WEEKEND WINNERS AND LOSERS

An action packed weekend saw mixed fortunes for sporting heroes. On Saturday, my drive to Southampton reminded me what it must be like to be stuck in a car wash for two and a half hours, such was the intensity of the rain on the motorways. I half wondered whether the game against Hull City might be called off but thankfully it wasn`t.

The traffic was pretty heavy - Christmas shopping in full swing, the attraction of Cunard`s new cruise liner, Queen Victoria, berthed alongside Mayflower Park and the usual football traffic made the journey into Town Quay a bit tiresome, but then it`s often a struggle to get through the congestion which is why I sometimes go to Hythe and get the ferry from there.

Saints recorded their biggest home win of the season against a Hull side that simply went to pieces in the second half, as a hat trick from Stern John and one more from Bradley Wright-Phillips secured a 4-0 victory. Stern is making quite an impact since his move from Sunderland as part of the Kenwyne Jones transfer and it`s good to see him doing so well. This victory lifts Saints to 10th in the league and all the gloom of the volatile element in the fanbase from last week has been replaced by renewed hope that promotion might yet be a possibility. They should be careful what they wish for.

Turning to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, this was rightly won by Joe Calzaghe, undefeated in 44 fights and someone who represents his sport and his country with dignity and restraint - fitting characteristics for a personality award. Unlike last year`s fiasco, this year`s award went to the right person, despite predictions that Lewis Hamilton would walk away with it.

Lewis`s nomination was not only predictable but also expected. However, there was some poetic appropriateness in him coming second to Calzaghe in this year`s beauty pageant. After all, it was Lewis who failed to win the Formula One Drivers Championship, despite the court battle to award him the title anyway and despite some alleged espionage involving the Ferrari team`s technical secrets. And don`t even consider for a moment Lewis`s decision to quit these shores for the safe tax haven of Switzerland in order to avoid the clamour for his autograph when he stops to fill up his tank at Tesco`s.

No wonder Lewis looks a tad grumpy. Seems to me that, for once, justice has been done and also seen to be done....by the 8.2million people who tuned in to watch. I`m afraid I just watched the last few minutes, such was the paucity of achievement by our sportsmen and women in the past year....Joe Calzaghe excepted, of course.

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