* 1. David Beckham comes to America: Without a doubt, Beckham's arrival at Los Angeles Galaxy was the top newsmaker of 2007. And despite the fact that the 32-year-old midfielder played sparingly for his new club due to injury, his presence in Major League Soccer brought instant credibility to the fledging league -- not to mention the predictable media frenzy. Of course, the rock-star hype and unfathomable paycheque brought about the customary cynicism. Fair enough. But what is unarguable is that Beckham's mere participation in North American soccer has the rest of the world caught up in the game's development on this continent. And that's an investment worth making, regardless of price.

* 2. England crashes out of EURO 2008: Having sputtered through 15 months of qualification, England finally bowed out of EURO 2008 by losing to Croatia at Wembley in mid-November. The failure of the Three Lions to qualify for the competition was made all the more inexcusable when Russia drew Israel in Tel Aviv just four days before the Wembley debacle -- providing manager Steve McClaren and his underachieving squad an unexpected lifeline. McClaren's failure to seize the opportunity resulted in his sacking the following morning.

* 5. Brazil wins Copa America: A Brazilian triumph in any international competition can never be packaged as an upset. Their 3-0 triumph over Argentina in this summer's Copa America, however, is as close as it gets to just that. Through the group phase, Brazil's only goal scorer was Real Madrid's Robinho. And a 2-0 loss to Mexico in the early going was nearly usurped in mediocrity by a narrow victory on penalty kicks over Uruguay in the semifinal. Argentina, by comparison, dominated the tournament before delivering a tentative, nervy performance in the final.