My top three favorite sports:
Swimming
Soccer
Fencing
I think that in order to take good sports photographs, a photographer must understand when to take the shot. Timing is everything since you only really have a half second window to take the photograph in its most aesthetically pleasing state. You also need proper lighting to fit the scene.
My favorite presentation from last year was Matt Rowello's. The reason i liked his is because of the way it flowed. It just looked interesting to me.