IT'S THAT time of year again when the sporting highs and lows of the past 12 months will be relived and replayed to within an inch of their lives, and the bravest and brightest will be rightly recognised for their immense contributions.

Over the coming days and weeks there will be a plethora of awards ceremonies as top sporting exponents receive a well-deserved pat on the back for illuminating what was an otherwise dark and dismal year.

The prizegiving season kicks off in earnest across the water on Sunday when the glitter balls will be out in force for the polished production that is the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

It was far from a vintage 12 months for British sport, with the English soccer team completely flopping at the World Cup in South Africa and their rugby team failing to set the world alight in the Six Nations, so this year it's left to less glamorous codes to dance in the limelight.

With Formula 1 darlings Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton also suffering a mediocre year and of course neither of them actually having a personality, stars from sports like horse racing, golf, darts and athletics will fight it out to be crowned top dog at the weekend.

The dearth of global sporting success has a silver lining as there's some competitors really deserving of recognition in the shake-up - none more so than the consistently brilliant A.P. McCoy.

Like Ryan Giggs, who took the award last year, McCoy deserves the award as much for his lifetime contribution to the sport as for what he achieved in 2010, although he did get a major monkey off his back by winning the Grand National at the 15th attempt on 'Don't Push It'.

It was the missing piece in the racing jigsaw for the 36-year-old, who has been champion jockey a record 15 times in a row and has ridden over 3,000 winners.

Quite often these public polls are won and lost by whichever sport gets behind their man the most and puts in a concerted effort to get their supporters voting.

The racing fraternity will have done McCoy's chances no harm on that front.

If the Antrim man does pull it off he'll be the first jockey to win the BBC award - it's harder for these iron men to get recognition across the water, unlike on these shores where the likes of Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty are rapturously revered for their talents.

Another frontrunner for the gong is Graeme McDowell, who really had a 2010 to remember. In June he became Europe's first US Open champion for 40 years when he clinched his maiden major title in impressive fashion at Pebble Beach, and to top it off G-Mac won the final singles match at the Ryder Cup to earn the point which won back the trophy for Europe, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he got the nod.

Fellow master of the fairways and Ryder Cup hero Lee Westwood is also on the shortlist, having ended Tiger Wood's 281-week reign as world number one, but he will probably have to wait until he lands his first major to win the BBC accolade.

He came agonisingly close again this year, finishing as runner-up at The Masters and the Open, and surely will break his duck eventually.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor could well grab a place in the top three having enjoyed a remarkable year, even by his own untouchable standards. The Stoke-onTrent man won six major titles in 2010 including the World Championship, Premier League and World Matchplay crowns.

The world number one won a 15th World championship when he outclassed Australian Simon Whitlock 7-3 in the final, and he thrilled darts fans when he hit two nine-dart finishes in the Premier League final in May.

What may go against the 50-year-old maestro is that there are unfortunately many out there who view darts as no more than a pub game and not a sport.

Unsurprisingly, no darts player has ever won the award, something that's unlikely to change next weekend but, like Tony McCoy, Taylor deserves recognition for dominating his chosen field for the past two decades.

Of the other candidates, Graeme Swann is given a decent chance by the bookmakers. 'Inside Right' will freely admit to not knowing a great deal about cricket so the fact that's he's quoted at 7/1 third favourite is all we have to go on.

Sixteen-year-old Tom Daley won two golds at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and is undoubtedly the best diver plying his trade in England, particularly since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to sunnier climes in Spain, but he has about as much chance of coming out on top as either half of Jedward have of winning Mastermind.

David Haye is definitely a decent heavyweight champion but beating the useless Audley Harrison is hardly enough to have the public reaching for their phones to vote. He'll be in with a shout next year if he could overcome either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko, if the fights could ever be arranged that is.

Jessica Ennis won European heptathlon gold in Barcelona this year and she also claimed world indoor gold in the pentathlon in Doha in March.

She was third last year but is unlikely to do as well this time around. Get your money on her to collect the prize in 2012 when she's sure to be Britain's golden girl in the London Olympics.

Mark Cavendish is another contender who was high in the placings last year, finishing fourth. The sprint king won five stages in the Tour de France and claimed the points jersey at the Tour of Spain in September, but he's another who won't trouble the judges this time around.

Amy Williams became an overnight star after winning Britain's first individual Winter Olympics gold medal for 30 years with victory in the women's bob skeleton. The 28-year-old's performance was made even more remarkable by the fact she had no full skeleton track to train on in her home country, but she won't be on top of the podium again on Sunday night.

For what it's worth, 'Inside Right' would have Tony McCoy in the winners' enclosure by a short head, edging out fellow countryman Graeme McDowell on the 18th green, with Phil Taylor just missing the bullseye back in third.

Whatever way the result goes, with no Premier League stars in the running there will be less gargantuan egos taking up space in Birmingham LG Arena on Sunday.

The lack of big, bulging heads will make room for a horse or two, a dart thrower's belly and the mighty muscles of some athletic types to take their place on the stage.

Sounds like a good night.