Best of 2011: verbals (part 2)

"He was going to win that yellow jersey or die trying to do it. He was one angry rider."
Former pro cyclist Stephen Hodge gets it right after countryman Cadel Evans hung tough in the mountains before smashing race leader Andy Schleck in the decisive time trial to become Australia's first Tour de France winner.

"He's very low on the wanker scale, and I think that's really important."
Sports management academic Daryl Adair predicts a sponsorship bonanza for Evans.

"Just then I tried to chase my three year-old out in the hallway and I couldn't catch her, so I might just retire today."
Canterbury Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan calls it quits.

"You invented the game. That's like saying America is no.1 at baseball or American football."
Barack Obama bursts the English cricket team's bubble after they earned the no.1 Test ranking with a 4-0 whitewash of India.

"We used to get a drinks list after a game. Now you get an ice bath."
Andrew Flintoff pinpoints the key to England's success.

"They have called me a raver. They have called me a weirdo, called me mad. But the people of Queensland needed to be made aware of the hurdles that their team had to overcome to bring them victory."
Maroons coach Mal Meninga deals with the fallout after penning a newspaper column in which he accused "rats" and "filth" within rugby league of conspiring against his State-of-Origin-winning team.

"She was a wall. To break a wall, you cannot hit hard. You have to mix it up."
Svetlana Kuznetsova reveals she knows more about tennis than demolition work after losing to Caroline Wozniacki at the US Open.

"If I see you in the corridor don't even walk past me because you're out of control, you're out of control. You're totally out of control, you're a hater and you're just unattractive inside."
Serena Williams remains attractive and in control after a chair umpire docked her a point for verbal interference during the US Open. The US Tennis Association fined her $2000.

"It probably happens 100 times a week, but players aren't stupid enough to walk into a TAB and place the bet."
Former Collingwood captain Tony Shaw delivers a damning report on nephew Heath's intelligence. Magpie half-back Heath was suspended for the final eight games of the regular AFL season after betting on a teammate to kick the first goal of a match.

"I rose to the occasion. That's not just a sign of a champion — it's the sign of a legend."
Anthony Mundine rates Anthony Mundine highly after avenging last year's shock loss to reality TV show winner and former garbage collector Garth Wood in an April rematch.

"I'm not a legend, yet. I'm on my way, but I've got to go to London and blow people's minds."
Usain Bolt is not in Mundine's class just yet, despite winning gold in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships.

"Shut up ... you're a commentator and a failed golfer, your opinion means nothing!"
US Open winner Rory McIlroy loses a Twitter war with broadcaster Jay Townsend, who criticised McIlroy's caddie.

"I think it's because I'm rich, handsome and a great player. They envy me — there's no other explanation."
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo can't imagine a single other reason why opposition fans jeered him during a Champions League tie in September.

"Mark loved coaching Fremantle. This is like coming out of a war zone and being shot by one of your own."
Greater Western Sydney coach Kevin Sheedy reckons friendly fire did for Dockers coach Mark Harvey. Freo sacked Harvey in September shortly before stunning the football world by signing highly-rated St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.

"He refused to warm up and again refused to go on the pitch ... If we want to improve as a team Carlos can't play with us. With me, he is finished."
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini after Carlos Tevez refused to go on as a substitute in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich. By year's end Tevez remained an outcast at the club and had been linked with AC Milan.

"As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, 'I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger'."
California man Brandon Kelly reveals the film Drive inspired him to throw a hot dog at Tiger Woods during October's Fry.com Open. "It wasn't a chilli dog — that could have been bad," said the tournament's security director.

"'Oh, the purse split ain't fair', 'Oh, the gloves', 'Oh, the ring's too small'."
WBA/IBF light welterweight champion Amir Khan suggests Floyd Mayweather Jr is coming up with excuses not to fight Manny Pacquiao.

"I was on my knees in front of the television in my hotel room when the sixth went in. It was just incredible."
Former Oasis guitarist and Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher enjoys his side's watershed 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United in the English Premier League.

"You can't just go down to the chemist's and get a captain over the counter."
All Blacks coach Graham Henry sings the praises of skipper Richie McCaw after his side delivered in this year's Rugby World Cup.

"I have to remind myself I'm the guy who hasn't swum for five years. I forget that from time to time and I think some other people do too."
Ian Thorpe tries to dampen expectations on his return to the pool ahead of next year's Olympics. Thorpe finished second last in his comeback race, the 100m individual medley in November's short course world cup meet in Singapore.

"I am not overly scared by comments from someone whose biggest hit to date has been a YouTube video where he punches himself in the face."
Russian WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin on challenger Tyson Fury.

"I just want to know when I'm on a plane going back to Australia that I don't have any regrets, that I could not have done any more."
Darren Lockyer prepares to take his final rugby league bow in the Four Nations final against England. Lockyer scored the final try in Australia's victory, capping a fairytale farewell season which also featured another State-of-Origin triumph.

"I thought I'd missed a whole day of my life."
Former Test skipper Mark Taylor echoes the thoughts of millions of Australians after waking to learn 23 wickets had fallen on day two of the opening Test against South Africa in Cape Town. The Aussies, who fought back to square the series, were bowled out for 47.

"Stevie is certainly not a racist — there's no doubt about that. It was a comment that shouldn't have been made and certainly one he wishes he didn't make."
Tiger Woods defends his former caddie Steve Williams, who used an end-of-year function to call Woods a "black arsehole".

"If they go after Scott Pendlebury, I will declare war on Greater Western Sydney. Our player liaison man, Mick Gatto, will be looking after things."
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire brings in the big guns to warn off the AFL's newest club.

"There is no racism ... the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter undoes years of work by campaigners against racism in football. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand leads the backlash: "I feel stupid for thinking that football was taking a leading role against racism … it seems it was just on mute for a while."

Next up: burning questions for 2012: can Capello's England end Spain's reign?

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