My Picks for Best in Sport for the 2012 Calendar Year
- Joint Male Athlete of the Year: Usain Bolt, the first man to hold both the 100 meters and 200 meters world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977, world record holder in the 4×100 meters relay and the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting.
- Joint Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps, Olympic and World swimming champion and holder of an unsurpassed 22 Olympic medals, with 18 being gold.
- Coach of the Year: Ivan Lendl, who after the disappointment of Wimbledon in 2012, guided Andy Murray to the Olympic Gold Medal and the US Open, with more to come.
- Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, Baseball, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and former member of the Salt Lake Bees. AL Rookie of the Year 2012.
- Role Model of the Year: Novak Djokovic, gracious and sportsmanlike as winner or loser. Helpful to younger players. All-round funny guy.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Oscar Pistorius, South African para-athlete who competed brilliantly against able-bodied friends in sprint races,and was an inspiration to all.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Usain Bolt, gold medal winner in each of his three contested events and by far the most recognizable athlete of week 2.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Ditto last week, the 2012 London Olympic Games, nothing else comes close.
- Athlete of the Week: Michael Phelps, winner of 22 Olympic (18 gold) medals, the most decorated Olympian of the modern era.
- Team of the Week: The Waikato Chiefs, winners of the Super-15 Rugby Championship, 37-6, over the Sharks in Hamilton, New Zealand.
- Coach of the Week: Bob Bowman, coach of the world's best swimmer, Michael Phelps.
- Joint Comeback of the Week: Jordyn Wieber, current World Champion, controversially knocked out the the Olympic gymnastic all-round, wins gold in the team competition with the Fab Five.
- Joint Comeback of the Week: Yannick Agnel and the French relay team coming from behind to snatch gold, after losing to the US in similar fashion in Beijing.
- Smiles of the Week: Little Gabby Douglas and compatriot Missy Franklin make the sun come out indoors at the Olympics.
- Biggest Story of the Week: The 2012 London Olympic Games, nothing else comes close.
- Athlete of the Week: Jimmie Johnson, winner of his 4th Brickyard 400 at the legendary Indianapolis International Speedway.
- Team of the Week: The Waikato Chiefs, winner of their Super-15 semi-final over 7-time-champion Crusaders; now with a home final Hamilton, NZ, my home town.
- Coach of the Week: Dave Rennie, who has taken the Chiefs from perennial Cellar Dwellers to potential champions.
- Comeback of the Week: Bottom of the Table Parramatta Eels absolutely demolishing title hopefuls Brisbane Broncos 42-22.
- Biggest Story of the Week: The tearing apart of Joe Paterno's legacy and the deep, deep sanctions against the Penn State football program.
- Athlete of the Week: Fearless Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from 96,640 feet (29,455 meters) out of a custom balloon and reached speeds of about 536 mph.
- Athlete of the Week: Bradley Wiggins, winner of 2012 Tour de France, and the first Englishman to win the historic race.
- Team of the Week: Team Sky, winning team of Bradley Wiggins, in the 2012 Tour de France.
- Athlete of the Week: Tommy Grady, quarterback for the Utah Blaze Arena Football League team, for the highest number of touchdowns in a single game, and a full season.
- Team of the Week: The DHL Stormers for the best record in Super 15 Rugby, or minor premiership, going into the playoffs.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Roger Federer, winner of his record-equaling 7th Wimbledon Championship, and equal with Pete Sampras record for weeks at World No. 1.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Serena Williams winner of her 4th Wimbledon Crown.
- Team of the Week: The Queensland Maroons, winners of State of Origin 3 and an unprecedented 7th straight series win.
- Joint Coach of the Week: Paul Annacone, coach of the Federer Express, who has brought fire back to the champion's belly, and added some polish.
- Joint Coach of the Week: Mal Meninga, Queensland great and current Maroons coach, who has taken his team to seven straight.
- Athlete of the Week: Andres Iniesta, Euro 2012 Player of the Tournament.
- Team of the Week: La Roja, Spain's national football team, winners of Euro 2012 with an emphatic 4-0 demolition of Italy.
- Coach of the Week: Vicente Del Bosque, the only coach to have won The UEFA Champions League, the European Championship and the World Cup.
- Upset of the Week: Rafa Nadal's stunning exit from Wimbledon in the first round to Lukas Rosol, ranked 100 in the world.
- Redemption of the Week: Tiger Woods continued his golf rehabilitation by winning the AT&T National.
- Farewell of the Week: Dara Torres is hanging up her Speedos after failing to make her sixth U.S. Olympic swimming team by 9/100 of a second.
- Athlete of the Week: Ashton Eaton set the world record for the decathlon with 9,039 points breaking the 11 year old record by 13 points.
- Team of the Week: Michael Waltrip Racing produced their first NASCAR win with irrepressible driver Clint Bowyer at Sonoma.
- Coach of the Week: Erik Spoelstra for the taking the Miami Heat to the NBA Championship.
- Game of the Week: The Atlanta Braves beat the New York Yankees, in a game where a record 9 home runs were swatted out of the park.
- Rout of the Week: The New Zealand All Blacks (World #1) beat Ireland (World #5) 60-0 over the weekend in an absolute spanking of the Irish.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Joey Logano for his fifth win of the year at the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Michigan in his Toyota.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Webb Peterson for his come from behind victory at the U.S. Open.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: San Francisco Giants' pitcher Matt Cain for his perfect game against the LA Angels.
- Team of the Week: The New South Wales Blues for leveling the State of Origin series with a 16-12 victory over Queensland.
- Upset of the Week: Philipp Kohlschreiber knocking Rafel Nadal out of the Gerry Weber Open quarterfinals in Halle, Germany.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Lance Armstrong being indicted for cheating by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
- Good Luck Story of the Week: Roger Clemens amazingly being found not guilty of all doping charges.
- Redemption of the Week: Dale Earnhardt Jr's win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at the Michigan International Speedway, 4 years and 2 days since his last win. Whew.
- Joint Farewell of the Week: Harry Redknapp, manager of Tottenham Hotspur in the EPL was fired by the club board after four seasons.
- Joint Farewell of the Week: San Diego Chargers and NY Jets running back LaDanian Tomlinson announces his retirement from the NFL.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Rafael Nadal for winning his record-breaking seventh French Open championship at Roland Garros.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Maria Sharapova for her French Open win and return to the World Number 1 ranking.
- Team of the Week: The Los Angeles Kings for their first ever NHL Stanley Cup title.
- Coach of the Week: LA Kings Darryl Sutter, for taking his team to the NHL title in his first year as coach.
- Comeback of the Week: Oklahoma City Thunder take four straight games after losing the first two against the San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference title and a berth in the NBA Finals.
- Biggest Story of the Week: The split decision awarding Timothy Bradley a title over the superior Manny Pacquiao. Las Vegas has pulled this stuff before.
- Team of the Week: The Canterbury Crusaders, for their crushing 51-18 victory over fellow NZ title contenders, the Otago Highlanders.
My Picks for Best in Sport for the Week Ending May 28, 2012
- Athlete of the Week: Nate Myles for his man-of-the-match performance in the engine-room for Queensland in the 2012 State of Origin Game 1.
- Team of the Week: The Queensland Maroons for dominating the first game of the State of Origin series, on their way to a 7th straight series win.
- Coach of the Week: Queensland's Mal Maninga for forging the longest winning streak in Origin history.
My Picks for Best in Sport for the Week Ending May 21, 2012
- Athlete of the Week: Sean O'Brien, the Leinster flanker who was the man-of-the -match over Ulster in the Heineken Cup final.
- Team of the Week: Leinster for their feat of winning three of the last four Heineken European Rugby Championships, including this week's 42-14 win over Ulster.
- Coach of the Week: Kiwi Josef Schmidt for taking Leinster to the European title for a second time.
My Picks for Best in Sport for the Week Ending May 14, 2012
- Athlete of the Week: Roger Federer for winning the Mutua Madrid Open and record equaling 20th Masters title.
- Joint Team of the Week: Manchester City for their first ever EPL title and pipping monster cross-town rivals Manchester United.
- Joint Team of the Week: Eighth-seed Philadelphia 76ers for beating the best regular season team in the NBA 4-2 in round 1 of the playoffs.
- Coach of the Week: Roberto Mancini, manager of Manchester City, for their breakthrough winning season.
- Athlete of the Week: Alessandro del Piero, captain of Juventus FC.
- Joint Team of the Week: Juventus FC for winning their 29th Italian Serie A Scudetto, their first since scandal relegated them in 2006.
- Joint Team of the Week: Chelsea FC for their 7th FA Cup win.
- Joint Coach of the Week: Antonio Conte, manager of Juve, for their undefeated season.
- Joint Coach of the Week: Roberto di Matteo, manager of Chelsea, for taking a beleaguered club to the FA Cup title ion a few short weeks.
- Athlete of the Week: Rafael Nadal for his eight straight Monte Carlo Masters win and 20th overall.
- Team of the Week: Waikato Chiefs return to the top of the Super 15 rugby table with a hard-fought away win over the Sharks.
- Joint Game of the Week: Utah Jazz's engaging overtime win over the Orlando Magic to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
- Joint Game of the Week: Manchester United and Everton battling out a pulsating 4-4 draw in the English Premier League.
- Gong of the Week: Robin Van Persie, Arsenal's goalscoring machine, for picking up the Professional Footballers' Association's Player of the Year for 2011/12.
- Head Scratcher of the Week: Tottenham Hotspur's inexplicable loss to lowly QPR, conceding 4th place to Newcastle and currently a chance at Champions League.
- Farewell of the Week: Brian Dawkins, former Eagles and Broncos All-Pro safety calls it quits after 16 seasons.
- Athlete of the Week:Greg Biffle pulled away to end his 49-race winless streak in his NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in Fort Worth, Texas.
- Team of the Week: Manchester City demolished EPL rivals 6-1 Norwich, with troubled striker Carlos Tevez scoring a hat-trick.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Brittney Griner with her MVP performance in the women's NCAA basketball final against Notre Dame.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Bubba Watson for his victory in the Masters and amazing treeline shot to win it by one stroke in the second playoff hole.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Clint Dempsey for his two great goals in Fulham's win over Bolton in the EPL. He is now the leading American goal scorer ever.
- Team of the Week: Baylor Lady Bears for their 80-61 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA women’s basketball championship.
- Coach of the Week: Kim Mulkey, Baylor, for their 40-0 championship season, and courageous struggle with Bell's Palsy.
- Match of the Week: John Isner for his demolition of higher-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Davis Cup, sending the U.S. into the semi-finals.
- Rout of the Week: Serena Williams thrashing of Australian Samantha Stosur 6-1 6-1, in the Family Circle Open semis. She went on to win the final 6-0 6-1.
- Mind-Melt of the Week: Phil Mickelson for his puzzling decision to reverse-polo-shot his ball from the trees, causing a triple-bogey and ending his very realistic title hopes in one fell swoop.
- Athlete of the Week: Anthony Davis, NCAA Basketball Championship MVP.
- Team of the Week: University of Kentucky Basketball Team for taking out the NCAA tournament title, and even better, I picked them!
- Coach of the Week: John Calipari, Kentucky basketball coach, who finally wins the big one.
- Biggest Story of the Week: The Final Four and the successful closing of an amazing March Madness.
- Farewell of the Week: Stillyan Petrov, Aston Villa's Bulgarian captain was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and may never play again, even after treatment.
- Athlete of the Week: Venus Williams for her two gutsy wins against tough opponents in her first tournament after being diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome.
- Team of the Week: Wales winning the Six Nations rugby championship after taking the Grand Slam.
- Coach of the Week: Warren Gatland for taking his young team to the Six Nations title and being the front runner for the British & Irish Lions tour at the end of the year.
- Comeback of the Week: Tiger Woods first victory in almost two years at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
- Farewell of the Week: Welsh rugby great Mervyn Davies who died aged 65 after a long illness.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Sean Payton's one year suspension for his part in the New Orleans Saints bounty scheme.
- Joint Team of the Week: Michael Waltrip Racing whose cars finished 3rd, 4th and 5th in the Food City 500 at Bristol, Tennessee.
- Joint Team of the Week: Manchester United who thrash Wolves 5-0 and go four points clear at the top of the EPL table.
- Athlete of the Week: The Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, for becoming the first player ever to score one hundred centuries in international test cricket.
- Big Hit of the Week: West Indies' Kieron Pollard whose six off spinner Xavier Doherty, cleared the Arnos Vale stands and ended on the runway of the neighbouring St Vincent airport.
- Farewell of the Week: The sad of loss of former All Blacks captain and New Zealand Rugby Football Union CEO Jock Hobbs, who succumbed to cancer at age 52.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba remains in a critically ill condition after collapsing on the pitch with cardiac arrest during their FA Cup tie at Tottenham Hotspur.
- Athlete of the Week: Lionel Messi who became the first player ever to score five goals in a Champions League match.
- Joint Team of the Week: Barcelona FC for their 7-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
- Joint Team of the Week: Wellington Hurricanes for their 46-19 thumping of the Western Force away from home in Perth.
- Coach of the Week: Des Hasler for leading his Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to two opening wins in the season after being unceremoniously dumped by Manly.
- Debut of the Week: TJ Perenara for this three tries in his first full game for the Hurricanes against the Force.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Peyton Manning being discarded by the Indianapolis Colts after 13 seasons and a Super Bowl victory.
- Athlete of the Week: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy for winning the Honda Classic and becoming the No. 1 ranked golf player in the world.
- Biggest Story of the Week: Bounty incentives to NFL players for deliberately hurting opponents.
- Team of the Week: Tottenham Hotspur for their 5-0 annihilation of a very good Newcastle side in the Barclays Premier League.
- Coach of the Week: Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager, who is forging his side into a first class outfit.
- Athlete of the Week: Edmonton Oilers' Sam Gagner had an amazing 8 goal night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Team of the Week:The New York Giants for their 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Superbowl XLVI.
- Rout of the Week: AC Roma for their thrashing of Internazionale 4-0 in the Serie A.
- Comeback of the Week: Kyle Stanley in winning the Phoenix Open after bombing the final round at Torrey Pines the previous week.
- Bomb of the Week: Howard Webb's Jekyl and Hyde performance 'guiding' the Chelsea vs Manchester United game to an undeserved 3-3 draw.
- Joint Gong of the Week: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his 2011 Associated Press Most Valuable Player award.
- Joint Gong of the Week: New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for his Superbowl MVP winning performance.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Novak Djokovic, Australian Open tennis singles champion and world number one. Survived epic five-setters in his semi-final against Andy Murray and final with Rafa Nadal.
- Joint Athlete of the Week: Victoria Azarenka, Belarus' Australian Open women's singles champion and new world number 1.
- Coach of the Week: Ivan Lendl, who has already made a huge difference to Andy Murray's game, and will lead his young charge to a grand slam soon.
- Team of the Week: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in taking out the Australian Open doubles title over the World No. 1 Bryan brothers.
- Athlete of the Week: Eli Manning who took his unfavored New York Giants to the NFC crown over the San Francisco 49ers, showing great poise and maturity.
- Coach of the Week: Tyrone Corbin, Utah Jazz, who has taken his team to new heights very early in the season, surprising almost everyone.
- Team of the Week: The Utah Jazz thumping the LA Clippers 108-79 in continuing an unexpected winning start to the season.
- Tragedy of the Week: The death of Sarah Burke, Canadian superpipe skier from injuries sustained in a training accident preparing for the X-Games.
- Athlete of the Week: Alex Smith, the San Francisco 49ers and former Running Utes quarterback, who led his team from behind to win against the New Orleans Saints and silence his critics.
- Team of the Week: The New England Patriots for their 45-10 domination of the Denver Broncos for a place in the AFC Championship game.
- Match of the Week: The San Francisco 49ers beating the highly-favored New Orleans Saints 36-32 in a huge comeback.
- Coach of the Week: Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers head coach for his game-changing smarts and the ability to bring the very best out of his players.
- Rout of the Week: Reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo's first round knockout of number one contender Chad Mendes in UFC 142.
- Fairytale Ending of the Week: Bernard Tomic, winning his first major tournament, the Kooyong Classic, then following it up by bundling Fernando Verdasco out of the Australian Open.
- Fight of the Week: Canada's Sarah Burke for her hugely inspiring battle to overcome life-threatening head trauma practicing for the X-Games half-pipe.
- Athlete of the Week: Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC and Argentina striker for his third straight FIFA Ballon d'Or as the world's best player.
- Team of the Week: Manchester City in a 3-0 triumph over hard-charging Liverpool in an English Premier League match.
- Coach of the Week: Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager for taking his charges to the top of the EPL.
- Comeback of the Week: Paul Scholes, Manchester United midfielder coming out of retirement to play for his club to the end of the season to ease injury worries.
- Fairytale Ending of the Week: Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, startling first-play-in-overtime touchdown to beat the highly favored Pittsburgh Steelers.
My Picks for Best in Sport for the Week Ending January 2, 2012
- Athlete of the Week: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, NFL, setting the all-time single season passing record, passing Hall of Famer Dan Marino.
- Coach of the Week: Harry Redknapp for returning Tottenham Hotspur to their rightful place in the top echelons of the English Premier League and Europe.
- Weird One of the Week: The Denver Broncos lose but still make the playoffs, because rivals, the Oakland Raiders, also fumbled their chances.
- Gong of the Week: Kelly Slater and his unprecedented llth world professional surfing championship for 2011.
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