The annual showpiece of professional darts reached its tungsten-tipped climax at London’s Alexandra Palace, as Gary “the Flying Scotsman” Anderson beat the 16-times champion Phil “the Power” Taylor by seven sets to six in a thrilling PDC World Championship final. “Phil is the best and always will be the best, so that makes it more special,” an emotional Anderson told Sky Sports after trousering the winners’ cheque for £250,000 ($381,000). It capped a remarkable rise in fortunes not just for the No 4 seed but for the sport itself. Once lampooned mercilessly for its parochialism and beer bellydom, darts is now enjoying blanket TV coverage and even long, chin-stroking homages in the quality press.
Blades scalp Redknapp’s QPR
English football rang in the new year with the third round of the FA Cup. League One Sheffield United claimed the most notable scalp, trouncing Premier League Queens Park Rangers 3-0. “There’s no good shouting and screaming; what can you do?” pondered Harry Redknapp, sounding as if he had lost the will to manage QPR entirely. Meanwhile, thousands of words were churned out in homage to Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, who will end his 16 years at the club in the summer. Gerrard may have a furrowed brow, but it’s unlikely to be the leaving of Liverpool that grieves him: a lucrative stint in US Major League Soccer beckons.
Virus ensures Murray victory
Perhaps it was the only realistic way in which Andy Murray was ever going to get past Novak Djokovic, after a virus forced the world No 1 to withdraw from the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, thus handing the Scot a victory. “Congratulations to Andy, it’s a shame I couldn’t play him today but I’m sure we will meet again soon,” said Djokovic, doing a passable impersonation of a Bond villain. Murray left for Australia with a sore left shoulder sustained during his semi-final win over Rafael Nadal, but was expected to be fit for the Australian Open later this month.
Bianchi’s signs of recovery
There was hopeful news of Formula One driver Jules Bianchi, who suffered brain damage following a crash in Japan in October, after his family released a statement to say the former Marussia driver is now breathing unaided, though he remains unconscious at a Nice hospital. Recovery progress has also been slow for Michael Schumacher more than a year after the former world champion sustained serious head injuries in a skiing accident. “It’s going to be a long time and a hard fight,” his manager Sabine Kehm said following reports in a French newspaper – denied by the German’s representatives – that he had recovered some of his cognitive abilities.
