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So another weekend of non-stop sporting action is over. It seems like hyperbole to say that sport never stops amazing it's fans, but as ever, it is simply true.

This weekend saw another topsy turvy set of results for the Premiership. Blackburn eased their troubles with a routine 2-0 win over Wigan, and as forecast by this site 2 weeks after Sam Allardyce took over, they look like they will scrap their way to safety.

Sunderland on the other hand lurch from crisis to crisis, attempting to help Newcastle and Middlesbrough in their quest to rid the Premier League of it's North East influence. Their 3-0 capitulation against West Brom could not have come at a worse time, and indeed gives the Baggies belief that they could once again pull off the great escape, as they did in 2005.

At the top end, Manchester United were staring down the proverbial barrel, only to blast Tottenham Hotspur away with 4 goals in 14 second half minutes. While the penalty decision was a strange decision for England's best referee to make, there was an ominous feeling about the way Manchester United started the second half and as soon as the first goal went in, others were sure to follow.

Boxing highlights saw Carl Froch pull off an incredible comeback victory against Jermain Taylor, stopping the American with 14 seconds of the fight to go. Having picked himself up off the canvas for the first time in his career, he showed similar spirit to that of Calzaghe in his final two fights on American soil, and Froch was quick to call Calzaghe out of his 'armchair' after the fight. Calzaghe will no doubt have been impressed by Froch's performance, but in all reality is unlikely to risk the unbeaten record he takes so much pride in.

Formula One continues to impress too, with the BBC coverage and Jenson Button getting better by the week. His victory at the weekend was easily his best of the season yet, as he took the chequered flag and an 11 point lead in the Championship from 4th on the grid. His transformation from dole queue to World Championship contender must rank amongst the greatest turnarounds in the history of the sport.

So what does this week have in store? Topping the bill is two mouth-watering Champions League semi-finals, as Chelsea take on Barcelona on Tuesday night, and then Manchester United and Arsenal do battle on Wednesday. Two pulsating ties in prospect, and with the attacking line-ups on show, goals guaranteed (cue two 0-0 results). Have a cheeky bet on a repeat of the 2006 Final, with Arsenal and Barcelona looking the more relaxed of the four sides left.

Manchester United's heroics at the weekend mean a third consecutive Premier League title is within sight, but they have looked jittery at the back for some time now. Given the style and verve with which Arsenal beat Middlesbrough too, United are going to need to be back on the sort of form which saw them take the clean sheet record earlier this season.

Outside of actual sport, Ryan Giggs took home the PFA Player of the Year award, as predicted here too. Despite making just 12 league starts, Giggs takes the award as recognition for his long service to Manchester United and the Premier League, and in the absence of any other outstanding candidate was deserving of it too.

His nomination can be put down to one man aside from himself, and one he was quick to thank in his receipt of the award - Sir Alex Ferguson. Giggs came from nowhere to claim the prize, and that his candidature came about was only after Sir Alex put the idea in everyone's head in an interview back in January. The Scot certainly knows how to flex his muscles, and his team selection on Wednesday will say much about whether he considers Giggs to really be the Player of the Year. 

We await with baited breath...

David Coulthard made an ill-advised comment not long before he retired following a stellar career last year. The comment, though ill-advised however, has turned out to be rather accurate.

He said that Lewis Hamilton wouldn't be doing nearly so well if he didn't have the best car in the paddock to drive. That he would be right up there too, if he was sat in Hamilton's position.
That the car you are sat in is important . Coulthard's comment however, which came at a time when Hamilton was challenging for the World Championship, was never going to be received well amongst the British public.

It smacked of sour grapes in fact.

Coulthard, a McLaren driver for some years, never managed to do what Mika Hakkinen did in the same car, and win a World Championship. It looked like jealousy had got the better of him, but maybe Coulthard knew something we didn't.

A long time champion of the talents of fellow Briton Button, Coulthard saw that Hamilton, without a super car, was just like every other driver, human. That given the best car on the circuit, any driver could compete at the highest level.

However, this season, more so than any before, has proved just how important a car is in Formula One, and has proved, as ever, to expect the unexpected in sport.

Just weeks before the season began, Jenson Button didn't know he even had a drive for the 2009 season. He, along with hundreds of other employees of the defunct Honda F1 team, waited and waited for news. 'Good things come to those who wait' is how the saying goes, but boy did they get lucky.

Along with security of employment, a team used to scrabbling about for the odd point here and there have suddenly been thrust into the limelight. While all the talk of the F1 town over the past years has been of Hamilton, Button has sat in the background, dignified yet surely, humanly envious.

No longer will that envy eat at him, however. 2 races, 2 wins and 15 points. 2009 presents itself as a season whereby Button can write himself into the history books. While the fact Button can go from also-ran to title contender with the swift change of car will matter not to him, nor his team.

It does present a compelling argument for the mooted change of rules, with a cap on spending but extra room for aerodynamical manoeuvre, or limitless cash, but a car far more restricted in it's movement technically.

F1 fans are very excited by this season. New drivers in the top 8, new cars on the front row. Imagine if every season saw drivers in almost identical cars, any car able to beat another on it's day. Then you would really see who the best driver was, because at the moment, it all depends on where you're sitting, not what you're doing.

Two exciting finales to the preceding Championships have meant the 2009 Formula One season has been awaited with bated breath by it's millions of followers. Since the moment Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 Championship in breathtaking circumstances, however, F1 has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

First, following the credit crunch, Honda declared itself unable to continue to fund a Formula One team that was ultimately failing to compete at the front of the grid. Months of talks, rumours and haggling took place before Ross Brawn, the ex-Ferrari supremo stepped in, and Brawn GP was born.

In a twist of fate of course, Brawn GP is tipped to be the fastest car on the grid come Sunday, and it's leading driver, the much-maligned Brit Jenson Button is favourite to take the chequered flag. Not that that is without it's own controversy, however.

There was of course also the saga with regards the point-scoring system. For the first time in over ten years, the 2008 season saw Lewis Hamilton crowned despite the fact Felipe Massa had won more races than he did (itself was down to a controversial ruling). With this in mind, the powers that be decided a rule change was in order - that the Championship would be decided on race victories, while the rest of the Championship was decided on points won. 

In any case, the new ruling was meant to see drivers racing for victory and not remaining sensible in order to secure second places. This ruling was then thrown out last week following a protest from teams which did not agree with the new system.

Today, it was announced that 3 teams (Ferrari, Renault and BMW Sauber) have protested against the use of the controversial 'diffuser' system which is largely behind Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota's good times in testing. They argue it fails to conform to the new regulations the FIA put in place for this season. That protest has officially been thrown out, with the appeal made by the 3 teams to be heard after April 5th, and the second race in Malaysia.

So, in spite all the optimism for the new season following last years dramatic climax, the off-season has been shrowded in both mystery and controversy.

Now, any points Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams score in the first two races of the season, will be held under appeal. No-one will officially know who is where in either the driver or constructor championships, and what's more, it will be decided in a courtroom, not out on the track.

And it is that which will upset Formula One's follwing the most. The FIA wanted to change the points scoring to make for more dramatic races. What they need to do is change something to ensure all the drama is on the circuit, and not off it.

Even by sport's standards, this weekend was a strange one. Expect the unexpected they always say, but expect it all to happen at once?? They may have to incorporate that into it from now.

A weekend of unexpected results started in the heart of Manchester, as Liverpool recorded the most remarkable of victories in the face of a Manchester United side effectively unbeaten since November 8th. Men (Vidic) normally calm in the heat of battle floundered, and the class of Messrs Gerrard and Torres shone through the dire grey kit and saw them record a stunning 4-1 victory. Alex Ferguson's deluded claim that his was the better side showed all the traits of a man with wounded pride, but rest assured he'll be asking his side to respond like a wounded animal. 

The smart money says his side will at the very least claim the Premiership once more, (remember the defeat at Stamford Bridge last year), but Saturday's result sure as hell makes it a more interesting run-in.

Manchester was also the venue for Amir Khan's decision victory over Marco Antonio Barrera. While not Khan's biggest fan, it still irks me to see his victory greeted with boos. Yes it was a little on the calculated side, taking on a legend well past his best, and yes, the fight should have been stopped to leave a 'no decision'. But is any of that Khan's fault? And should he be derided for it? The simple answer is no. Something tells me nothing would have curtailed the boos in any case. But, he beat what was before him, and that is simply all he can do.

The same can technically be said of the Welsh rugby team and Italy as they stumbled past rather than beat what was before them. There was little satisfaction in the stumble though. 1/25 favourites before the game, the Welsh went as far as they could to prove that they are much better when the underdogs, which bodes well for next weekends decider in Cardiff.

England were a side transformed however. The statistics point to an even game, but statistics are just a guideline, and the truth of the matter was that England could have scored more. The French looked dazed. So often they turn it on when you least expect it, but not once did they really threaten England, who made it to the gain-line and beyond on more occasions than I care to remember. Keeping all 15 men on the field was the talk pre-match, but it nearly got to the stage where you were talking about all 15 min scoring come the post-match talk. Second place could yet be theirs.

In other sport, (McLaren the F1 team, not Steve) declared themselves 'lacking competitivity', which will be a blow to Hamilton's great hopes. It should make for an interesting Championship. Brawn GP, Ferrari and Renault all look quick and slick in testing, but nothing is going to deter me from my January prediction that Fernando Alonso will reign again in 2009. 

All in all, it was an excellent weekend (what weekend isn't?) in sport, and for those of you who missed it, merely confirmed my suspicions that British teams need to be the underdog to perform. Why? We'll probably never know, but it makes for great, unpredictable drama.

Almost every time an up-and-coming sportsman or woman finally comes good, I always tell my friends, family, or anyone who will listen that 'I knew they'd make it-see', and quite often I have done, but now it's time to put that theory truly to the test - Here, I'm going to make a number of predictions for the coming year, and challenge any of you readers to stump up a five pound bet if you think any of these will not happen....

1. Laura Robson to add to her Wimbledon Junior's Title - While it's true she may have been born in Australia, we are most definitly taking her as one of her own. Just as Andy Murray did in 2004 at the US Open, 2008 saw 14-year old Laura Robson punch above her weight, defeating the older, reigning Champion in the second round, in straight sets. Following this, she won her first singles title in Sunderland, and I wouldn't at all be surprised if we saw her in the top 150 by the end of they year, despite a current ranking of 508. I do predict, however, that despite her current stomach injury, she adds to her Junior Grand Slam collection and is voted Young Sports Personality of the Year 2009.

2. The renaissance of Fernando Alonso - A bit controversial this one, given Fernando's run-ins with our own Lewis Hamilton, but no-one scored more points than him during the final 5 races of the 2008 season. Undoubtedly he is back, and you can bet he is hungrier than ever after losing his title over the past 2 years. Having spent the first part of last season helping adjust the car, the second half of the season saw vast improvements, culminating in a fantastic win in the sports first ever night race. I predict a top-two championship finish for the man many consider the most complete driver in Formula One.

3. Wales add another Six Nations title to the collection - Under the shrewd management of Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards, Wales have been transformed from World Cup flops in October 2007, to Grand Slam Champions in March 2008. Having overseen a tighter than usual tour of South Africa, as well as masterminding victory over an Australian team that came second in the Tri-nations, I don't think Gatland and Wales will stop there. I predict another title for Wales, if not another Grand Slam. England are very much a team in transition still and do not have Wales' resiliance. France continue to look to the World Cup, and last year made countless changes between every game, and while Scotland are much-improved, I don't think they'll have enough. Ireland are a team in decline, despite bright performances ever now and again, and Italy despite their continual improvement are hamstrung by the fact their development is so many years behind everyone elses, which means it will be the year of the Dragon once more.

4. Tony Adams to be sacked, and Portsmouth to be relegated - Probably the prediction I'm sticking my neck out with the most, and I hope I'm wrong, but Portsmouth was Harry Redknapp. Last time they tried to replace him, they ended up all-but relegated - who saved them? Oh you guessed it - everyone's favourite wheeler and dealer - Harry 'Freedom of the City even though I just left for Tottenham' Redknapp. In any case, Portsmouth's form has been dire since he left, and their bankroll has stopped. 'Oh, but they have £20million from Diarra to spend' I hear you cry - Me, I doubt that it's £20million. The undisclosed fee, I think, could in reality be much smaller. The 2 wins since Adams took over have come against Sunderland, courtesy of a 91st minute, dodgy penalty, and against a Blackburn team in freefall - sorry Pompey, in the tightest Premiership ever, I think you're playing the Swans in the Championship next year.

5. Ricky Hatton to either beat Manny Pacquiao or lose to Floyd Mayweather - difficult to predict the fate of a man, when you do not know his opponent, but I think the fight is won or lost in whoever he fights. A super-fight is a nailed-on certainty, with mootings of a re-match with Mayweather, and a fight with the pound-for-pound king Pacquiao the most likely options. I think whereas De La Hoya was a spent force against the 'Pac man', which he admitted after the fight, Hatton would make his weight advantage count, and take a decision against Pacquiao, who will not have fought anyone as ferocious as Ricky Hatton is on the inside. Mayweather, on the other hand, is the one that got away, and while the temptation may be to right a wrong, I don't think it would be possible. let's not forget Mayweather not only beat Hatton, he knocked him out, comfortably, and that was nothing to do with the referee, it was because Mayweather was the best fighter in the world and I have no doubt if he comes out of retirement, still is.

Other , more subdued, and off-the-cuff predictions for 2009 include -Joe Calzaghe to sensibly retire, Andy Murray to win the US Open, Cardiff City to lose in the Championship play-offs, Blackburn to go down, Wolves, Reading and Palace to go up, Another Champions League semi-final line-up dominated by English clubs, Liverpool to blow their Premiership title hopes and Alex Ferguson to praise a referee's decision after the award of a penalty for the opposition at Old Trafford (All bets off that one obviously!).

Happy New Year!