So how come Red Rum never won it?

I am only one man

In fact, looking through the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Sports_Personality_of_the_Year_Awardlist of previous winners[/url, I can find about a dozen that have anything approaching a personality above an amoeba

Jebus, i see what you mean, probably the last one being Flintoff

Eh? A minute ago you said they should be there on merit. Make your mind up.

What i meant was a lot of votes are not given on merit

being the best in the world is impressive, being the best of a limited group is less impressive

It's got fook all to do with [ipersonality[/i.

Mansell won it twice ffs.

I've always long held the opinion that a top glass female golfer could certainly hold her own in the male rankings as despite opinions to the contrary its not all about brute force and hitting the ball as hard and as long as you can, but about accuracy, even I, on an exceptionally good day (like once in a lifetime) can make the green of a par five in three (stop laughing at the back) - a 200 yard drive that sticks to the middle of the fairway trumps anyone's 350 yard drive that ends up in the stands, and how many times have you seen Tiger Woods put a ball into the stands (me, once, live, just behind my head).

Its all about opportunity and while so ever the golf clubs, even the new free-er thinking clubs, treat their women members as a bit of a novelty or a chore to have to accompany on a Sunday afternoon, then the pro women game will be in the shadows.

The pro women are great players who would destroy all but the very best male amateurs. However the courses that the male pros play on are stupidly long and unless you can hit 300+ yards you will just not compete, and the courses have to be that long just to pose a challenge. Someone like Yani Tseng would probably be able to forge out a career for herself in the mens game but she would still be scraping around 100 in the world at best. I do agree with the part quoted though. I've heard plenty of guys having sly digs at women golfers and its not on. I find it especially annoying when some old bloke who thinks he owns the place mutters something about women shouldnt be allowed to play before proceding to hit a 50 yard worm burner on his way to another 10.

Golf is played in long pants and any fool knows you can't play sport in long pants. So golf, cricket, motor racing and horse racing should all be excluded on that simple fact alone

Swimming and 100/200m running?

I'd semi agree with your first 3 examples mate but you won't get many braver than last years worthy winner.

Look up his list of serious injuries.
You'll still be reading them tomorrow morning.

In long pants?

I'm talking about pants here, or trousers if you must, not Lycra cossies

In fact I will add another caveat here.

Any "sport" that does not produce a clear winner by being fastest, hardest or longest or whatever but relies on a panel of judges to "score" the opponents should also be excluded from using the term "sport". Any winner should be chosen by purely objective means and not subject to the whims and dalliances of any "judge". I realise that means that boxing would be excluded from the Olympics but unless they're willing to fight until there is a clear winner, then it's not a sport. But it would mean that we get shut of those formation drowning women, those others that twirl cnady-floss ribbons and synchronised diving

The thing with Synchronised diving is surely you could develop some sort of laser mapping to see who is the most synchronised.

Women golfers usually play in shorts, so they are clearly playing the more genuine version of the sport.

As I understand it, the award used to be called Sportsman of the Year, the term personality was introduced to cover both genders, not because it reflected personality.

But who cares. The programme is a joke these days, it is more about so-called celebrities. I bet unfunny-man James Corden gets more airtime than Rugby League.

It's like Question of Sport, no longer a quiz about sporting knowledge, but a couple of luvvies trying to outshout each other. I watched the last couple of episodes because Sean Long and Sam Tomkins were on, but they needn't have wasted their time.

Spot on. All of it

That should've been renamed "We've found something for Sue Barker to do in between Wimbledon and the ATP Masters"

Coddy's saying that long trousers disqualify it, he's not saying that shorts make it a sport.
If he was, any beach is full of blokes being sporty even thought they are just lounging around.

Anyway, golf is not a sport it's a pastime.
Like tiddlywinks or darts.




Sport involves skill, athleticism and sweat.
So that rules out rugby union too.

I quite agree. This is not a sportsman:

Plenty of sweat there

Sport to me is anything with any physical dimension that is a challenge between people or teams. Darts clearly is a sport. It's mini javelin against a target so arguably should be part of track and field at the olympics.

Sweating because you've just eaten a giant kebab and/or are days away from a massive heart attack doesn't count.