BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013 Winner - Andy Murray?

Andy Murray should win BBC Sports Personality of the Year! In any other year but 2012, when the London Olympics fever was sweeping the nation, Andy Murray’s haul of winning the US Open, winning Olympic Gold and Silver as well as becoming the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final in decades, would surely have been enough to see him crowned winner of the prestigious BBC award. However, those pesky Olympics (even though Murray was a medallist himself) and the small matter of Sir Bradley Wiggins, who become the first British winner of the Tour de France and doubling it up with Olympic Gold meant that Murray had to settle for 3^rd place behind winner Wiggins and Heptathlete golden girl, Jessica Ennis.

In many ways 2013 hasn’t been quite as successful for Andy Murray, with no Olympic medals up for grabs, yet it has been even more monumental. Although the year got off to a pretty decent start with another appearance in the Australian Open final (lost to Novak Djokovic), he didn’t compete at the French Open (through injury) and by the time the defence of his US Open came around, the toll of an incredible 2 seasons had taken its toll and back surgery ended his season prematurely. There is a big "but" here though...but he won Wimbledon! The first British man to do so since 1936! That's 77 years for those doing the maths. So, there it is - I believe Andy Murray deserves to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2013.

Tennis (especially the men's game) has become an epic gladiatorial sport of strength, endurance and of course skill. Andy Murray is competing at the very, very top of a tough individual sport that is probably enjoying its most competitive era ever. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Murray have been the undisputed top 4 in the world for the past few seasons. While Federer's amazing career may now be on the wane, there are plenty more pugilists lined up to take his place in this sport that is so demanding.

So, hats off to Andy Murray (a Hibernian supporter apparently), who in the space of just 12 months, reached 4 Grand Slam finals (winning the US Open and Wimbledon) and won singles gold and doubles silver at London 2012 - I hope you win, you certainly deserve to win and a big congratulations when you do!

It’s Pre Season at Sporting Voices - Getting Ready for the Big Kick Off

With the UK currently basking in something of a rare heat wave, (even the Ashes cricketers are struggling with the temperatures) it may not seem like the new football season is just around the corner. However, any football connoisseur will be fully aware that their favourite teams are already being put through their paces in what is sure to be a very interesting pre season.

Fans up and down the country have been aware of their club’s fixture list for a week or two and will already be plotting travel and possibly accommodation for those long away days. Monthly budgets will be being worked out, with match day tickets and travel very much in the equation.

The English pre season is always a time of great anticipation and uncertainty so we thought that it was a perfect time to launch our new sports arena - Sporting Voices. It’s basically a bunch of passionate sports fans writing about and chatting about what they love most – sport!

If it’s a sport (even vaguely) it’s fair game to talk about it at Sporting Voices. It will certainly be a game of two halves because in sport, there’s winning and there’s losing and we hope that the sports content will reflect the highs and the lows, the victories and the defeats, the goals and the grand slams, the promotions and relegations as well as all those controversial decisions. Was it in or was it out? Was it over the line? Did it get a nick or not?

We hope you will join us for what is sure to be a roller-coaster ride through the world of sport – Welcome to Sporting Voices!