2006 - Good Year for Sports

10 reasons why the year 2006 is a good year for a sports fan - in no particular order.

1. 2006 NBA playoffs
These playoffs have been absolutely fabolous! LeBron is finally playing in May, the usually awful Clippers are doing well and could end up in the Western finals, Nowitzki has been almost unstoppable, the Lakers - Suns series which even had me rooting for Kobe, my Nets are still in there, etc. I would give sooo much to be in the US right now and be able to watch all the games on TV.

2. F1 Season
I've mentioned the new and improved qualifying session before. After Schumi's 2nd consecutive win, the championship is looking to be a very close battle between him and Alonso. This could end up going on till the final race in Brazil - which would be at 7 pm in central Europe (pay-rise for the calendar planner?). Pity my BAR Honda guys are only showing up for qualifying but not for the race.

3. Roger Federer
The dude is once again having a good season and could win all four grand slams. I know a lot of people believe he'll never win the French Open - I'm not one of them. Nadal and his ugly trousers won't go without losing on sand forever.

4. Martina Hingis
Staying with tennis, it's just so nice to see an athlete coming back after problems and showing they can still play. Whether it's Capriati, Seles or now Hingis. Now if only Serena could do the same.

5. Africa Cup
Good tournament with many good games and of course that never-ending penalty shootout between Ivory Coast and Cameroon. What I like most about the Africa Cup is the atmosphere in the stadiums. Just from watching on TV, one can feel that "African joy" in the crowd.

6. The Winter Olympics
I especially loved the figure skating. Just kidding...

6. Commonwealth Games
Didn't watch a minute of the games, but still happy about the successful Kenyan delegation. Can't really say much more.

7. Champions League
My favourite team? Arsenal
My favourite team in Spain? Barcelona
My favourite player? Thierry Henry
Best player alive? Ronaldinho
May 17th? Barcelona vs Arsenal
'Nuff said!

8. Joga Bonito
Absolutely loving the latest ads from Nike! I've never been this excited about an ad-campaign since the Nike Freestyle one a few years back - especially the basketball ones. And Cantona is the perfect guy for those ads.

9. World Cup
Didn't really watch a lot of games from the last WC cause of the time difference. This year that problem doesn't exist and I have a lot of time. I'm sure I would enjoy the tournament more if I manage to resist the temptation of betting on games or even better, bet successfully.

10. ???
I'm sure there'll be a lot of other things to add to this list by the time this year is over. Tiger Woods? Michelle Wie? Tour de France?