A new world champion and the comeback of the year !

The sporting year may be barely a wet week old – a really REALLY wet one – but already we’ve seen the crowning of a world champion and a comeback that will be difficult to top for the remaining 11 and three quarters of 2014.

Over in the ‘Ally Pally’ in London on New Year’s Day Thursday, Michael Van Gerwin fulfilled every prediction made about him when capturing the 2014 PDC Darts World Championship with a 7-4 victory over the colourful surprise finalist, Peter White.

In doing so, MVG became – at the age of 24 – the youngest-ever winner of the world title, and the victory saw him move above the legendary Phil Taylor to become the new world number 1.

He began playing darts when he was 13 and the Dutch native was quickly singled out as a special player and one to watch for the future. Maybe it was the level of expectation placed upon his shoulders, but he struggled to make an impact on the world of darts until about two years ago, but his ascent to the top has been a wait that was worth it.

Speaking as a darts fan, I love his style of play – fast and furious, a far cry from the ponderous nature of the likes of Dennis Priestly, who lives up to his nickname of ‘The Menace’ as his speed of play makes watching paint dry seem like a thrill-seekers delight.

MVG’s 6-0 destruction of the 2011 and 2012 World Champion, Adrian Lewis, in the semi-final was simply stunning, and his win was no flash in the pan either. Taylor is the undisputed greatest darts player of all time, but MVG beat him in the finals of both the Premier League Darts and Players Championship in 2013, and while it would be folly in the extreme to suggest the days of The Power are over, they may very well be numbered with MVG set to enjoy a prolonged stay at the top of the sport.

Stunning comeback

Three days after MVG become the year’s first World Champion, the Indianapolis Colts pulled off something of a miracle when clawing back a 38-10 second-half deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 45-44 in their American Football AFC Wild Card game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

You had to feel for Chiefs’ Head Coach, Andy Reid, as he came within touching distance of leading the Chiefs to their first post-season win in two decades, only for the defeat to leave an ugly blot on what was an exceptional season for his side.

Reid took over at the Chiefs in January last year after the franchise – a horrible word in the world of sport – decided it was time to appoint their fourth head coach in a decade after they finished the season 2-14 (two wins, 14 defeats), the fifth time in six season they had more losses than wins.