Memento Spoty Saying goodbye to two British greats may force me to sue for severe distress

It's BBC Sports Personality of the Year tomorrow, so ask yourself: are you prepared for montage season? It's dangerous to go into these things cold. You never know which clips are going to hijack your limbic system and leave you a gulping, snot-strewn mess.

- Emma John

It could be Keely Hodgkinson crossing the line, or Ollie Watkins' goal in the Euros semi-final, but it may equally be pommel horse guy hugging a Kazakh you've never heard of, or Luke Littler eating a squashie. Either way, it's worth quietly sliding the box of Kleenex within reach of the sofa.

Having spent the last six months therapeutically processing the retirements of Andy Murray and Jimmy Anderson, I know exactly what my triggers are going to be, and if the BBC replay that "Thank you, Andy" video from Wimbledon, I may sue for emotional distress. It's rare for anyone's two favourite sportspeople to make their final exits within weeks of each other, but no one consulted me about the scheduling and, as a result, July was a pretty rocky month, thanks for asking.

Neither Anderson nor Murray were granted the perfect ending to their careers. One was hurried offstage; the other looked, at times, like he'd be carried off it in pieces. Murray's heartbreaking farewell was an evocation of all that had come before. Injury stymied his final Wimbledon appearance - just the one doubles match with his brother - while his Olympic campaign alongside Dan Evans became a throwback to the early days when he was never beaten, until he was.