McCoy earns his stripes in my SPOTY picks

SPOTY winners
SPOTY: Tony McCoy
Second: Phil Taylor Third: Jessica Ennis
Overseas: Rafael Nadal
Coach: Colin Montgomerie
Team: Europe Ryder Cup players
Young: Tom Daley
Lifetime Achievement: David Beckham
Helen Rollason Award: Sir Frank Williams
Unsung Hero: Lance Haggith

My Sports Personality of the Year picks
SPOTY: Tony McCoy
Overseas SPOTY: Rafael Nadal
Coach SPOTY: Andy Flower
Team SPOTY: Europe Ryder Cup players
Young SPOTY: Conor Coady (footballer)
Lifetime Achievement: David Beckham (pre-selected by BBC)
*Other awards include the Helen Rollason award, given for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity, and the Unsung Hero award.

SPOTY main award
TONY MCCOY still heads the betting for tonight's prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award - and rightly so after his Grand National win on Don't Push It in April.

McCoy memorably won the world's greatest steeplechase at the 15th attempt proving persistence pays off.

"If you get enough goes at something and you keep going, once you're in there you've always got a chance," McCoy said once he had calmed down.

For his victory led to a wonderful but unusual outpouring of joy from a jockey who has been head and shoulders above his contemporaries for years.

The Northern Irishman has been Champion Jockey in every season since 1995-6 but the famous Aintree race had somehow eluded him and it was starting to look as if he might never win it.

This year, another chance looked set to pass by McCoy with Black Apalachi ahead and Don't Push it back in the field.

But a strong finish overhauled Black Apalachi's advantage and gave the 36-year-old the finest of his 3,000+ wins.

Of course, McCoy faces tough competition for the award which will be presented at the Birmingham NEC in front of 13,000 people.

In an excellent year for Northern Irish sport, perhaps McCoy's biggest competition comes from his compatriot Graeme McDowell.

McDowell hit the winning putt at Celtic Manor as Europe regained the Ryder Cup by the slimmest of margins in a fascinating finale in Newport.

But applying the coup de grace to Europe's victory was far from McDowell's only achievement in 2010.

The Portrush man also won his first major, the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach by one shot from Frenchman Gregory Havret.

Big names such as Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were all just a couple of shots behind throughout the final round.

But McDowell held them all off to add to complete a great year in which he also won the Welsh Open, again at Celtic Manor, and the Andalucia Masters.

The main problem for McDowell is that the golf vote will be split between himself and Lee Westwood whose brilliant consistency landed him the coveted world number one spot.

Westwood also played a major part in Europe's Ryder Cup win, usually going out first and setting the tone by taking 2.5 points from his four matches.

Even in his singles' match which he lost, Westwood seemed to give the Europe middle-order some momentum by leading until a late collapse.

Unfortunately, nearly but not quite enough seems to be the way for the Worksop man who has agonisingly finished third and second in his last two Open Championships, meaning he is still without a major.

But the feeling is that Westwood's time will come soon. After all, you do not become world number one for nothing.

World number one is where Phil Taylor has been for years in darts. The Power's 7-3 victory over Simon Whitlock with an average of 104.38, no less, was his 15th world championship.

Such a record has often provoked a clamour for Taylor to be bestowed with the SPOTY honour but it seems unlikely that the Stoke man has the fanbase to pull this one off.

Taylor may attract votes as some sort of working-class hero but, given that Zara Phillips won this award in 2006, the programme's demographic seems more far-reaching than that.

That won't bother Taylor too much. After all, he is currently playing at the Alexandra Palace, looking for a 16th world championship at the age of 50.

If Taylor is coming towards the end of his career, the next candidate - Tom Daley - has only just begun.

Diver Daley, at 16, had already become a world champion in 2009 and he added double Commonwealth gold this year against a tough field.

Plymouth-born Daley has a good record in this competition too, having won Young SPOTY in 2007 and 2009.

He was also named in the top ten of the main award last year for his world championship win.

Daley has again been nominated in both awards this year and yet, given his competition, he may be unlucky enough not to win either.

However, what seems certain is that he will be the poster boy for British hopes in the London 2012 Olympics.

Meanwhile, the pin-up girl is likely to be Jessica Ennis who continued her golden streak in the heptathlon this year, setting a personal best of 6,823 points at the European Championships.

Sheffield-born Ennis, who finished third in last year's SPOTY, also won the World Indoor Championships with a competition-record points total to add to her World Championship win in Berlin in 2009.

Of course, the big prize for 24-year-old Ennis remains the Olympics and Denise Lewis' British points record of 6,831 which she just fell short of this year.

Among the other candidates, Amy Williams is already an Olympic champion having brought home Great Britain's only medal from the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Skeleton athlete Williams became the first individual British gold medalist in 30 years since Robin Cousins won gold in figure skating in 1980 when she got down the Whistler track in the best aggregate time over four runs.

She also set the track record of 53.68 in her third run to set up her victory which came by 56 seconds over German pair Kerstin Szymkowiak and Anja Huber.

Manxman Mark Cavendish is another speed merchant to make the final cut after he won another five stages in the 2010 Tour de France to take his career total to an amazing 15 in three years.

The 25-year-old also backed up his stage wins with a green jersey in another of the classic tours, La Vuelta a Espana for the most overall points.

Cavendish looks as if he could dominate sprinting in cycling for years - he certainly seems to have the desire to win over and over again.

Another man with great self-belief is Notts and England spinner Graeme Swann, a late bloomer if ever there was one.

Since his Test debut in December 2008 at the age of 29, Swann has become a major pillar of this largely successful England team.

Under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss, England won their first major ICC World Cup in the Twenty20 version of the sport this year.

The team also enjoyed Test series wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan, and they made a fine start to their Ashes defence with victory in Adelaide before being pegged back in Perth.

Swann has added a new dimension to England's bowling attack, providing the team with a genuine world class spinner.

His 124 Test wickets at an average of 27.62 speaks volumes, as does his ability to pick up five-wicket hauls - no fewer than 10 in just 27 matches.

The final candidate is WBA world heavyweight champion David Haye who defended his belt successfully against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison this year.

Unfortunately, the spectacle of the Haye-Harrison fight left much to be desired and Haye was barely tested, winning in three rounds.

Haye's big year is 2011 in which he plans to fight both of the Klitchko brothers - only by beating them will he cement his place on the pantheon of great British boxing heavyweights.

Overseas SPOTY
IN American Pie, Don McLean wrote: "And while the King was looking down, the Jester stole his thorny crown..." and this year saw the long-awaited changing of the guard in tennis.

Rafael Nadal won three of the four majors in 2010 to complete his own career Grand Slam.

While Roger Federer crashed out of Wimbledon at the quarter final stage, Nadal powered to a 6-3 7-5 6-4 - having won his fifth French Open in six years a month earlier.

And at the US open, Federer again went out before the final, losing Novak Djokovic in the semis, opening the door for Nadal.

The Spaniard won 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 against the Serb to become the first player ever to win majors on clay, grass and hardcourt in a single season.

Federer is now 29 while Mallorca-born Nadal is just 24 - and, with him having overcome his knee trouble, it is frightening to think how much more he might win.

Nevertheless, Nadal is likely to face tough competition tonight from New Zealand fly-half Daniel Carter and Sri Lankan spin king Mutiah Muralitharan.

All Black Carter won the Tri Nations for the sixth time and he also helped NZ complete a clean sweep in the Autumn internationals.

While in Britain, Carter hit a penalty against Wales to overhaul Jonny Wilkinson and become the leading Test point scorer with 1,188 points.

That record includes 29 tries, 208 conversion, 207 penalties and two drop goals at an average of 15 point a game, highest average for players with more than 500 Test points.

Meanwhile, Murali was also a record breaker before his retirement this year, becoming the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets, all at an average of 22.72.

Better still, he achieved his feat in typical fairytale style with his final delivery in Test cricket, dismissing Pragjan Ojha of India to complete a 10-wicket win.

Murali's career record was indeed second to none - only Shane Warne, on 708 wickets, came anywhere near to matching this spinning genius.

Coach SPOTY
UNLIKE the 2005 Ashes victory which came at the end of a long unbeaten run, the 2009 win has seemed to breed further success for the England cricketers and their coach Andy Flower.

England are unbeaten in all of their Test series since the fifth Test win at the Oval regained the Ashes, drawing in South Africa, beating Bangladesh twice and Pakistan.

In limited overs cricket, England have overseen a big upturn in form, with five successive series wins over South Africa, Bangladesh twice, Pakistan and Australia. The team also tasted success in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Much credit for this must go to the coach who seems to have instilled a great spirit in the camp and a professionalism which has seen the team's fielding improve massively.

Team SPOTY
THE two golfers, McDowell and Westwood, may cancel each other out in the main award but Europe's Ryder Cup players should be a shoo-in for the Team of the Year.

Trailing 6-4 after the first two sessions of fourballs and foursomes, Europe produced a scintillating run of form to win the third session by 5.5 to 0.5.

The trail of victories began on Saturday evening and finished on Sunday afternoon as the competition was forced into a Monday finish for the first time ever in rainy Wales.

Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Miguel Angel Jiminez all won their Singles matches while Rory McIlroy and Eduaordo Molinari earned halves.

But, at 13.5-13.5, it was all down to McDowell to keep his cool. That he did, winning on the 17th green after his opponent Hunter Mahan conceded a five-foot putt.

The victory sparked celebrations reminiscent of a football pitch invasion as fans flooded onto the green in a scene which will go down in Ryder Cup history.

Europe had won its sixth Ryder Cup out of the last eight - with four wins in the last five - but only by the slimmest of margins. This was a classic.

Young SPOTY
IN a year in which the England senior team failed badly at the World Cup in South Africa, English football actually won its first major international trophy for 17 years.

England beat Spain 2-1 in the final of the Under-17 European Championships in Liechtenstein and Liverpool's Conor Coady was vital to the success.

Described as a Steven Gerrard-type box-to-box midfielder - with the crew-cut hairstyle to match - Coady was instrumental as skipper in bringing back the trophy in May.

Let us hope in years to come, he will do better than Gerrard on the senior international stage as well.

Lifetime Achievement award
THE BBC has made a shocking decision which smacks of pandering to the masses by giving the Lifetime Achievement award to David Beckham.

To his credit, Beckham won everything there was to win in the club game, and he also hauled the national team out of sticky situations on several occasions.

Off the pitch, Beckham deserves credit for his charitable work, raising awareness for UNICEF and the Unite against Aids campaign.

He has also featured in memorable sketches for Comic Relief and played a big part in helping Great Britain win the bid for the London 2012 Olympics.

But, aged 35, his name sits uncomfortably at the moment alongside other Manchester United greats who have picked up this award - Sir Alex Ferguson, George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.

The reason being that I would imagine Beckham has much more yet to give in his post-playing career.

When Alexander the Great was 33, he broke down and cried as there were no more lands to conquer. David Beckham is not Alexander the Great.

Europe wins epic Ryder Cup

EUROPE 14.5-13.5 UNITED STATES

Europe wins the 2010 Ryder Cup

GRAEME McDOWELL held his nerve as Europe regained the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Newport by the narrowest of margins.

McDowell won the final match of a memorable tournament 3&1 against the United States' Hunter Mahan to complete a magnificent year for the Ulsterman after his 2010 US Open success.

The decision to send McDowell out last proved to be prudent captaincy by Europe's Colin Montgomerie as McDowell had won on the course at the Welsh Open in June.

But the key to Europe's victory was the third session of two foursomes and four fourballs, played on Saturday evening and Sunday.

Europe won five of the matches - the other was halved - and it meant Montgomerie's men took a commanding three-point lead into the final session of Singles.

For the first time ever, the Singles had been delayed until the Monday after torrential rain wiped out almost all the playing time on Friday and the whole of Sunday morning.

It was hardly an unforeseeable prospect and the weather called into question the ridiculous decision to play Ryder Cup golf in the United Kingdom in October.

The blame lies with the American PGA Tour which insisted that its end-of-season FedEx Cup took place in mid-September, a space in the calendar usually reserved for the Ryder Cup.

The PGA Tour were able to do this because - unlike in Europe - the responsibility for the Ryder Cup in the United States rests with a separate organisation, namely the PGA of America.

And so, while the Ryder Cup is very much part of the European tour, it is not officially part of the PGA Tour.

That is something which drastically needs to change for the good of the competition and to prevent more October scheduling.

Play actually began at the scheduled time on Friday but was suspended after just two hours at 9.43am as heavy rain waterlogged vast areas of the fairways and greens.

A further two hours of action took place on Friday evening between 5pm and 7pm but none of the first session fourballs could be finished in time.

After a slow start, the US led in two matches by a hole, while Europe led in one match by a hole. A fourth match was all square, meaning there was all to play for when the players resumed on Saturday morning.

But, in the end, none of the matches changed hands and so while Lee Westwood/Martin Kaymer won the first point of the tournament for Europe, the United States took an early 2.5-1.5 lead.

USA increased their advantage further in the second session by taking three of the six foursomes matches played on the Saturday afternoon.

The efforts of Padraig Harrington/Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter/Luke Donald meant Europe won two matches while Westwood/Kaymer halved their match against Jim Furyk/Rickie Fowler.

But the score after two sessions was 6-4 to the Americans and the possibility of Europe taking a lead going into the Singles matches was fast diminishing.

However, after a pep talk from Montgomerie, the European players emerged for the third session with renewed fire in their bellies and turned the whole tie on its head.

By the end of the two hours of golf played on Saturday evening, Europe had a lead in all six matches.

Westwood and Donald were in particularly inspired form, 4 up after nine holes in a foursomes match against the in-form Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.

Meanwhile, in the other foursomes match, McDowell and his Northern Irish compatriot Rory McIlroy were 3 up through seven on Zach Johnson and Mahan.

And the news was just as good in the four fourballs matches. Harrington/Fisher, Peter Hanson/Miguel Angel Jimenez, the Molinari brothers and Poulter/Kaymer all ended the day holding narrow advantages over Furyk/Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson/Jeff Overton, Stewart Cink/Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson/Fowler respectively.

Then, on Sunday, the rain came again, and the slim hopes of avoiding a first Monday finish were washed away, with a revised start time of 1.30pm agreed.

Paths around the course came to resemble the Glastonbury mud at its worst, coincidentally on the day tickets for the 2011 festival went on sale.

By the time the players were back out on the course, Glastonbury 2011 had sold out but this would have not have even registered in European players' minds.

They knew that converting their overnight leads into actual points was vital as it would give them a huge advantage going into the Singles.

Westwood/Donald began a procession of Europe wins with a thumping 6&5 victory over Woods/Stricker.

And, in the other foursomes match, McDowell/McIlroy comfortably held off Zach Johnson/Mahan, winning 3&1 after taking the 17th hole with a birdie.

The fourballs matches were much less clear cut and all four of them went down to the penultimate hole at least.

Harrington/Fisher won 2&1 against Dustin Johnson/Furyk while Hanson/Jimenez won the last hole to beat Watson/Overton 2 up.

Poulter/Kaymer withstood a fine comeback at one stage to all-square by Mickelson/Fowler, eventually prevailing 2&1.

But, despite the best efforts of the Americans, USA never held the lead at any time in those three matches.

Their only chance rested in the match between the Molinari brothers and Cink/Kuchar.

Resuming 1 up, the Italians held that advantage until Kuchar nailed a 12-foot putt at the 10th hole to make the match all-square.

Kuchar then sank a 25-footer at the 13th hole to give the Americans a rare lead before the pairs exchanged holes at 15 and 16.

That left the Molinari brothers one down going to the final hole. Cink and Kuchar both carded par fives meaning either of the Italians could win a half-point with a birdie.

Edoardo missed his putt but Francesco made no mistake from just four-foot out after a fine approach shot.

The Molinaris had only managed to halve their match but, given the circumstances and the other results, it felt like another win.

It was another body blow to the Americans' confidence and it meant Europe would take a three-point lead going into the Singles.

Fears that the extra day might result in smaller crowds proved unfounded as 35,000 watched a dramatic day unfold.

Looking to secure his own Ryder Cup legacy, Europe skipper Montgomerie avoided the mistake of his predecessor Nick Faldo and named his strongest and most in-form players at the top of the order.

But it was the Americans who did better in the top matches as Steve Stricker overturned an early Lee Westwood lead to win the top match 2&1.

Stewart Cink should have won the second match for the Americans but missed a four-foot par putt on the 15th green when one ahead and the match finished all square.

Cink was in good company. In the next match, Furyk also blew several chances against Luke Donald who eventually prevailed 1 up.

Donald, though, was in particularly excellent form, holing from 20 feet on the 12th and the 13th to stay 2 up at that stage.

The next two matches on the card were a thrashing each as Dustin Johnson put away Kaymer 6&4 before Poulter responded for Europe by beating Kuchar 5&4.

Poulter's compatriot Fisher also looked set to score a vital point as he led 2 up at the turn, only for his form to desert him completely on the back nine.

Overton took full advantage and beat Fisher quite comfortably by 3&2 in the end.

That turnaround seemed to boost American spirits down the order with Woods particularly inspired against Francesco Molinari.

The Italian had no answer to Woods' blistering form which saw him shoot nine-under-par in 15 holes to win 4&3.

Mickelson and Zach Johnson had also lined up big wins against Hanson and Harrington, eventually prevailing 4&2 and 3&2 respectively.

And so, with Europe requiring two-and-a-half more points for victory, their Ryder Cup hopes relied on Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari and McDowell keeping their leads and holding their nerve.

Cigar-smoking Jimenez is far too wily and experienced a performer to let an advantage slip and indeed he accelerated away from Watson to win 4&3.

But Ryder Cup debutant Molinari did feel the pressure as rising talent Fowler, also making his debut aged 21, birdied the last four holes to win the last three holes and halve the match.

With the Hanson and Harrington matches out of reach, McDowell knew he would have to retain his lead in the so-called 'anchor match' for Europe to win the cup.

Another half-point would tie the overall score at 14-14 meaning the Americans, as holders, would retain the trophy.

Mahan had just pulled back McDowell to 1 up by winning the 15th hole with a birdie. Now was the time for a steady nerve from the man known as 'GMac'.

McDowell delivered immediately, regaining his two-hole lead with a birdie at the 16th.

And, at the 17th, it was Mahan's turn to feel the heat as he fluffed his chip from the front of the green. On missing the subsequent speculative 18-footer, the American conceded the hole and the match.

It was the first since 1991 that the Ryder Cup had been decided by the final match and Europe had done it - but only just - having actually lost three of the four sessions.

Nevertheless, Europe's victory extends the team's remarkable recent record of six wins out of the last eight editions - and four wins from the last five. Meanwhile the Americans are without an away win since 1993.

SESSION-BY-SESSION: HOW EUROPE WON THE RYDER CUP

Session One: Fourballs USA won 2.5-1.5
As the name suggests, this features four balls, one for each player. The player with the lowest score wins the hole for his team regardless of what his team-mate does. If two opponents have the same lowest score, the hole is halved.

Match one:
Lee Westwood(Eng)/Martin Kaymer(Ger) v Phil Mickelson/Dustin Johnson
Eur won 3 & 2

Match two:
Rory McIlroy(NI)/Graeme McDowell (NI) v Stewart Cink/Matt Kuchar
Match halved

Match three:
Ian Poulter(Eng)/Ross Fisher(Eng) v Steve Stricker/Tiger Woods
USA won 2 up

Match four:
Luke Donald(Eng)/Padraig Harrington(Ire) v Bubba Watson/Jeff Overton
USA won 3 & 2

Session Two: Foursomes USA won 3.5-2.5
Each pair of players takes alternate shots with the same ball. The pair with the lowest score wins the hole. If both teams shoot the same score, the hole is halved.

Match five:
Edoardo Molinari(Ita)/Francesco Molinari(Ita) v Zach Johnson/Hunter Mahan
USA won 2 up

Match six:
Lee Westwood(Eng)/Martin Kaymer(Ger) v Jim Furyk/Rickie Fowler
Match halved

Match seven:
Padraig Harrington(Ire)/Ross Fisher(Eng) v Phil Mickelson/Dustin Johnson
Eur won 3 & 2

Match eight:
Miguel Angel Jimenez(Spa)/Peter Hanson(Swe) v Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker
USA won 4 & 3

Match nine:
Ian Poulter(Eng)/Luke Donald(Eng) v Bubba Watson/Jeff Overton
Eur won 2 & 1

Match ten:
Graeme McDowell(NI)/Rory McIlroy(NI) v Stewart Cink/Matt Kuchar
USA won 2 up

Session three: Foursomes (matches 11-12) and Fourballs (matches 13-16) Europe won 5.5-0.5

Match 11:
Luke Donald(Eng)/Lee Westwood(Eng) v Steve Stricker/Tiger Woods
Eur won 6 & 5

Match 12:
Graeme McDowell(NI)/Rory McIlroy(NI) v Zach Johnson/Hunter Mahan
Eur won 3 & 1

Match 13:
Padraig Harrington(Ire)/Ross Fisher(Eng) v Jim Furyk/Dustin Johnson
Eur won 2 & 1

Match 14:
Peter Hanson(Swe)/Miguel Angel Jimenez(Spa) v Bubba Watson/Jeff Overton
Eur won 2 up

Match 15:
Edoardo Molinari(Ita)/Fracesco Molinari(Ita) v Stewart Cink/Matt Kuchar
Match halved

Match 16:
Ian Poulter(Eng)/Martin Kaymer(Ger) v Phil Mickelson/Rickie Fowler
Eur won 2 & 1

Session four: Singles USA won 7-5
Match 17:
Lee Westwood (Eng) v Steve Stricker
USA won 2 & 1

Match 18:
Rory McIlroy (NI) v Stewart Cink
Match halved

Match 19:
Luke Donald (Eng) v Jim Furyk
Eur won 1 up

Match 20:
Martin Kaymer (Ger) v Dustin Johnson
USA won 6 & 4

Match 21:
Ian Poulter (Eng) v Matt Kuchar
Eur won 5 & 4

Match 22:
Ross Fisher (Eng) v Jeff Overton
USA won 3 & 2

Match 23:
Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) v Bubba Watson
Eur won 4 & 3

Match 24:
Francesco Molinari (Ita) v Tiger Woods
USA won 4 & 3

Match 25:
Edoardo Molinari (Ita) v Rickie Fowler
Match halved

Match 26:
Peter Hanson (Swe) v Phil Mickelson
USA won 4 & 2

Match 27:
Padraig Harrington (Ire) v Zach Johnson
USA won 3 & 2

Match 28:
Graeme McDowell (NI) v Hunter Mahan
Eur won 3 & 1