BBC Sports Personality Of The Year

[Damo70]

2 and 1/2 hours of Eastenders a decade is 2 and 1/2 too many.

I despise Eastenders so much that if I accidentally turn it on I have a mini panic and have to scramble for the remote to turn it off as quickly as possible. Just hearing the music causes palpitations.

I have a similar aversion to EastEnders. The music depresses me but not to the point where I can't reach for the remote control probably just as quick as you.

[LeeS]

2 and 1/2 hours of Eastenders a decade is 2 and 1/2 too many.

I despise Eastenders so much that if I accidentally turn it on I have a mini panic and have to scramble for the remote to turn it off as quickly as possible. Just hearing the music causes palpitations.

I have a similar aversion to EastEnders. The music depresses me but not to the point where I can't reach for the remote control probably just as quick as you.

I think it has something to do with the omnibus edition being on Sunday's when I was a kid. These days Sunday is my favourite day of the week but back then I despised it. Eastenders was the background noise to homework and the dread of school.

[The Man With A Stick]

Other half watches EastEnders, it's just idiots shouting at each other.  Try watching it for 10 seconds if you can and you'll hear nobody speaking, it's JAST ALL SHAHTIN' INNIT.

The regular, crowbarred-in, West Ham references get on my tits as well.

[Chico Hamilton III]

The regular, crowbarred-in, West Ham references get on my tits as well.

It's been years since I've watched an episode. I thought it was Walford Town? They all turned to glory hunters now?

[Pat McMahon]

2 and 1/2 hours of Eastenders a decade is 2 and 1/2 too many.

I despise Eastenders so much that if I accidentally turn it on I have a mini panic and have to scramble for the remote to turn it off as quickly as possible. Just hearing the music causes palpitations.

I have similar symptoms with the Archers. I can generally get from the warning that "we are heading to Ambridge" to turning  the radio off before the theme music starts

[Risso]

The Archers is dismal.

[ACVilla]

I've just seen a post that looks like it's going viral on Facebook to get Alistair Brownlee to win this.

After what happened last weekend I'd pretty much agree to it.

[paul_e]

He certainly deserves to be included on performance and then last weekend is that bit extra, I'd be ok with that but then right now my main criteria is not Murray or Hamilton so i'm fairly easily pleased.

[cheltenhamlion]

Hannah Cockroft?

[Tayls_7]

He certainly deserves to be included on performance and then last weekend is that bit extra, I'd be ok with that but then right now my main criteria is not Murray or Hamilton so i'm fairly easily pleased.

I think the Brownlees are fantastic but what's with the anti-Murray stance? He's someone to be incredibly proud of and in possession of a dry sense of humour.

[paul_e]

He certainly deserves to be included on performance and then last weekend is that bit extra, I'd be ok with that but then right now my main criteria is not Murray or Hamilton so i'm fairly easily pleased.

I think the Brownlees are fantastic but what's with the anti-Murray stance? He's someone to be incredibly proud of and in possession of a dry sense of humour.

He'd be the first person to win it 3 times and the first person to get it consecutively, I don't think he's been far enough ahead of the other people 'in the race' to deserve that.  As I've said all along, I don't think he deserved it last year because I suspected he'd have a better season this year but as soon as he was given it on the back of the davis cup he went well down on the list for me.  It's a no to Hamilton because even if he wins he's not had a great season the the whole sport is in a bit of a mess with it really being a 2 horse race between him and his team-mate.  He's very talented I just don't think you can call him the best sportsman of the year in an olympic year.  Finally I honestly believe it needs to go to someone from team GB who isn't normally in the spotlight (for sporting reasons at least) so I'd be picking from Farah, Kenny, Trott or Cockroft, but I'd be happy with someone like Brownlee as well, I think we need to recognise the less regular sporting heroes in the year of our greatest ever olympic and paralympic success.

[Tayls_7]

He certainly deserves to be included on performance and then last weekend is that bit extra, I'd be ok with that but then right now my main criteria is not Murray or Hamilton so i'm fairly easily pleased.

I think the Brownlees are fantastic but what's with the anti-Murray stance? He's someone to be incredibly proud of and in possession of a dry sense of humour.

He'd be the first person to win it 3 times and the first person to get it consecutively, I don't think he's been far enough ahead of the other people 'in the race' to deserve that.  As I've said all along, I don't think he deserved it last year because I suspected he'd have a better season this year but as soon as he was given it on the back of the davis cup he went well down on the list for me.  It's a no to Hamilton because even if he wins he's not had a great season the the whole sport is in a bit of a mess with it really being a 2 horse race between him and his team-mate.  He's very talented I just don't think you can call him the best sportsman of the year in an olympic year.  Finally I honestly believe it needs to go to someone from team GB who isn't normally in the spotlight (for sporting reasons at least) so I'd be picking from Farah, Kenny, Trott or Cockroft, but I'd be happy with someone like Brownlee as well, I think we need to recognise the less regular sporting heroes in the year of our greatest ever olympic and paralympic success.

Fair enough buddy. Good argument although I don't get the Davis Cup argument. Murray is a driven, talented winner who never lets Britain down in a high profile sport. If it is to go to Team GB please let it not be Kenny. What an obnoxious boring dullard.

[paul_e]

The davis cup thing is that basically he wasn't really in with a shout before that but a couple of wins against fairly average opponents pushed him to winning it.  I'm not trying to diminish the achievement in any way, it's great that Britain won it and he was fucking brilliant in the final but if he drew Goffin or Bemelmans in any other tournament you'd expect a fairly routine victory and yet those 2 wins pushed him to the spoty award meaning that he was the holder going into the olympic year where he had a chance to cement himself as a genuine world great, which he's done but now I'm loathe to recognise that because of the signal it sends that being a good tennis player is more important than being good at a huge list of other sports.

[LeeS]

I am coming round to the idea of giving it to Mo. But also wouldn't be surprised if it went to Alastair Brownlee. Previously I have considered one of the many top cyclists we have but am shifting away from them for now. For me, the award should go to someone who a) achieves something very special in that year and b) has a very strong career record to back it up, rather than being a flash in the pan. The stronger the career, the less important the single year needs to be. But the year still needs to stand out. What we have this year are lots of people who've had a great year, across lots of sports. So that isn't going to be enough.

Kenny, Trott and Froome have all done enough to deserve a chance. Kenny equalled Chris Hoy's record and, in his own era, only Phelps and Bolt have won more golds than him. On the face of it that would be that. Top spot. Except for the fact that Kenny is likely to go on and win more golds in Tokyo. At which point he'll become the undisputed greatest Olympian and can then have the trophy. Similar arguments apply to Trott and Froome, both of whom have many more successes ahead of them. I was delighted that Froome wasn't implicated in the TUE leaks scandal (unlike Sir Wiggo). He'll go on and win 3 or 4 more TdFs and can have another crack at the trophy later.

If Murray had won the U.S. Open and helped us retain the Davis Cup then that would be the most extraordinary year of any UK sportsman that I could ever remember. Winner. But he didn't and that's the end of his chances.

Hamilton could go on and win the title but so what? It's an Olympic year and there are far better candidates who face far tougher opposition. His next best chance of winning again is if he breaks Schumacher's wins record. Unlikely.

Which brings me to Mo. In some ways, his 2 golds are worth more than Kenny's 3. That's because, just like swimming, it is easier for a sprint cyclists to win multiple medals than it is for a track athlete like Mo. But also, track cycling is a bit of a niche sport. Just look at which countries compete. It's basically for rich, developed nations only. I don't want to overplay that point and diminish Kenny's achievements but I don't think he can claim to have beaten the whole of humanity. But every kid in every country can run. Mo is the best of the best in his era and has utterly dominated for many years now. What's more, he is unlikely to run those events in Tokyo so this is the time to reward the career element too.

And then we have Alastair Brownlee. It would be typical of the British public to reward that single moment of sportsmanship. It was a very moving moment and showed what exceptional people those brothers are. He's also double Olympic champion in a multi event sport. He has no chance of doubling (or trebling up) like a cyclist so the single gold this year shouldn't be a barrier. But his achievement on its own is no greater than many other of our Olympians. So carrying his brother over the line shouldn't be enough to deny Farah his big moment. I'll be voting for Mo.

[AV82EC]

I am coming round to the idea of giving it to Mo. But also wouldn't be surprised if it went to Alastair Brownlee. Previously I have considered one of the many top cyclists we have but am shifting away from them for now. For me, the award should go to someone who a) achieves something very special in that year and b) has a very strong career record to back it up, rather than being a flash in the pan. The stronger the career, the less important the single year needs to be. But the year still needs to stand out. What we have this year are lots of people who've had a great year, across lots of sports. So that isn't going to be enough.

Kenny, Trott and Froome have all done enough to deserve a chance. Kenny equalled Chris Hoy's record and, in his own era, only Phelps and Bolt have won more golds than him. On the face of it that would be that. Top spot. Except for the fact that Kenny is likely to go on and win more golds in Tokyo. At which point he'll become the undisputed greatest Olympian and can then have the trophy. Similar arguments apply to Trott and Froome, both of whom have many more successes ahead of them. I was delighted that Froome wasn't implicated in the TUE leaks scandal (unlike Sir Wiggo). He'll go on and win 3 or 4 more TdFs and can have another crack at the trophy later.

If Murray had won the U.S. Open and helped us retain the Davis Cup then that would be the most extraordinary year of any UK sportsman that I could ever remember. Winner. But he didn't and that's the end of his chances.

Hamilton could go on and win the title but so what? It's an Olympic year and there are far better candidates who face far tougher opposition. His next best chance of winning again is if he breaks Schumacher's wins record. Unlikely.

Which brings me to Mo. In some ways, his 2 golds are worth more than Kenny's 3. That's because, just like swimming, it is easier for a sprint cyclists to win multiple medals than it is for a track athlete like Mo. But also, track cycling is a bit of a niche sport. Just look at which countries compete. It's basically for rich, developed nations only. I don't want to overplay that point and diminish Kenny's achievements but I don't think he can claim to have beaten the whole of humanity. But every kid in every country can run. Mo is the best of the best in his era and has utterly dominated for many years now. What's more, he is unlikely to run those events in Tokyo so this is the time to reward the career element too.

And then we have Alastair Brownlee. It would be typical of the British public to reward that single moment of sportsmanship. It was a very moving moment and showed what exceptional people those brothers are. He's also double Olympic champion in a multi event sport. He has no chance of doubling (or trebling up) like a cyclist so the single gold this year shouldn't be a barrier. But his achievement on its own is no greater than many other of our Olympians. So carrying his brother over the line shouldn't be enough to deny Farah his big moment. I'll be voting for Mo.

This x 1000.

1. Farah
2. Brownlee (A)
3. Trott

Next 4 would be Murray, Hamilton, Trott, Froome.

Isn't it time we had separate categories for men/women/para's?