By Chris Charles

A week is a long time in sport - just ask the England rugby boys, Lewis Hamilton, the England football team, the Scotland football team....

One minute you're dusting down the bunting, next thing you know the fat lady is clearing her throat and Britain is back in her customary role as bridesmaid.

EDITORS' BLOG How the Sports Personality shortlist is reached

All this, of course, means the race to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year is not over yet.

Hamilton is still the overwhelming favourite but, after the drama in Brazil, his odds have drifted - while Ricky Hatton, who fights Floyd Mayweather in December, has been clipped in.

Remember, though, these are just the bookies' views - the real vote takes place on the night.

And some dark horses will have their supporters too. Remember, Zara Phillips won the public vote ahead of hot favourite Darren Clarke last year.

Odds based on average from different bookmakers.

LEWIS HAMILTON 2-9 (22, English, Motorsport)

If he were a horse, Lewis Hamilton would be known as a game sort who made all the running in one of the Classics, only to get pipped by a short head at the post.

DID YOU KNOW? Lewis played in his school football team with Aston Villa's Ashley Young

The ace of Herts had one hand on the F1 trophy, but slip-ups in China and Brazil saw the rookie manage edged out in a thrilling climax to a memorable season.

The bookies cannot quite make their minds up just how hot a favourite young Lewis is for Sports Personality, with prices ranging from 1-6 to 2-5.

But remember, both Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill won the first of their awards for coming second.

RICKY HATTON 4-1 (29, English, Boxing)
Hatton has always been known for his excellent timing and in terms of Sports Personality, his super fight against Floyd Mayweather could not have been scheduled any better.

DID YOU KNOW? Hatton owns an exact replica of Del Boy Trotter's three-wheeler

The Hitman takes on the Pretty Boy in Las Vegas on Saturday 8 December and when you factor in the time difference, it's less than 15 hours before the BBC awards get under way.

Hatton is already making America sit up and take notice, following wins over Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo, and he will be hoping to hit the jackpot in Sin City, having already won the war of words in a lively press conference that saw him dubbed "Vicky Fatten" by his opponent.

Victory against the man widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world would put Hatton in pole position for the SPOTY title - although tracking him down to hand over the award could be another thing altogether.

JONNY WILKINSON 20-1 (28, English, rugby union)
The 2003 Sports Personality winner was backed from nowhere into single figures for this year's award as England's remarkable resurgence gathered pace in the Rugby World Cup.

Wilko is still a kicking king

England's hero from four years ago might not have been the kicking force of old in France - after the tournament he admitted he'd been hamstrung by injury (surprise, surprise) - but he was still a talismanic figure and outscored the entire Australian team in the thrilling quarter-final win.

Victory over South Africa in the Stade de France would have put Wilko right in the mix, but any hopes he may have had of succeeding Zara Phillips were hampered by that final defeat.

JAMES MCFADDEN 20-1 (24, Scottish, Football)
The Scotland striker is being backed by his countrymen to gatecrash the Personality party after scoring the spectacular goal that sunk the French in Paris.

DID YOU KNOW? McFadden has scored in three of Scotland's last four Euro 2008 qualifiers

The Everton hitman bagged another in the 3-1 defeat of Ukraine, taking the Scots to the brink of Euro 2008 qualification.

A 2-0 defeat in Georgia has left their hopes hanging by a thread, but if McFadden could score the winner against Italy next month then he could come into the reckoning.

He's down to 12-1 with one bookmaker after a patriotic plunge from hopeful Scots.

JOE CALZAGHE 33-1 (35, Welsh, Boxing)
The bookies believe the Welshman may miss out on the top BBC award yet again and he must be wondering what else he has to do.

Calzaghe, unbeaten in 43 fights, is the world's longest reigning boxing champion, with 21 successful defences of the WBO super middleweight crown over 10 years.

DID YOU KNOW? Calzaghe is nicknamed 'The Pride of Wales but was born in London

He returns to the ring on 3 November in a unification fight with WBA and WBC champion Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium.

If Calzaghe wins, it would take him to 20 successive defences - just five victories away from equalling Rocky Marciano's unbeaten record for a champion boxer.

TIM HENMAN 33-1 (33, English, Tennis)
He may have been a perennial failure when it came to winning Wimbledon, but 'Tiger Tim' is still a huge favourite with British tennis fans.

Henman can devote more time to watching Oxford United

Henman finally decided to hang up his racket in September this year, fittingly bowing out at the All England Club as he sealed promotion for Great Britain in the Davis Cup with the last stroke of his career.

He has recently become a dad for the third time, ending any ideas he may have had of lazing around the house watching daytime TV and piling on the pounds.

The former British number one may be retired, but don't write off our Timmy, who is bound to attract the housewives' vote.

FRANKIE DETTORI 33-1 (36, Italian, Horse racing)
Born in Milan, Arsenal fan Frankie is an honorary Brit and a firm favourite with racing enthusiasts and casual punters alike.

DID YOU KNOW? He has a restaurant with Marco Pierre White - 'Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill'

He qualifies for this award by living and working in Britain, and in 1996 finished third in the Sports Personality vote after going through the card at Ascot - marking the feat with his trademark leaping dismount.

This year the jockey finally completed his set of British Classics by winning the Derby, at the 15th attempt, on Authorized.

The following day he won the French version on Lawman to claim a notable double, leading to calls for him to be knighted by one newspaper.

DAVID BECKHAM 66-1 (32, English, Football)
Beckham is the highest-ranked footballer on the bookies' list but he may need to do something extraordinary between now and December to get into the frame.

DID YOU KNOW? Elton John is Godfather to his eldest sons, Brooklyn and Romeo

Becks made a sensational return for England after being recalled from international exile, starring in a friendly with Brazil, before setting up two goals in a 3-0 qualifying win in Estonia.

He also captured the La Liga title with Real Madrid before heading across the pond. But surely even he won't score a dramatic free-kick winner against Croatia to propel England into Euro 2008, will he?

CHRISTINE OHURUOGU 66-1 (23, English, Athletics)
On 11 August, Ohuruogu competed for the first time in more than a year. In the space of a few days she shaved half a second off her personal best and led a world championship 1-2 for Britain with Nicola Sanders.

Is Christine a one-hit wonder?

On the downside, Ohuruogu says she missed three out-of-competition drugs tests through a mixture of forgetfulness and circumstance. She was given a lifetime Olympics ban by the British Olympic Association, which is currently under review.

Since her gold-winning performance in Japan, the Londoner has been beaten three times by American Sanya Richards, who missed the World Championships because of illness.

Back in August, Ohuruogu was 10-1 to be Sports Personality of the Year, but she has been on the drift ever since. It just shows how you quickly people forget - a bit like the woman herself, in fact.

AMIR KHAN 80-1 (20, English, Boxing)
The media circus surrounding this young man might have cooled following the spectacular arrival of Lewis Hamilton, but you can't fault his record.

DID YOU KNOW? His cousin is England fast bowler Saj Mahmood

An Olympic silver medallist in 2004, the first young boxing star of the 21st century became Commonwealth Lightweight champion in July when he stopped Willie Limond after picking himself off the canvas to put his opponent down in the seventh.

Khan made it 14 wins from 14 as a pro against Scott Lawton in October and he defends his Commonwealth crown against Graham Earl on December 8, the same night Hatton fights Mayweather.

Within minutes of Zara Phillips being crowned the surprise Sports Personality of 2006, bookies had already made Andy Murray one of the hot favourites for this year's title.

The season began promisingly enough as he took Rafael Nadal to five sets at the Australian Open, before the Spaniard eventually wore him down, with Murray claiming it was the best match he'd ever played.

The Scot also broke into the top 10 for the first time, but a nagging wrist injury forced him to miss a large chunk of the season, including Wimbledon.

His brother Jamie Murray carved himself a place in tennis folklore, by winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles title to finally step out of his younger brother's shadow.

The real story was the are-they-or-aren't-they speculation involving doubles partner Jelena Jankovic - but Murray once again let his tennis do the talking in September to help Great Britain to a memorable Davis Cup win over Croatia.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is not the only motorsport star wowing the crowds.

James Toseland had a fantastic 2007 by winning the World Superbikes championship - clinching the title in his last race before switching to MotoGP next season.

The Sheffield-born rider also won the title in 2004 and said: "My one trophy at home was getting lonely so I thought I better get him a partner."

You can put the case for your Sports Personality favourite on our 606 section.

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