Monica Seles: “I really don’t care about my legacy. I care about the present and being a good person.” March 11, 2019 “I really don’t reflect. I kind of stay in the moment,” says Monica Seles. It seems a remarkable sentiment for someone with such a glorious career to look back on, but then the past is a complicated place for the 45-year-old Tennis Hall of Famer. Even in sport’s vivid canon, few stories can touch that [...]
Sam Torrance: Sublime Francesco Molinari is at the top of his game and can win the Masters March 11, 2019 Spectacular finishes seem to be part of the fabric of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and this year it was Francesco Molinari’s turn to take the title at Bay Hill with a sublime performance. Just as Rory McIlroy had 12 months earlier, Open champion Molinari carded a magnificent final round of 64 on Sunday at this [...]
Strike partnerships: Is the Premier League entering a new era of famous front twos? March 10, 2019 Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke; Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright; Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton – aka the SAS. Some of the Premier League’s best teams have been propelled by brilliant strike partnerships. As those names indicate, however, the heyday of the front two came in the mid to late 1990s. Recent years have instead [...]
Sam Torrance: Keith Mitchell and Kurt Kitayama find strong finishes to clinch landmark wins March 4, 2019 Keith Mitchell found himself in a familiar predicament at the Honda Classic on Sunday: facing a birdie putt from 15 feet for a victory that would change his life. The last time he had been in that position, back in August 2017, it was a title on the second-tier Web.com Tour – and, with it, [...]
Jurgen Klopp blames windy conditions after Liverpool blow chance to regain Premier League lead March 3, 2019 A prickly Jurgen Klopp preferred to focus on the blustery conditions inside Goodison Park after his team drew 0-0 with Everton on Sunday but there is no escaping the conclusion that the Premier League title that Liverpool so crave is slipping from their grasp. Having fuelled hope of a first top-flight crown since 1990 by [...]
Improving Arsenal aiming to repeat finest hour of Unai Emery’s reign against stuttering Tottenham February 28, 2019 This was more like it. After a sticky opening double header, Unai Emery had crowned a 19-game unbeaten run with a watershed 4-2 triumph over Tottenham that suggested not only a challenge to Spurs’ new-found superiority in north London but also a successful transition to the post-Wenger era at Arsenal. It wasn’t just the result, [...]
Sam Torrance: Sublime Dustin Johnson is looking hard to beat as The Players Championship and Masters loom February 25, 2019 When Dustin Johnson hit an iron out of bounds at the 14th hole while trying to deny Darren Clarke his Open Championship at Royal St George’s in 2011, we wondered if he would ever do anything. Now look at him. Johnson claimed his 20th PGA Tour title on Sunday at the WGC-Mexico Championship. In doing [...]
Has Liverpool’s new-found solidity turned Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football into pedestrian dad-rock? February 24, 2019 When Jurgen Klopp fine-tuned his Liverpool team in preparation for this season, he focused on making them more robust. Following the January 2018 signing of Virgil van Dijk, last summer saw the arrival at Anfield of an elite level goalkeeper in Alisson and an accomplished defensive midfielder in Fabinho. Until then devastating in attack but [...]
Resurgent England have the edge on Wales in Six Nations Grand Slam decider February 21, 2019 The turnaround in England’s fortunes during the Six Nations has been unbelievable. Before the championship people wondered if they might finish third or fourth, but now they have a trip to Wales on Saturday for what I believe is a Grand Slam decider. It’s not just that England have beaten Ireland and France; it’s the [...]
Premier League title-chasing Liverpool face moment of truth in Manchester United clash February 21, 2019 For a team locked in a battle for a first top-flight title for 29 years every league game has huge significance. But for Liverpool, Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United is a match which has ascended to even greater levels of importance: it’s a derby against a buoyant and bitter rival and [...]