Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The year 2007 was definitely one of gloom and doom for sports in general. Betting and match-fixing marred tennis and soccer, drugs dogged athletics, baseball and cycling, cricket received a deadly blow in the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer during the World Cup, while Formula One was shamed by the never-ending spying controversy.
If sports still managed to maintain some semblance of sanity, it was because of the impeccable conduct and major conquests of two of the greatest sportsmen of this era - Roger Federer and Tiger Woods. The two were islands of brilliance on an ocean of mediocrity with endless waves of chaos whipping up scandals by the hour.
The two were untouched and untroubled by the mess around them as they started the year with stunning victories at the Australian Open and Buick International respectively, and signed off with a flourish winning the Masters Cup and the Target World Challenge.
Federer and Woods won eight titles each, looked increasingly dominant, and definitely in a class of their own. By contrast, all other achievements on the sporting field paled into insignificance.
Kimi Raikkonen's maiden Formula One title was embroiled in the spying controversy while athletics, baseball and cycling heroes fell from grace in the light of the doping controversy like bowling pins at the Funland alley on a Friday night. Cricket, on the other hand, had very few real heroes.
On the field, it was a record-breaking year for Federer who finished with a 68-9 overall aggregate. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, beat Jimmy Connors' 30-year-record for most consecutive weeks at the top of the ATP list, and, more poignantly, tamed his boyhood hero Pete Sampras 2-1 in a three-match exhibition series.
Woods, on the other hand, had a very satisfying year off the greens.
First time parenthood with the birth of his daughter Sam Alexis somewhat eased the pain of losing his father Earl in 2006. Add to it his 13th major title at the PGA Championship and five wins and one runner-up spot in his last five tournaments of the year.
Federer closed the year with a remarkable victory in Shanghai after suffering three uncharacteristic defeats - twice to David Nalbandian and once to Fernando Gonzalez - while Woods underlined his supremacy at Thousand Oaks in California by winning the Target World Challenge.
The two lived up to their top billing in 2007 all right, but I consider 2008 to be the landmark year for both. Federer is just two Grand Slams away from Sampras' mark of 14 and Woods five away from Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors.
Do we need a better incentive to track these two stars as they chase dream targets in 2008?
In team sports, I liked the exploits of Kaka in particular. Here is another sportsman of rare virtue even as his sport struggles to preserve its integrity. Non-controversial on and off the field, the Brazilian can be favourably compared to Indian cricketer Anil Kumble for his clean-cut image and no-nonsense approach.
It is often said of Kumble that he is the sort of person you would like your sister to marry. Kumble considered it a big compliment, and if there is something equivalent to it in Latin America it will certainly fit Kaka to the T.
Like, Federer and Woods, Kaka too finished the year on a high steering AC Milan to victory in the Club World Cup. By the time this appears, Kaka may even be the new Fifa Player of the Year.
Thankfully, there is no single award in sports for the undisputed sportsman of the year. I'm sure it would have triggered a war.
Talking of awards, I think the biggest one in 2007 should go to an alert employee in a photocopy shop in Surrey, England.
If you remember, this English gentleman blew the whistle on the biggest controversy to hit not only Formula One, but the whole sports world like never before.
He was the one who tipped off Ferrari about a 780-page technical data dossier brought to his shop for photocopying. The same dossier was later found at the home of McLaren's former chief designer Mike Coughlan.
And the rest is not just history, but history in the making as it is not all over yet.
