I was thinking Reid was edging closer to inclusion. He's not had as much attention as some of the other para-athletes in the run-up, which seems to have been aimed at those who won last time. But his achievements are remarkable, and he got quite a lot of attention after each of his slam successes, so he's not unknown.

HOWEVER, I have to say there isn't much point in being shocked by him 'only' winning £20 grand for his troubles. As he's said himself more than once, the sport of wheelchair tennis is still relatively new and developing. The field is small, with a very small draw. This year was the first time they had singles at Wimbledon, and it was widely deemed a success, so I expect it to grow, along with prestige and prize money. But in the meantime, the wheelchair tennis players are still earning more than most of our para-athletes, so I wouldn't feel too sorry for them.

IMO, it's right that the para-athletes are included on the main list if they have had a good enough year. This year there will be many who deserve consideration, but it still has to be acknowledged that a lot of those events are minority events, and Britain does disproportionately well for a variety of reasons, so you can't just tot up who won the most golds etc.

Oh I see , the £20,000 singles final prize money seems fitting because it was on court 17 or one of those out of the way courts ? I guess he would have got more money if it was on centre court or better more recognition witch would have been greater .

I think Usain Bolt has won that award

No, you don't see. If you are interested in the subject, and not misrepresenting the situation, you'll notice I mentioned the size of the relative draws. There were 8 men in the wheelchair singles event, and four teams in the wheelchair doubles event. The sport needs to grow in terms of participation and popularity, and the prize money will grow with it. I already pointed out how successful it was at Wimbledon this year, and it has already come along way in recent years.

It still has plenty of room to grow and is going in the right direction. It's going to become a much bigger sport and I expect prize money will be bigger next year on merit, and not because of false outrage.

Funnily enough, when someone was insisting that Jordanne Whiley should be treated at the UK's best tennis player rather than Andy Murray, it was Gordon Reid who said it was nonsense, because wheelchair tennis is still in its infancy and they had a lot of work to do to grow the sport before it could be compared. But what does he know?

So Gordon Reid and Jordanne Whiley are pioneers in there sport -wow , they leave a far greater legacy in that respect .

Time to turn Andy Murray over he is cooked

Oh my god he lost one match! Pathetic! His chances are scuppered now!

Because basically leading us to this stage of the Davis Cup by himself, Reaching the Finals of the Australian Open and French Open, Winning Wimbledon and Olympic Gold just isnt worthy... silly comment.

[quote=clever3000;83954908]Because basically leading us to this stage of the Davis Cup by himself, Reaching the Finals of the Australian Open and French Open, Winning Wimbledon and Olympic Gold just isnt worthy... silly comment.[/QUOT
Might be silly ,but it happened

[quote=appledash;83955404]
Lost 2 matches in a row, guess he must be struggling to make the shortlist now eh?

Still the massive favourite at the bookies.

[quote=detroitcity;83955986]
Hardly massive around 6/4 mark ! And drifting out !!

[quote=appledash;83956067]
MASSIVE.

He'll drift a bit now with GB being 2-0 down. Need a miracle to hold onto the Davis Cup now.

Possible Paralympians that could make the shortlist

Hannah Cockcroft
Kadeena Cox
Georgie Armitage
Gordon Reid
Dame Sarah Storey

I may have missed someone out, but these five have been stars of the Paralympics

[quote=detroitcity;83956686]
Mo farah has gone favourite on the betfair exchange , but obviously it does come down to the public And who they vote there winner - I think we can all start making our short list predictions now and possible winners 1st 2nd 3rd

[quote=appledash;83958858]
Murray still fav

https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plu...et/1.122332136

[quote=Darren Lethem;83958882]
They have been switching all morning - you must have noticed that ? Or better still noticed Murray DRIFFTING !! Either way it's only a matter of time Darren before there is daylight in the betting between these two contenders ,there really is no point denying that sure fact

[quote=appledash;83958858]
After the EU referendum result (when Remain was strong favourite as late as an hour after the polls closed) I don't place any great significance in bookies odds.

The fact that people are willing to put large sums of money on a particular outcome doesn't make them any more likely to be correct.

[quote=dodrade;83959050]
I too don't trust the betting market , I remember Rory at 1/20 !!! And I backed Lewis at 7/2 on the strength that jennson button had been knocked back and Lewis Hamilton youngest formular 1 champion was also passed over SO I asked my self would the BBC let 3 British formular 1 champions be passed over ? I know I know I know the BBC have no sway on the result , apparently ! I just asked myself could a British F1 champion not win at the 3RD time of asking ? So even when I knew Rory was 1/20 to win I KNEW the BBC wouldn't want another British F1 champion passed over ,and I backed Lewis heavily and won big and just in the same strategy thinking I have with mo farah ,I just can't see any other sport winning apart from athletics on the night ,I have no dought I'll be collecting my winnings

How many Paralympians can we have on the shortlist as we have not mentioned

Sophie Christiansen and Stephanie Millward

The shortlist will most likely have 12 spots. There is no Limit to how many Paralympians can be on the list. But in all likelyhood there wont be more that a maximum of 3 Paralympians on the list. Although personally i think that it will only be 2 Paralympians nominated.

Swimmer Bethany Firth just became the most successful GB Paralympian of the games - 3 golds and a silver. Surely she's in the conversation as well

Clear daylight between Andy and Mo now!

In all seriousness, how ridiculous to say this makes Andy less likely to win. He's not favourite because people expect GB to win the Davis cup again, he's favourite because he won Wimbledon, Olympic gold and made two more major finals this year.

Ought to be but she isn't as well known as Sarah Storey and Hannah Cockcroft (both previously nominated), and I'm pretty sure Kadeena Cox will get nominated for winning in two different sports. Probably at least one more Paralympian will be nominated but depends if they go for 10, 12 or perhaps even 15 nominations. There are definitely going to be controversial omissions this year.

We all get your Murray love because of your location BUT your seriously deluded on the Murray favourite with the public , maybe Stirling university ! I watched the last leg last night and EVERY Paralympian on that show had personality ,in fact IDE rather see the short list made up of Paralympic athletes because they all have massive personalitys , Andy Murray sends everyone to sleep before he opens his mouth - Murray lacks the human touch and have another look at his picture holding the flag pole - he looks scary with that false smile , Frankenstein comes to mind when I saw that picture - no no no
1st farah
2nd storey
3rd Trott
Let's start getting the forecasts inn

Although "personality" is in the title the SPOTY award is about achievement in sport and not about the personality of a person. Andy Murray on court interviews have improved in recent times and we have seem him joke and cry after match showing the public his personality. At the Olympics Andy had to make a speech to fellow GB team members and was apparently inspirational and his peers thought he was the best person to carry the flag. This does not sound like someone who has no personality

Andy Murray has now become a favourite with the public with what he is achieved and this year with another Wimbledon and Olympic Gold he has only just added to status as one of our great sport stars at the moment maybe of all time.

He is certain to finish top three it is just a question of whether he wins again