Exit the King: The National Theatre’s production of Ionesco’s absurdist drama wanders but the journey is worth it September 27, 2018 First performed in 1962, Exit The King is a tragic comedy about a clownish, centuries old despot who once held dominion over nature itself, but is forced to rapidly come to terms with his imminent death, his waning powers and his shrivelling kingdom. A great crack runs down the castle wall. Ministers are falling [...]
How the Ryder Cup became one of sport’s biggest events – and why it might be about to become even bigger September 26, 2018 The Ryder Cup has come an awful long way since British garden seed entrepreneur and golf enthusiast Samuel Ryder spawned the competition as we now know it during the mid-1920s. More than 50,000 spectators per day are expected to pay an average of £115 to attend the contest at Le Golf National, near Paris, [...]
Sam Torrance: USA are rightful Ryder Cup favourites but Europe thrive on underdog role September 26, 2018 On paper, the 12 men wearing the striped shirts at Le Golf National this week might comprise the strongest line-up that the United States has ever sent to a Ryder Cup. But then I can’t remember the last time that Europe started out as favourites. We love being the underdog. We don’t realise that [...]
Can banning ketchup really improve a footballer’s level of performance? September 26, 2018 Manager Maurizio Sarri has already made an impression on his new Chelsea team. They have won five of their opening six Premier League matches, and his philosophy of moving the ball quickly and intensive pressing – dubbed “Sarriball” – has led to the west London club making more passes than any other team in [...]
Ryder Cup 2018: Why Le Golf National course could be just as influential for Europe as any player this week September 26, 2018 When Colin Montgomerie captained Europe at Celtic Manor eight years ago, hoping to reclaim the Ryder Cup after a crushing defeat at Valhalla two years before, he instructed the groundsmen to make the course as fair as possible. "I don't think it is right to set the course up in any other way than [...]
Manchester United posts record revenue, but performances hurt income September 25, 2018 Manchester United posted record revenue of £590m for its full year today, receiving a £10m boost to its broadcasting income after finishing second in the Premier League last season. But broadcasting revenue dropped in the fourth quarter after the team was knocked out of the Champions League by Sevilla in the round of 16 as the team's [...]
Trevor Steven: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp should resist wholesale changes against Chelsea in Carabao Cup September 25, 2018 Maurizio Sarri may have given us a clue as to how he will approach Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool when he remarked at the weekend that his Chelsea team were at least a year behind the Reds. Although the Italian has started very well in west London, neither Chelsea nor any other Premier League [...]
Anthony Joshua proves the heavyweight division is built on his brilliance with brutal knockout of Alexander Povetkin September 25, 2018 When the referee stepped across Anthony Joshua as fallen challenger Alexander Povetkin crashed on the canvas for the second time in a matter of minutes on Saturday night, it was clearer than ever that the world champion remains the defining figure in heavyweight boxing. The match-up had always been an awkward one for Joshua. [...]
Sam Torrance: Tiger Woods’s second coming is here and he is capable of anything now September 24, 2018 I think we can safely say that Tiger Woods is back. Five years and several rounds of surgery on from his previous win, he stood up and batted off all of his rivals at the Tour Championship on Sunday – just as he always used to. He was magnificent, it is huge for golf [...]
Kanye West, rap’s most enigmatic star, has dreams of making affordable, brutalist homes September 24, 2018 The students were a combination of shocked and awed when their lecturer jumped on top of a desk and cried, “The world can be saved through design!” It could have been a scene from 1989’s Dead Poets Society, but in fact it was an overexcited Kanye West taking a class at Harvard Graduate School of [...]