Golds and Goals moments: Exciting 2019 shaping up for sports

So many sports happenings, so little time – but we’re here to help. Yahoo News Singapore picks the top sporting moments of this past week, and tries to make sense of what had happened.

1. Second half of EPL shaping up

With the English Premier League (EPL) entering its second half of the 2018/19 season, how will the next five months pan out for the 20 teams? Here’s a quick analysis:

Title fight: For the first time in EPL history, there were four teams that crossed the 40-point mark at the halfway stage of the league. Liverpool (54 points), Manchester City (47), Tottenham (45) and Chelsea (43) are all fantastic teams who can beat anyone when on song, but realistically, the title race will boil down to the top two. Liverpool have the momentum at the moment with nine straight wins, but if any team can match or surpass that streak, it is Man City. Thursday’s top-of-the-table clash between the two sides could shape much of the remaining season. But if Liverpool and their erudite manager Jurgen Klopp can keep their cool amid the increasing pressure from their long-suffering fans, they just might clinch the EPL title for the first time.

Champions League spots: Should Liverpool and Man City stay in the top two positions until the end of the season, Tottenham and Chelsea are expected to fend off Arsenal (38 points) and Manchester United (35 points) for the remaining two Champions League spots. Arsenal seem to have cooled off after a strong start to the season, and remain a work in progress in the first post-Arsene Wenger season. Man United, on the other hand, seem rejuvenated and unshackled after dismissing Jose Mourinho and ditching his dour tactics. With three straight wins under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, they could be riding a wave of positive momentum up the table and snatch that fourth spot.

Relegation battle: Seven EPL teams did not reach 20 points at the halfway stage: Crystal Palace (19 points), Newcastle (18), Cardiff (18), Southampton (15), Burnley (15), Fulham (14) and Huddersfield (10). Fulham and Southampton have changed their managers, and are finding sparks of form of late. Huddersfield, on the other hand, were dealt a huge blow when key player Aaron Mooy suffered a bad knee injury. They look ill-equipped to last the distance and beat the drop, while Burnley and Cardiff are also struggling to string a good run to get themselves out of trouble.

2. What 2019 holds for sports

With 2018 drawing to an end, it is time to look forward to a brand new sports calendar for 2019. Here are some of the highlights for the coming year:

• World Cups: While the men’s football version will not happen again until 2022, there are a few other World Cups happening next year. Cricket fans can enjoy one-and-a-half months of one-day international action from 30 May to 15 July, when the top nations meet in England for the Cricket World Cup. Across the English Channel, the Women’s World Cup football extravaganza will take place from 7 June to 7 July in France, with defending champions United States aiming to win an unprecedented fourth title. From 12 to 21 July, the city of Liverpool will play host to the Netball World Cup, with Singapore among the 16 participating nations. Finally, the highly-anticipated Rugby World Cup will come to Asia for the first time, as host Japan welcomes 19 other nations as they vie for the Webb Ellis Trophy from 20 September to 2 November.

• World Championships: Singapore swim star Joseph Schooling will hope to improve on his one-bronze showing at the 2017 edition of the World Aquatics Championships when the biennial event is held in Gwangju from 12 to 28 July. On the other hand, the World Championships in Athletics – to be held in Doha from 27 September to 6 October – will be the first time since 2005 that the track and field competition will be without retired sprint superstar Usain Bolt. Besides these two major competitions, other world championships in 2019 include: men’s handball (10 to 27 January), Alpine skiing (4 to 17 February), Nordic skiing (20 February to 2 March), track cycling (27 February to 3 March), table tennis (21 to 28 April), ice hockey (3 to 19 May), beach volleyball (28 June to 7 July), weightlifting (16 to 25 September), road cycling (22 to 29 September), artistic gymnastics (4 to 13 October) and women’s handball (30 November to 15 December).

• Key Asian events: Kicking off the year of sports in Asia, just days after New Year’s Day, is the Asian Cup football tournament, to be held in UAE from 5 January to 1 February. Australia are the defending champions after winning in 2015, but they suffered a major setback when key playmaker Aaron Mooy is ruled out of the Cup with knee injury. Japan and South Korea will look to capitalise should Australia stumble. Meanwhile, the Philippines will hold the biennial SEA Games for the first time since 2005, from 30 November to 10 December. It is planning to host an ambitious 56 sports, with 529 events to be contested, making it the largest SEA Games in terms of the number of sports. There will be 10 sports making their debut at the Games: esports, surfing, skateboarding, jujitsu, kickboxing, kurash, sambo, underwater hockey, duathlon and obstacle course.

• Regular major events: The four tennis grand slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open), the four golf majors (US Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA Championship), the NBA/NHL/Champions League finals, the Superbowl and the World Series will all return next year. And the running theme among all these regular major events is: Will a dominant champion emerge? Among these events in 2018, there were only three repeat champions (Rafael Nadal at the French Open, NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Real Madrid in the Champions League) and one double champion (Novak Djokovic at the Wimbledon and US Open). With the exception of Nadal, who is near unbeatable at Roland Garros, all the others have lots of work to do to become repeat winners.

3. Best and worst of goalkeepers

Goalkeepers, they’re a weird bunch aren’t they? Sometimes they will pull off the most unbelievable saves, and then sometimes they will make the most cringeworthy (and hilarious) errors.

Take Filippo Perucchini, who plays for Italian Serie B mid-table side Ascoli. On Thursday (28 December), he was in goal when Ascoli played Serie B table-toppers Palermo. Many expected a Palermo victory (and indeed they eventually won 3-0), but what they did not expect was Perucchini doing this for their opening goal:

Spectacularly… cringeworthy moment of madness.

Yet, goalkeepers are also responsible for some of the most memorable moments in football. Take this early January contender for goal of the year, coming from, of all people, a goalkeeper from his own half. Take it away, Juan Carlos Martin Corral from Spanish second-tier side Lugo:

4. Jokic spearheads Denver Nuggets’ surprise charge

Quick NBA quiz: Which team is leading the Western Conference? The Golden State Warriors? Wrong, it’s the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets? A team which did not qualify for the play-offs for the past five seasons? A team which had not won its own Northwest Division since 2010? How did they get so good so fast?

The answer lies in a breakout season by their centre, Nikola Jokic. The 7-foot-tall (2.13m-tall) Serbian has blossomed into what many observers dubbed “the smartest player in the NBA today”. Here is a tall centre who can pass with the ease of a point guard, and score with plenty of flair too. Here’s a compilation of his best moments, plus a moment of brilliance on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs:

With his high basketball IQ, he is elevating his Denver teammates too, as they blend to form an increasingly tough-to-beat team in the highly competitive Western Conference. It is the latest in an unpredictable NBA season that has certainly enthralled basketball fans.

5. Look back 2018: The cheaters

Cheating has long been regarded as a big no-no in sports, but that does not mean athletes never cheat. Here are some instance of cheating that were caught red-handed in 2018:

Two Ethiopian athletes found themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons on the final bend in the men’s 5,000m at Lausanne’s IAAF Diamond League meeting in July. Yomif Kejelcha, 20, had burst into the lead, but stumbled when approaching the final straight. He then grabbed hold of 18-year-old compatriot Selemon Barega’s shorts and dragged him into an outside lane. Birhanu Balew from Bahrain stayed clear of the trouble to move in front and eventually win the race. Barega recovered to take second place while Kejelcha was disqualified.

In the Dutch Eredivisie football league, Feyenoord’s Steven Berghuis found himself in the limelight, having collapsed to the ground after a gentle pat on the head from Utrecht’s Willem Janssen. To rub salt in Utrecht’s wounds, Feyenoord went on to win the match 1-0 thanks to a late goal from former Arsenal and Manchester United star Robin van Persie.

Perhaps the most high-profile “cheat” of the year came courtesy of Phil Mickelson, the five-time golf Majors champion. At the US Open – the only Major event he has not won – the American got fed up after repeatedly missing his putt on the 13th Hole in the third round. He ran after the golf ball and hit it while it was still rolling – an unsportsmanlike conduct in golf which could have resulted in disqualification. He incurred only a two-stroke penalty and apologised afterwards.