Lewis Hamilton, Carl Froch, Usain Bolt, Jo Pavey - Quotes of the Year, part III

The best sporting quotes in 2014

Track Athlete

From Ben Stokes lamenting a broken wrist to Rory McIlroy explaining a broken engagement, here’s the sporting year in quotes

JANUARY

How do you get bowled out in 32 overs? I would have just been getting my eye in.

Geoffrey Boycott after England are all out for 166 in the fifth Ashes Test

I put the bottle down on the court and it started melting a little bit underneath, so you knew it was warm

Caroline Wozniacki on the heat at the Australian Open

What he’s really saying is: “Floyd, can you help me solve my tax problems, get me out of debt?”

Floyd Mayweather Jnr on the possibility of fighting Manny Pacquiao

The best thing would be to legalise drugs so the entire peloton is on a level playing field.

Danilo Di Luca, banned for life from cycling, claims 90 per cent of riders in the Giro d’Italia use drugs

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FEBRUARY

I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won’t be for England

Kevin Pietersen after the ECB ended his international career

Maybe four World Championships really have turned him into a screaming prima donna. Perhaps what really happened is Seb leapt out of the car and started foaming at the mouth

A Red Bull statement after reports Sebastian Vettel threw a “hissy fit” at a pre-season test

I don’t want to cry, I want to be tough

British speed skater Elise Christie after being disqualified from a third event at the Winter Olympics in Sochi

I’ve got a sore neck from looking down one end of the field for the entire second half

Scotland’s Scott Johnson after Six Nations defeat to England

A big man goes down from a slap in the face. I’d be more embarrassed about that. It’s wrong because I’ve seen worse cuddles

Worcester coach Dean Ryan on Northampton’s Sam Dickinson

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MARCH

I was not horrified by the noise, I was horrified by the lack of it

Bernie Ecclestone on F1’s new V6 engines

It’s shit

Vettel’s reaction

Bernie Ecclestone was among a number of critics at the sound of the new F1 cars (Getty Images)

I’m the @MileyCyrus of heavyweight boxing young crazy super sexy & don’t give a fuck

Tyson Fury

We need to get it up. I wish I could still get it up, but anyway...

Ecclestone returns to the lack of engine noise

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APRIL

Punching lockers isn’t the way forward for anyone. There’s only going to be one winner there

England’s Ben Stokes after breaking his wrist

They were three times the size of bees. Thirty or 40 of them started to attack me big time. I start running like a crazy guy, the players told me to jump in the lake

Pablo Larrazabal finds the water to escape a swarm of hornets at the Malaysian Open

Someone needs to tell Lewis that move was NOT ON!

Nico Rosberg on the Mercedes radio during the Bahrain GP

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MAY

Maybe I’m sick of pasta. The Chinese stomach is a little bit different

Li Na after stomach trouble at the Rome Masters

The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails

Rory McIlroy breaks up with Wozniacki

That was the best punch of my life. You define a good punch from what it means, and what that meant was the whole George Groves saga came to an end...

Carl Froch on beating George Groves at Wembley

Carl Froch throwing the 'best punch of my life' (GETTY IMAGES)

I can’t stand losing anything, not even tiddlywinks, and to lose anything in Australia against the Australians is appalling. It’s a very bad experience

Giles Clarke, chairman of the ECB, is still not over the 5-0 loss in the Ashes

There’s not much to say about our relationship at the moment. We are not friends. We are colleagues

Hamilton describes life with Rosberg

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JUNE

He’s a beautiful person

Rafael Nadal’s feelings for Andy Murray did not stop him beating the Scot in the French Open

Should we talk about my match or just talk about Mauresmo?

James Ward not happy at being continually asked about Murray hiring Amélie Mauresmo as coach

We left the door ajar for them and they kicked it open

Tom Wood rues England’s narrow defeat to the All Blacks in Dunedin

I’m trying to figure out when this is going to end. I’m really losing focus up here. Is this the last question?

Serena Williams does not enjoy a press conference at Wimbledon

I witnessed the worst day of captaincy I have ever seen at international level in almost 25 years in the game.

Shane Warne is not impressed by Alastair Cook after England draw with Sri Lanka in the first Test at Lord’s

Shane Warne was not impressed with Alastair Cook's captaincy (Getty Images)

Jamie is the No 1 son. He’s the priority! My brother’s always been the favourite so my family all went to watch him

Murray feeling left out at Wimbledon

I’m devastated the team don’t trust me to do the job as I’ve always done. I’m in shock. I don’t understand why I’m not selected

David Millar on being dropped from a farewell Tour de France by Garmin-Sharp

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JULY

My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat

The New Zealand cricketer comes clean

I’d just like to say that, despite me being a Manchester United fan...

Rory McIlroy’s acceptance speech earns boos after he wins the Open at Hoylake on Merseyside

The cover drive is the easiest shot in the world to play. Every kid can do it so why not someone as talented as Cook?

Pietersen has his say, for once, on the England captain

It’s plastic, it must have cost £10. It’s so bad

Hamilton is not impressed with the trophy he got for winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone

It wouldn’t have been a British start without a bit of rain

Chris Froome enjoys Yorkshire’s Grand Depart to the Tour de France

I’m waking up to this nonsense. Journalists, please don’t create lies to make headlines

Usain Bolt denies criticising the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

I think there should be more made for him – stick a whopping great statue outside. He won’t complain because he’s far too nice, so I’ll complain for him

Sir Bradley Wiggins sticks up for Sir Chris Hoy over his velodrome in Glasgow

Sir Chris Hoy should have a statue, said Sir Bradley Wiggins (Getty)

Until I get that tap on the shoulder saying ‘We don’t want you to be captain’ I’m desperate to turn things around for England. If I’m not good enough at the end of the summer, then so be it

Cook pledges to stay on despite defeat to India at Lord’s

I’ve not eaten properly for the last two days and I’ve been living off porridge. I’m not really a porridge fan

Laura Trott overcomes a kidney infection to win cycling gold at the Commonwealth Games

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AUGUST

It feels a bit surreal. It is really special to think I am 40 with two children

Jo Pavey after her 10,000m gold at the European Championships

Pain-free, yes, except for the headache of talking to you guys

Tiger Woods charms the press ahead of the US PGA Championship

I don’t think it’s that helpful, especially from a so-called friend

Cook on criticism by Graeme Swann of England’s one-day efforts

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SEPTEMBER

They’re getting into the sort of last few holes of their careers, and that’s what happens

McIlroy has a playful dig at Woods and Phil Mickelson

Rory McIlroy poked fun at his elders (Getty Images)

Why? Why this? I’ve gone from the top of the world to the bottom of the ocean

Kell Brook struggles for answers after being stabbed on holiday in Tenerife

Not only are we able to play together, we also don’t litigate against each other, and that’s a real plus, I feel, heading into this week

Mickelson tries to stir things with Graeme McDowell and McIlroy prior to the Ryder Cup

Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best

Mickelson criticises the captaincy of Tom Watson after the United States’ defeat

I made a poor decision regarding the limits of my alcohol intake

Aaron Cruden explains why he missed the All Blacks’ flight to Argentina

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OCTOBER

I want to put this nicely but, reading the book, it strikes me that maybe, just maybe, team sport’s not for you?

TV chat show host Graham Norton to Pietersen

I have never seen a grown man of the stature of Ben Flower cry as much in my life

Ian Lenagan, the Wigan chairman, after Flower was sent off for punching St Helens’ Lance Hohaia in the Super League Grand Final

These are guys you go to battle with, guys I share the dressing room with and then I get this feeling of total horror when I find out this is going on. It is like when you lose your wallet or phone – that hollow, empty horrendous feeling

Pietersen on the KP Genius parody Twitter account

It riled the team that KP allowed Piers Morgan to belittle [Alastair Cook] and the team on social media. KP laughed at the players and told them to get a thicker skin

A leaked ECB document highlights how Pietersen divided the England camp during the last Ashes

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NOVEMBER

This is the greatest day of my life. 2008 was special but the feeling I have now is way past that. It’s the greatest feeling I have ever had

Hamilton after winning his second F1 world title in Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton winning his second world title (PA)

He’s got talent, he’s good looking, he speaks good English, he has Maria Sharapova for a girlfriend. What more can you ask for?

Novak Djokovic reveals his admiration for Grigor Dimitrov and his partner

If you boo Rhys Priestland, you boo myself, you boo Warren Gatland, you boo Leigh Halfpenny, you boo the Welsh jersey

Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards sticks up for Rhys Priestland

I was playing Mario Kart when I got the call. I was winning at that – Mario Kart is better than my tennis

Murray on being drafted in to replace the injured Roger Federer on the last day of the ATP World Tour Finals

You never want to be the guy who talks it up and then can’t back it up, training like Tarzan and playing like Jane

James Haskell aims high on his England recall

I had some watermelon juice, three poached eggs, some baked beans and a couple of pieces of toast

Hamilton celebrates his second world title in style

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DECEMBER

Love me or hate me. I don’t hate anyone. Peace and love. I just don’t like Cocks

Toulon prop Martin Castrogiovanni does not miss working with coach Richard Cockerill at Leicester

Floyd Mayweather is just using it to get to me and get in my head. He’s just trying to disrupt me

Amir Khan believes Mayweather is just playing for time by offering to fight Pacquiao

Amir Khan is waiting for a chance to fight Floyd Mayweather (GETTY IMAGES)

The generous money they were offering and the promise of around 300 days of sunshine made the opportunity to play abroad very tempting

Northampton’s Dylan Hartley finds it hard to turn down Montpellier

You can get absolutely everything. Everything the athlete wants

Former Russian discus thrower Yevgeniya Pecherina alleges doping is rife among her compatriots