What was your favourite sporting moment in 2008?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: As I sit here typing this post, the rest of the newsroom is having a little buffet party to end off a year’s worth of work.

But before all the partying, boozing and other revelry takes place later tonight, it may be a good time to look back at 2008 and reflect on what truly has been an iconic moment for you in the sporting arena.

And it has been a busy year in sports, and that was just in the local context. Youth Olympic Games, a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, medals at the Paralympics, the inaugural Formula One race, the Lions reaching the third round of the World Cup, et cetera et cetera.

In the Premiership, we saw how ex-Arsenal captain William Gallas sat on the field crying after the referee awarded Birmingham a late penalty, how Manchester United beat Chelsea in the first-ever all-England Champions League final in May, how Cristiano Ronaldo flirted publicly with Real Madrid all summer, how Robinho and Dimitar Berbatov had many fans glued to the news on transfer deadline day.

For me, the iconic moment has to be the Ferrari pitstop foul-up at the Singapore GP. To call myself a Ferrari fan would do injustice to many avid followers of the prancing horse around the world, but I was rooting for Felipe Massa to win the race here, and eventually the drivers’ championship instead of Lewis Hamilton.

The iconic image of Massa’s sleek red machine racing away from the pit with a silver fuel hose still attached, spraying a fine mist of high-octane fuel into the humid evening air as his pit crew stood or laid – after being knocked down by the stray hose – bewildered has been permanently imprinted in my mind.

And that darned pitstop laid to waste a perfect opportunity for the Brazilian to catch up with Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, which we all know that Hamilton won by a whisker in the final race of the season in Brazil.

What is your favourite moment?

READERS, REACT (below):

Are footballers expected to be saints?

LIVERPOOL captain Steven Gerrard has been charged with “assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray” following an alleged brawl outside the Lounge Inn in Bold Street, Southport, according to the Merseyside police.

The New Paper‘s Iain Macintosh provides an alternative view of footballers’ public misdemeanors – alleged or proven – in his comment piece today. He highlighted the amount of flak and provocation English Premiership stars face when they are in the public eye, and advised all not to speculate until the facts are known.

“For a professional footballer in the United Kingdom, sometimes things aren’t quite what they seem,” he wrote.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: What is shocking is not how yet another Premiership footballer has been arrested on suspicion of a crime or public nuisance, but the fact that the person being charged is Gerrard, someone much respected for his responsbility and level-headedness.

Now I must admit that I am not a Liverpool fan (in fact I support a bitter rival team of theirs), but I respect and admire the Reds captain for being a mature and loyal professional – a perfect role model for young footballers in a warped world where big money and fame can and have led many astray.

Question of the Week (New Year resolutions)

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Imagine yourself as a Premiership player or club official and write a list of 10 resolutions that you wish to fulfil in the new year.

Take this chance to let your creative juices flow with witty entries, or you can take a more serious tone with your resolutions.

For example, Cristiano Ronaldo’s list of resolutions could look something like this:

1. I must go to Real Madrid
2. I must go to Real Madrid
3. I must go to Real Madrid
4. I must go to Real Madrid
5. I must go to Real Madrid
6. I must go to Real Madrid
7. I must go to Real Madrid
8. I must go to Real Madrid
9. I must go to Real Madrid
10. I must go to Real Madrid

Cheers,
Say Heng
The Postman

Craft v resilience – which would you prefer?

SO, CHELSEA have dropped another two points last night, after their 2-2 draw with Fulham at the Craven Cottage. More significantly, they have only won two of their last seven games, and are now four points off the pace of league leaders Liverpool.

The New Paper’s Gary Lim wrote in his report today that while coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has injected more craft and class into a Chelsea side that was previously labelled as pragmatic and boring, it does not have the same resilience as the team under Jose Mourinho’s reign.

It was this resilience that made Chelsea such a difficult team to beat, especially at Stamford Bridge, where they were unbeatable during Mourinho’s time.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: The reason behind Chelsea’s poor defending and inability to hold the lead against Fulham? Two words – John Terry.

Question of the Weekend (You, in Mark Hughes’ shoes)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEKEND: If you were Mark Hughes, which two areas of the Manchester City team would you improve, and which two players would you sign in January?

Stoke v Man United

MANCHESTER United will have a great opportunity to catch up with leaders Liverpool and Chelsea tonight when they face Stoke at the Britannia Stadium later tonight.

The English and European champions are seven points off Liverpool, but with two games in hand, and an away victory would put pressure on both Chelsea and Liverpool, who are playing later tonight.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG SAYS: On paper, this should be an open-and-shut case for United. The Red Devils are currently lying fourth in the league, albeit with two games in hand, while Stoke are 15th, level on points with Middlesbrough and one ahead of Spurs.

What’s more, United put five past a hapless Stoke just last month, with Cristiano Ronaldo playing a starring role.

But consider this: while Stoke has conceded 20 goals away from home so far, they have only let in half that number at the Britannia Stadium. And they have been more prolific in front of their own fans as well, scoring two-thirds of their total goals at home this season.

Are the Vietnam fans really innocent victims of football hooliganism?

SOME Vietnam fans were allegedly beaten up by angry Singaporean fans at the National Stadium on Sunday, following Singapore’s exit of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

The incident happened mainly near the East Entrance area, where the 5,000-strong Vietnam contingent were seated during the match, where Singapore fans abused and hit Vietnam fans, and even burned their flag, according to various eyewitness accounts in the newspapers and online sources.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG SAYS: Most of what I read about the incident centred around the ungraciousness and barbarism of Singapore fans, but I say there is no fire without the smoke.

Make no mistake, the actions of these Singapore fans – some captured and uploaded to YouTube – put our country to shame, and appropriate action should be taken against them if any can be identified.

But it takes two hands to clap as well. I must say that I was near the East Entrance exit after the match, and the air was already filled with tension, although I did not witness any of these alleged beatings.

While patiently filing out of the National Stadium, people were chanting non-stop. It didn’t help that Vietnam fans were taunting the sea of Singapore fans below them as they exit from the upper reaches of the stadium.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for all the support and wonderful stuff that you all have been giving us this whole year and please continue to visit this website.

There will be some exciting things coming up early next year online, so watch out for it.

But in the meantime, have a merry, merry Christmas. You deserve it.

Cheers,

The New Paper Sports Desk.

Did Terry deserve the red?

CHELSEA captain John Terry was sent off against Everton early this morning as the Blues stuttered to a goalless draw at Goodison Park.

Terry was shown a straight red card by referee Philip Dowd in the 35th minute when the England captain slid in and caught Leon Osman’s leg as both went for a loose ball.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG SAYS: It was bound to happen sometime, with Terry’s tough tackling and his reputation for being a hard-man.

But looking at the replays closely, the centreback certainly didn’t deserve the straight red. Sure, the challenge was very late and his boot was high, but clearly he was trying to go for the ball and misjudged the bounce.

The challenge certainly had no malicious intent, and it certainly wasn’t too-footed, and a yellow card would have sufficed, although I am now very interested in how Chelsea will cope without their captain in this crucial period – that is if he doesn’t get his red card rescinded again.

READERS, REACT (below):

Have S’pore v Vietnam crowd trouble pictures?

Hi all,

Does anyone know anyone who has pictures of crowd trouble from where they were at Kallang? Be it in the grandstand, or opp the grandstand (after the game), or even outside the stadium, or even at the overhead bridge heading towards Kallang MRT?

THE POSTMAN ERNEST LUIS SAYS: Send them to tnppostman@gmail.com and leave your name, and contact number please.