JUST like The Queen's speech and Top of The Pops, Christmas just isn't complete without a festive countdown.
It's been a cracking year on the sporting front in York and North Yorkshire and we've boiled down all the highlights to bring you our best moments of 2014.
Don't agree with our choices from the last 12 months? Have your say on our website, thepress.co.uk/sport or contact me on twitter @scarrollpress.
And so, in calendar order...
MARCH: Hawk High triumphs at the Cheltenham Festival
RYEDALE trainer Tim Easterby had not experienced the joy of a Cheltenham Festival winner for 15 years until Hawk High came with a perfectly timed tun to scoop the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle.
The 33-1 shot beat Katgary by three-quarters of a length in an eventful race - hitting the front after the last obstacle.
Easterby, whose father Peter was a National Hunt legend in the 1970s and early 80s, said: "I’m delighted - this is the best place in the world."
APRIL: York City charge to the League Two play-offs
HAVING looked like they would be facing a battle for League Two survival at Christmas, Nigel Worthington's York City charges went on a tear in the New Year.
Unbeaten in 17 games, they surged up the table and booked a place in the end of season play-offs when Michael Coulson's free-kick secured a 1-0 home win over Newport County.
They eventually fell to Fleetwood in the play-off semi-finals - undone by former hero Matty Blair's first leg goal.
JULY: The Tour de France comes to York
AN amazing two days for Yorkshire saw the Grand Depart of the Tour de France captivate the county.
The eyes of the world were on York on day two, with the globe's most famous cycle race starting from a packed Knavesmire.
Tens of thousands of people packed the stands at York Racecourse and then lined the route as the participants roared past the city's famous landmarks and roads on their way to a thrilling Sheffield finish.
JULY: Tom Somers bolts to 200 metres stardom
THE teenage sprint star became the world's quickest 17-year-old over 200 metres since the great Usain Bolt at the IAAF World Junior Championships in the USA.
City of York Athletic Club runner Somers clocked 20.37 seconds in the semi-final - a time that only trailed the reigning 100m and 200m Olympic champion, who ran 19.93 seconds at the same age ten years earlier.
Somers was unable to repeat his form in the final, finishing seventh, but his year of success continued when he was retained on British Athletics' Futures programme.
JULY: Commonwealth Games joy
THERE was plenty to celebrate at the Glasgow games for Jessica Taylor as the former City of York Athletic Club junior bagged a bronze in the heptathlon.
She set personal bests in the 100 metre hurdles and the high jump before a lifetime best of 6.16 metres in the long jump ensured the ex-Bootham School pupil finished third.
Ripon-based Jack Laugher enjoyed a memorable games as he claimed gold in the men's 1m springboard and, alongside Chris Mears, the 3m synchronised springboard events.
AUGUST: Australia wins the Juddmonte International Stakes at York Racecourse
A STELLAR field contested York's richest ever race, the £800,000 Juddmonte International Stakes, and it was the dual-Derby winner Australia that landed his fourth Group 1 contest of the campaign with Knavesmire's jewel in the crown.
Aidan O'Brien's colt got first run on The Grey Gatsby, trained at Sutton Bank by Kevin Ryan, and passed the post two lengths clear.
But Ryan would get his revenge the following month when The Grey Gatsby pipped Australia in the Irish Champions Stakes at Leopardstown.
SEPTEMBER - Yorkshire win cricket's county championship
YORKSHIRE completed their surge to a first County Championship title in 13 years as Ryan Sidebottom led the way against his old club Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Veteran seamer Sidebottom finished with 6-30, and nine wickets in the match, as Yorkshire bowled their hosts out for 177 to win by an innings and 152 runs and confirm the 32nd championship in their proud history.
It was a personal triumph too for Sidebottom, Yorkshire-born and the sole survivor in this team from his native county’s last title-winning season.
SEPTEMBER: York City Knights win the Championship One league title
TROPHY time returned to Huntington Stadium as the York City Knights claimed the Championship One league title.
Skipper Jack Lee lifted the leaders' trophy after a 36-28 win over London Skolars but the Knights were not destined to be promoted.
After play-off defeats against Oldham and Hunslet Hawks, they remain in rugby league's bottom tier despite being the league's best side over the campaign.
DECEMBER: Ronnie O'Sullivan hits Barbican maximum and takes fifth UK Snooker Championship title
THE Rocket brought the roof off the Barbican when he put together snooker's perfect frame - 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colours - to finish off Matt Selt in his last 16 match at the UK Championship.
It was O'Sullivan's 13th maximum break of his career and would net him £44,000 but he finished the tournament in brilliant style.
Holding off a determined fightback from Judd Trump in the final, the 39-year-old won a deciding frame for a 10-9 victory and his fifth UK title.
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