Dalian Wanda signs exclusive deal with badminton’s global governing body to take the sport to the next level September 30, 2016 Badminton could be the next sport to get a global corporate makeover after it was announced that China's richest man had agreed a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars with the sport's international governing body. Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group has signed an eight-year exclusive partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) that gives exclusive global sponsorship and media rights to its subsidiary Infront Sports [...]
Darren Clarke opts for experience as he announces Europe’s pairings for Friday’s opening foursomes matches September 29, 2016 Europe captain Darren Clarke has opted for experience as he announced the pairings for this morning’s opening foursomes matches which will kickstart his side’s bid for an unprecedented fourth straight Ryder Cup victory. All six players with Ryder Cup experience will feature, although Clarke’s final pairing provided the biggest surprise as Belgium’s Thomas Pieters will partner [...]
Manchester United 1, Zorya Luhansk 0: Zlatan Ibrahimovic demands more from tepid Reds after stuttering Europa League victory September 29, 2016 Match-winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic demanded an upturn in quality from his team-mates after Manchester United stuttered to a slender and unconvincing victory against unheralded Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk. Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain striker Ibrahimovic proved the difference between the two sides, settling a tepid encounter against a team which finished fourth in the Ukrainian top-flight last [...]
Eddie Howe and Alan Pardew distance themselves from succeeding Sam Allardyce as England boss September 29, 2016 Highly-rated Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has moved to distance himself from succeeding Sam Allardyce as England manager despite describing the role as the ultimate job. Howe was linked with the position in the summer after the departure of Roy Hodgson following a dismal Euro 2016 campaign, and his name is again in the mix alongside [...]
Bedwyr Williams’ The Gulch at The Barbican is brilliantly weird September 29, 2016 You’re greeted at the entrance of the Barbican’s Curve gallery with a polite warning: “If you want to perform – sing, dance, that kind of thing – please be respectful of other visitors”. I wasn’t tempted to burst into song, but it’s a suitably surreal way to enter this brilliantly weird exhibition. This site-specific installation [...]
Wales boss Chris Coleman demands life bans for those guilty of financial impropriety in football September 29, 2016 Wales boss Chris Coleman has urged football authorities to adopt a zero-tolerance approach and impose life bans on anybody found guilty of corruption within the game. The 46-year-old, who guided Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in the summer, made his assertions after a stream of allegations this week of financial impropriety in football. [...]
The Libertine at Theatre Royal Haymarket starring Dominic Cooper fails to deliver on its salacious promises September 29, 2016 The Libertine begins with a promise. Dominic Cooper, as Restoration rake the Earl of Rochester, delivers a swaggering prologue, directly informing the audience that although they may like some of what he does, they will not like him. This speech is an implicit bargain; that he will behave appallingly, and the audience will be thrilled [...]
Floyd Collins at Wilton’s Music Hall review: clever staging and a strong cast can’t mask this poor musical September 29, 2016 Floyd Collins is a musical about a man stuck in a hole, and there were moments during this production that I felt like I was down there with him, waiting interminably in the darkness for the sweet release of death. Despite a strong cast and clever staging, exceptionally poor pacing makes Adam Guettel’s musical – [...]
Andrew Luck: Meet the St John’s Wood kid who returns to London this weekend as the NFL’s highest-paid player September 29, 2016 Thousands of Londoners will gather this weekend to gain a first hand look at the work of a former neighbour who has since left the UK, graduated from Stanford and become the highest paid member of his profession at just 26-years-old. The venue for the exhibition is Wembley, the event is the NFL’s 15th game [...]
Interview: Comedian Peter Serafinowicz on his horrifying, mesmerising Sassy Trump creation September 29, 2016 When Donald Trump kicked a crying baby out of one his rallies, Peter Serafinowicz rubbed his hands together and got to work. The comedian’s latest project, a YouTube series called Sassy Trump, takes the Republican nominee’s actual words and redubs them in a sassy voice that perfectly matches the man’s curiously effete mannerisms – his [...]