A year which was supposed to showcase the virtues of modern sport was instead smeared by a series of scandals that exposed the ugly underbelly of the games people love.
On the fields of play, the action this year was at times breathtaking.
A German team, unshackled from its pragmatic past and playing with uninhibited flair, won a World Cup in Brazil that exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations.
Photo: AFP
Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final at the sprawling Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, thanks to a superb extra-time goal from baby-faced substitute Mario Goetze, to lift the trophy for the first time since 1990.
The hosts buckled under the weight of expectation, finishing fourth, but never had the samba nation shone so brightly on the world stage.
Magnanimous in defeat, Brazil delivered a tournament that will be remembered for its contagious carnival atmosphere, infecting everyone from the golden sands of Copacabana Beach to the Amazon rainforest.
However, the year did not end well for the beautiful game, with FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, fending off more accusations of bribery over its decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 to Qatar.
FIFA cleared both of any of wrongdoing, but the former US prosecutor who led the investigation said it had misrepresented his findings and he later quit.
The timing of the 2022 World Cup is also causing problems, with doctors warning the tournament will have to be moved from its usual summer slot to avoid the stifling heat in Qatar.
However, any change could impact the European leagues and potentially clash with the 2022 Winter Olympics, in either Beijing or Almaty, the only two cities in the bidding race.
The rest all dropped out, citing the astronomical US$51 billion price tag for this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, and prompting the International Olympic Committee to introduce a raft of reforms.
Like Brazil’s World Cup, Russia’s Olympics went better than expected, despite the inevitable collision between sport and politics. The buildup was overshadowed by threats of Muslim militant violence, an international outcry over a contentious “anti-gay propaganda” law and allegations of corruption.
Western critics labeled the Games a wasteful extravagance to show off modern Russia’s might. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the complaints were fueled by jealousy and were reminiscent of the Cold War rhetoric that dominated the Olympics in the 1970s and 1980s.
Russia finished top of the medals table with 13 golds, but the country’s recent surge in sport was questioned later in the year with allegations of systemic doping by Russian athletes.
Racism, doping and domestic violence dominated the US sporting landscape.
Donald Sterling, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, was banned for life and eventually agreed to sell the franchise after a racist rant that overshadowed the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Miami Heat in the championship final.
Baseball’s highest-paid player, Alex Rodriguez missed the entire MLB season after ending a legal challenge to his record suspension for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs.
The San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the third time in five seasons, with ace pitcher Madison Bumgarner playing the starring role.
The NFL, the US’ richest and most-watched sport, played its first Super Bowl in the New York area — with the Seattle Seahawks beating the Denver Bronocs.
However, the sport was plunged into crisis when Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was caught on film punching his then-fiancee, and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson used a tree branch to discipline his son.
The genteel sport of cricket was left heartbroken after the shocking death of Australia batsman Phillip Hughes — who was killed when he was hit in the head by a ball.
His death triggered a global outpouring of grief not seen since Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was killed in a high-speed crash 20 years ago.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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