My favorite ramblings from the sports year

Ireland's Padraig Harrington after winning the PGA Championship: "I love the idea of the back nine of a major on a Sunday. I love it so much that I'm actually disappointed I'm seven months away from the next major and I don't know what I'm going to do."

LPGA queen Annika Sorenstam in announcing retirement last May: "I've achieved so much more than I thought I could, and I'm ready to move on. The motivation was not there anymore."

Top-ranked female sprinter Marion Jones to Oprah Winfrey on her jail time: "I truly believe that the reason I made the awful mistake and a few thereafter was because I didn't love myself enough to tell the truth."

Boxer Vatali Klitschko on how he keeps his fists from swelling: "I wrap nappies filled with my 3-year-old son Max's wee around my fists. Baby wee is good because it's pure, doesn't contain toxins and doesn't smell."

Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson: "I've lived a wild and strange life. I've used drugs, I've had physical altercations with dangerous people; people were angry. I've slept with guys' wives, they wanted to kill me. I'm just happy to be here. It's just a miracle."

Kobe Bryant on how the Lakers blew a 20-point, second-half lead to the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA finals: "We just wet the bed. A nice big one, too. One of the ones you can't put a towel over. It was terrible."

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com