Well, sports fans - 2008 has come to a close, so we thought we'd take a look back at the five biggest stories (in our opinion) of 2008. This wasn't easy, either - there have been some very interesting stories and events to emerge this year.

5. The Beijing Olympics
There were a lot of questions about whether or not China could host a successful Olympics, but they put forward a solid effort, and despite some pretty average crowd turnouts, the games themselves were very entertaining - especially for us New Zealanders, who had one of our most successful games in recent times.

The games themselves were almost entirely dominated by two individuals - Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt - both of whom captured our imaginations with some truly spectacular performances. Phelps set a new record by winning eight Gold medals in the pool, while Bolt blitzed the rest of the field in the 100 and 200m, before helping Jamaica to Gold in the 4x100 relay. The scary thing was that Bolt never looked to get out of 3rd gear, and he still dominated. Just imagine him at full pace...

The Beijing games were well organised, and have seemed to re-spark interest in the Olympics.

Bring on London in 2012!

4. Graham Henry vs Robbie Deans
After the All Blacks bailed out of last years World Cup in unspectacular fashion, many called for Graham Henry to get the chop, and for Robbie Deans to be given the job as All Blacks coach. After so many successful years in charge of the Canterbury Crusaders, all signs pointed to Deans getting the job, but to the surprise of many the NZRU reappointed Henry - along with Wayne Smith and Steve Hanson. Not long after that Australia snapped up Deans, and the Henry vs Deans saga kicked up a notch.

When the All Blacks and the Wallabies met in their first encounter, most of the focus was on the coaches rather than the players - it really was quite strange.

When the Wallabies won the first encounter, thanks in part to the All Blacks playing terribly (rather than the Wallabies playing spectacularly), most of New Zealand began to think the wrong man had been given the All Blacks job. But within a week the All Blacks were back on top, completely outplaying the Wallabies in Auckland. The All Blacks went on to beat the Wallabies in the last two Tests as well, giving Henry a 3-1 victory over Deans.

While many people were outraged at Henry's reappointment, you can't argue with the results he's helped produce. The All Blacks are back on top where they should be, and that has a lot to do with Henry. The Wallabies, on the other hand, haven't really shown any marked improvement from recent years, so it's going to be interesting to see what Deans does next year.

3. Bracewell finally departs
This story was pretty big for us, because we'd been calling for Bracewell to step down for some time. So, when he finally did at the end of the Tests against Australia, we were two of the happiest people in the world. The Black Caps were not showing any signs of improvement under Bracewell, and since Andy Moles has taken the reigns several players have already shown huge improvement.

Flynn moving up the order has been a success already, as has Ryder moving to five. Both players have gone on to score some runs, and while neither has made 100 they look like they aren't far away from their maiden tons. Tim Mcintosh has shown early on he has the makings of a good opener, making his first Test century against the West Indies in Napier.
We have to remember that it's early days yet for Moles, but the signs so far are looking pretty good.

2. The Sonny Bill Williams saga
In a matter of days Sonny went from one of the most loved men in Australia to one of the most hated. Not satisfied with his lot at the Bulldogs, Sonny up and left his club to take up a contract with French rugby team, Toulon. There was a problem with that, though - he was going against his current contract with the Bulldogs, who were prepared to take the matter to court if Sonny took the field for Toulon. It got to the point where Sonny was facing serious problems with the law, but fortunately for him the matter was eventually resolved.

Sonny's contract with the Bulldogs was paid out by Anthony Mundine, but it has meant that Sonny can't return to the NRL until 2012, which is a major loss for rugby league.
Sonny's departure really hit the rugby league world hard, and it will take a lot of time before loyal Bulldogs fans can ever forgive him - if they ever can. He would have to be pretty brave to step back into Bulldogs territory any time soon...

While he isn't exactly setting the rugby world alight, he certainly isn't disgracing himself, despite getting sin binned in his first game for a shoulder charge. It's going to be interesting to see if he can make the All Blacks some time in the future, as he's certainly an asset for any team - whether in rugby or league.

1. Kiwis win rugby league World Cup
By far the greatest moment of 2008, and possibly of our sporting lives. Beaten 32-6 by the Aussies in the first game of the World Cup, very few people gave them a chance of winning when they met the Aussies in the Grand Final. But this was to be a game no one would forget, as the Kiwis put on the performance of a life time to beat the Kangaroos 34-20, winning their first ever rugby league World Cup.

The Kangaroos were playing as though they had the game in the bag, and the mistakes began to pile up, while the Kiwis maintained their composure as they pushed the lead out to a fourteen point margin.

The feeling at the final whistle was something we'll never forget - finally the Kiwis had won the World Cup, and in spectacular fashion. The fallout for the Kangaroos was disappointing, to say the least. Ricky Stuart abused the referee, which eventually cost him his job. His actions were disgraceful, and he deserved what he got. In all honesty, he should be banned from coaching completely for the way he acted. Rugby league doesn't need that kind of behaviour - the players do a good enough job of tainting its name.

But all that doesn't really matter for us Kiwis, who got to end the year on an absolute high. It was a moment that we'll remember for a lifetime, and we can just see us talking about the day the Kiwis conquered the rugby league world fifty years from now, when we're old and grey.

We'd like to thank everyone for taking the time out to read our thoughts on the sporting world during 2008. We're back bigger and stronger in 2009, ready to start another year of sporting action.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Chris and Israel..... the Sports Fanatics.

In this week's Top 5, we're looking at the Greatest American sportsmen - which virtually picks itself when you look at the legends that hail from the good old US of A.

Seeing as we're from New Zealand, we don't get to see a lot of American sports (we're limited by what they show on ESPN...), so forgive us if we've left someone out.

But then, you won't argue with our picks anyway, will you?

What can we say about Tiger? The guy truly is one of the greatest golfers of all time, and has certainly been the most dominant in recent history - not to mention the highest money earner in golf. During his career so far, Tiger has amassed 65 PGA Tour wins and 14 Major Championships, and is second only to Jack Nicklaus on 18. Once he's back from his knee injury, we're sure he'll surpass Nicklaus's record. The golfing world better make the most of his absence, because once he's back, we're sure he'll continue where he left off.

Winning.

Jesse Owens is a true legend. Not only in the athletic world, but amongst all sportsmen. He dominated the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, winning four Gold medals on the track - 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay. "So what?", we hear you say, "A lot of people have won more than that!". But what makes Owens great was the fact that he did this in front of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, where they were claiming Aryan superiority and black inferiority. Owens became one of the game's great heroes, and was well received in Germany despite the colour of his skin. His record of four golds at one Olympics was held until 1984, when Carl Lewis broke it.





'Babe' Ruth is considered the greatest Baseball player of all time - and he didn't need the assistance of steroids, either. From 1914-1935 Babe revolutionised the game, helping to raise the games popularity during the 1920s. During his twenty-one year career, Babe became a master of hitting, and his record speaks for themselves - .342 average, .690 slugging percentage and 1.164 on-base plus slugging. In 1936, Babe was one of the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame for his services to the game, and in 1969 (the year of baseball's 100th Anniversary) was named the greatest baseballer of all time. He will probably be best remembered for his famous point to the outfield before hitting a home run, but as far as American legends go - he's definitely amongst the best.





Jordan is without doubt the greatest Basketball player of all time, and his impact on the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s tells the story. Six NBA championships (1991, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98), five MVPs, two Olympic golds (1984, 92), fourteen All-Star appearances - and the list goes on. Jordan has done it all, including a brief stint at Baseball and a Hollywood movie (Space Jam). Everyone wanted to 'Be like Mike', and it's no wonder. The guy was a freak on the basketball court, and the things he could do left other teams in awe of him. We think this quote from Magic Johnson says it all - "There's Michael Jordan, and then there's the rest of us".

Enough said.




He could 'float like a butterfly and sting like a bee', and would mentally breakdown an opponent before he even stepped into the ring. With a record of 61/56/5, with 37 wins by way of knockout, you can hardly argue with him being at number one. He was one of the greatest performers outside of the ring, and the greatest fighter in it. On October 30, 1974, Ali fought George Forman in Zaire. It was the famous 'Rumble in the Jungle', and was the first time we saw the rope-a-dope. He took everything Forman had, waiting patiently for Forman to tire himself out - and by the eighth round, Ali was ready to unleash. Which he did. He lost only five fights in his entire career (to Berbick, Holmes, Spinks, Norton and Frazier), and in 1999 was named the 'Greatest Sportsman of the Century'.



How can we argue with THAT?


Honorable mentions - these guys were close (oh, so close...) but didn't quite make it:

Lance Armstrong, Carl Lewis and Joe Montana - almost, guys.

Remember, sports fans - we'd love to here your Top 5 if you think you can do better!