Sea The Stars - BBC Sports Personality of the the Year

[AQMP]

Donald IMO should not get it.  I reckon it will be either McIlroy or Farah, and to be honest McIlroy probably deserves it due to the nature of the victory he had especially after the meltdown two months earlier which overshadowed the fact that he had lit up Augusta for the previous 3 rounds.  Donald, whilst being consistent, has not done it when it matters.   

Donald would argue that "it matters" when you play in every tournament and not just the Majors. Is it more of an achievement for Man City or United for example to win the Premier League over the course of several months than it is to win a one-off match? Of course it is!

You cannot compare the Premier League and Golf.  Tournaments are not worthless but when it comes down to it nobody talks about the run of the mill tounraments a player has won when analysing their achievements really - in golf and tennis you are judged on how well you do at the big ones.  Donald is a number one presently, but he will be still a solid tour player with no majors this time in 5 years.  Its a bit like the situation in womens tennis where you have had Safina and Wozniaki at number 1 in the rankings but nobody seriously considers them to be the best in the game.

As for Cavendish, pretty crazy to even consider giving the award to him considering he finished something like 130th in the race.   

Cavendish is the current World Road Race Champion.

[AQMP]

Donald IMO should not get it.  I reckon it will be either McIlroy or Farah, and to be honest McIlroy probably deserves it due to the nature of the victory he had especially after the meltdown two months earlier which overshadowed the fact that he had lit up Augusta for the previous 3 rounds.  Donald, whilst being consistent, has not done it when it matters.   

Donald would argue that "it matters" when you play in every tournament and not just the Majors. Is it more of an achievement for Man City or United for example to win the Premier League over the course of several months than it is to win a one-off match? Of course it is!

You cannot compare the Premier League and Golf.  Tournaments are not worthless but when it comes down to it nobody talks about the run of the mill tounraments a player has won when analysing their achievements really - in golf and tennis you are judged on how well you do at the big ones.  Donald is a number one presently, but he will be still a solid tour player with no majors this time in 5 years.  Its a bit like the situation in womens tennis where you have had Safina and Wozniaki at number 1 in the rankings but nobody seriously considers them to be the best in the game.

As for Cavendish, pretty crazy to even consider giving the award to him considering he finished something like 130th in the race.  

Well that's a stupid comment for a start!

As for Donald being a 'solid tour player' well you're also having a laugh there. He is a fantastic golfer and at the age of 33 has plenty of time to get his major and I fully expect him to.

He has plenty of time to get one, doesn't mean he will.  At present he is a solid tour player who is very consistent. 

Regarding Cavendish, how is that a stupid comment.  He was in a race and he finished well down the final standings.  Its a bit like awarding a man who finished 25th in a marathon race some kind of prize because he happened to bust his balls and run the 7th mile of the race quicker than anyone else.

It's more like recognising the achievement of Usain Bolt if he ran a marathon after having won the 100m

[Mayo4Sam]

That's not a fair comparison at all, if you said he had to race the 100m then continue straight into the marathon and finish to get his 100m medal it would be more comparable.

Sprinters are in their own separate comp in the TdF, while they race the whole thing on mountain days the groupette is usually made up of a group of sprinters who are just happy to make the time limit and then push on the flat routes, just doing that is tough enough but they spend a couple of extra hours in the saddle and then are expected to sprint the following day.
To comment on his general classification is to miss the point of the green jersey altogether, it's a completely different comp.
The bigger teams, such as sky next year, will have two leaders, one on GC, wiggins for sky, who the team will help in the mountain stages, and the other a sprinter, Cav, who will have lead out men for the sprints. GCs are generally lighter, wiry riders, sprinters all about the power.

[screenexile]

That's not a fair comparison at all, if you said he had to race the 100m then continue straight into the marathon and finish to get his 100m medal it would be more comparable.

Sprinters are in their own separate comp in the TdF, while they race the whole thing on mountain days the groupette is usually made up of a group of sprinters who are just happy to make the time limit and then push on the flat routes, just doing that is tough enough but they spend a couple of extra hours in the saddle and then are expected to sprint the following day.
To comment on his general classification is to miss the point of the green jersey altogether, it's a completely different comp.
The bigger teams, such as sky next year, will have two leaders, one on GC, wiggins for sky, who the team will help in the mountain stages, and the other a sprinter, Cav, who will have lead out men for the sprints. GCs are generally lighter, wiry riders, sprinters all about the power.

My point exactly... nrico you are talking about Cavendish finishing 130th when you clearly do not understand the ins and outs of cycling in which case you should keep quiet.

Your comment about Donald being a solid tour player doesn't hold up either. He's no.1 in the world and top of the Money list in Europe and America... a feat which has never been achieved. A solid tour player for me would be a Justin Rose or a Dustin Johnson. Donald is a level above these guys at present and has had a phenomenal year!

[nrico2006]

That's not a fair comparison at all, if you said he had to race the 100m then continue straight into the marathon and finish to get his 100m medal it would be more comparable.

Sprinters are in their own separate comp in the TdF, while they race the whole thing on mountain days the groupette is usually made up of a group of sprinters who are just happy to make the time limit and then push on the flat routes, just doing that is tough enough but they spend a couple of extra hours in the saddle and then are expected to sprint the following day.
To comment on his general classification is to miss the point of the green jersey altogether, it's a completely different comp.
The bigger teams, such as sky next year, will have two leaders, one on GC, wiggins for sky, who the team will help in the mountain stages, and the other a sprinter, Cav, who will have lead out men for the sprints. GCs are generally lighter, wiry riders, sprinters all about the power.

My point exactly... nrico you are talking about Cavendish finishing 130th when you clearly do not understand the ins and outs of cycling in which case you should keep quiet.

Your comment about Donald being a solid tour player doesn't hold up either. He's no.1 in the world and top of the Money list in Europe and America... a feat which has never been achieved. A solid tour player for me would be a Justin Rose or a Dustin Johnson. Donald is a level above these guys at present and has had a phenomenal year!

I have a fair understanding of cycling but as I said he finished 130th in the Tour De France. 

Donald has done well to top the money lists, but again that is not the criteria you ever hear being thrown about when people are analysing golfs big winners.  Did Montgomery not win the European money list for a good number of years in a row and look at how his career is regarded?  My point is that there should be no contest when it comes to this years SPOTY with regards to Donald and McIlroy - one has had a very good year and been very consistent while the other has set the golfing world on fire and won a major at 22 while coming close on another. 

[deiseach]

My point is that there should be no contest when it comes to this years SPOTY with regards to Donald and McIlroy - one has had a very good year and been very consistent while the other has set the golfing world on fire and won a major at 22 while coming close on another.

Now there's a glass-half-full way of looking at what happened at Augusta

[Mayo4Sam]

Nrico if you did understand cycling you'd realise that his coming 130th in the tour means nothing, basically 130th in a competition he wasn't entered in (well other than the obvious fact he has to enter to win the green jersey)

[muppet]

Nrico if you did understand cycling you'd realise that his coming 130th in the tour means nothing, basically 130th in a competition he wasn't entered in (well other than the obvious fact he has to enter to win the green jersey)

When Sean Kelly won his 4 Green Jerseys he finished 15th, 7th, 4th & 9th on General Classification.

130th me arse.

[deiseach]

Nrico if you did understand cycling you'd realise that his coming 130th in the tour means nothing, basically 130th in a competition he wasn't entered in (well other than the obvious fact he has to enter to win the green jersey)

When Sean Kelly won his 4 Green Jerseys he finished 15th, 7th, 4th & 9th on General Classification.

130th me arse.

How far up GC would Cavendish have to finish to not be sneered at in this fashion? The first Brit to win the green jersey. The first Brit to win the rainbow jersey who wasn't on enough drugs to kill a horse (or a man). A worthy winner of SPotY

[Mayo4Sam]

Nrico if you did understand cycling you'd realise that his coming 130th in the tour means nothing, basically 130th in a competition he wasn't entered in (well other than the obvious fact he has to enter to win the green jersey)

When Sean Kelly won his 4 Green Jerseys he finished 15th, 7th, 4th & 9th on General Classification.

130th me arse.

14th loser, 6th, 3rd & 8th loser in that case

[muppet]

Nrico if you did understand cycling you'd realise that his coming 130th in the tour means nothing, basically 130th in a competition he wasn't entered in (well other than the obvious fact he has to enter to win the green jersey)

When Sean Kelly won his 4 Green Jerseys he finished 15th, 7th, 4th & 9th on General Classification.

130th me arse.

14th loser, 6th, 3rd & 8th loser in that case

So, in conclusion, Sean Kelly was a loser while Cav is a worthy winner?

[Niall Quinn]

They're all losers.
You can drive that circuit in less than 30 hours.

[Eamonnca1]

Comparing the green jersey to the yellow jersey is an apples and oranges job.  To win the yellow jersey these days you need to be a decent climber who can build up a big enough lead to hold off any challenges in the time trlals, or else a good time trialist who can hang with the big hitters in the mountains.  To win the green jersey you have to be on top of your game on every single flat stage and there's no such thing as cruising across the line in a group surrounded by your teammates, you have to have the leadout train set up and you and your boys have to be able to slug it out in the sprints.

[Wildweasel74]

G, how bad has Sports personality of the year got, 6 nominees, half are ladies for our equal gender equality. Half I don't know, must been one of the worst years ever.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Agreed. Said same earlier. Mustve been a piss poor year for UK sport