A is for Anthony Ammirati, the French pole vaulter at the Olympics who brought down the bar with – how to put this delicately? – the only part of his anatomy that his competition suit was struggling to contain. He missed the final but subsequently got a $250,000 offer from an adult website.
B is for the Bees that attacked Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells, stinging him on the side of the head and suspending play. “I saw the sky and there were thousands flying, stuck in my hair, going to me,” he said. “I’m a little bit afraid of them.”
C is for the Cameraman who found Jurgen Klopp’s wedding ring, which had fallen off after Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Newcastle. “He annoyed me a lot this season,” said Klopp, “but now he has a lot of shots for free because that was really important.”
D is for Bryson DeChambeau, the golfer who spent November doing huge numbers online by trying to hit a hole-in-one over his house. It took him 16 days and 134 attempts but he finally got there, earning Bryson the crossover golf moment of the year.
Your complete guide to all the festive sporting action including TV details
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E is for Effin’ Eddie Moroney, the Tipperary GAA commentator who had fallen into quasi-myth status over the years until Aherlow’s run to the Munster Intermediate final brought him back into public view. We might draw a discrete veil over the result against Austin Stacks.
F is for Joe Flacco. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback got into the League of Ireland business this year, as part of the Kenosis group who bought into St Patrick’s Athletic in March. Can’t be many in the Venn Diagram between Indianapolis and Inchicore.
G is for Goalkeeper, specifically David James. The former Liverpool stopper was back in Anfield in October, diving the right way not once but twice to save penalties from 11-year-old Kuzey Aydin. Not for the first time, he was roundly booed by the Kop for his efforts.
H is for Handcuffs, which Scottie Scheffler found himself in early on the second morning of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. The world’s best golfer drove through a lane he shouldn’t have, spooking a jittery traffic cop, and ended up in pokey. He got out and shot a 67.
I is for Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter who stole $17 million from baseball megastar Shohei Ohtani. He pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud, having used the money to gamble, running up losses of $41 million. Ohtani went on to win the World Series with the LA Dodgers.
J is for Jake Odey-Jordan, the young British sprinter who went viral in the summer for easing down way too early in his heat at the European under-18 Athletics Championships and coming fourth. “It’s okay,” he shrugged. “I mean, it’s my fault so I can’t be sad about anything but myself.”
K is for Kieran Duggan, who was minding his own business on an Aer Lingus flight from Paris and ended up giving Olympic gold medallists Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy, as well as women’s fours rower Natalie Long, a lift back to Cork. Takes some beating for an Irish homecoming.
L is for Lagan, as in, “We didn’t come up the Lagan in a bubble.” This was how one unionist caller to BBC Radio Ulster prefaced his objection to the rebuilding of Casement Park. “If it gets built, mark my words – they’ll change the name to honour a republican.” Er ...
M is for the Melbourne Cup, which was won this year by Kildare jockey Robbie Dolan, making it only the second most famous thing he’s done since moving to Australia in 2016. The first was his barnstorming run through the Aussie version of The Voice in 2022. Talented boy.
N is for Nowlan Park, which was left in bits after the Bruce Springsteen concert in May. Wexford manager Keith Rossiter wasn’t happy with how he left it. “Bruce had to be played, I suppose. They had to dance in the dark up here for a couple of days but the pitch was the one to suffer.”
O is Oasis, who were confirmed for Croke Park next summer. Noel Gallagher played there in 1983 against Kilmacud Crokes and even says he scored a point. “I was a good player but I gave it up when I discovered marijuana.”
P is for Points, as in those kicked by Jude McAtamney for the New York Giants. The former Derry minor got his chance in the big time in November and scored the first NFL points by an Irish player in 39 years.
Q is for Questioned, which Aussie hockey player Tom Craig was by the gendarmes after being caught trying to buy cocaine during the Olympics. He got booted out of the athlete’s village and banned from the sport for a year.
R is for Rihanna and Rhasidat Adeleke, and also for the joy that radiated out of the pair of them when they met at a post-Olympics sponsors’ event. “Are you kidding me? I follow you!” said Rihanna. “I know!” said Rhasidat. It was very sweet.
S is for the Saipan movie, which was announced in July. Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy, Eanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane, to be released in 2025. There. Is. No. Escape.
T is for Travis Kelce who arrived in Dublin for the Taylor Swift concert, did a podcast with his brother Jason in an Ireland rugby jersey, drank in the Hacienda and went home. Solid trip.
U is for Untoward Behaviour, which is what many suspected David Jakins (aka King Conker), to have been guilty of at the World Conker Championships. He was found to have a steel conker in his pocket and thus was his victory tainted. He was later cleared of all charges.
V is for Vacant, which was how most of us were left feeling after watching Jake Paul and Mike Tyson go through the motions on Netflix in November. At least the night was saved by Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano on the undercard.
[ Keith Duggan: Mike Tyson couldn’t turn back time, but he knew that all alongOpens in new window ]
W is for Will Smallbone, who had the misfortune of getting booed by the Lansdowne Road crowd when he was announced as Man of the Match against Greece. They weren’t booing him, per se, just the ludicrous tradition of picking out an Irish player to give crystal to after a beating. Kill it off, please!
X is for Xia Ni Ling, who at 61 became the oldest table tennis player to win a match at the Olympics. Playing for Luxembourg, she beat Turkey’s Sibel Altinkaya 4-2 in the first round. She went out to 23-year-old world number one and eventual silver medallist Sun Yingsha.
Y is for Yeji Kim, the Korean shooter who won an Olympic silver medal while becoming one of the breakout stars of Paris 2024 for basically looking like an assassin. So much so that after the Olympics, she got cast in an Indian TV series. As, yes, an assassin.
Z is for Zero, which was the score given to Aussie breakdancer Rachael Gunn, whom nobody had heard of before this year. Then she went to the Olympics and performed as Raygun, so badly in the judges’ eyes that not one of them was prepared to give her a single mark. In the space of three minutes, a meme factory was born and she instantly became one of the world’s most famous sportspeople. Mad.
[ Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn retires from competitive breaking after Olympic upsetOpens in new window ]
