England 0, Scotland 0: Gareth Southgate needs to find a solution to – or a replacement for – worryingly peripheral Harry Kane June 18, 2021 On a night of full-throated support from both sides of football’s oldest rivalry, perhaps the biggest cheer came in the 63rd minute. That was when Jack Grealish, England’s maverick talent, came off the bench as the hosts searched for a breakthrough against Scotland. The cheers reflected Grealish’s elevation to cult hero status, but also a [...]
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard: Awkward title, awkward film June 18, 2021 Some sequels are made as part of an ongoing story, answering questions that were left dangling or making the universe a little bigger. Others are solely made because the first film made more cash than expected. Hitman’s Bodyguard, a mid-budget comedy with Samuel L Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, surprised pretty much everybody by becoming a [...]
Luca is an enjoyable Pixar Lite that’s in thrall to the work of Ghibli June 18, 2021 The past eighteen months has seen a complete shift in what we mean by the term ‘straight to on demand’. Once the preserve of movies that weren’t worth a cinema release, circumstances have meant a hybrid solution is now the sensible choice for a lot of new releases. That said, the big movies are still [...]
UEFA could move Euros final from Wembley after backlash to quarantine-free VIPs June 18, 2021 UEFA today said it has a contingency plan to replace Wembley as the host for the Euro 2020 final unless the government agrees to exempt travelling foreign fans from a 10-day quarantine. Tournament organisers have been in negotiations with the British government since it scrapped plans to end lockdown restrictions on 21 June. Wembley is [...]
England v Scotland: Scouting the Scots with a bit of help from investment banking ahead of the Euro 2020 Battle of Britain June 18, 2021 It’s England v Scotland at Euro 2020 this evening as the Battle of Britain returns to major tournament football. Gareth Southgate will have his own ideas about Scotland’s strengths and weaknesses under Steve Clarke. But, should he need any more pointers, we can offer some answers based on quantitative analysis methods borrowed from investment banking. [...]
Ollie Phillips: Why I fancy Sale and Bristol to progress in Premiership semi-finals June 18, 2021 The Premiership Rugby semi-finals this weekend are a fascinating collision of contrasts – and I can’t wait. While Exeter and Sale will look to knock 10 bells out of each other, Bristol and Harlequins promises a feast of fast, flowing rugby. And in Sale and Quins we have two teams transformed by coaching changes this [...]
Roger Federer Wimbledon blazer set to fetch £25,000 as tennis star auctions vast trove of memorabilia June 17, 2021 Roger Federer is auctioning one of his iconic Wimbledon blazers as part of a sale of treasures from his tennis career. The 2016 blazer, which he wore to walk out on to Centre Court, is expected to fetch £15,000-£25,000. It is one of the most prestigious of 300 lots in the online auction, which is [...]
From Noël Coward to Hugh Grant, Americans love British style June 17, 2021 This week saw the opening of a dazzling exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery dedicated to the art and style of Noël Coward. It celebrates the centenary of the Master’s West End debut as a 19-year-old playwright, with I’ll Leave It To You. Many of the exhibits come from the Noël Coward Archive Trust, and [...]
Explained: Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coke snub at Euro 2020 was not the cause of Coca-Cola’s share price drop June 17, 2021 Cristiano Ronaldo was credited with knocking $4bn off the value of Coca-Cola earlier this week when he snubbed the soft drink – but does the theory stack up? The Portuguese football superstar pointedly moved two bottles of Coke from his desk at a Euro 2020 press conference and instead held up a bottle of water, [...]
Russian boss of Gazprom-backed boxing body AIBA turns to man who lifted lid on Russian state-sponsored doping to lead corruption probes June 17, 2021 Richard McLaren, the Canadian law professor and sports investigator, is best known for exposing Russia for state-sponsored doping. So eyebrows were raised this week when it emerged that McLaren had been hired by one of Russia’s most powerful sports administrators. Umar Kremlev has called on McLaren Global Sports Solutions as part of his bid to [...]