2011, A Recap: Scandals, Lockouts, And a Bit of Magic

2011 has been a year of many triumphs and letdowns. There has been a lot of us journalists to write about, with an array of sporting moments. However, with the lack of an event like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup, no real sporting competition can claim to have worldwide recognition.

So as we count down the hours to the year which we will cease to exist, let’s cast our eye back over the good, bad and ugly sporting moments of 2011.

Cricket, Corruption and Blatter

Corruption was a sad tale of 2011, with cricket and FIFA the biggest culprits.

How Sepp Blatter is still FIFA president not even the great Einstein would be able to fathom right now. The Swiss leader has literally come under fire for every word spoken ever since the debacle that was Qatar getting the FIFA World Cup.

Talks of bribery, corruption and fixing ruled FIFA-related discussions and truly undermined the figures that run the beautiful game. Former Vice-President Jack Warner and Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam and were found guilty of taking and giving bribes to other members, whilst Blatter himself stepped in his own mess on various occasions.

His recent claims that players who get racially abused during a match should just shake hands with their accuser after the match was the final straw for most. #YourTimeIsUp

Meanwhile, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were all found guilty and will serve jail time after accepting bribes for bowling no balls. It’s been a bit of a wakeup call for the ICC and the cricketing world, and the lies are much deeper down for me.

There needs to be some changes made at the top of the tree and really some uniform rules put in place. If there is a board running cricket at the moment it’s the BCCI.

Vettel Doubles Up

Another smashing year for the German, who is I dare say turning into the next Schumacher. He broke all sorts of records this year, becoming the first driver to ever reach 15 poles for a season. He converted 11 of those into race wins and remarkably out of the 19 races in the season, he only finished outside the podium on two occasions.

Red Bull have locked the talented youngster to a contract that will keep him with the team until the end of 2014, the only question now is can he possibly make it three in a row come 2012?

Heavyweights Finally Deliver

After year upon year of World Cup heartbreak, both India and New Zealand delivered on the world Cup stage when their respective county’s eyes were on them. The cricket crazy nation finally won the biggest prize, MS Dhoni and his men we’re at their ruthless best and no one from the sub-continent will ever forget THAT six the skipper crunched to beat Sri Lanka in Mumbai

Superbly marshalled by Gary Kirsten who effectively removed the egos and made the squad play for each other, the only negative came when Kirsten decided to return home to manage South Africa and the calamitous BCCI decided to give the vacant position to England’s version of Inzamam ul-Haq. #4-0.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks won arguably the best ever grand final in Rugby World Cup history against France, the victory being all the sweeter with an impressive win over Tasman rivals, Australia, in the semis.

Cadel Reaches Summit

Finally, Cadel announced himself to the world. Australian Cadel Evans who went close in 2010, at last won the coveted Tour de France, putting in a relentless performance over the entire course to bring that Yellow Jersey to the continent.

No one will be able to forget that majestic performance in the time trial that got him in such a comfortable position that he had the Tour wrapped up by the final stage, allowing for a memorable cruise to Paris.

Show Me The Money

How can we forget two of the biggest player lockouts in American sport this year. Both the NFL and the NBA we’re rocked by higher wages claims from respective player associations. The NFL came of only slightly bruised, their pre-season slightly disrupted, but now they’re in full swing.

The NBA really felt the pain though, their wage protest lasting up to December, with a ‘revamped’ and shorter season beginning on Christmas Day.  Whilst it’s truly wonderful to see Dwayne, Kobe, LeBron, Dwight, Carmello, Nash (just so we’re being fair..) and the rest back in action, how much is this season really worth? Will the gloss be taken off a 2011/2012 championship? We think it might.

Hope For Japan

After the devastating floods and earthquakes in Japan mid way through the year, the country was in mourning, facing a huge rebuild. It would have taken a brave man to predict that the women’s football team would provide the nation with inspiration beyond words.

The group of players went to the FIFA Women’s World Cup and came back with the ultimate reward. But it was the way they played that really emphasized their passion. They went down 1-0 in the final to the Americans and equalised with some nine minutes of normal time remaining. Into extra time and again they found themselves behind to an early goal. But golden boot winner, Homare Sawa popped up to level the scores once again with some two minutes left. The rest is history.

Spanish, European & World Champions

Barcelona completed a remarkable treble this year by confirming themselves as Spanish, European and World Champions and rubber stamping their authority on club football. Led by Argentine Lionel Messi and dominate forces liek Iniesta, Xavi, David Villa, Puyol, Pique and now Cesc Fabregas, the reign only looks like it will continue.

The Djoker Takes The Mantle

Novak Djokovic really stepped it up this year and pushed the likes of Federrer and Nadal off the top spot. His relentless attitude and funny personality is starting to win over some fans as well. Three majors this year and he has the world at his feet for 2012.

What Other Moments Stood Out?

There were so many other great moments we couldn’t fit in to our list, so what else deserves a mention? Let us know in the comments!