Who said what this year — a selection of the best sporting quotes of the year:
SOCCER
“Crisis, what is a crisis? We are not in a crisis. We are only in some difficulties and these will be solved.”
— FIFA president Sepp Blatter amid allegations of corruption engulfing soccer’s governing body.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
“Aren’t you the one who screwed me over last time? Don’t even look at me. If I see you in the corridor don’t even walk past me ... a code violation for expressing my opinion, we’re in America ... you’re unattractive inside ...”
— Serena Williams after being handed a code violation by umpire Eva Asderaki during her US Open final defeat to Samantha Stosur.
MEN’S TENNIS
“I had an unbelievable year. -Nothing can really ruin that. I will always remember this year as the best of my life.”
— Novak Djokovic on winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and five Masters events, as well as replacing Rafael Nadal as world No. 1.
GOLF
“It was my aim to shove it right up that black asshole.”
— Tiger Woods’s former caddie and confidant Steve Williams, celebrating a win with new charge Adam Scott months after the former world No. 1 had fired him.
CRICKET
“This is ridiculous. Damn. World Cup with so much security and this happens. Big joke. Trust me I am not keen here. Every player lay flat. This is some bullshit ... Bangladesh stoning our bus!!! Freaking glass Break!!! This is crap, can’t believe ... what next, bullets!!!!”
— West Indies batsman Chris Gayle on Twitter after the team bus was stoned in Dhaka.
RUGBY UNION
“I was down the Waikato River whitebaiting. I think Ted [coach Graham Henry] had missed me a couple of times and then I finally got a call from Milsy [Mils Muliaina] and he said: ‘Start answering your phone, you idiot.’ So that was sort of the message I needed.”
— Kiwi fly-half Stephen Donald after getting a surprise call-up to replace injured Colin Slade in the World Cup.
FIGURE SKATING
“I didn’t just skate for myself. In Japan we’re having a really hard time right now. Skating is really important there and so many people are watching the competition.”
— Miki Ando after winning women’s gold at the world -championships which were moved to Moscow from Tokyo after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
FORMULA ONE
“I think Europe is finished. It will be a good place for tourism but little else. Europe is a thing of the past.”
— F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Europe’s future as a top motor racing destination.
NBA
“I feel like my kids on X-mas day! So juiced!!”
— Miami Heat star LeBron James tweeted after hearing that a tentative deal had been reached to end the NBA’s lockout and play a shortened season starting on Christmas Day.
ICE HOCKEY
“They’re destroying the city.”
— A distraught resident as rioting fans torched cars and smashed buildings in Vancouver after the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup 4-0 over the Canucks.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WORLD CUP
“I truly believe that something bigger was pulling for this team.”
— Stunned US goalkeeper Hope Solo on the determination shown by the Japanese in the wake of the tsumami disaster, which saw the Asians rally twice with late equalizers to beat the US 3-1 on penalties in the July 17 final.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
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