The year began with us mourning the loss of the great Brazilian footballer Pele who passed away in the final days of 2022.
Sadly this year also witnessed the death of another football legend, Manchester United and England star Sir Bobby Charlton who died in October at the age of 86.
A survivor of the 1958 Munich air crash, Charlton was a gifted player who glided past opponents and was capable of scoring thunderbolts from either foot.
He was fondly regarded by English fans no matter their club affiliation and was a key player in England's 1966 World Cup success. He was also gentleman on and off the field.
Here are just a few sporting moments that caught the eye in 2023:
Red faces: Manchester United being thrashed 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield. United manager Erik ten Hag commented: "We lost our heads… it was totally unprofessional."
Blue faces: Chelsea somehow managing to make their most expensively assembled team in history also one of the worst. Even top manager Mauricio Pochettino is singing the blues.
Farewell 'Motty': Football commentator John Motson, known as "the voice of English football" died at the age of 77. He covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup Finals. When unfancied Wimbledon upset mighty Liverpool in the 1998 FA Cup final, Motty came out with "The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club."
Hollywood ending: Wrexham, spurred on by their US film star backing, finally winning promotion to League Two. Joining them were Notts County, the oldest professional football club in the world.
Just not cricket: Astonishing scenes at the normally sedate Lord's cricket ground which in the second Ashes Test resembled a rowdy football stadium with loud booing and verbal abuse of Australian players including chants of "Same old Aussies, always cheating." Australian newspapers responded neatly with "Same old England, always whining."
Calm down: It was left to Guardian writer Jonathan Liew to bring some sanity to the proceedings by writing: "England are 2-0 down, not because of cheating Aussies…but because they are playing against a superior side."
Didn't see that coming: After winning all 10 matches in the Cricket World Cup and looking unbeatable, India, led by Virat Kohli, somehow losing without putting up much of a fight to Australia in the final.
Amazing Afghans: Unheralded Afghanistan finishing sixth in the World Cup which included remarkable victories over England and Pakistan.
Unwanted kiss: The Spanish women's World Cup football triumph being totally overshadowed by Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales kissing player Jenni Hermoso who commented "I didn't like it."
Peace in our time: Europe's lady golfers hung on to the Solheim Cup but it was a close thing, ending in a 14-14 tie. The European men, led by captain Luke Donald, also regained the Ryder Cup. One common factor in both tournaments were noisy galleries and the interminable chanting of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" Golf used to be such a peaceful game.
Raging Rory: Europe's Rory McIlroy saying he felt "the angriest I have ever been in my career" when he was distracted by the celebrations of Joe LaCava, US player Patrick Cantlay's caddie, when he was lining up a crucial putt in the Ryder Cup.
Super Boks: South Africa's Springboks retain the Rugby World Cup final with a tense 12-11 win over New Zealand's 14-man All Blacks.
Glory in defeat: "Sport can be cruel sometimes. I guess that's why we love it." -- Ireland coach Andy Farrell after their epic quarter-final loss to the All Blacks.
Uncomfortable truth: World champion Max Verstappen calling the much-vaunted Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix "99 percent show business and one percent sport." The Red Bull driver won the race.
Mahomes Magic: Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a thrilling 38-35 Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Adding a bit of spice is singer Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce of Kansas City.
Texan Triumph: Texas Rangers won first-ever baseball World Series in their 63-year history, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks. Overjoyed Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer commented "This is baseball nirvana."
Survival spirit: In the 2022/23 season, all three newly-promoted Premier League clubs, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham avoided relegation. That doesn't happen very often.
Shows promise: England captain Harry Kane scoring a record 21 goals in 15 games for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Asked about his plans for Christmas he replied: "I'm going somewhere hot". How about Thailand, Harry?
A Happy New Year to everyone.