It's that time of the year when Nobby hauls himself out of the armchair and acknowledges the men and women who have graced the sports pages this past year. Here are just a few memorable moments beginning with the Thai successes, particularly the kingdom's female golfers who did themselves proud.
Jeeno's beano: Top Thai women's golfer Atthaya 'Jeeno" Thitikul rounds off the season by collecting the biggest financial prize ever in women's golf history after winning the US$4 million prize at the prestigious CME Group Tour Championship in Florida. It pushed her world ranking up to fifth. Jeano's philosophy for success: "If I take it too seriously I won't win."
Plucky Patty: Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit winning the LPGA Honda Thailand tournament one year after finishing last in the same tournament and having experienced a difficult couple of years. There were plenty of tears of joy. She finished the season with another win, teaming up with Jake Knapp to take the Grant Thornton Invitational.
Lest we forget: Jeano and Patty were not the only Thai golfers to shine. Other winners on the LPGA Tour this season have been Moriya Jutanugarn, Jasmine Suwannapura and Chanettee Wanasaen. Well done ladies.
Golden girl: Panipak Wongpattanakit winning Thailand's only Olympic gold medal in the women's 49k taekwando event in Paris. She became the first Thai to win gold in two successive Olympics, having also triumphed in Tokyo in 2020.
Mea culpa: "I am not good enough. I am the boss. I have to find solutions and so far I haven't." -- Troubled Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on his once dominant team's terrible run highlighted by a disastrous conclusion to the derby with Man U.
Decision time: "I was told it was now or never." Ruben Amorim saying he would have preferred to take on the Man U job at the end of the season but the club gave him an ultimatum.
Red Card for Ref: Leading Premier League referee David Coote sacked for saying disparaging things about former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp. The referees ruling body said his position was "untenable".
On target: England football centre forward and captain Harry Kane claims his 100th cap in the 2-0 win over Finland, scoring both goals. In November, he became the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the Bundesliga, achieving it in just 43 games.
Boxing farce: Mike Tyson's ludicrous fight with Jake Paul for zillions of dollars which the Guardian newspaper rather politely called a "manufactured mismatch." Despite losing, the 58-year-old former world champ was grinning all the way to the bank.
Quite useful: "He can whack you over your head for six. He can scoop you over his head for six. He can smack spin. He can smack seam." -- Joe Root on Harry Brook, England's most successful batsman in recent times.
Back to reality: After a pretty successful 2024 England's cricketers were brought down to earth in the very last Test of the year, losing by a massive 423 runs to New Zealand. No Brook magic in this match.
Big Hitter: Japanese baseball star Shohe Ohtani did not disappoint after joining the LA Dodgers, becoming the first MLB player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season and going on to win the World Series.
Father & Son: "That moment -- us checking in together -- is something I will never forget." -- LeBron James when he and his son Bronny became the first father-son to play in the same NBA team.
The right formula: "To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible. It was a very challenging season." -- Max Verstappen after winning his fourth F1 world championship.
Game, set and match: "You beat me -- a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could." -- A magnanimous Roger Federer on Rafael Nadal announcing his retirement.
A Happy New Year to everyone and please try to avoid any own goals.
Jeeno's beano: Top Thai women's golfer Atthaya 'Jeeno" Thitikul rounds off the season by collecting the biggest financial prize ever in women's golf history after winning the US$4 million prize at the prestigious CME Group Tour Championship in Florida. It pushed her world ranking up to fifth. Jeano's philosophy for success: "If I take it too seriously I won't win."
Plucky Patty: Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit winning the LPGA Honda Thailand tournament one year after finishing last in the same tournament and having experienced a difficult couple of years. There were plenty of tears of joy. She finished the season with another win, teaming up with Jake Knapp to take the Grant Thornton Invitational.
Lest we forget: Jeano and Patty were not the only Thai golfers to shine. Other winners on the LPGA Tour this season have been Moriya Jutanugarn, Jasmine Suwannapura and Chanettee Wanasaen. Well done ladies.
Golden girl: Panipak Wongpattanakit winning Thailand's only Olympic gold medal in the women's 49k taekwando event in Paris. She became the first Thai to win gold in two successive Olympics, having also triumphed in Tokyo in 2020.
Mea culpa: "I am not good enough. I am the boss. I have to find solutions and so far I haven't." -- Troubled Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on his once dominant team's terrible run highlighted by a disastrous conclusion to the derby with Man U.
Decision time: "I was told it was now or never." Ruben Amorim saying he would have preferred to take on the Man U job at the end of the season but the club gave him an ultimatum.
Red Card for Ref: Leading Premier League referee David Coote sacked for saying disparaging things about former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp. The referees ruling body said his position was "untenable".
On target: England football centre forward and captain Harry Kane claims his 100th cap in the 2-0 win over Finland, scoring both goals. In November, he became the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the Bundesliga, achieving it in just 43 games.
Boxing farce: Mike Tyson's ludicrous fight with Jake Paul for zillions of dollars which the Guardian newspaper rather politely called a "manufactured mismatch." Despite losing, the 58-year-old former world champ was grinning all the way to the bank.
Quite useful: "He can whack you over your head for six. He can scoop you over his head for six. He can smack spin. He can smack seam." -- Joe Root on Harry Brook, England's most successful batsman in recent times.
Back to reality: After a pretty successful 2024 England's cricketers were brought down to earth in the very last Test of the year, losing by a massive 423 runs to New Zealand. No Brook magic in this match.
Big Hitter: Japanese baseball star Shohe Ohtani did not disappoint after joining the LA Dodgers, becoming the first MLB player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season and going on to win the World Series.
Father & Son: "That moment -- us checking in together -- is something I will never forget." -- LeBron James when he and his son Bronny became the first father-son to play in the same NBA team.
The right formula: "To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible. It was a very challenging season." -- Max Verstappen after winning his fourth F1 world championship.
Game, set and match: "You beat me -- a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could." -- A magnanimous Roger Federer on Rafael Nadal announcing his retirement.
A Happy New Year to everyone and please try to avoid any own goals.
