When second best is good enough...

Of course everyone loves a winner and our heartiest spurting congrats are extended to Man Utd today after Alex Ferguson’s side took their tenth premier league title after an (in the end) emphatic win at Wigan.

But on this sunny summery Monday we’d also to take a moment to pay tribute to the also rans, the runners-up and second placers who prop up those on the winner's rostrum. ‘Uh like why?’ you may ask? Well more on that in a moment...

But first up Chelsea and more especially Avram Grant who all season has looked like a sacrifical lamb - despite pushing United hard and qualifying for Chelsea’s first ever Champions League final.

Mighty magnanimous words for the Red Devils from Avram yesterday after United’s victory and can anyone ever see the self-styled special one being anything less than supremely bitter and twisted after such a defeat? Mr Grant steadily grows in stature.

But today’s spurting topic has really been influenced by yesterday’s Turkish Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton drove a simply astonishing race to snatch second place behind Filippe Massa. An audacious three-stop strategy was forced on McLaren by tyre reliability issues, but Lewis pulled it off with aplomb including a marvellous overtaking move on Massa, some real hot laps and the slickest of pit stops to put himself ahead of Kimi Raikkonen at the second pit stop and claw back two vital world championship points.

With McLaren’s pre-race predictions suggesting a fifth at best, Hamilton’s drive was nothing short of dynamite and arbuably more impressive than any of his five Grand Prix wins.

It just goes to prove that sometimes second best really is good enough*.

(oh except in Watford’s case. We’re not even mentioning the Hornets semi-final first leg defeat today. We’re still in mourning)