Ed Warner: Docuseries triumph may drive wedge between media and sport April 14, 2022 “Please please please please just go away!” The letter writer signed off with his PS in green ink, only months into my stint as chair of UK Athletics in the days before tweets were a thing. I wish I’d kept it, the only time I’ve seen green ink scrawled in cliched anger. Sports leaders are [...]
Geoff Thomas interview: Crystal Palace hunger and skill reminds me of our class of 1990 April 13, 2022 On Sunday, a vibrant and fast-improving Crystal Palace team on an exciting FA Cup run head to Wembley seeking another big scalp. It’s a scenario that Geoff Thomas remembers well. Former England midfielder Thomas was the captain of Palace’s class of 1990, who toppled Liverpool in an epic semi-final to set up a showdown with [...]
Chelsea sale heading for full time as deadline arrives for potential world record £2.5bn deal April 13, 2022 This is a big week for Chelsea Football Club on the field, with the Blues’ men’s and women’s teams both preparing for FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday. For the men, the game is a must-win if they are to lift a trophy this season, as well as a chance to bounce back from a painful [...]
After 12 weeks of ‘EMS’ electro muscle stimulation, here’s what we learned April 13, 2022 Every four years, a bit like the Olympics, I take on a mad fitness regime to see how far I can push myself out of a largely sedentary lifestyle. The first time, back in 2014, having never been a member of a gym, I went back to basics, learning about nutrition, how to properly use [...]
Fifa takes on Netflix and Amazon Prime by launching new streaming service Fifa+ April 13, 2022 Fifa has joined the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime by launching its own streaming platform Fifa+. The free service will provide football fans with live matches from around the world, along with archive content and documentaries. “Fifa+ will provide access to live matches from every corner of the world, interactive games, news, tournament information, [...]
Kenny Shiels: Football manager sparks row by claiming women are more emotional than men April 13, 2022 The manager of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels, has claimed that it is difficult to stop women’s teams conceding one goal after another because they are “more emotional than men”. Shiels, who is due to lead the team in their major tournament debut at Euro 2022 this summer, said an “emotional imbalance” [...]
Ben Cohen ready to admit defeat in battle to save anti-bullying foundation April 13, 2022 England Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen has revealed that his anti-bullying foundation StandUp could be forced to close in the coming months. “I will say this and no one knows it,” Cohen told City A.M. “I am probably going to close it. We’ve had Covid-19, Brexit, Ukraine and we’re probably going to hit a [...]
Immersive theatre giants Punchdrunk: ‘We want audiences to feel a sense of danger’ April 12, 2022 I’m feeling my way down a dark alleyway just wide enough to fit through. An expansive theatre set towers metres above me. Three u-turns later I’ve lost my bearings as we stop in front of a harness, rocking gently in the air. “One audience member will get taken here and come face-to-face with a God,” [...]
The A-Z of wine: This week, E is for… England April 12, 2022 We continue to march through the alphabet in search of new wines and old favourites. What’s this then? A green and pleasant land bedeviled by internal strife caused by a single contentious issue – namely, what do you call a soft bread roll? Also home to a burgeoning wine industry fuelled by centuries of wine [...]
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy review: Vital, frenetic storytelling April 12, 2022 Ryan Calais Cameron’s urgent new play is a worthy bedfellow to the seminal theatre show which inspired its name, 1970s breakthrough piece For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. It features seven men on stage in a set up that’s something like a group therapy session, with the men [...]