Torres brilliance not rewarded

After seeing Manchester United crowned Premier League champions, we can finally take stock of what has undoubtedly been a truly enthralling season.

As the dust settles on Fergie's final day success, I have to say that, like many others, I have been thoroughly impressed with United's flying winger Cristiano Ronaldo this campaign, a player who has really caught the eye - for obvious reasons. Hats off to the lad.

The Portugal international has illuminated almost every game he's played in. Then again, the same can be said of Liverpool's Fernando Torres. Well, whenever he's been allowed to play that is.

Since there has been so much praise lavished on Ronaldo, let's talk more about Torres.

For me, he has been nothing but fantastic this season, no doubt about it. This 24-year-old striker is a newcomer to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League and he has shown that he is a cool customer when coming to terms with the physical side of the English game. Not every foreign player can do that, often failing to make as big an impact as Torres has.

The fact that the Spaniard did so well in his debut season is very encouraging and I think he can only get better. The only criticism is maybe that he doesn't score enough goals away from home. A sign of a true quality striker is the ability to score both home and away. But, so far at least, he's still worth all the money Liverpool spent on him..

To be honest though, it's a shame that despite all the effort shown by Torres, Liverpool have finished the season with nothing to show. They may have won a lot of accolades, but there are no trophies to show for their efforts. No hardware. Praise can only take you so far.

On the flip side, this will just make the team hungrier for success and, with that desire for glory, comes titles. Hopefully, Liverpool will shed the tag of ‘nearly-men' soon.

I expect a clear out at Liverpool come summertime when the league goes into hibernation. Xabi Alonso, John Arne Riise, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Pennant could all be saying their goodbyes. I actually wouldn't miss most of them, especially Pennant whose place on the right wing was taken by Dirk Kuyt. Need I say more?

If you were to ask me who I would like to see arriving at Anfield, then Gareth Barry is one of them. It is getting a little ugly between Martin O'Neill and Rafael Benitez, but this shows how important and talented Barry is.

There can be little doubt that Barry will be the perfect foil for Steven Gerrard in the centre of midfield. We have seen it before when the duo played for England. It will be a good combination for Liverpool and one that will persuade Rafa to stick Stevie G in midfield because that is his best position. Period.

Liverpool also need an out-and-out winger and Blackburn's David Bentley is one of those who has impressed me. This former Arsenal apprentice will be a perfect replacement for the other former Arsenal apprentice at Anfield. Bentley is one of those wingers who can do everything - deliver accurate crosses from deep, take on players with pace and is deadly from free-kicks. But Blackburn have been steadily improving every season and don't need to sell their players. It would take a massive amount of effort and money to even open discussions with Rovers gaffer Mark Hughes.

Apart from Liverpool, there were a few key moments - or should I say controversial moments - that marked this BPL season. I was particularly surprised by the sackings of Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce at Chelsea and Newcastle respectively. They were perhaps a victim of their own club's misguided ambitions. But the most talked about BPL moment has to be the reinstatement of Kevin Keegan at Newcastle. It was an appointment that shook the English game.

Who knows what kind of twists and turns we will have in the coming 2008/09 season? After the exciting cliff-hanger we had on the final day of the season, I for one will be looking forward to next season with even more anticipation than before. Will you?

Champion of Champions 2008

Choose Your favourite Sports performer from 2008. From November 28th, www.ESPNSTAR.com, alongside SportsCenter India, Asia & Malaysia, and Score Tonight will be conducting a joint initiative Online and On Air to decide the Sports Personality to have made the biggest impact on sport in the calendar year 2008.

The criteria for selection are that the "nominee" should have made an "impact" on sport during the year 2008. It is not solely a performance related vote. It is your vote that will decide who wins.

Below, you'll see a list of sixteen athletes who have excelled in 2008. When voting opens, we're looking for you to decide exactly who was the "Best of the Best."

Sourav GANGULY

In October, India’s most successful Test captain announced his retirement from international cricket. As of October 2008, the Calcutta-born Ganguly is India's most successful Test captain, winning 21 Tests out of 49. He also led India into the 2003 World Cup Final. Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him. The left-handed Ganguly has over 11,000 One Day International runs to his credit, but despite this ODI success, and his stellar time as captain, his Test place was often lost to younger players towards the later stages of his career. He often polarised opinion.

Kobe Bryant

Remember the "I want to be traded" saga when Kobe Bryant expressed his anger? The 30-year-old inspired his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to reach the NBA Finals last season and received the MVP accolade for his remarkable performance during the regular season. The American also went on to help Team USA to win back the golden honour. This 6'6" man was also awarded the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team.

Michael PHELPS

American swimmer, Michael Phelps, won an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games. That took his career tally to 14 Olympic golds - the most by any Olympian. He has 16 Olympic medals in all. As of August 2008, he also held seven swimming world records. Out of his eight gold medals from Beijing, five were won in individual events, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Olympic Games. For a week in August, 6’4” Phelps held centre stage in the sporting world, and delivered on every single occasion.

MS Dhoni

As Indian cricket prepares for life without the ‘Fab Four’, MS Dhoni has established himself as the leader of the next generation. His performances in leading India’s teams in Twenty20 and One Day Internationals in 2008 have propelled him to the top of the pecking order in Indian cricket. Initially seen as a flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series against Australia and the IDEA Cup against Sri Lanka. He is currently ranked the best ODI batsman in the world by the ICC and was awarded the ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 - the first Indian player to achieve this feat.

Cristiano Ronaldo

"Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law," said the legendary Johan Cruyff in an interview in April 2008. The 23-year-old Portuguese international then went on to win a Champions League and Premier League double with Manchester United, scoring over 40 goals in the process, and was then the subject of a summer of turmoil as United and Real Madrid battled for his signature. Ronaldo promptly missed the start of the new campaign with injury, but compensated for it by being named FIFPro Player of the Year. Always in the headlines, it’s hard to think of a more high-profile footballer throughout the year.

Rafael Nadal

2008 was the year when Rafael Nadal finally overtook Roger Federer to become World number 1. It was also the year when he beat Federer in arguably the greatest match ever seen in a Wimbledon final. Additionally, he was crowned Olympic Champion in Beijing, and won the French Open at Roland Garros in May. He has five Grand Slam titles to his name. For much of his career, Nadal has had a rivalry with Federer that many critics consider the greatest ever in tennis history. They are the only men in the open tennis era to have played each other in six Grand Slam finals. Nadal was ranked World number 2 behind Federer for a record 160 weeks before earning the top spot in August. On October 18 the Spaniard clinched the year-end World number 1 ranking for 2008.

Nicol David

Malaysia’s Nicol is the World number 1 ranked squash player and the first Asian to top the sport’s rankings. She is the current World Open and British Open Champion having won both of those prizes in 2005 and 2006 as well. In July, Nicol David was among 497 honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. The Penang-born Nicol, became the youngest person from the Malaysian island to be conferred a Datukship.

Abhinav Bindra

Despite standing just 5’8" tall and weighing in at a slight 65 kilogrammes, Abhinav Bindra has proved to be a giant for Indian sport in 2008. His gold medal in the 10-metre Air Rifle event at the Olympic Games in Beijing was India’s first Olympic gold for 28 years. The 26-year-old is also the current world champion in the 10-metre Air Rifle event. But for a few short days in August, he made India forget about its cricketers, and focus on another sport.

Lewis Hamilton

22-year-old Briton, Lewis Hamilton, won his first F1 Drivers’ Championship in 2008. After being pipped to the 2007 title by just a single point in his rookie F1 season in 2007, the Hertfordshire-raised Hamilton went one better this season after recording victories in Australia, Monaco, Britain, Germany and China.

Sir Alex Ferguson

The legendary Sir Alex Ferguson guided his team to a Premier League and European Cup double 25-years after winning his first European Trophy with Aberdeen. Many thought that Chelsea had left Manchester United behind when they won back-to-back titles, but Ferguson rebuilt his side so that the 2007-08 season would go down in folklore.

Usain Bolt

Was there a more exhilarating moment throughout the 2008 sporting calendar than Usain Bolt’s chest-thumping world-record setting victory in the Olympic games’ 100-metre final? The 22-year-old Jamaican was criticized in some quarters for over-celebrating that victory, but responded by setting new world-best times in the 200m and 4x400 metre finals - both of which secured gold medals. Bolt became the first man in history to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "'Lightning' Bolt".

Sachin Tendulkar

Shane Warne describes "The Little Master" as the greatest player he has played with or against. Wisden rank him the second greatest Test batsman, and the second-best One Day International batsman. Sir Donald Bradman named him in his "Bradman’s XI" dream team. His key milestone for 2008 came in October when he surpassed Brian Lara’s record for the most runs in Test cricket, and became the first batsman to score 12,000 Test runs. The Tendulkar legend will end at some time, but 2008 proved that there is still plenty of batting left in India’s iconic bat.

Fernando Torres

A record-breaking 24-goal haul for Liverpool in his debut season in the Barclays Premier League was one thing, but for 24-year-old Spanish striker Fernando Torres, scoring the winner for his country as they ended 44 years of pain by winning Euro 2008 was the high-point of an incredible year. Signed by Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, Torres top scored for his new club in the Premier League and equalled a Liverpool record by scoring in eight consecutive home matches.

Tiger Woods

The abiding image of Tiger Woods in 2008 will be him limping his way in obvious discomfort to victory in an 18-hole play-off at the US Masters. It was a rare sight to see Woods struggling, but it also marked him out as a true Champion. He had no need to continue as he already held 13 major Titles. But this was Tiger Woods, the fighter. Two days after securing Major number 14, he was in hospital for a knee operation and will be off the Tour for up to 10 months.

Manny Pacquiao

WBC World Lightweight Boxing Champion, Manny Pacquiao, is the "Ring Magazine" pound-for-pound World number 1 ranked boxer. An accolade afforded him after Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced his retirement from boxing. The Filipino was also the former WBC Super Featherweight Champion, Ring Magazine Super Featherweight and Featherweight champion, World champion at IBF Super Bantamweight and WBC Flyweight. He’s the first Asian to win four world titles in different weight divisions

Valentino Rossi

World MotoGP Champion, Valentino Rossi, is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name. He is also one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world. In 2008, Rossi became MotoGP Champion for the fifth time regaining the crown in his first season with Honda. He began his Grand Prix racing career in 1996 and subsequently won the 125cc World Championship. Twelve years later, the 29-year-old Italian has won 97 of his 210 GP starts, and made the podium in 151 of those races.

How-to-vote

The mechanism to decide the winner is as follows:

1. Sixteen sports personalities have been shortlisted.
2. This list has been chosen by a group of ESPN STAR Sport representatives. From now on, it's your choice on who wins.
3. The voting mechanism will be in the form of a knock-out.
1. The 16 will be paired against each other in a knockout draw shown Live on SportsCenter on Friday, November 28th.
2. Pairings will then be made available for the public to cast their votes for a set period.
3. The "winner" (i.e. the person with the bigger percentage of votes cast) will go through to the next round – while the loser is "eliminated"
4. This is repeated for a Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final with the winner announced on SportsCenter on December 31st.

McCaw enjoying Baa-Baas build-up

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw will end an exhausting and emotional year by making his debut for the Barbarians.

He is itching to start Wednesday night's Olympic centenary clash with Australia at Wembley.

McCaw features in a Barbarians side drawn from the cream of the southern hemisphere and captained by South Africa's John Smit, who is joined by six of his 2007 World Cup-winning colleagues.

It is a unique experience and McCaw is relishing the chance to end a high-pressure season playing alongside many of the big names he spent the last nine months bashing from Christchurch to kingdom come.

McCaw and Smit, rival captains in the Tri-Nations and Super 14, are rooming together. So too are Welsh wing wizard Shane Williams, who starts on the bench, and South Africa's Bryan Habana.

"You are alongside people you wouldn't normally have a chance to play with," said McCaw.

"Normally we don't see each other after games, we have to just move on, so being able to sit and have a beer and a yarn without worrying about the pressures of next week is unique.

"Rooming with guys you normally beat the hell out of - or vice versa - is pretty good. And John is a good roomie. His snoring was alright last night!"

McCaw admitted to still being bruised and a touch stiff from the All Blacks' 32-6 victory over England.

"They were physical," he said.

New Zealand spent the year rebuilding their aura after the crushing disappointment of defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals last autumn.

They did so, winning 13 from 15 Tests to claim the Tri-Nations title and complete a third Grand Slam tour.

McCaw backed Martin Johnson to revive England's fortunes - but he believes they must become smarter and fitter if they are to compete with the world's best.

England had four players sin-binned against the All Blacks and it could have been more as they failed to adapt to the demands of referee Alain Rolland.

"As soon as one has been given, you've got to react to that," said McCaw.

"That's why I was happy with our boys. They backed off and didn't give the referee an excuse to penalise them. I guess that's just making sure you're smart.

"Talking to Chris Jack he has found that the style of rugby here means you don't need to be as fit.

"The big thing is to believe in what you're doing. We had a belief in what was going to work. That's the way Martin Johnson operates, I'm sure.

"The big thing you've got to remember is that there isn't a lot between the top teams. There might be on the day."

McCaw believes the southern hemisphere have benefited from the experimental sanctions law being used in the SANZAR competitions, which sees most penalties replaced by a free-kick.

He feels it not only helped their fitness but also their ability to break down the more structured European sides.

"I found the free-kicks encouraged guys to look up, identify where the space was and to play what they see. That has stayed in our game," said McCaw.

"From what I've seen that's the difference. In the southern hemisphere the guys play what they see and back themselves.

"Up here they want to play with more structure and build pressure, which works to some degree if you do it well."

That is not how the Barbarians play and the Wembley crowd, expected to be in excess of 50,000, can expect a high-scoring encounter against the Wallabies.

The Barbarians starting XV includes Habana and Joe Rokocoko on the wings, Francois Steyn at fly-half and former world player of the year Schalk Burger at number eight.

Williams, the current world player of the year, starts on the bench alongside former Australia scrum-half George Gregan.

The Wallabies have included 18-year-old James O'Connor at full-back while uncapped Brumbies lock Peter Kimlin features among the reserves.

George Smith captains the Australia team while winger Lote Tuqiri returns from knee surgery.

The match has been organised as part of the British Olympic Association's celebrations of the first London Olympics.

Australia won the rugby gold medal in 1908 with a 32-3 victory over Great Britain, who were represented by Cornwall.

Hughes backs Jo to shine

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is convinced summer signing Jo will prove his worth at Eastlands.

The Brazilian striker, 21, could return to the side against Paris St Germain in the UEFA Cup at Eastlands tonight after recently being on the fringes.

While Robinho has settled in quickly following his summer move, Jo has struggled to adapt after arriving from CSKA Moscow.

Hughes, however, believes Jo will come good.

"He is a young player who has come into a stronger league than he has been used to, " said the City boss.

"It takes time and it is harder for forwards to integrate straight away. Robinho has been able to adapt quicker but he is a more experienced player.

"Jo has found it a little bit of a struggle but he is working hard in training. He will get better."

Hughes added: "There will be changes against PSG. We will look to use the squad as we need to give a respite to some key players."

City are looking to record their third successive victory in the group - they have already qualified for the last 32 - and Hughes wants a positive response following the defeat by Manchester United.

"We need to pick ourselves up very quickly, " he said. "No-one likes losing any game, least of all a derby.

"We came up a little bit short. Our energy levels were not where they need to be to force the issue against a side as good as United. We just needed that spark to our play."

The French side also suffered a loss at the weekend, going down by a single goal to Rennes.

Hughes wants to finish the last two matches - they play Racing Santander in Spain in a fortnight - in style.

He said: "There is a prize to be had. If we are to finish top of the group that is to our benefit. Hopefully that will mean an easier draw in the last 32.

"If we can get a positive result from this match that should be enough and I feel we can make chances at home against any team.

"PSG are a good side. They need a decent result but it just depends on what significance they place on this competition.

"They have changed their team in previous rounds and protected their senior players for league games."

Will Seahawks' Woeful 0-2 Start Leave Them Out of the Chase for the Super Bowl Title?

If you set your goal to not only get to but win the Super Bowl this season, it is not a good idea to lose your first two games. During the 8-year period from 2000 through 2007 only 6 of the 70 National Football League teams that started the season at 0-2 went on the make the playoffs, much less win the Super Bowl. So here come Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks, all full of spit and vinegar and wimpering out while losing their first two games, a 34-10 thumping from the Bills in Buffalo and a 33-30 overtime loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers, a National Football Conference West Division rival.In two games the Seahawks, which returned all 11 of their defensive starters (almost unheard of in pro football), gave up 33.5 points a game.One explanation for their lapse of playmaking came from defensive coordinator John Marshall, who maintained that there were not many blown assignments as much as the players simply not trusting their teammates and overcompensating in their own areas to make up for what they perceived as a shortcoming somewhere else. It kind of sounds like they were minding everyone else's business but their own.There are, of course, some other perhaps less plausible but more understandable explanations, such as spending too much time:1) Reading the press clippings about how great they were going to be this year.2) Placing a quick cell phone call to their agent to see what new endorsements might put them more in the spotlight.3) Figuring out the quickest route to the hot dog stand after the first half ends.4) Trying to figure out if that foxy looking blond in the 4th row on the starboard side is approachable.The defensive front did record 8 sacks but the defensive secondary was last seen somewhere near Tukwila, 12 miles south of Qwest Field in downtown Seattle.The six exceptions to the 0-2 rule of going nowhere fast were:1) The 2007 New York Giants who went 10-6 and won Super Bowl XLII (Super Bowl 42 to people in the real world, as opposed to NFL executives).2) The 2006 Kansas City Chiefs who went 9-7 and lost the AFC wild card game.3) The 2003 Philadelphia Eagles who went 12-4 and made it to the NFC championship game.4) The 2002 Atlanta Falcons who went 9-6-1 and made it to the NFC divisional game.5) The 2002 Pittsburgh Steelers who went 10-5-1 and made it to the AFC divisional game.6) The 2001 New England Patriots who went 11-5 and won Super Bowl XXXVI (Super Bowl 36 to people in the real world, as opposed to NFL executives).Alexander Pope, the master of the heroic couplet, penned "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, but always to be blessed" and so it is with the Seahawks.After being mired in a pitiful state like fraternity boys caught with their pants down outside in the dead of winter, the Seahawks made a 180-degree turn at home last week and routed the St. Louis Rams (another division opponent) 37-13. With all of Seattle's starting wide receivers banged up and left with major inexperience at the wide receiver position, the Hawks' handed off to Julius Jones 22 times for 140 yards (6.4 yards per carry), including a 29-yard touchdown scamper. They handed off to T. J. Duckett 19 times for 79 yards and 2 short TD runs, and that was that.Did I mention that rookie tight end John Carlson (all 6-foot-5, 251-pounds of him) continues to look good and actually catches the ball when you throw it to him? Carlson comes to Seattle from Notre Dame. He is not the first great tight end from Notre Dame.That honor belongs to the immortal Leon Hart, the 1949 Heisman Trophy winner and the only lineman to win 3 national titles in both college (1946, 1948 and 1949 national championships at Notre Dame) and pro football (1952, 1953 and 1957 NFL championships with the Detroit Lions).Leon Hart is also the last and only 1 of 2 linemen ever to win the Heisman Trophy. He was an All American tight end on offense and defensive end on defense. That was when men were men rather than self-centered, spoiled, multi-millionaire, petulant stars who show up but don't always play for fear of being hurt.Seattle has a bye this week but travels to New York on Sunday (10-5-08) to face the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. We shall see if the Seahawks can duplicate their last game success at home while on the road in East Rutherford (NJ), where Giants Stadium is located. There is a rumor going around that the Giants are really happy to see the Seahawks coming, something about patting their 3-0 record.