Wenger's decision to appoint, and then stand by, William Gallas as captain of the club. The saga that led to the Frenchman's downfall was undoubtedly one of the lowest points of a hugely mixed 366 days at Emirates Stadium. But replacing him with Fabregas went a long way in restoring my faith. There was much pining from the Arsenal faithful - myself included - for the Spaniard to be handed the role. And Wenger duly obliged. Fabregas optimises everything that is right for the club. He deserves the armband.
Tim Hobbs - The end of Oscar de la Hoya
The Dream Fight turned out to be a nightmare for boxing's Golden Boy, a fair chunk of it self-inflicted. Yes, Freddie Roach masterminded the gameplan to perfection and yes, Manny Pacquiao put it in place to confirm his billing as the pound-for-pound best, but what was Oscar doing? It's one thing to take on the mantle of playground bully and pick on a guy who has been as much as three stone lighter, but it's another to leave your catapult at home. Oscar looked drained, thin-legged and flabby before the bell had even rung. And when it did, he couldn't even get his piece out of its holster, never mind pull the trigger, as the canny Roach had suggested all along. The Pacman buzzed in and out, did everything right, at pace and with precision, while whatever Oscar did - and had done in the build-up - was wrong. The warning signs were there when he beat another hand-picked half-pint Stevie Forbes in May but this time there was no getting away from it: the De La Hoya era was done. Pacquiao has rightly been feted for overcoming the odds and should also be applauded for reminding us all that, in boxing in particular, all that glitters is not golden.
Ben Sullivan - New Zealand win the Rugby League World Cup final
In what has to rank as one of the biggest upsets in rugby league history, New Zealand shocked the hosts with a 34-20 win in Brisbane. The Kangaroos had been totally dominant in the tournament right up to the final, crushing the Kiwis 30-6 in their opening game just four weeks earlier. No one really gave Stephen Kearney's side a chance in the final, but after a close-run first half, they completely dominated the hosts after the break, running in six tries in total. English fans had endured a miserable tournament up to this point after successive defeats to New Zealand (twice) and Australia, but this was some consolation. It may not be particularly admirable, but the schadenfreude to be enjoyed from the Kangaroos' defeat was priceless. They had won the last six World Cups and in their centenary year, and on home soil, this simply was not supposed to happen. And the fact that they took defeat so badly - principally heaping blame on English-based referee Ashley Klein - was the icing on a particularly tasty cake.
Phil Jackson - Sir Bobby making his mark
As tempting as it would have been to revel in the misfortunes of others that fateful UEFA Champions League final night in Moscow, I'm going to pay tribute to the part Sir Bobby Charlton played in Manchester United marking the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster instead. After failing to live up to their billing around the actual date of the tragedy in the Manchester derby, it seemed only fitting that United's new breed should do the Busby Babes' memory justice, most poignantly, on Europe's grandest stage. Just when you thought it could not get any more emotional after the penalty turnaround in the Luzhniki Stadium, up popped Munich survivor Sir Bobby to represent United and his fallen team-mates at the awarding of the cup. Even worries about Cristiano Ronaldo's future evaporated as you saw the seemingly untouchably arrogant Portuguese star treating the European Cup and World Cup winner with such respect as they prepared to go up. And few could have watched without a lump in their throat - certainly not JT - as the dignified yet sombre grandfather of the game led the team to the presentation with the weight of Matt Busby and the boys' legacy still at the forefront of his mind. Viva Sir Bobby!
Julian Crabtree - Michael Phelps makes Olympic history
His peers said eight gold medals could not be done, but Michael Phelps headed to the Beijing Olympics with those lofty ambitions and the weight of expectancy on his shoulders.
All went according to plan as he wrapped up the 200m and the 400m individual medley; the 200m freestyle, the 200m butterfly before adding the 4x 100m freestyle relay and the 4x 200m freestyle relay.
A visibly exhausted Phelps lined up at the start of the 100m butterfly final for his toughest challenge yet. He was up against the current world record holder Ian Crocker who was fresh and raring to go, while Serbian Milorad Cavic had posted the fastest time going into the final.
Phelps was in trouble. At the turn of the 100m butterfly final, he was stuck in seventh place battling against the turgid water to get back in contention. Unbelievably he fought his way back to second place but it still looked too late as Cavic looked certain to take the title.
However as they both stretched for the wall, Phelps put in a extra half-stroke kick that saw him touch the wall a split second before the Serbian. So close was the call that Serbia lodged an official protest but frame-by-frame photos confirmed that Phelps had equalled the great mark Spitz with seven gold medals.
The following day Phelps helped USA to gold in the 4x 100m medley relay and set a new record of eight gold medals in one Olympics, but it was his never say die attitude and that last gasp kick against Cavic that will be remembered.
