UKH

The shortlist won’t be announced until the programme begins this year, but who do you think will be nominated and what do you think their chances are?

I could only think of a couple of potential female nominees and I don’t think either have much chance: Rachel Atherton and Lizzie Yarnold.

Harry Kane because we had a good World Cup Run and he won the golden boot. Shouldn’t win though.

Lewis Hamilton will be nominated and must be one of the favourites, although the fact that he is dull and the sport is dull and he is known for tax avoidance will work against him.

Tyson Fury might be another favourite, but he hasn’t actually won anything.

Then we have Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates. Yates probably isn’t much of a name away from cycling fans, even in my bit of Lancashire. Might not even get nominated. For a 6th GC win, including holding all three at once, Froome probably should win it. Experience tells us that he probably won’t. G is more popular, will have a lot of Welsh support, been doing the rounds on tv and radio as well, obviously wants it. If up against other cyclists it might split the vote.

I’m sure there are others to consider.

Surely Dina Asher Smith is far and away the most likely female nominee. Triple gold medallist at the Euros.

Why is Anthony Joshua not a contender? Has he had a world title fight this year? In many ways Lewis Hamilton does deserve to have won by now, but I'm sure he'll cope with that disappointment.

edit: oh, looks like Lewis has won. Who knew.

That is a major oversight on my part, I dismissed athletics generally with it not being a global year, but Asher Smith’s achievements where outstanding.

A defence against a fairly weak opponent. I was surprised he didn’t do better last year.

I thought Lewis Hamiltons driving was exceptional this year.

For the cyclists I would go for Yates for his magnificent efforts in the Giro and his triumph in the Vuelta.

Harry Kane had a great year for both club and country but still no titles or trophies.

The Irish cleaned up in the rugby so no contenders there.

AJ was the dominant force in British boxing. 

The Ryder cup team smashed the Yanks so contenders for the team of the year.

That's some grade A irony there.

"And the award for the Most Inappropriately-Named Awards Contest Of The Year  goes to ..."

I mean: 'Sportsperson Of The Year' - fair enough. But 'Sports Personality Of The Year'?  Do me a favour.

A point better made in 1957!

No irony, I’m well aware that Froome and Thomas both live in Monaco, however neither bought a private jet avoiding the VAT. 

I think the point being made is that cycling is dull rather than the Monaco thing. Although even a dull bike race is more  interesting than an F1 parade, cycling has been exceptionally good this year. Got to be Yates for me for that reason - constant attacks in the giro made for great watching.

Ronnie O'Sullivan for me, he has just won the UK Championship and has now won the most majors ever, with 19, over Stephen Hendry's tally of 18. He's 42 as well, and still the best in my opinion. 

It’s a pub game, not a sport. 

Geraint for me. 

I see where you're coming from but snooker is recognised as a sport officially. It's not a pub game really is it, it's played in snooker halls and working men's clubs. Surely Steve Davis or Hendry have won it before...

Steve Davis won it in 1988, the only win for a snooker player.

ronnie o'sullivan

As I previous years, I am rooting for Deep Blue. More personality than the lot of them.

Southgate as the personality that developed the players.

How much of the vote is public and how much is from professionals who might have inside information about just how well people performed (eg is it well known that Hamilton won Singapore with the additional stress of not knowing if his fuel would run out due to a defective sensor)?

The reason I ask is slightly odd, I don’t follow F1 or sports in general, but I did know about the fuel sensor and thought “that must have been tough for the whole team” unless it was toward the end and pit stop would guarantee loss (didn’t watch it). But I’m really coming from a Sandra Bullock’s Oscar nomination for Gravity. She was good enough in it but nothing special.....except all the Academy are film makers and know that her work in that film was mostly her head sticking out of a black cardboard box and her having to imagine all the surroundings , so they had that extra information telling them just how challenging it was.

and they are the voters.

Snooker is more of a sport than F1 or synchronised swimming for that matter >ducks<

Actually that’s a really good shout. Is there any sportsperson that has connected as much with the (SPOTY voting) public this year? Amazingly a manager not one of the star players. Added bonus that it is his personality that people have connected with.

We need some definitions.  Sport:

- Requires exertion (break a sweat): goodbye darts, snooker, golf and bridge

- A definitively measurable outcome (further, faster, stronger): goodbye synchro-swimming, rhythmic gymnastics and diving

- Depends on the individual human, not the technology: goodbye F1

- Is free from arbitrary "style" rules: goodbye 3/4 of swimming events.

- the individual human does the work: goodbye horse riding

Snooker fails rule 1

According to the definition offered by Ernest hemmingway, the only sports were bullfighting, mountaineering and moter sports -i.e. those activities with a more than theoretical possibility of death/serious injury-everything being merely games.

I don't see an obvious candidate for the top award but I voted for Alistair Cook's valedictory century as the Greatest sporting moment.

I agree with most of your rules except 1. Darts snooker and golf require physical coordination and technique so they qualify (as do bowls, archery etc). There is no requirement to break into a sweat.  Bridge and chess are not sports. 

Gymnastics, synchronised swimming, figure skating etc. are on dodgy ground as they require subjective judging as you alluded to. 

Hed get my vote. He' s 43 by the way, as I am in two days. Ive followed him his entire career and l can say without hesitation that hes the best naturally gifted sportsman ive ever seen in any sport. Some might say that its a pub game but they are the people who dont appreciate how hard snooker is, and he makes it look so easy.

Open heart surgery and plastering walls  require physical coordination and technique. Doesn’t make them a sport

And Conservative Clubs!

It's pretty hot on the oche and all the players will sweat a bit! However, I play darts and I don't consider it a sport. It's a game like snooker! As for F1 they are car drivers not sportsmen.

IGMC

The point is that the objective is to win a contest which is largely decided on physical prowess, whether it be strength, stamina, coordination or accuracy, or a combination of these, being determined mainly objectively. 

Just being hard doesn't mean it's sport, cf. bricklaying.

Just being competitive doesn't make it a sport, cf. chess

Being awarded points for 'style' in my book should also be enough to prevent something being sport, cf. rhythmic gymnastics.

Snooker is a sport.

Rachael Atherton is one of the most deserving, but probably wont even get a nomination

Geraint Thomas stands a good chance, though as others have aluded to, the cycling vote will be split at least 3 ways. its harsh on froome, but it is sports personality, and G is by far the bigger personality.

You were doing so well

Snooker is a passtime.  A parlour game.  Your definition is completely underpinned by "coordination" for it's inclusion.

Needlework?

In absolute sporting terms - level of achievement versus competition - Froome, Thomas, or Lewis Hamilton probably have the strongest case. In terms of a "Personality" story, perhaps Fury - losing 10 stone, contending with mental health problems, being robbed of a win against the most dangerous heavy-weight around, after poor warm-ups and with a rookie trainer.  It would be fairy-tale stuff... if not for the previous PED controversy and misogynistic remarks. If the BBC ignored the bad and focused on the narrative he could win a lot of votes.

Know what you mean about F1 but really it’s more complicated than that. The equipment makes a decisive difference but the very best participants transcend the car and get it to finishing positions it has no right to be.

Senna, Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton are examples of this, none of them could do it all the time (except maybe Senna) but that is what provides the fascination within what can be a very dull sport.

Re. exertion drivers spend 90 to 120 minutes pulling 3 - 4.5g in all direction using carbon brakes which require 100+ kilos of force on the pedal while calculating all the sensory inputs they get and translating that into actions to keep the car (projectile) on the track, all in temperatures of 40C or more.

Its a very frustrating sport but it is a sport measured by the physical and mental demands it makes.

So give them all the same car

Bryony Frost.

The complete opposite of Steve Davis  and winners of that type.

Unless they have changed it. The shortlist is drawn up by a panel of sports journalists, but once the shortlist is announced it is 100% public vote.

The Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan for me as well. To still be playing at the standard he is for as long as he has is an amazing achievement. Those that say snooker isn't a sport because it doesn't involve physical exertion presumably haven't played snooker over an entire day.

Arguably snooker isn't that different from batting in cricket. A batsman spends most of the time watching the action, whether from the other end or the pavilion. And it calls for the same hand eye coordination. Genuinely puzzled that anyone questions it's a sport. Particularly when you factor in the mental resolve required.

Road cycling is considerably more boring to watch. 200 blokes take a scenic tour "a velo" and, in the end, the Brit wins.

As for my tip, Probably Lewis H.

Boring though F1 can be (20 millionaires take a scenic tour "en caravan" and, in the end, the Brit wins), he showed some incredible skills this year. As many pole positions as Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill combined, with twice as many world championships between them. Impressive.

My choice would be Rachel Atherton.  Gaining her 6th World Championship win this year was an outstanding achievement and DH is massively more exciting than road racing.

I'd say schmi the first time around constantly out performed the car all the time.  To a greater extent then Senna

The second time around he laid the foundations for Hamilton dominated period.

More poles than Schumacher; but Schumacher ahead on WCs (7 v 5) and GP wins (91 v 73)

And F1 funny, as wins don’t tell the whole story; vettel (4 WCs) really better than alonso, or mansell (3 between them)? 

And, any of them better than Senna?

But- hard to argue against Hamilton now having established himself as the best of his generation and worth another SPOTY

i’d pick Froome though; all three Grand Tours at once- and the way he won the Giro to do it- the stuff of legends...

Dina Asher-Smith for me. (Why isn't she called Dasher?) 

How Frome has never won it is totally beyond me. 

Kipchoge must be a shoe in for the overseas or maybe the Japanese chap who name I can't spell who won Boston in terrible conditions 

Rachel Atherton.    Any one who throws up with nerves and still goes on to win the world championship again and again is my sure winner

Because no one finds him engaging and many suspect he's a cheat. Those two objections aside, his is a remarkable achievement worthy of the title.

Possibly. A great achievement but marathon running is as boring to watch as road cycling.

Novak Djokovic is an outstanding overseas achiever in a proper sport but he may struggle to win it because he's not Roger or Rafa.

In reply 

Fed winning the Oz open for 20 probably  seals it

I thought you would find one of the greatest athletic achievements of all time quite interesting. Personally I could watch Kipchoge run all day.

Nothing in the slightest bit boring about many of the stages in all the Grand Tours this year.

However, the Berlin Marathon was quite difficult to follow live and there isn’t much cycling on the mainstream channels.

Only 6 nominees, no Tyson Fury, no Chris Froome.

The Burnley Lara was a slight surprise, but I suppose he is technically the greatest fast bowler ever!

Yep. A great cricketer and England's most prolific bowler by some distance.

Wow. Billy Monger.....what a remarkable young man.

Ridiculous that Froome isn’t on it- if it’s in any way meant to relate to sporting achievement, rather than just a popularity contest, then doing something that only Eddie Merckx and Bernard hinault have ever managed previously, in a major world  wide sport, should have put him in strong contention to be the overall winner. 

Fury as well- I’m not a fan, but that was a scarcely believable comeback; and I’d have thought his dedication of it to people suffering with mental health problems should have gone some way to rehabilitating his reputation after his previous idiotic comments. 

From that shortlist- I’d have to vote for Hamilton. Another I’m not a fan of, but the way he’s seen off the challenge of Vettel over the last 2 years has cemented his status as one of the best of all time in a global high profile sport. 

With that blingy jacket??  Not to mention the hair! FFS! Really?

The whole thing is no more than an entertaining TV show that generates endless circular discussion. However, if this is about achievement, then it is absurd that Thomas is in and Froome is not. By what measure is Thomas more deserving than Froome? 

I have always rated Froome. A really exciting, top class rider. All I care about is how he rides. His break and win in this year's Giro was outstanding.

And how many Grand Tours has he now won?

It demeans SPOTY that he is not even in the shortlist.

But it is only  bit of fun, so who cares?

It’s called ‘personality’.

Anyone else got something in their eye, or is it just me?

He really is. Annoying they cut him short and then subjected us to Baddiel and Skinner. 

Never mind all that, what the hell was all that screaming at the start! Jeez, how to murder a great soul record eh. 

thought it was lionel richie

got to be a cert next year if he wins the tour again . i wonder if that was in the back of the mind of the judging panel

Cue the words mad or insane 

The Beeb redeemed themselves. 

Well done GT. A very worthy winner. 

I got the top three right!

But in completely the wrong order. 

Never. However a lifetime achievement? 

Any embarrassment of riches currently.  

To quote Hemmingway accurately... "There are only three sports: Bull Fighting, Motor Racing and Mountaineering; all the rest are merely games"...

… he is alluding to, in the old fashioned sense / definition of the word: sport, there had to be a substantial risk of serious injury or death; whereas a game is simply that... just a game... 

I love my football, and I really enjoyed the world cup, but bringing out Baddiel and Skinner to sing 3 lions was just embarrassing. Especially when Billy Monger was cut off when thanking his parents. Will they never learn at SPOTY Towers? 

I think GT won because the whole of Wales would have voted for him. 

I think GT will have had genuine support from lots of cycling fans outside of Wales, with an embarrassment of riches for British cycling fans this year, he was the only option they had to vote for. It was a real shame that Dina Asher-Smith didn't finish top three.

I don't often vote in these things, I voted for Geraint Thomas and Dina Asher-Smith.

All the nominees obviously knew they where nominated and unusually they were all there. I got the feeling there might have been some changes behind the scenes and turning up was maybe a condition of nomination. Would Froome turn up to get snubbed?

There was no live feed to other locations tonight. Remember the shambles around Mo Farah winning last year, a surprise winner, probably thought his chance of winning had gone and didn't travel to the event.

Complete guess work!

If you weren't aware of him before, it's worth looking up the documentary on bbc iplayer. I was at Donnington that day, and he has been amazing, even getting back on the podium in his first race back.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06qx4gt/driven-the-billy-monger-stor...