Sam Torrance Masters 2021 preview: The five players I expect to challenge at Augusta – and why I’d love to see Rory McIlroy or Lee Westwood triumph April 6, 2021 Whether it’s in November or April, the Masters is special. I enjoyed the last one as much as any other, despite it taking place in autumn rather than the traditional spring conditions. But I’m very excited for this week’s 85th outing at Augusta, which I expect to play harder than it did five months ago. [...]
Rugby League World Cup chief Jon Dutton: We’re very optimistic that we’ll have full stadiums April 6, 2021 Organising a major international sporting event is a logistical labyrinth at the best of times. Doing so when your dining room has been your office for the past year, when you haven’t yet met most of your staff, and when it has been impossible to be certain how or even if the event will take [...]
EP:50 Lingfield, Haydock, Musselburgh & Hong Kong April 2, 2021 It’s a typically busy Easter weekend for racing with a mixture of flat and jump meetings spread across the UK and today trainer Warren Greatrex joins us as our special guest. City A.M. racing editor Bill Esdaile previews the best of this weekend’s action in the UK and Ireland, plus we hear from Wally Pyrah [...]
Is Mike Dean really the strictest referee in the Premier League? April 1, 2021 Mike Dean is many things – showman in a world of automatons, purveyor of the no-look booking, gift to gif makers – but is he, as some would have it, the strictest referee in the Premier League? A study of officiating in English football’s top flight over the past five seasons has attempted to answer [...]
Athletic Bilbao: Two Copa del Rey finals, one unique philosophy, and the roles of identity and loyalty in sporting success March 31, 2021 Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelino Garcia Toral could be forgiven for using the old cliche about every game feeling like a cup final. That’s because, due to a quirk of pandemic rescheduling, Athletic are about to play in the final of Spain’s domestic cup competition twice in a fortnight. On Saturday, a year later than planned, [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Mercurial could be back to his best March 30, 2021 THREE of the best all-weather milers in the territory go against each other in the feature race of the day, the £200,000 Cuckoo Handicap (3:50pm). Kings Shield, Elusive State and Glorious Artist line-up against the fast-improving lightweight Hongkong Great. Add the likes of consistent Encore Boy, progressive sprinter Californiadeepshot, who’s up to a mile for the first [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Jerry Chau’s a man in demand March 30, 2021 IT WAS good to see young 7lb claimer Jerry Chau back in the limelight following a winning double at Sha Tin last Sunday. The 20-year-old has suffered his ups and downs in Hong Kong this season. He’s sixth in the jockeys’ championship table with an impressive 32 winners but faces yet another suspension, his sixth for the [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Alliances has a Super chance March 30, 2021 SHA TIN hosts the mid-week action in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with a competitive nine-race card under floodlights on the all-weather surface. Local bettors are always wary when the action takes place on dirt, and it’s easy to see why. With the temperature around 30 degrees, the humidity high and the chance of showers, it’s anybody’s guess how the [...]
Exclusive: London set to host at least two NFL games from 2022 onwards March 30, 2021 NFL chiefs are set to approve plans guaranteeing London hosts at least two regular season games from the 2022 season onwards. According to internal documents seen by City A.M., NFL team owners will vote on proposals to host four international games a year – two in London, one in either Berlin or Munich and one [...]
English football clubs turn to MetLife for £117.5m loan after baulking at Bank of England emergency funding conditions March 30, 2021 Championship football clubs have chosen to take a £117.5m loan from US insurer MetLife instead of the Bank of England’s emergency Covid-19 support scheme. The English Football League (EFL), which represents clubs in the second, third and fourth divisions, said it rejected the Bank of England loan due to the conditions imposed. Teams in the [...]