It's the end of the year, the end of the decade, the end of the….Well, never mind. Here goes our best and worst of the sporting year.
Quote of the Year I: "Nobody die": Lance Klusener when asked how he felt after that gut-wrenching semifinal. How true!
Quote II: "Indian cricketers are like beggars" -- Board secretary JY Lele.
Quote III: "Kapil Dev is a liar" -- Lele again.
Quote IV: "I have been misquoted" -- See II and III
Quote V: "I am in good form and should be back in the Indian side" - Mohammed Azharuddin, having suddenly re-discovered the charms of domestic cricket, after scoring a double century against Goa.
Hero of the Year: Steve Waugh. Captain Fantastic led from the front as Australia lifted the World Cup for the second time.
Zero of the Year: Indian Hockey Federation boss KPS Gill for single handedly destroying all the good work of Bangkok '98.
Team of the Year: Sachin Tendulkar (Yes, the Indian cricket team IS a one-man army)
Dream of the Year: Warne v Tendulkar, the sequel.
Bore(s) of the Year: Harsha Bhogle, who still thinks he is on radio when he is on TV.

"Sportsmen of the Century" awards lists (the century ends on December 31, 2000 whatever the marketing guys may tell you).
Any interview with Sachin Tendulkar: They invariably start and end with--and have somewhere in the middle--his trademark comment "not really". Thanks goodness he lets his bat do all the talking!
Disappearing Act of the Year: Sachin Tendulkar, for 24 hours, after being handed over the captaincy for the second time.
Top of the Year: Australian sports: world champions in cricket, rugby league, rugby union, tennis (Davis Cup), women's hockey, lawn bowls, and various world records and world champions in individual events as well such as swimming, surfing, etc, etc. C'mon (groan!), Aussie, c'mon.
Flop of the Year: Vinod Kambli. Has any cricketer been given so many opportunities to reestablish himself?
Drop of the Year: Herschelle Gibbs gives Steve Waugh a 'life' in the World Cup Super Six match on his way to a century. "You have just dropped the World Cup, mate" says Waugh.
Hype of the Year: India's chances in the World Cup cricket. All that ad-spend down the drain!
Gripe of the Year: Various columns churned out by the Hyderabad-centric cricket press, cribbing about Azhar's sacking.
Soap Opera(s) of the Year: The Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes on-off affair.
The match-fixing allegations which seem to get nowhere in a hurry.
Hope of the Year: The Indian cricket team. Hope springs eternal…!
Dope of the Year: Lele, again.
Con of the Year: India 'A' v Australia 'A' in Los Angeles. The whole thing was a big farce.
Son of the Year: Born to Sachin and Anjali Tendulkar. Captain in 2022?
Exits of the Year: Steffi Graf--Goodbye Thunder Thighs.
Mohammed Azharuddin--Goodbye Mr. Mumbles.
Michael Jordan: Goodbye Your Royal Airness.
Final Farewells: Malcolm Marshall--The smiling assassin. Was he the greatest fast bowler of them all?
Payne Stewart--Style and grace personified.
Wilt Chamberlain: Even giants die.
Love match of the Year: Steffi and Andre. Love all?
Comeback of the Year: Andre Agassi.
Blunder of the Year: Leaving out Nayan Mongia from the tour of Australia. Then rushing him across in a panic decision.
Wonder of the Year: Lance Armstrong. The winner of the Tour de France cycle race fought back from near-death from cancer to win the sport's greatest prize.
Rape of the Year: Indian hockey by the IHF (see also "Zero of the Year".)
Tape of the Year: The one used to measure that thingamajig on the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine that saw him disqualified from a race. All for something of a fraction of an inch.
Name of the Year: (Laila) Ali. Daughter of Mohammed.
Dame(s) of the Year: The Williams sister, Venus and Serena. They have brought into women's tennis just what men's tennis has been criticised for over the years--too much power.
Game of the Year: The World Cup semi-final between Australia and South Africa. Has there ever been a greater one-day match?
Shame of the Year: The Man v Woman boxing match. Just another Yankee freak show.