AS quickly as it all started, it's over. Stomachs distended from the unnecessary calories, heads a little fuzzy from the surfeit of booze and turkey leftovers creating that familiar post-yule odour around the house - I do hope your Christmas was everything you wished for.

AS quickly as it all started, it's over. Stomachs distended from the unnecessary calories, heads a little fuzzy from the surfeit of booze and turkey leftovers creating that familiar post-yule odour around the house - I do hope your Christmas was everything you wished for.

Now we must move on. The calendar is set to change, transporting us, extra poundage and all, into a new year and, indeed, a new decade.

But not quite yet. First let's look back at 2009 and consider, fellow sporting fans, what will we remember, years down the line, about the past 12 months.

Without doubt 2009, was the year of the cheat. On a scale that we had never previously considered. With gates all over the shop.

- Read more now, watch the videos and have your say in Mark Heath's Playing the Links blog.