Shane Bond, one of the world’s best and most menacingly quick bowlers, laughs with surprising ease, seemingly undeterred by the fact that he has just been banned from international cricket. If some expected Bond to mourn the end of his Test career as New Zealand begin their tour of England, they might be taken aback.
Last weekend, in anticipation of an unfavourable result against my beloved red and whites at St James’s Park, I took the tried-and-tested ostrich method of arranging to be out of range of TV or radio. Instead I was cycling across England from Whitehaven on the west coast, arriving in a desolate Sunderland about one hour after the final whistle.
Even in defeat Tiger Woods left his mark on the 2008 Masters, a tournament deservedly won by South Africa’s Trevor Immelman on Sunday, but depressingly lost in the eyes of those who view the annual rites at Augusta National as golf’s best opportunity to convince the world that the sport is capable of scaling the heights of drama and excitement.
Within minutes of touching down at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas after an 11-hour flight from London, Joe Calzaghe roused his small entourage, went into the desert and did something he doesn’t do even at home in Newbridge, south Wales: he ran for seven miles.
One of the many joys attached to attending the Masters is watching the local television coverage. The biggest joy of all is the now established tradition that, starting on Monday at 6.30am, some poor sod masquerading as a traffic reporter has to set up a pitch at the side of the four-lane highway that runs menacingly in front of the Augusta National Golf Club.
At an age when he could be forgiven for slipping on his favourite pair of slippers, relaxing in a fireside armchair and re-watching any one of the 500 or more world-title fights he has promoted, Don King refuses to fade away. The stentorian voice still booms as it has since the days of Muhammad Ali’s Rumble in the Jungle.
Fabio Capello has moved to reassure David Beckham that he will be given his 100th England cap this season and, despite concerns over the former captain’s fitness, he has been told he is ”in contention” for the friendly in France this month. Capello will send his general manager, Franco Baldini, to assess the 32-year-old in a friendly against FC Dallas in Texas on March 15.
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/ 7 September 2007
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The Rugby World Cup kicks off in France on Friday. As has happened so often in the past, questions have been raised as to whether some of the potential mismatches between established nations and amateur nations are any good for the game. Ian Robertson and Stephen Larkham assess the pros and cons.
Ten seconds should not be long enough to change the course of a lifetime, but for 100m athletes that is all it takes. Tyson Gay is now a world champion — a man of stature assured of his place in sporting history, with a reputation enhanced by his generous nature.