Sports Ladder (28th January - 3 February)

UP - Team GB - For the first time since 1986 Great Britain have made it through to the quarter final of the Davis Cup after an outstanding display on the clay courts of San Diego. Despite a loss in the doubles the British contingent won all three singles matches to claim an unassailable 3-1 lead. The highlight was inevitably a superb five set victory for James Ward over Sam Querrey.

UP - Seattle Seahawks - Not only did the Seahawks win this years Superbowl but they crushed the Denver Broncos 43-8 on a cold night in New Jersey. The pre-match discussion revolved largely around the Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning who once again choked in a playoffs match. He has now lost 12 of 23 post-season games. Inconsistant.

UP - Atletico Madrid - Has La Liga turned from a two-horse race to a three-horse race? It certainly seems so! Atletico Madrid are currently leading La Liga for the first time since 1996 and with both Barcelona and Real Madrid slipping up at the weekend Atletico now hold a three point lead at the top. The in form Diego Costa has arguably been the best player in Spain this year.

UP - Women's Tour de France - Good news for female cycling as they finally have an event in the Tour de France. On the final day the women will compete in a one day race to Champs Elysees. Described as a "game changer" for womens cycling who have not had a Tour de France even since 2008. Perhaps we could have a double British winner?

UP - Zac Purchase - Worth mentioning the retirement of double Olympic medalist Zac Purchase. Purchase, 27, won a silver medal during his home Olympics in 2012 as well as a gold medal four years earlier in Beijing. A fantastic rower and an outstanding Olympian I wish him well in the rest of his career.

DOWN - Kolo Toure - Oops. Not the finest game of Kolo Toure's career. A horrific moment as he single-handidly gifted West Brom a point by passing the ball straight to Victor Anichebe. A moment of madness which Liverpool cannot afford if they wish to get back into Europe. Toure has hardly set the world on fire since his move from Manchester City and will need to do a lot more to prove himself to the fans now.

DOWN - Andy Flower - Despite spending months claiming he would not step down Andy Flower has gone more or less full u-turn and resigned this week. Probably for the best after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash. The resignation came after new managing director Paul Dowton decided he wanted one coach to cover all formats instead of different coaches as it is at the moment. Looks like this flower hasn't blossomed.

DOWN - Kim Kallstrom - On Deadline Day in the summer Arsene Wenger signed Mesut Ozil to the delight of Arsenal fans. This January Deadline Day he signed Kim Kallstrom on loan to slightly less delight. This small quantity of delight completely disappeared the next day when it emerged he will be out for around a month after arriving at the club injured, even though he managed to complete his medical. Awkward.

DOWN - Barcelona and Real Madrid - It is extremely rare to find a weekend where Barcelona lose a League match. It is even more rare to find out where Real Madrid also fail to win. Yet that is exactly what happened this weekend as they collected just one point between them, leaving Atletico Madrid as the solo front runners. Could there be a new winner for the first time in ten years?

DOWN - Sebastian Vettel/Red Bull - You would be hard pressed to find anyone who would suggest Sebastian Vettel has not been the best driver in Formula One over the last few years. However, this weeks pre-season testing would suggest that perhaps his reign is coming to an end. Issues with the reliability of the car have left him and the team leaps and bounds behind their rivals before the season starts in March.

Sports Ladder (2nd-8th August)

UP - Wrestling - A good week for wrestling as it re-enters the Olympics. As one of the original events in the 1896 inaugural games it was important for it to regain a spot, even if it did mean that Squash sadly missed out. All we need now is to get rid of non-Olympic-spirit sports such as football, golf, tennis etc and it will be restored to its former glory.

UP - Sebastian Vettel - After yet another commanding victory, Vettel has now gained himself a 53 point lead with only 175 points remaining and looks dead set to win his fourth consecutive Formula 1 crown. As much as it pains me to say it, it might actually be skill rather than luck which has driven Vettel to success and I might finally have to bite the bullet and say congratulations.

UP - Arsene Wenger - How do you appease the fans questioning your ability? Beat your closest rivals and then sign one of the best playmakers on the planet. After a summer of discontent amongst Arsenal fans they will feel that the future is much brighter following Wenger smashing their transfer record by about £27 million. Perhaps they will eclipse their regular fourth spot this year.

UP - Jordan Spieth - Spieth has had an outstanding debut year on the PGA Tour, currently 10th in the Fed-Ex Standings and 28th in the World Rankings, the 20 year old's year got even better as he was handed a spot on the American Presidents Cup team courtesy of Fred Couples. After Charley Hull recently highlighted the success a youngster can have, Spieth will be looking to emulate that success.

UP - Ben Maher - It's always nice to highlight a small success story and few will have heard of Ben Maher. However, an Olympic gold medalist at London last year, Maher has just become the world's top-ranked showjumper after successfully winning team gold and individual silver at last months European Championships.

DOWN - Chris Coleman - Oh Chris, we've all been there. Actually, well, I haven't. There is a lot of pressure being a National team manager, but one thing that is usually required for away trips is a passport. A disappointing week for Coleman who after missing his flight with the team, then lost 2-1 to Macedonia.

DOWN - Gabriel Agbonlahor - It's a good thing Gabby is fast, because he'll have around 13 million of Louis Tomlinson's fans chasing him after causing the One Direction singer to leave the field during Stiliyan Petrov's Charity Match with a late tackle. The footballing world enjoyed it thoroughly although I'm pretty sure Agbonlahor will be getting plenty of hate mail over the coming days.

DOWN - Lewis Hamilton - Probably not the debut season that Lewis Hamilton had in mind when he left McLaren for Mercedes last year. Plenty of poles but poor race pace has meant only one victory and this weekend pushed himself completely out of the title race. Will we ever see him win a Championship again? Sadly I think not.

DOWN - Greg Dyke - Same old, same old as Greg Dyke, the new Football Association Chairman announces that England should aim to win the 2022 World Cup. You know that World Cup which we might boycott. Incredible that Dyke was under the impression that to date we have not been aiming to win the major tournaments. Sort it out at grassroots level first and perhaps we'll aim for 2038!

DOWN - Roger Federer - Form is temporary, class is permanent. Federer will have to take solace from this saying as he suffers his first year since 2003 where he has not made a Grand Slam final. Coming into the twilight of his career, Federer now has to make the bold decision whether to bow out as a hero or risk threatening his great legacy by continuing to play.