Runners and Riders in BBC Sports Personality
November 30, 2010
The BBC have now released their top-10 shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The competition has been particularly tough this year after a stellar year for British sportsmen and women, who have managed to reach some of the highest levels in competitive sport.
Favourite to win is jump jockey AP McCoy. With a string of titles to his name, this year he managed to ride to victory in April’s Grand National. McCoy’s victory was impressive, riding Don’t Push It to victory five lengths ahead of his nearest competitor. McCoy’s odds of winning the competition are currently at 52.5% (1.9).
Golfer Graeme McDowell is also considered a serious contender. During the Ryder cup in October, McDowell’s win against Hunter Mahan was crucial in allowing team Europe gain the final point and win the cup. Available at odds of (15.1%) 6.62, he may be well worth a punt.
Fellow Ryder-cup teammate and World Golf number 1, Lee Westwood could also be in with a chance. Though he hasn’t yet won a championship, his constant high standard of play has been impressive, and his odds to win the contest are currently at 9% (11.62)
Its also worth keeping an eye too on Jessica Ennis, David Haye and Tom Daley, all of whom have been tipped for the prize. Check out our full odds in our dedicated market.
Battle of the Premiership Pundits Results
May 10, 2010
So, that’s it, Chelsea lift the league title with an emphatic 8-0 win at Wigan. Here’s the end of season results for the pundits:
| Match | Actual Result | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal v Fulham | 4-0 | Correct | Correct | - |
| Villa v Blackburn | 0-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | - |
| Bolton v Birmingham City | 2-1 | Correct | Correct | - |
| Burnley v Spurs | 4-2 | Incorrect | Incorrect | - |
| Chelsea v Wigan | 8-0 | Correct | Correct | - |
| Everton v Portsmouth | 1-0 | Correct | Correct | - |
| Hull v Liverpool | 0-0 | Incorrect | Incorrect | - |
| Man Utd v Stoke | 4-0 | Correct | Correct | - |
| West Ham v Man City | 1-1 | Correct | Incorrect | - |
| Wolves v Sunderland | 2-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | - |
| This Week | 6 of 10 (60%) | 5 of 10 (50%) | ||
| Final | 39 of 69 (56%) | 30 of 59 (51%) | 33 of 69 (48%) |
What does this tell us? Not a great deal! The pundits are pretty much 50% accurate in predicting the result of the game but much less effective at predicting the correct score. BBC’s Mark Lawrenson takes the title, but it’s a hollow victory, the pundits are pretty much as accurate as your local pub know-it-all!
Next season I’ll throw the open the challenge to new pundits, track the full season and record the correct score predictions when given.
Battle of the Premiership Pundits Pt.9
May 7, 2010
The Premiership is pretty much all done, and Huw appears to be sitting this week out, but here’s how the remaining pundits see the final weekends action going down.
| Match | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal v Fulham | 2-0 | 2-0 | - | Bet Now |
| Villa v Blackburn | 2-0 | 2-1 | - | Bet Now |
| Bolton v Birmingham City | 2-1 | 1-0 | - | Bet Now |
| Burnley v Spurs | 1-2 | 1-2 | - | Bet Now |
| Chelsea v Wigan | 4-0 | 4-1 | - | Bet Now |
| Everton v Portsmouth | 2-0 | 3-0 | - | Bet Now |
| Hull v Liverpool | 1-2 | 1-1 | - | Bet Now |
| Man Utd v Stoke | 2-0 | 3-0 | - | Bet Now |
| West Ham v Man City | 1-1 | 1-2 | - | Bet Now |
| Wolves v Sunderland | 1-1 | 2-2 | - | Bet Now |
Battle of Premiership Pundits Pt.8 Results
May 4, 2010
No one called that Stoke v Everton draw, but on the whole it wasn’t a bad week for the pundits. Only a few matches left in the season so it’s looking like Lauro will take the crown.
| Match | Actual Result | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham v Burnley | 2-1 | Correct | Correct | Correct |
| Man City v Villa | 3-1 | Correct | Correct | Correct |
| Portsmouth v Wolves | 3-1 | Incorrect | Correct | Incorrect |
| Stoke v Everton | 0-0 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Spurs v Bolton | 1-0 | Correct | Correct | Incorrect |
| Liverpool v Chelsea | 0-2 | Correct | - | Correct |
| Fulham v West Ham | 3-2 | Incorrect | - | Incorrect |
| Sunderland v Man Utd | 0-1 | Correct | - | Correct |
| This Week | 5 of 8 (62%) | 4 of 5 (80%) | 4 of 8 (50%) | |
| Rolling | 33 of 59 (56%) | 25 of 49 (51%) | 33 of 69 (48%) |
Battle of the Premiership Pundits pt.8
April 30, 2010
The season is drawing to a close and there’s a few dead duck fixtures this weekend, but here’s how the pundits call it:
| Match | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham v Burnley | 2-1 | 3-1 | Birmingham | Bet Now |
| Man City v Villa | 2-1 | 3-2 | Man City | Bet Now |
| Portsmouth v Wolves | 1-2 | 2-0 | Wolves | Bet Now |
| Stoke v Everton | 1-1 | 0-1 | Stoke | Bet Now |
| Spurs v Bolton | 2-0 | 2-1 | Bolton | Bet Now |
| Liverpool v Chelsea | 1-2 | - | Chelsea | Bet Now |
| Fulham v West Ham | 1-2 | - | West Ham | Bet Now |
| Sunderland v Man Utd | 0-2 | - | Man Utd | Bet Now |
Battle of the Pundits Pt.7 Results
April 26, 2010
Good week for Lauro, but the other pundits are still floundering under 50% accuracy. There’s not much of the season left to pick up their average either…
| Match | Actual Result | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man united v Spurs | 3-1 | Correct | Correct | Incorrect |
| Bolton v Portsmouth | 2-2 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Hull v Sunderland | 0-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| West Ham v Wigan | 3-2 | Correct | Correct | Incorrect |
| Wolves v Blackburn | 1-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Correct |
| Arsenal v Man City | 0-0 | Correct | Correct | Correct |
| Villa v Birmingham | 1-0 | Correct | - | Correct |
| Burnley v Liverpool | 0-4 | Correct | - | Correct |
| Everton v Fulham | 2-1 | Correct | - | Correct |
| Chelsea v Stoke | 7-0 | Correct | - | Incorrect |
| This Week | 7 of 10 (70%) | 3 of 6 (50%) | 5 of 10 (50%) | |
| Rolling | 28 of 51 (54%) | 21 of 44 (47%) | 29 of 61 (47%) |
Battle of the Premiership Pundits pt.7
April 23, 2010
As the premiership draws to a close we wonder if our pundits can recover from their recent abysmal performances
| Match | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man united v Spurs | 2-0 | 2-1 | Draw | Bet Now |
| Bolton v Portsmouth | 2-1 | 2-0 | Bolton | Bet Now |
| Hull v Sunderland | 1-1 | 1-1 | Win | Bet Now |
| West Ham v Wigan | 2-0 | 2-1 | Wigan | Bet Now |
| Wolves v Blackburn | 2-1 | 1-0 | Draw | Bet Now |
| Arsenal v Man City | 1-1 | 2-2 | Draw | Bet Now |
| Villa v Birmingham | 2-0 | - | Villa | Bet Now |
| Burnley v Liverpool | 1-2 | - | Liverpool | Bet Now |
| Everton v Fulham | 2-0 | - | Everton | Bet Now |
| Chelsea v Stoke | 2-0 | - | Draw | Bet Now |
Battle of the Premiership Pundits Results Pt.6
April 19, 2010
Another poor week for the experts. Lots of upsets and only three results from twenty six correctly predicted.
| Match | Actual Result | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City vs Manchester Utd | 0-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Birmingham vs Hull | 0-0 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Blackburn vs Everton | 2-3 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Fulham vs Wolves | 0-0 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Correct |
| Stoke vs Bolton | 1-2 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Sunderland vs Burnley | 2-1 | Correct | Correct | Incorrect |
| Tottenham vs Chelsea | 2-1 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Wigan vs Arsenal | 3-2 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| Portsmouth vs Aston Villa | 1-2 | Correct | - | Correct |
| This Week | 2 of 9 (22%) | 1 of 8 (12%) | 2 of 9 (22%) | |
| Rolling | 21 of 41 (51%) | 18 of 38 (47%) | 24 of 51 (47%) |
Battle of the Premiership Pundits pt.6
April 16, 2010
It’s Friday, so it must be time for the pundit predictions. After such a dismal performance last weekend the lads will have to pull their socks up, dig deep, and remember it’s game of two halves, you don’t want to end up sick as a parrot.
| Match | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City vs Manchester Utd | Draw | Draw | Man City | Bet Now |
| Birmingham vs Hull | Birmingham | Birmingham | Birmingham | Bet Now |
| Blackburn vs Everton | Draw | Draw | Draw | Bet Now |
| Fulham vs Wolves | Fulham | Fulham | Draw | Bet Now |
| Stoke vs Bolton | Stoke | Stoke | Stoke | Bet Now |
| Sunderland vs Burnley | Sunderland | Sunderland | Draw | Bet Now |
| Tottenham vs Chelsea | Chelsea | Chelsea | Draw | Bet Now |
| Wigan vs Arsenal | Arsenal | - | Arsenal | Bet Now |
| Portsmouth vs Aston Villa | Aston Villa | - | Aston Villa | Bet Now |
Battle of the Premiership Pundits Results pt.5
April 12, 2010
No one would have expected that result at Hull, but it was a horrible week for all the pundits, Huw bombed with a big fat zero from six predictions. With every ‘expert’ struggling at 50-60% accuracy, their predictions are looking less and less reliable…
| Match | Actual Result | Lawro | Andy Gray | Huw Davis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull vs Burnley | 1-4 | Incorrect | Incorrect | Incorrect |
| West Ham vs Sunderland | 1-0 | Correct | Correct | Incorrect |
| Blackburn vs Manchester United | 0-0 | Incorrect | - | Incorrect |
| Liverpool vs Fulham | 0-0 | Incorrect | - | Incorrect |
| Manchester City vs Birmingham | 5-1 | Correct | - | Incorrect |
| Wolves vs Stoke | 0-0 | Incorrect | - | Incorrect |
| This Week | 2 of 6 (33%) | 1 of 2 (50%) | 0 of 6 (0%) | |
| Rolling | 19 of 32 (59%) | 17 of 30 (56%) | 22 of 42 (52%) |
