WITH no World Cup or Olympic Games to captivate us in the summer, it's been a quiet year for sport. And, as a partial consequence, it's also been a quiet year for Britain's sportsmen and women.
This is reflected in the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, which takes place tomorrow night. Some of the names are better known for what they failed to do in 2007 rather than anything they actually achieved, while a couple o
f those who won something substantial did so in circumstances which undermined public estimation of them.
The former category includes Andy Murray, who could not shake off a wrist injury in time to compete at Wimbledon. One year soon the young Scot should win a grand slam event and thus deservedly lift the BBC award as well, but not this time.
Two other cases in point are Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson. They were part of the England team which bounced back to go all the way to the Rugby World Cup final, but could that - and their roles in it - truly be called the greatest British success of the year?
And then there is Lewis Hamilton. Yes, the racing driver had a remarkable season - the best by any rookie in the history of Formula One - but when it came to the crunch he failed to hold his nerve, and lost a championship which was there for the taking. He followed that up by saying he was leaving Britain because of the pressures of fame.
Of those who did actually win something, James Toseland will receive short shrift because of the low visibility of his sport, motor cycling. It may be a whole lot more exciting to watch than Formula One, but it lacks the glamour, and as a result the world superbike champion is surely looking at third place at best.
As for Christine Ohuruogu, the remarkable fact about her triumph at the world athletics championship is also the reason why so many people would not countenance voting for her. You or I may be impressed by her winning the 400 metres just weeks after completing a year-long ban for missing three drugs tests: other, more cynical minds would look on with suspicion at an athlete who reached such a performance level so swiftly after returning to competition.
Paula Radcliffe returned from giving birth to win the New York Marathon, but by her own standards this was a modest year. Justin Rose won golf's European Order of Merit, but that is surely not enough to make him a contender tomorrow night.
So who are the contenders? Hamilton, of course - with six winners, Formula One is second only to athletics - and then the two boxers, Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton.
The problem for the latter is one of timing. Victory over Floyd Mayweather would surely guarantee Hatton the Sports Personality award - if it had taken place a month ago instead of going ahead in the small hours of tomorrow morning.
There is time for the outcome of the vote to be decided in the Mancunian's behaviour should he win, but it is questionable that enough people will watch the fight then get on to the phone. In the end, the publicity generated by the issue will probably be more help to the BBC's viewing figures than it will be to Hatton's cause.
With Calzaghe, however, there are no such complications. His super-middleweight unification victory over Mikkel Kessler did take place a month ago.
What is more, it stretched his reign as WBO world champion past the ten-year mark. Never mind doing quite well but falling short, which is how Hamilton's year can be summed up: Calzaghe has done it year after year after year.
If Hatton beats Mayweather, the BBC award should, in a less imperfect world, follow as the cherry on the icing. If he loses, Calzaghe should win instead.
But let's face it, whatever happens in Las Vegas, or whatever we think should happen tomorrow evening, Hamilton will win. Formula One may be on ITV now, but it remains a BBC kind of sport in the eyes of many voters and viewers. Boxing emphatically is not.
All that remains to be seen now is whether Hamilton will be able to stand up to the pressure and actually turn up for the event, or whether he will accept his award by videolink from his new haven of tranquillity in Switzerland.
The full article contains 750 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
