Flying high...then falling from grace

There are hopes that Liverpool's new manager Kenny Dalglish can restore pride back to Anfield. Photo / AP

1 Tiger Woods

The latest news - that Woods has been dropped from the cover of his own electronic EA golf game - kind of put it in perspective. This was one of the biggest and fastest declines of any sporting superstar ever.

Woods, who turned 35 this month, saw his earnings drop by US$48 million last year as sponsors and advertisers recoiled from his infamous multi-dalliances with fake blonde cocktail waitresses who all seemed to have names like Sandy, Mandy, Candy, Dandy, Brandy and, of course, Randy.

But this was far more than a commercial decline, even though Woods still earned more than any other golfer last year. Showing just how much off-field drama can upset even the best game, Woods didn't win a tournament last year and his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 majors hasn't moved on for 18 months or so now.

That Woods' will come again seems assured but even now the jokes flow, showing the sort of pressure to which he is still subject, like this effort from a tongue-in-cheek reader of Australia's Canberra Times: "I think it is only fair that you warn your readers of the latest scam on eBay. I recently ordered a book by Tiger Woods entitled My Favourite 18 Holes. When I received the book I was very disappointed to learn it was all about golf. Yours truly, an admiring reader."

- Paul Lewis

2 Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona was a genius with footballing skills not seen before or since. There was also punch behind the poetry, steel in the silk.

He single handedly inspired a workman like Argentina to the 1986 World Cup (something Lionel Messi has twice failed to achieve), and his zurdo de oro [golden left foot] took unfashionable Napoli to two Serie A titles in three years. All in the days when defenders had carte blanche and tackles from behind were legal.

By the 1990 World Cup, albeit with an ankle injury, he was a shadow of his former self, and his career was effectively over before he turned 30.

He subsequently served a 15-month ban for drugs and comebacks with Sevilla, Boca Juniors and his adoring home nation were ultimately failures as the pace and precision had disappeared.

Managing his beloved Argentina gave him a purpose for the first time in years but stories have since emerged of no game plans nor tactics and morning sessions being cancelled as 'El Diego' slept well past noon. Despite recent reports it is doubtful he will gain another post; unless new footballing giants Qatar decide they want him around to train their plethora of promising young (ahem) Brazilians and Africans.

Those who saw him play will never forget the magic. Those who have seen him since just pray.

- Michael Burgess

3 The Black Caps (test cricket)

Some would argue that their decline goes further; seeping into one-day and Twenty20 cricket as well but nowhere has the New Zealand cricket team looked more deficient than in tests.

The five-dayers are supposedly still the pinnacle of the sport, but the Black Caps, against a significantly weakened Pakistan, looked more like they were playing pinochle.

New Zealand's hard-won and gutsily gathered credibility in tests now teeters on the brink after 80 years of hard graft by those who went before. New Zealand has never been a powerhouse in the sport; now they look like an outhouse at 8th out of 9 test-playing nations. Among the reasons are players with heads turned by T20, in particular, and limited overs cricket in general. That seems to have sapped the skill (and desire?) to play in the longest form of the game. John Wright's remedial action is awaited with interest.

- Paul Lewis

4 Liverpool

You have to cast your eyes down to the bottom half of the Premier League table to find Liverpool these days. Twelfth. In between Merseyside rivals Everton and those giants of English football Blackpool. Ahead of them are Stoke, Blackburn and Sunderland. It's not supposed to be like this.

Liverpool are clinging onto the distinction as England's joint most successful club with 18 league titles.

That honour will switch to Manchester United if the Red Devils stay on top of the table but many in Manchester wouldn't say Liverpool are their biggest rivals any more. It's been a long time since that was the case.

Liverpool won the last of their 18 crowns in the 1989-90 season when Kenny Dalglish, who last week took over at Anfield for a second stint, was in charge. It was their 11th title in 18 seasons. Add European Cup wins in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, and they were the best side in Europe. Now they aren't even the best side in Liverpool.

A European title in 2005, when they came back from 3-0 down at halftime against AC Milan, FA Cup successes in 2001 and 2006, regular Champions League appearances and a second-placed finish in 2007/08 have merely papered over cracks that have become vast in recent times.

Liverpool have new owners in Americans John Henry and Tom Werner and there are hopes Dalglish can once again restore pride back to Anfield. He might need to recruit Harry Potter as one of his first signings.

- Michael Brown

5 Marion Jones

There can be few more pitiful sights in sport than an athlete issuing a full mea culpa, having been exposed as a drug cheat. You know the script - a dose of betrayal, a dash of shame and a decent slug of letting down country and self...

Jones lapped up the fame and glory after securing five medals (three gold and two bronze) at the Sydney Olympics but something seemed awry when her first husband, shot-putter CJ Hunter, was booted from the same Games after testing positive for the banned drug nandrolone.

Jones lived off the Olympic adulation for years, denying claims she may have received chemical assistance, despite her now ex-husband Hunter claiming he even saw her injecting.

She was eventually exposed and confessed to her involvement in the Balco doping scandal in October 2007. She did six months' porridge for lying to two grand juries but still had the gall to sit on Oprah's couch and claim she could have won the medals regardless.

The 35-yearold is now a guard for the WNBA basketball side the Tulsa Shock.

- Andrew Alderson

6 Otago Rugby

There could be arguments Otago were never really at the pinnacle of New Zealand rugby. They won only two NPC titles (1991, 1998) and haven't had their mitts on the Ranfurly Shield since 1957. The Highlanders, too, have been wholly unsuccessful aside from a competitive period around the turn of the century (they played in one final and three semi-finals in five years between 1998 and 2002). But the decline of Otago rugby has been massive.

Once they were the Pride of the South and Carisbrook became known as the House of Pain for visiting teams. On top of that, Otago contributed swathes of good All Blacks like Jamie Joseph, Mike Brewer, John Timu, Byron Kelleher, David Kirk, Josh Kronfeld, Anton Oliver, Taine Randell, Jeff Wilson and Carl Hayman. Now it's a struggle to find one.

Professionalism played a major hand in Otago's decline. Young players used to venture to Dunedin to play rugby and go to university but that attraction has passed with little need and time to attend university in the modern era. It has become a battle to attract good players and Otago's finish at the bottom of last year's I™ Cup is hardly the best marketing campaign.

It's hoped the new Carisbrook, which opens this year, will breathe life back into Otago rugby. It will need to because it is virtually dead.

- Michael Brown

7 Ricky Ponting

Around 18 months ago, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar were

in a battle at the top of cricket's batting mountain. While it was likely the Indian master would eventually prevail, the depth and scale of the 36-year-old Ponting's plummet has been both riveting and wretched.

In the recent Ashes series, he scored a total of 113 at 16.14 and looked fragile on every visit to the crease. Sure, there were some unlucky dismissals but as the malaise continued, it seemed we were witnessing the decline of a great.

While he still averages 53.57 in tests and has accumulated 12,363 runs, the Tasmanian has managed just two centuries in his last 49 test innings.

The 3-1 humiliation by England makes him the only Australian skipper to have lost the Ashes on three separate occasions.

- Michael Burgess

8 Floyd Landis

He went from winning the Tour de France in 2006 to being beaten by rower Hamish Bond in the 100km Mt Maungatautari cycling classic last year. After finally admiting that he was living a lie and had been doping during his cycling career, Landis has also turned narc.

He wore a wire and camera into a meeting with Michael Ball, the owner of the Rock Racing team which features several former Lance Armstrong team-mates. Landis has turned avenger and is working with federal authorities to prove systemic doping during his years racing with Armstrong's US Postal team from 2002 to 2004, helping Armstrong win those three editions of the Tour de France. Armstrong has denied all claims and will race in the Tour Down Under which begins in Adelaide today; expected to be his last international event.

Landis' efforts could be the torrent which washes top road cycling events clean - but it still feels a big fall from the yellow jersey to the black arts of undercover agents. There is also a feeling that Landis' motives may be less than pure (everyone was doing it; it wasn't just me).

History has yet to pronounce judgement on Armstrong (a federal investigation continues) but Landis' place seems firm.

- Paul Lewis

9 Marcelo Rios

With a moustache that looked like he could have been Alexandre Dumas' fourth Musketeer, the enigmatic Rios had a tendency to be more about "all for one" than "one for all". His tennis and temperament could vary markedly - sensational one match, soft the next.

Many claim he was among the best they saw with a racquet, but the Chilean had a habit of infuriating his peers and the public with his off-court form.

That included being unwilling to sign autographs or mix with fans - he also casually mentioned that grass was for cows and soccer, not tennis, ahead of Wimbledon in 1997.

The following year, shortly after winning the Heineken Open in January, he became world No 1 for six weeks in total over two stints. He made the final of the Australian Open that year but remains the only No1 not to win a grand slam title since the rankings came into existence
in 1973.

Rios had a horrific run of injuries, mainly to his back in the years afterwards. He retired aged 28 in 2004.

- Andrew Alderson

10 Roy Keane

"Even in the dressing room afterwards, I had no remorse. He got his just rewards. He f**ked me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye."

Roy Keane had just broken Alf Inge Haaland's leg in a horrible revenge tackle which ended the Manchester City player's career but refused to offer even a moment of sympathy.

Now the Irishman is finding life in management just as unforgiving; shown the door by Ipswich after struggles at Sunderland.

As a player Keane was the ultimate competitor. In a Manchester United team full of aristocrats, he was the demanding workforce who drove them on. Darren Fletcher says Keane set rare standards. "The rules we follow at United are the ones he laid down. I've known professionals who applied themselves, but Roy was something else."

But how could he tolerate working with players who were not as good as he was, who don't adhere to the same standards?

He ruled Sunderland with an iron fist, once leaving behind three players who were late for an away trip and walked out with the club at 18th in the Premier League.

In the Championship with Ipswich, Keane's team finished 15th in the first season and he was sacked last week with the club at 19th, enduring their worst run of results since the early 1960s.

He is only 39, but it is doubtful that managerial life will begin again at 40.

- Michael Burgess