Chris Rattue: Sporting surprises of 2015

Caitlyn Jenner and Robert Allenby, two of the many twists and turns of 2015. Photos / Getty Images

It's been another sporting year full of surprises - Chris Rattue recalls the twists and turns of 2015

Bruce becomes Caitlyn Jenner

Bruce Jenner is, or make that was, among the most famous of Olympic decathlon champions. He was touted as the world's greatest male athlete in the 1970s, and one could easily assume that only someone with a lot of masculinity could attain such a status. Wrong.

Jenner became Caitlyn in 2015, making the gender swap and identifying as a trans woman. As a member of reality TV's most famous family - the ubiquitous Kardashians - some probably assumed, again wrongly, that Jenner was going to extraordinary lengths to get the best plot lines. Instead, she has been a beacon for promoting greater understanding around sexuality, and tolerance in general. It is one of the most amazing sports stories of any year.

Robert Allenby kidnap. You're kidding

You couldn't make this one up - although Allenby's caddie reckoned the Aussie golfer did. Having missed the cut at the January tournament in Hawaii, Allenby turned up battered and bruised, claiming he had been beaten, robbed and abducted in the boot of a car. A man pleaded guilty to using Allenby's credit cards, but the rest of the story sounded like a story.

Hell hath no fury like a caddie scorned, and when Allenby sacked Mick Middlemo mid-year, he sang like a birdie. Middlemo said he had been told to back his boss on the robbery story. "I kept thinking, 'no it's not, because you probably just fell over sh**-faced drunk'," he said. "You didn't have enough to eat, you had a few wines, you fell over."

Crazy Sportsperson of the Year candidate?

Is Scrabble a sport? It is for the purposes of this list, because this story is too good to bypass. Christchurch-born Nigel Richards, a 48-year-old engineer, won the French-speaking world title in Belgium in July, having learned the French Scrabble dictionary in a mere nine weeks. Richards' long, wispy beard gives him a wizard look, and he is described as the greatest Scrabble player ever. His mum reckoned that as a kid, Nigel was more interested in numbers, and being a maths whiz is a big help in Scrabble.

"He doesn't speak French at all - he just learned the words," his friend Liz Fagerlund told the Herald. Richards got a standing ovation from the crowd after winning the final. A French journo and Scrabble fan, Jean-Baptiste Morel, told the Guardian Richards overwhelmed his final opponent despite a "rotten" draw of letters and even made a successful challenge against his French-speaking rival. "He has learned no logic, just a succession of letter sequences giving rise to words," Morel said. Staggering.

Depressing Headline of the Year

Alcoholic dumps Zim out of WC. Which accurately summed up the story in the Zimbabwe Herald, written by a certain Robson Sharuko, questioning the legitimacy of a catch by Ireland's John Mooney who had previously and bravely revealed his mental health issues. Sharuko was widely condemned, but remained undaunted. He questioned "how Mooney could be trusted to make an honest call ... against the background of the cricketer's recent battles with alcohol, abuse and depression".

A little man on his shoulder ... or maybe there was one in the bunker

The Golf Digest quite rightly reckoned "this is the craziest hole-in-one you'll ever see". Aussie Richard Green's ace on a par four hole during Victoria Championship's Pro-Am in February defies logic and anything else you can name. His tee shot skipped into a bunker then emerged at a right angle before scooting into the hole. "I thought I would hit driver and see what happens," said Green, who was so far away on the 358m hole that he didn't see what happened.

Apology of the Year

Normally a hotly-contested division because the world is full of apologies. But ITV gets the gong after saying sorry to viewers for broadcasting such a boring football game between England and Ireland. It also left blank spaces in a list of 'five things we have learned from the game'.

Friendly fire

Fifa's communications boss Walter De Gregorio fell on his sword after cracking a funny about the world football body, which has been mired in a long-running corruption scandal. Appearing on a TV show in Switzerland, De Gregorio said: "The Fifa president Sepp Blatter, the director of communications and the general secretary are all sitting in a car - who is driving?" Answer: "The police." Brilliant.

Text of the year

The wife of former South African cricket captain Graeme Smith found out they were heading for divorce when he sent her a text message. Morgan Deane said: "When I asked him if he had seen a divorce lawyer, he denied it. As karma would have it, Graeme sent a message intended for the lawyer to me by mistake."

Performance-enhancing tug

The 2014 Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali was disqualified from Spain's Vuelta for being towed by his team car during the second stage. After being caught up in a crash, Italian Nibali was filmed clinging on to a door while speeding clear of the chase group. In doing so, he took a ploy known as "sticky bottle" too far, especially since he was caught on video. Astana team manger Giuseppe Martinelli said: "Try to find me an honest person in the peloton." Isn't that what Lance Armstrong was trying to tell us?

All the world is a stage

Canadian theatre critic, James Kelly Nestruck, got a league scoop when an email from a British lawyer meant for Manly boss Joe Kelly turned up in his inbox. Nestruck was no doubt enthralled to find out that Wests Tigers forward Martin Taupau was heading for the Sea Eagles on a four-year deal. Nestruck released the news, with Taupau's agent describing the mix-up as "extraordinarily frustrating".

Bad greens

Broccoli has had a dream run in the press but got a taste of what white bread goes through during the US Open golf championship at Chambers Bay in Washington State. The course was widely slammed, and Henrik Stenson described the putting surfaces as being like broccoli - which wasn't a compliment. He even posted a photo of his lunch, which included a large portion of the stuff. Rory McIlroy thought the greens were more like cauliflower.

A bit more information than we need

After a thrilling victory by his Arkansas team, American football coach Bret Bielma told the press: "I'm just looking forward to hopping on the wife." He meant to say he was looking forward to hopping on a plane to see his wife. Then again, he once described a victory as "borderline erotic".

Plucked - first time unlucky

A Perth woman who won $900 on longshot Melbourne Cup winner Prince of Penzance had her winnings stolen by a Facebook "friend". After posting a photo of herself with the winning ticket, accompanied by the caption "Winner winner chicken dinner", the fiend used the photo of the barcode to cash in at an automated machine. "Chantelle" said she had never placed a bet before.

Bike bargain bin

Bargain hunters in Malaga missed an absolute steal during cycling's Tour of Spain. A $25,000 bike belonging to the Australian Orica Greenedge team was found by police in a second-hand store, with a price tag of $250.

Sex Tape of the Year

French striker Karim Benzema is under investigation, and suspended from the national team, over his alleged part in a blackmail scheme involving a sex tape and his efforts to assist a "childhood friend" in the extortion. The target was his fellow international Mathieu Valbuena. French football president Noel Le Graet said: "We're all embarrassed. I'm convinced he was caught up in something completely crazy which went over his head." This is new ground even for French national sports teams, who aren't always big on team harmony.

Medical misadventure

As a 16-year-old, Eva Carneiro wanted to be "that guy (doctor) who runs on to the field" and lived her dream by becoming the Chelsea football club's doctor. But when she ran on to the field too quickly, according to Chelsea's arrogant (and now former) manager Jose Mourinho, he bagged Carneiro in public and gave her the boot. By rushing on to treat Eden Hazard, Carneiro and the club physio left Chelsea depleted against Swansea.

A Women in Football spokesperson said: "We are bitterly disappointed. She fully complied with the laws of the game as well as the guidance of the General Medical Council. We believe it is appalling that her professionalism and understanding of football were subsequently called in question." Stay tuned: the doctor's legal results will probably be more promising than those of Mourinho's this season given he was sacked this week.

Tell us more

"They threw rocks at Jesus, and Jesus was an excellent guy who did a lot of awesome stuff," Chicago Bear Martellus Bennett told the Chicago Sun-Times, in support of an under-fire teammate. A defence of biblical proportions.

Playing on grass

Tennis terminator Novak Djokovic complained about the smell of cannabis during a tournament in Montreal. "Someone is smoking weed, I can smell it, and I'm getting dizzy," he told the umpire, although the Serb ace reckoned he was "playing better as I was inhaling" in an earlier doubles match.

Edgar's last stand

Bruce Edgar was the grittiest of New Zealand openers but even he couldn't handle the unfriendly fire from his own administration during the 2015 World Cup. The national selector was forced to buy tickets from third parties, and had to sit among the Australian players' wives and girlfriends during the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground which he found "awkward". New Zealand Cricket thought he should have been scouting around local grounds for new talent. Edgar took the hint, and quit. "For the first game, I was offered a ticket at the back of Hagley Park ... so that kinda set the scene, really, for the season."

Blast from the past

"Great to see Doug Ellis here in his Villa scarf," reckoned a BBC commentator, referring to the former Aston Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis turning up at Everton's Goodison Park. Unfortunately, this was a phrase too far for the BBC's 'live re-speaking' system which produced a subtitle announcing: 'Great to see Doug Ellis here with Hezbollah'. An apology ensued for linking the old fella with the so-called radical Shi'a Islamist militant group.

A very yellow jersey

Some people get ticker tape parades, others don't. Tour de France winner Chris Froome of Britain had urine thrown over him during the race after insinuations he was on the juice. "Unfortunately, someone threw a cup of urine into my face and shouted 'doper', which is extremely wrong on so many different levels," he said.

Nick Kyrgios

Yes, a man who deserves a category on his own. The Australian maniac/tennis player is an old-school ticking time bomb from the John McEnroe school of manners. Indeed, he's even too much for McEnroe, who accused him of "bonehead moves" and "thinking he's a vaudeville entertainer". Even McEnroe thought Kyrgios had taken tennis trash talking too far when he told Stan Wawrinka that another player had "banged your girlfriend". No one is safe when Kyrgios is about. He even loudly accused his own camp of stringing his racquets incorrectly during a game at at Wimbledon. Showing his softer side, he did hug a ballboy.

Lost in space

A busload of Belgium football fans plugged 'Wales' into their Sat-Nav and set off to watch their team's Euro qualifier in Cardiff. Unfortunately, after an 18-hour drive, they ended up 300km off course in the village of Wales, South Yorkshire. Didn't they notice some concerning signs along the way?

Deflategate: pressure, what pressure?

There are so many aspects to this story but the bottom line is this: the New England Patriots deflated their footballs below the minimum pressure allowed for the AFC championship game against Indianapolis, and got away with it. They went on to win the Super Bowl and a court even overturned star quarterback Tom Brady's suspension, largely on technicalities. At least the bizarre scandal encouraged a host of great headlines, including the New York Daily News' 'Great Balls of Liar'.

Great balls of liar! http://t.co/TvRk8BGLaq pic.twitter.com/0YPoJOG23S

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 7, 2015

Drug ring

Police didn't just find steroids, methamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis and a drug pipe during a Darwin raid. They also happened upon an $8000 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL premiership ring. Twenty rings were presented to players and officials, and club owner Russell Crowe bought another 53. There has been no claimant.